Kia ora e te whanau
Keep an eye out over the next few days. I (we) will likely be addressing an issue that affects all CVs. It’s not fully cooked yet, and needs a little more gestation. Watch this space!
Leadership & Personal Development Resources
Does Your Sermon Lead to Life Change?
Information, or transformation? How often have I offered a lecture dressed up as a sermon/homily (I’m not asking for your answer 
)? This is the real challenge for each of us preachers as we stand before the congregation on Sunday mornings. Rick Warren challenges us that information is not enough. The vast majority of us already have far more than we need. It has often struck me that through the history of the Christian Church a significant proportion of the followers would have been illiterate. Did it matter? Did it stop people from faithfully following Jesus? Did more Bible study help? There are contained in Wesley’s hymns all the theology that people needed (some, all in the one hymn. And, they told the story of transformed lives “My chains fell off, my heart was free. I rose went forth, and followed thee!” We can sing it as our experience. Warren call us to preaching as transformational encounter. His article can be read here: https://www.pastors.com/free-resources/does-your-sermon-lead-to-life-change
Assume Less. Wonder more. The future belongs to the wonderers.
That’s the final line to this article – it’s actually titled: The Costly Mistake That Sank Blockbuster, Kodak, and Nokia Could Be Lurking in Your Business – Smart companies question everything, especially themselves. It expresses the value of continuing to ask questions – to challenge our assumptions, and more particularly, our certainties. It extols the value of curiosity. It invites us to clearly identify the threats, and see where the opportunities might be – it turns out that they’re often the same thing.
We live in times of unprecedented change – ‘progress’ reshapes our landscape with increasing rapidity. And our adaptations are not keeping up. The wider church is staring down the undeniable barrel of overall and accelerating decline. It may be, that drilling down with a brutal honesty to find the best questions while seeking to stay nimble on our feet, we can discern a future that involves more than just survival. This INC article can be accessed here: https://www.inc.com/entrepreneurs-organization/a-lack-curiosity-sank-blockbuster-kodak-and-nokia/91367459
What Half of 13 Reveals About Your Thinking
So, while you’re thinking about the previous offering, this one is well worth tacking on – it’ll give you a practical framework for engaging with the importance of the questions. And, its fun! While it may (hopefully) send you down a rabbit hole you’ll want to explore further, the article can be accessed here: https://www.philmckinney.com/what-half-of-13-reveals-about-your-thinking/
If Consciousness Requires a Brain Then the Universe Was Unconscious for Its First Nine Billion Years – but If Consciousness Is Fundamental to Reality Then Something Was Always Experiencing Everything
I really enjoyed this one, which may point to a naivete in me. I’ve referenced this issue before, but this article expresses it better than I’ve previously seen. It raises the question of whether or not consciousness is hardwired into the universe itself – and is not something reserved for sentient beings such as you and me. A great read that can be accessed here: https://discoverwildscience.com/if-consciousness-requires-a-brain-then-the-universe-was-unconscious-for-its-first-nine-billion-years-1-412888/
Homilies and Preaching Resources
My response to the lectionary Gospel for the 23rd of August – based on Matthew 16 vs 13-20 is titled ‘The Only Question that matters’ – offered in response to Jesus question to his disciples “And who do YOU say that I am?”It can be accessed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVMBq0RPQ6U
Gospel Conversations – out of the Dunedin Anglican Diocese. They host a conversation of (usually) 4 Theologians / Practitioners. The site with all its options can be accessed here: https://www.calledsouth.org.nz/gospel-conversations/.
Led by Michael Godfrey, rather than the Gospel text, this year they are generally focusing on other parts of the Lectionary. For this coming Sunday, they consider Isaiah 51 vs 1-6 reflecting ‘on Isaiah’s words of hope to a people who have hit rock bottom. They explore God’s enduring faithfulness and the challenge of looking beyond simply restoring what was, towards something new — bigger, kinder and broader — as people called to be a light to the nations.’ It can be accessed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5oXa3ih710
Rev Darryn Hickling (Methodist colleague leading the Rolleston Project) has posted an Instagram reflection focussing on Matthew 16 vs 13-20, and titled ‘Titles and embodying them’. It can be accessed here: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DcIp4oIB9fy/
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Finally
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Ngā manaakitanga
Andrew Doubleday
UCANZ Ministry Facilitator