Today’s blog post is the start of a new series, introducing you to the female leaders in New Zealand’s mission, ministry and Christian Not-for-Profit Sector. The first of my guests is Rachel Murray. Rachel has been the General Director of the New Zealand Baptist Missionary Society, for three years. NZBMS is the mission organisation of… Read More women in leadership – Rachel Murray
On the first Monday of each month, I offer some reflections on a book I have been reading. These are not book reviews, but a reflection on how the book interacts with my story and the questions that I currently have. I share where the book takes me with my questions, whether it conjures up new ideas or questions, whether it helps me frame my experiences and gives me things to ponder.
Sometimes we can get stuck in certain ways of thinking. We might be tired, and busy and it is easy to fall back into familiar paradigms. A familiar paradigm might be that orchestras play classical music. To an extent, this is true orchestras do play classical music and have done for centuries in the western… Read More does your orchestra play rock music?
I have always disliked introducing myself at social events because the first thing you are asked is so “what do you do?” The answer for me has never been simple. I envy those people who could say “I am a primary school teacher or a nurse or a vet” and people immediately understand what they… Read More face outward
Back in march, in my post renewing theology, I highlighted Third Article Theology (known as TAT) as a source for developing a greater trinitarian focus, that would provide a good theological foundation as we follow the Holy Spirit into the future that he has for our faith communities. I was first introduced to TAT by… Read More third article theology
This is the message that I shared with the women of my church today for mothers day, a day to celebrate all the women at our church
Following soon after the avalanche of tweets that was created by the #thingsonlychristianwomenhear, last week an article in Christianity Today Women caused another furore. In basic summary, the article suggested that that Christian women bloggers lead their followers astray because of their lack of accountability to church authorities. Feelings were still running high about the… Read More dreams of prophetic re-creation
Last week Author and Blogger Sarah Bessey started the hashtag #thingsonlychristianwomenhear the response was overwhelming. It was an opportunity for all those who have struggled with discrimination and sexism in the church to share their experiences, and share they did in numbers large enough for it to make the trending list. On his blog, Mike… Read More #thingsonlychristianwomenhear as barriers to Faith
Since February I have been discussing three key areas (theology, community and ecclesiology) in which the church needs to renew itself if it is going to move forward into the future that the Holy Spirit is forming. I tend towards being an idealistic intellectual that likes research, writing and thinking. To truly renew the church… Read More 15 practical ideas for renewing your church
It is 2017 and I can’t believe that we are revisiting the Billy Graham rule, surely we are beyond that today. But no, here we find ourselves on the blogs debating it once more. In the New Zealand culture that I grew up in we have a long history of women hiking up their skirts,… Read More thanks to the men I have led
Reflecting on Church in NZ 