I didn't even know about Tell Aussies until Daniel applied for a Vision 100 Grand Plans Grant.

I'm really encouraged by this kind of initiative-taking and keeness. Looks like there a many awesome things afoot in Launceston - who would've thought?

This article suggested the following, 'in the future':

Nano-church
Middle-church
Giga-church

I think they're kinda cute.

H/T Doozy

I'm planning praying and fundraising for leading University Fellowship Christians on the Hobart campus of UTAS next year. Here's the website.

I'm picturing a significant change in structure for next year:

• Put some fresh ideas, design and energy into contact first years, during O Week and through schools and youth groups, including a February overnight camp.
  
• Move the preaching meeting to a monthly, evening meeting.
• Beef up a small group ministry. I'm not thinking cell group Bible studies, but 'gospel communities'.
• Work very, very hard at teaching and promoting friendship evangelism.
• Detailed and demanding student leadership pact. In-depth leadership meetings weekly.
  
• Multiple-event "Mission Week" outreach each semester.

A lecture linked to here.

Carson even criticises the vision statement of the people who invited him to speak to them! Ouch.

We're thinking about showing some good stand-alone 5-10min videos during a church mission in a few months. Any suggestions of some good content from John Dickson, Phillip Jensen, Dominice Steele or others? We don't have internet access in our church building, so it's gotta be easy to download. They are for evangelistic meetings, so they gotta be engaging, good quality, stand-alone vids.

Steve and his RICE force have just announced their plans for en:trust, the new, church planting arm of RICE, which is becoming a bit like Tetsuo at the end of Akira (at 1 min 20) with more and more branches developing.

We're looking at a dinner training session with Matt Chandler and Mark Dever, followed by a string of church planter training seminars with people like Driscoll, Kauflin, Scott Thomas, Jamie Munson, Ed Stetzer and Steve Timmis. Forget about it. Awesome.

But here's the fun bit: limited to 30 registrations. Get in there. Get the T-shirt. Go Akira!

Andrew has begun a series on How to grow a church. This is an important issue. GENEVA stresses as one of its goals to plant grounded and growing churches, for, as Andrew says, if a church doesn't grow, then church planting just multiplies plateaued and frustrated churches that are unable to themselves plant.

A thing I have heard Phillip Jensen say multiple times is that 'it's easy to grow a church, what's hard is growing disciples' or something similar. I have found this quite discouraging, actually, because I find it quite hard to grow a church.

The statement is misleading, because any sphere of expertise is difficult, whether disciple-making, church growth sociology or nuclear physics.

But Phillip's point, as Andrew also stresses in his post, is that we must be interested in the growth that the Lord gives, not mere numberical increase.

But sometimes it's taking the time to ask How are you?

And sometimes it's just doing the vacuuming.

Sometimes it's actually snuggling in front of the television, rather than falling asleep in front of the television.

And sometimes it's actually buying a bunch of flowers.

This will be fun to watch.

Justin has written a powerful post about the whole Kyle and Jackie O mess.


Michael Jensen wonders whether a 'the public' have had enough and a preferring decency in public behaviour.

Eternity. A publication to provide coverage and communication for GENEVA? I hope so.

Sounds great.

I was at this event where a self-proclaimed Pelagian argued that all people must have benefited from Christ's death, or else it would mean that Adam's fall was more mighty. After all, according to a Reformed view, Adam's fall affected everyone, but Christ's salvation only affects some.

Here are four attempted answers:

1. Christ's salvation achieves more than just the salvation of the elect. Christ's salvation brings about an entire new creation.
2. Christ saves all of his 'race', just as Adam kills all of his 'race'. That is, the elect are the proper point of comparison to the fallen human race.
3. Christ's death has the capacity to save all. Whether or not it gets applied to all does not cancel out the fact that it has the great capactiy to cover the entire fallen human race.
   
4. Christ's salvation brings about a great reversal of the corruption and death of many sins. Adam's sin was simply one act that had great consequences. Yes it had great ramifications, but the act itself was still merely one sin. Whereas Christ's act stepped into the flood of many sins.
   

"Don't go to Katoomba at Easter time"
"Family is more important to Christians than Jesus at Christmas time"
"Easter should be a bigger event in the church than Christmas"
"There's a message here for monks: they are wrong"

Imagine a church that parties | Talk 7 of 7 from Christians in the Media, Sydney on Vimeo.

I think he is wielding nunchucks and a bo staff during this sermon.

And not merely Bible reading, says John Stott, is because:

Scripture is partially closed. We need preaching to open it up.

From Ed Stetzer:

1. Look at people with eternity in mind. We need to see them as God does and care for them like it counts.


2. Show some hospitality. Believers should be the people that everyone else wants to be around. Remember, you're the ambassador for Christ so get into the lives of people living outside the kingdom.


3. Watch for a chance to serve. People give away all of their energy on family, work, and menial chores. Look for ways that you can care for your neighbors--even if it is just cooking a simple dinner for them.


4. Visit someone new. Look around and find someone who needs a friend. Maybe it's visiting in a nursing home or rocking babies in the NICU. Make your days count with people who feel they don't.


5. Whatever you do, don't do it alone! Take your family, your small group, or the whole church. And be sure to take the kids. They're ready to change the world, so let them.


6. Love like Jesus. He lived a robust life of caring for the lost. He did it by meeting their needs and telling them the truth.

If you're looking to take your small group through what it means to be missional, this is a great place to start.

Dave has just flicked the switch on his website. Prayin for ya mate.

My favourite in this list is bring extra stuff when you go out in public:

It's happened to you. You are at the pool or the park and someone didn't bring something they needed. Maybe it's a water bottle. Maybe it's bug spray or sunscreen. I was golfing several weeks ago and someone needed a Tums. I had one. When you go somewhere, bring extra consumables and be aware of folks around you who might be suffering from forgetting something or a lack of planning. Be over-prepared and generous.

A great list that challenges us to be kind and thoughtful and outward looking in our day to day lives. If we aren't, how do we expect to find opportunities to share the gospel?

H/T Al.

Plato tells the story about how the technology of writing can be feared:

Thoth has invented writing and proudly offers it as a gift to the king of Egypt, declaring it "an elixir of memory and wisdom". But the king is horrified, and tells him: "This invention will induce forgetfulness in the souls of those who have learned it, because they will not need to exercise their memories, being able to rely on what is written…rather than, from within, their own unaided powers to call things to mind. So it's not a remedy for memory, but for reminding, that you have discovered. And as for wisdom, you are equipping your pupils with only a semblance of it, not with truth."

Now we talk about the internet making us dumb. I'm not trying to make a point, but it's a cute quote, eh?

H/T Gordo.

Sydney Anglicans reports that the campaign in Sydney will declare 'Jesus has the answers'.

I actually was pretty impressed with the original ads and am not immediately grabbed by this new slogan. But then again, I didn't formally get involved in the Tassie campaign either.

We'll see. We'll see.