who is behind reflecting on church?

Hi, I am Christina Baird. I have a lot of ideas about change, I have some dreams about the future, and lots of opinions.  I believe that we need to change ourselves and our churches to be ready for the future. I believe that change is growth and without growth, we become stagnant and unhealthy.  But I am a slow thinker, I tend to think of the right thing to say three days  after the opportunity to say it. Writing, therefore, seemed like a good opportunity to do all the processing and thinking that I needed to do, to sort things out in my own head. It was a way of sifting through those thoughts about the future, bringing in what I have learned about contextualisation and well-being, and trying to observe closely the Church in NZ.   Most of all I hope that I am not alone that you also see the need for change, and are following the Spirit into new things.  I hope that I can articulate some thoughts that help us have needed conversations, that bring us together, so that we can encourage and support each other on this journey to bring change to our churches and christian organisations in NZ.  Hopefully together we can be excited and hopeful for all the new opportunities that lie before us.

I love learning and have a PhD in social psychology, and a graduate diploma in theology.   I have worked in Christian ministry in NZ for over 14 years in student mission, with a mission agency and currently as a ministry supervisor and coach.  I live in Auckland with a vet, an 8 year old gymnast, a small white dog and a bossy burmese cat.