27 Friday Jan 2012
Posted in Reflections
Tags
Calvin, Christianity, God, Grace, Idolatry, Jesus, Revelation, Theology
One of the central threads in Christian thought is that God has revealed himself. It was GOD who revealed himself. It wasn’t man who invented God, not this God anyway. Man has always been very fond of creating Gods and has done so with a fair degree of industry. That’s not in dispute at all. Continue reading »
24 Tuesday Jan 2012
Posted in Top Ten
At the end of last year I gave this list of books to some of the Year 12s who had finished exams. Some books on this list are easier than others, but all of them I reckon are worth the time and effort it would take to read them. The list is roughly in my order of importance, but some books would move around depending on what day it is or what I’ve had to eat. Whether you aim to read all 10 or whether you just read one or two, they’re all valuable reading. So here’s the list. Soon I’ll post my next 10 books I think you should read in your first year out.
20 Friday Jan 2012
Posted in Plundering the Egyptians
Tags
Most of these “Leadership Proverbs” I’ve just picked up, absorbed and imbibed by some process of osmosis along the way and don’t know exactly whom they originated from. But when I know I’ll make reference, and when I don’t it’s not that I’m ungrateful or that I want to appear like a genius. It’s genuinely that I can’t remember. So if I’ve flogged something from you let me know and I’ll happily acknowledge it. This one though is definitely from Bill Hybels.
Speed of the Leader, Speed of the Team
As the leader people take their cues from you. When not sure how to behave they’ll check how you behave. When not sure what to do they’ll check what you do. Being a leader means being followed.
This also means that to a large extent the team will be as energetic as you are. Continue reading »
17 Tuesday Jan 2012
Posted in Quotes
“A child kicks his legs rhythmically through excess, not absence, of life. Because children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things repeated and unchanged. They always say, ‘Do it again’ … Perhaps God is strong enough to exult in monotony. It is possible that God says every morning, ‘Do it again’ to the sun; and every evening, ‘Do it again’ to the moon. It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike; it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but he never got tired of making them. Continue reading »
13 Friday Jan 2012
Posted in Sermon Spinoffs
Tags
1 Kings, Bible, Biblical Studies, God, Joshua, Judgment, Sin, Sovereignty
Recently I was preaching on 1 Kings 16:29-17:6, a passage I really came to love. I think it’s the snarkiness of the passage that I found particularly attractive. I love snark as a legitimate prophetic voice.
But due to time constraints I had to skip over a part of the passage that intrudes into the narrative and sits there in an odd way. It’s this strange story of a guy who seeks to rebuild the city of Jericho. And it has nothing to do with anything. Well, it looks like it has nothing to do with anything. But there is a point.
Here’s what it says:
34 In Ahab’s time, Hiel of Bethel rebuilt Jericho. He laid its foundations at the cost of his firstborn son Abiram, and he set up its gates at the cost of his youngest son Segub, in accordance with the word of the LORD spoken by Joshua son of Nun.
Here’s the point:
11 Wednesday Jan 2012
Posted in Uncategorized
Well it’s time for a return.
After a year away A Better Possession is returning in 2012.
Similar to how it used to be, with thoughts on the Bible, theological reflections, things I’ve learnt on leadership, short reviews of books I’ve read and quotes that have captivated me.
See you soon.
22 Wednesday Dec 2010
Posted in Plundering the Egyptians
Tags
Don't know who to credit for this photo. But if I could I would.
Most of these “Leadership Proverbs” I’ve just picked up, absorbed and imbibed by some process of osmosis along the way and don’t know exactly whom they originated from. But when I know I’ll make reference, and when I don’t it’s not that I’m ungrateful or that I want to appear like a genius. It’s genuinely that I can’t remember. So if I’ve flogged something from you let me know and I’ll happily acknowledge it.
Programs Are Temporary
Your programs exist to help you achieve your aims. Your Biblical aims and Biblical strategies don’t change – unless they’re refined to get closer to what God says in his Word. But broadly they don’t change because God doesn’t change and God’s Word doesn’t change and God’s methods don’t change. God is still in the business of making disciples of all nations through the work of His Spirit coming alongside the loving proclamation of His Word, the gospel of the Lord Jesus, by His disciples as they seek to live faithfully obedient lives for His glory. That doesn’t change and is always relevant. And the programs exist to help you achieve those Biblical and unchanging aims.
As culture shifts, moods change, demographics evolve and technology develops, the programs will need to be assessed and potentially changed to best engage and serve those you’re trying to reach. The message and the goals and the basic methods won’t change. But the program and packaging will.
15 Wednesday Dec 2010
Posted in Plundering the Egyptians
(c) DocShaner
Most of these “Leadership Proverbs” I’ve just picked up, absorbed and imbibed by some process of osmosis along the way and don’t know exactly whom they originated from. But when I know I’ll make reference, and when I don’t it’s not that I’m ungrateful or that I want to appear like a genius. It’s genuinely that I can’t remember. So if I’ve flogged something from you let me know and I’ll happily acknowledge it.
Think in Steps
No matter what kind of leadership you exercise or what kind of ministry you’re involved in, because of the constancy and busyness of life, it’s very easy to get focussed exclusively on getting the next event organised and executed. Especially if you’ve got a regular, consecutive program such as a church service every Sunday that needs to be organised. The focus can become simply getting the next event in the program accomplished.
10 Friday Dec 2010
Posted in Plundering the Egyptians
(c) jonathan Moore
Most of these “Leadership Proverbs” I’ve just picked up, absorbed and imbibed by some process of osmosis along the way and don’t know exactly whom they originated from. But when I know I’ll make reference, and when I don’t it’s not that I’m ungrateful or that I want to appear like a genius. It’s genuinely that I can’t remember. So if I’ve flogged something from you let me know and I’ll happily acknowledge it.
What Are You Trying to Achieve?
Most people are pretty good at doing stuff. Getting things done. Working hard. What’s often a lot harder is being clear on exactly what we’re trying to achieve. That question, however, is one of the most important questions to be clear on, and one that needs to be asked early and often. What are we actually trying to achieve? Because without it we can be doing all kinds of good things without doing the things that we really should be doing, and we can be doing all kinds of good things that actually achieve very different things than we are hoping for.
It’s very rare, in my experience, for people to have no idea what they’re trying to achieve. Every now and then you do come across someone. But most of the time it’s just that people have a vague or general sense of where they’re heading, but nothing crystalised. Now I’m not saying the end game needs to be written down and cross-stitched and framed on the wall. What I am saying is that it needs to be crystalised and absolutely clarified so that everyone on the team knows exactly and specifically where we’re trying to get to.
08 Wednesday Dec 2010
Posted in Quotes
Tags
(c) BPay
Just a short one today, but when I read this I thought it was so helpful in it’s simplicity and clarity. Here’s Fee’s summary of Paul’s ethics:
“God’s glory is their purpose, the Spirit is their power, love is the principle, and Christ is the pattern.”
Gordon Fee, Galatians: A Pentecostal Commentary, p. 232
