tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21228379932164789852011-10-15T11:32:37.119+11:00Craig is Pastor at St Mark's Anglican Church Pennant Hills and sometimes he likes to think out loud.Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10797886952591781782noreply@blogger.comBlogger331100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2122837993216478985.post-25546458124583424462011-10-15T11:18:00.006+11:002011-10-15T11:32:37.143+11:00

Synod is on at the moment for Sydney Anglicans and as a synod we have just voted to turn 'the big bill we need to pay but don't want to pay' into 'the big bill that that the parishes need to pay from their parish budgets'. When I say 'we voted' to do that, I do not mean your's truly.I'm on an apparently Quixotic quest to suggest this was a bad idea in the comments at the SydAng website here. I

Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10797886952591781782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2122837993216478985.post-75094799902644521532010-12-19T18:09:00.001+11:002010-12-19T18:13:00.197+11:00

A brother took the time to encourage me to reflect on my ‘Should I be on Oxygen in 2011’ post. Specifically he suggested it could sound like I was critical of those who found pastoral ministry hard and who are in situations where, by all objective standards it is hard.He’s right, it could sound like that. And I absolutely would not want to be in any way critical of those who are labouring

Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10797886952591781782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2122837993216478985.post-7223173860788834102010-12-17T11:20:00.008+11:002010-12-17T11:39:59.993+11:00

The KCC guys are bringing pastoral megastar John Piper out next year for a new conference called Oxygen, pitched at pastors.I've read a little Piper and heard a talk or two and he seems like a gifted pastor and a good preacher.So I'm trying to decide if I should go to the conference or not.I checked out the website and it made me feel depressed!It seems to assume that pastors find ministry a

Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10797886952591781782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2122837993216478985.post-73268941227714696682010-10-13T12:12:00.013+11:002010-10-13T12:29:13.785+11:00

I like church planting.I think church planting is important.I even did church planting, leading the team that planted Valley Heights Community Church.But tonight the Sydney Synod is about to turn Evangelism Ministries into New Churches and focus it primarily, and it seems almost exclusively, on planting new churches in the Diocese of Sydney.Here is my problem with that. The facts are:Over the

Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10797886952591781782noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2122837993216478985.post-23819773789539168572010-06-11T14:52:00.005+10:002010-06-11T15:06:40.835+10:00

For a MA subject that is coming up I need to write an essay on a major English puritan writer from 17th century who isn't John Bunyan or Richard Baxter.The problem is I am deeply ignorant of the puritans, and so those are the only two I've heard of (please stop rolling your eyes now, I feel the crushing weight of my theological incompleteness already)Can someone please recommend another major

Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10797886952591781782noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2122837993216478985.post-58239209823171516792010-05-31T12:49:00.005+10:002010-05-31T13:14:43.826+10:00

Peter Bolt at the Australian Church Record (ACR) has joined the hushed conversation about who should be the next Archbishop of Sydney, when Peter Jensen retires. And he thinks I'm wrong. The ACR article can be found here.My previous comments are here.Two names I floated, based on the criteria I suggested were both from England. In his article Peter insists it is imperative that he is someone

Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10797886952591781782noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2122837993216478985.post-25716599836510812982010-05-21T14:00:00.005+10:002010-05-21T14:04:28.043+10:00

Ok, so the whole blogging thing has fallen in a heap.But I came across a video today that made me laugh out loud. And I don't do that, except for Dilbert. This was it:

Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10797886952591781782noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2122837993216478985.post-11983508755534728342010-01-01T16:58:00.003+11:002010-01-01T17:04:05.252+11:00

It took 12 months to get the logo up and now it is time to put it to use getting proper brochures and welcome packs created.But what absolutely must go in a welcome pack?I'm think of a simple brochure that just suggests what they should do next, which is:accept an invitation to the next 'Pastor's info lunch',think about doing Jesus: An Introduction, or The basics of following Jesus, or joining a

Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10797886952591781782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2122837993216478985.post-65177735584181536542009-12-21T15:07:00.002+11:002009-12-21T15:11:08.229+11:00

When I wrote this post, the sort of media skills I was talking about are the sort of media skills that we see in something like this.

Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10797886952591781782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2122837993216478985.post-46803350216638105192009-12-11T23:16:00.003+11:002009-12-11T23:22:30.579+11:00

I kind of knew about the pyromaniacs blog, but had never really read more than a post here or there. I did tonight and it gave me that same buzz I used to get when I first read the Economist, way back when.The sheer readability and clarity of it makes me go all warm and fuzzy.And then I read a post that made me laugh out loud (in a good way). I can't claim to have done that reading theology

Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10797886952591781782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2122837993216478985.post-82692263390995089492009-12-07T15:42:00.002+11:002009-12-07T15:47:52.244+11:00

Steve over at Communicate Jesus has posted some Christmas ministry ideas, so I was inspired to arrange a little video inviting people to St Mark's for Christmas. You can view it here.Now we just need some special, photoshop style software that we can use to make Pastor Craig look thinner, younger and less tired!

Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10797886952591781782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2122837993216478985.post-5274475938901092872009-11-27T16:58:00.006+11:002009-11-27T17:08:43.306+11:00

Because of all the going on in Canberra this week I actually started investigating climate change for the first time, co-incidentally as the 'climategate' scandal came out.I had two key reflections:1. Climate modelling is clearly as dodgy as the economic modelling I used to do and I shall treat it with the same degree of respect.2. We need to develop a form of apologetics that is as effective as

Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10797886952591781782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2122837993216478985.post-78575514521926520272009-10-31T16:56:00.010+11:002009-10-31T19:56:43.147+11:00

When no one reads your blog, you feel a certain freedom to ask questions that you might otherwise keep to yourself in polite company. Via a couple of biographies, I've been exploring the history of the Sydney Diocese recently and at the same time sitting in Synod. I hear Peter Jensen's masterful presidential address (without being happy about all its content) and observed his excellent skills as

Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10797886952591781782noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2122837993216478985.post-8314302189964594942009-10-25T15:08:00.006+11:002009-10-25T15:35:06.566+11:00

What do you get when you mix helium, goats, cake and the Bible? You get the 100th birthday of the Anglican Parish of Pennant Hills & Thornleigh (now know as St Mark’s Pennant Hills).We’ve used the anniversary as a major outreach in our community and ‘massaged’ the date to fit in the period of the Jesus All About Life campaign. (Did you know that if you google ‘Jesus has answers’ – which is the

Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10797886952591781782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2122837993216478985.post-85988383930182988952009-10-16T17:03:00.005+11:002009-10-16T17:14:50.828+11:00

At the beginning of chapter 3 of his church planting manual, Tim Keller has a section on 'Church Planter Leadership Qualities' where he saysThe single most important thing a leader needs in order to lead is holy, loving,Christ-like character.We've been working through the New Testament book of 1 Timothy at church recently and this has been the dominant theme for me as a leader in Christ's

Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10797886952591781782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2122837993216478985.post-12346937053180604282009-10-08T15:36:00.005+11:002009-10-08T15:40:53.361+11:00

In the last few weeks I have, for various reasons, sent emails to several Anglican rectors in Sydney.Not one of them has replied to my email, even to acknowledge it.I hope this is because I'm also a rector and as a matter of prioritisation they've put my email to one side because they're too busy responding to the emails of thousands of unbelievers interested in investigating the claims of Jesus

Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10797886952591781782noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2122837993216478985.post-86484377843485373282009-10-03T16:11:00.003+10:002009-10-03T16:15:19.739+10:00

And yes, reflecting on the stuff in my previous post I was irresistibly drawn to Google my own name.The shame, the shame.

Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10797886952591781782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2122837993216478985.post-79318533510153116332009-10-03T15:59:00.005+10:002009-10-03T16:16:27.529+10:00

I can't help wondering what the apostle who wrote chapter 1 of 1 Corintians would make of websites like this.Or maybe I'm just jealous that there isn't one about me.Or maybe I'm just disorientated by the fact that my little blog that no one reads gets quoted (along with Justin Moffatt's, which presumably all thinking people read).

Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10797886952591781782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2122837993216478985.post-27922774751464253292009-10-01T22:22:00.005+10:002009-10-01T22:30:27.684+10:00

As I’ve got back into Keller’s church planting manual, I’ve been reminded of just how big a deal he makes about ‘the city’ (not just his beloved NY but ‘the city’ as a concept). And I’m not sure I buy it.Some of the significance he attaches to it is for pragmatic reasons; he highlighting Paul’s strategy for reaching the empire via its urban centres and that’s all good, sensible stuff. He

Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10797886952591781782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2122837993216478985.post-90496344061297066222009-09-24T22:02:00.003+10:002009-09-24T22:05:42.372+10:00

I'm not sure if anyone is still reading this blog. But if you are I'm interested in your view.Have you had any success running an 'Introduction to Jesus' type course (Christianity Explained, Christianity Explored, Introducing God etc) in January as a follow up to Christmas? We've seen it work as a follow up to Easter, but does the school holidays ruin it for Christmas?What do you reckon?

Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10797886952591781782noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2122837993216478985.post-15101472716140746882009-09-22T17:36:00.005+10:002009-09-22T20:39:29.196+10:00

OK, so I've now learned that if you spend your time recruiting the right Associate Pastor for 2010, planning and doing neighbourhood visitation, trying to work out if your church should borrow $500,000, trying to get your church foyer refurbished, finishing your MA essays and moving house, on top of little stuff like praying, reading the Bible and preaching, then there isn't a lot of time left

Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10797886952591781782noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2122837993216478985.post-43811137797377443232009-07-13T15:44:00.005+10:002009-07-13T15:56:49.686+10:00

Keller has a section called ‘What kind of churches do we plant?’ and within that section, the thing that really resonated with me was a couple of paragraphs where he talks about culture, but not in terms of understanding the surrounding culture, which he and Driscoll are normally talking about (yes I’ve started to read the Driscoll – hence no Keller post for a while). He talks about the church as

Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10797886952591781782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2122837993216478985.post-2554080384073687392009-06-28T15:24:00.003+10:002009-06-28T15:31:04.464+10:00

I can't spell mishinal and I don't know who Mark Driscoll is; I know...but just deal with it.But I find myself needing to know something about Mark Driscoll. So, if I wanted to read three books he had published, or listen to three key talks he had given or read three articles he'd written (or some combination thereof), which would give me the best introduction to his 'vibe'?Anybody?

Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10797886952591781782noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2122837993216478985.post-18619842898811451602009-06-25T13:47:00.006+10:002009-06-25T14:33:19.325+10:00

Back when I was doing the management consulting gig, ‘the vision thing’ was pretty important. When I got involved in pastoral ministry I discovered that churches had picked up on this too – we just didn’t do it very well (and when we tried we often seemed to chuck out large slabs of our theology, but that’s a post for another time).I like the way Keller does the vision because it pretty much

Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10797886952591781782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2122837993216478985.post-40378631696859399732009-06-20T16:56:00.004+10:002009-06-20T21:51:10.817+10:00

One of Keller’s ‘big ideas’ is that:"the most crucial event in the life of our church is the moment a Christian comesto worship and says, “I want my sceptical friends to see this!"It is not that he’s on about ‘seeker services’ where the whole thing is geared to the outsider. He has a fantastic line where he says; "If the Sunday service and sermon are aimed primarily at evangelism, it will bore

Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10797886952591781782noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2122837993216478985.post-77315438237611016992009-06-18T07:57:00.005+10:002009-06-18T08:05:36.970+10:00

Steve Kryger is a guy who thinks a lot about Jesus and media and who I respect. We're trying to get together to talk about the posters that are produced by Outreach Media. I'm skeptical about the value of posters (I have a vague memory of seeing some data somewhere). Does your church use them? What do you think about their value in communicating with your community?(And the next Tim Keller

Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10797886952591781782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2122837993216478985.post-25032722960523843892009-06-15T16:21:00.005+10:002009-06-16T08:18:33.178+10:00

I had lunch with three other men involved in pastoral ministry today. We try and get together 3 or 4 time a year to encourage one another, to argue, to eat and to pray. One is a recently appointed rector, one is involved in church planting among Sydney's Chinese community and one is an Assistant Minister at one of Sydney's biggest parishes (there is a fourth who was missing today).Life is so

Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10797886952591781782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2122837993216478985.post-29431595302306154692009-06-13T14:12:00.006+10:002009-06-13T14:20:30.066+10:00

On the very first page of the Introduction to his church planting manual, Keller talks about meeting with a potential church planter and being embarrassed. He says, ‘I immediately recognised that my prayer and spiritual life would now be incapable of handling such a project. I realised I had gotten “flabby”. I repented and began renewing spiritually.’ I found it instructive that Keller’s ‘

Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10797886952591781782noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2122837993216478985.post-56250871393239037082009-06-11T13:00:00.003+10:002009-06-11T13:31:33.112+10:00

The first part of Keller's church planting manual is a potted history of his church Redeemer Presbyterian. At one level I found it really frustrating; the same experience I had when I read Mark Driscoll's Confessions of a Reformission Rev some time ago. It's frustrating firstly because I find myself wishing I had their gifts, rather than the ones God has given me. As I read about his planning

Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10797886952591781782noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2122837993216478985.post-82876066152494813592009-06-10T10:05:00.005+10:002009-06-17T00:02:09.924+10:00

I ordered a copy of the ‘Church Planter Manual’ from the Redeemer Church Planting Centre (Tim Keller’s show) and it arrived yesterday.When I led the team starting Valley Heights Community Church at Springwood I’m not sure I’d even heard of Keller. I still haven’t listened to any of his preaching (I’m a bit technologically challenged; I blog, but I still don’t own an ipod) but I read The Reason

Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10797886952591781782noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2122837993216478985.post-67611842212762032832009-06-09T12:37:00.008+10:002009-06-09T12:48:45.386+10:00

I have watched all seven series of The West Wing from beginning to end four times. I love it. But The West Wing is not just great entertainment. It is also pretty instructive. Specifically I think the way the Bartlett White House functions illustrates some pretty valuable concepts for ministry teams. And do you know what one of the most valuable is? The value of creative conflict within a

Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10797886952591781782noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2122837993216478985.post-10658167503784564762009-06-08T19:33:00.011+10:002009-06-09T12:30:57.988+10:00

I've already got a list of things that I'd like to blog on. I figured if I put the list here then at least I couldn't lose it. Things I want to blog on include:Narrative CriticismVisitationWhy ministry teams should watch the West WingChildren's talksDesign vs graphic designYouth ministryHow we do the Lord's Supper.Faith in John's gospelThe stress of delegation

Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10797886952591781782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2122837993216478985.post-42449723851404019452009-06-08T12:55:00.005+10:002009-06-08T13:17:32.903+10:00

I have resisted the urge to blog for a while.I didn't think it was a good idea because:I worried that the real motivation was pride or vanity. God's not real big on pride or vanity.I might confuse it with 'real work' and waste time that could be better spent (like on visitation or praying or exercising).I suspected I might run out of things worth saying, but not stop saying things.I can do some

Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10797886952591781782noreply@blogger.com6