backyardmissionary

Ok. Here are a couple of decent recommendations!
Jesus in Beijing is a very interesting account of the development of the church in China, with a focus on the persecuted believers and the underground church. I like that it focuses on the theological challenges and leadership struggles that have dogged the Chinese church rather than simply […]

I have an atheist friend who loves to debate religion and matters of faith. She is very sharp, always fun to debate with, and asks all the tough questions. I like her! The other night as we were chatting she asked to have a look at a Bible. Another friend brought out one from her […]

It was great to get out with Danelle and the kids today for some holiday fun.
We caught a train to the city, watched Ice Age (I slept thru half of it!), wandered around he streets and parks, finished up in the art gallery looking at the display of work by year 12 students (always a […]

One of the really valuable pieces if research done in the last few years was Alan Jamieson’s A Churchless Faith that explored why people were leaving church, but still following Jesus.
Now he has a follow up book coming out entitled Five Years On. You can read about it on Prodigal Kiwi.
The blurb says:
“This follow-up to […]

Mark Sayers has some fantastic insights into what is going on in our world and how we are to live and make disciples in the midst of it all.
Mark is a key player in the Forge scene here in Oz and a bloke I have immense respect for.
Now he has a blog…
If you’re serious about […]

It seems that one of the big issues in debate of recent times is the nature of scripture and whether a narrative approach to theology is an errant one. (For those who find that last sentence hard to understand it means approaching the Bible more as a story than as a list of propositions to […]

This weekend was spent with a bunch of older singles on the Getaway Camp, an initiative for young adults to hang out together and develop relationships.
Sarah and crew did a sensational job of creating a space that was relaxing, fun and engaging for those who were there. It was a great weekend and I […]

The beauty of blogging is that you get to connect with a bunch of people from all over the world who otherwise you would never meet. I am always amazed at how many people I bump into who tell me ‘I read your blog’. (Hi Kylie, you lurker )
Recently Samuel Linde from Sweden […]

Hey what fun?!
You can play video games and kill a bunch of nasty pagans all at the same time.
Justin writes:

Left Behind: Eternal Forces comes out some time this year, and there aren’t a lot of details, but here’s the basic premise as I was able to infer from the website:
The rapture has happened, so […]

Ok - I had to go public with this news…
Andrew Broadbent, my friend and fellow driver of old beaten up cars has sold his HZ Kingswood and (and his soul) and is now driving a VOLVO!!!
Shame on you Broady! Shame on you!
A public flogging ought to be in order, but I will simply ask […]

What are the chance of you going picking up the white pages and randomly ringing someone for a chat?…
Slim? Non existent? Like, you wouldn’t even dream of doing something like that?
Yeh - I thought so!
Last night as I was reading a few blogs my skype phone rang. It was someone I didn’t know, so I […]

This weekend I am off to join a group of 30 ‘older’ young singles as they go on a camp/retreat. The weekend is the dream of Kath & Sarah who have managed to pull it together and captured the imagination of young adults from all around the city.
In most of our churches those […]

Here’s a great post from the Christianity Today blogsite entitled The Brutal ‘Burbs: how the suburban lifestyle undermines our mission, about the challenges of living in the burbs and genuinely connecting with people.
I think a lot of people see the burbs as the ‘easy’ option for church and mission, but while people may be happy […]

Gaz is back in blog-land.
Not quite as dramatic as yesterday’s more significant resurrection, but nice to have him back nonetheless!
Gaz is a fellow missionary and thinker. Looking forward to hearing what he has to say after a year or so off the scene.

Last month while I was on the SU National Conference I managed to strain my right shoulder while swimming - pretty frustrating because I had been swimming in the ocean daily for three months and was really enjoying it. With my right knee now completely stuffed swimming is about the only decent form of exercise […]

I love this bloke - so full of courage - so full of humanity.
One minute he is ready to take on a squad of Roman guards and even chops off one their ears in his attempt to defend Jesus. Then so soon after he denies he even knows him.

This is great.
I find myself caught in two minds every Good Friday. Part of me wants to go and join with other Christians to remember the significance of the day. But all too often I come away frustrated and feeling ripped off because we have missed the pain of the day and tried to help […]

One of the things Neil Cole said last week that I deeply resonated with was that ‘most Christians don’t believe that light is more powerful than darkness’ or words to that effect otherwise it would show up in the way we live.
I have seen people stay away from ‘dark places’ and ‘dark people’ out […]

I was chatting today with Brad, one of our interns from the Seventh Day Adventist church. They have just completed a serious 4 day church plant training camp with 30 key leaders.
During the experience he was speaking with an aboriginal church planter who told him that when it comes to statements of faith, they use […]