Monday 31 December 2007

The Dependencies of Ministry

Over the last couple of days here at TCC, I've met a couple of ministers who've had a hard time with their churches and/or their leadership teams. The good news is: both of them are still Christian, still married, and still in ministry - although they've been scarred by their experiences.
In this public context I can't say too much about them. One of them had good initiatives and ideas for growing and developing the church, and the youth ministry in particular - but kept being blocked by their leadership team. The other one was victimised by a few very vocal members of their congregation. Both left the difficult ministry contexts, but are now in different ministries with a lot more potential.
This just illustrates how dependent ministry is - dependent on other people's goodwill. Unlike a secular work context, a minister can't "make" anyone do anything. We're dependent on people doing things voluntarily - just because they want to. And of course people could want to be involved in ministry for all kinds in bad reasons - personal security, pride, feeling sorry for the minister... whatever. So the challenge for all of us is to get people motivated - by the gospel. We want people compelled by Christ, because they are convinced that one died for all, and therefore they live for him. (2 Cor 5:14-15)

Sunday 30 December 2007

Tasmania Christian Convention

Well here I am in the North-West of Tasmania, at a conference centre called Camp Clayton, between Ulverstone and Devonport (look it up in Google Maps...). This is the Tasmanian equivalent to Katoomba Convention. Tasmania Christian Convention stands in the tradition of Keswick, and combines a holiday with Bible teaching. I've been really impressed with Tasmanian hospitality. People have looked after me really well and been bending over backwards to give me a hand and include me in things. Feeling much loved!

Tuesday 25 December 2007

MMM lives on!

Hooray! MMM lives on!
Welcome to blog continuation of my MMM newsletter. It started as Multicultural Ministry Matters in 2002. It became Moore & Media Ministry in 2004, then Moore & Multicultural Ministry in 2006. I'm glad to return to its original title.
And the first things I'll be blogging about are my escapades in Tasmania. I'll be spending the month of January there, getting training in ministry in a very different context to what I'm used to. What adventures await me? We shall soon see...