Weekly Updates

Kia ora e te whanau Week three, in reflecting on the priority of ministry with seniors. I’ve reflected on the way that seniors are so readily overlooked – that church missional focus is almost invariably directed toward the young, while ministry with seniors is regarded almost exclusively as a chaplaincy service – bordering on palliative […]

Kia ora e te whanau Last week I shared a personal awakening – a call to prioritise ministry with seniors. Its time has come. Most of our congregations are populated primarily by seniors. And what do we do? We dream of once again having a multi-generational church – a balanced number of children, youth, young

Kia ora e te whanau I love old people! This wasn’t always true. While children and youth terrified me, the seniors in ‘my’ congregations were so often simply ‘space fillers’ – their job being to volunteer where they could and be the funders of ‘real’ ministry – that directed toward the younger generations. In those

Kia ora e te whanau We seem to have stepped into what promises to be an ‘interesting’ year. The world faces significant challenges: The level of international uncertainty – provoked largely by the current president of the USA; deep concerns around the Middle East and Africa; a cooling of commitments to mitigating the effects of

Kia ora e te whanau The year has started in earnest! Leadership & Personal Development Resources Week of Prayer for Christian Unity in Aotearoa is traditionally set down between Ascension and Pentecost (this year, 18th to 24th of May [which also happens to be ‘Wesley Day’]). Resources are available here: https://www.oikoumene.org/resources/week-of-prayer-for-christian-unity The Art Of Disagreeing Without Damaging Trust –

Kia ora e te whanau I’ve been watching YouTube videos over the last week on the state of the ‘modern’ Church – especially in the USA. Being confronted with the apparent demise of the Mega Church phenomenon (with many such churches really struggling since covid), the collapse of the primary sources of the ‘Worship’ music

Kia ora e te whanau Monday 1st. I’ve just returned to Auckland, having completed a whistle-stop tour of Northland. I’ve enjoyed wonderful hospitality from all those I met. I hope I was able to offer something in return. While on the whole our CVs in the north are small, yet there are signs of hope,