When I turned 18, the looming lottery of National Service was on the horizon. In the year males turned 20, marbles were drawn from some mysterious government barrel. If your birthday was on a selected marble, you were “called up” to be a Nasho. This involved 10 weeks of boot camp and two years ofContinue reading “A reminiscence: CMF vs Nasho”
Tag Archives: Ministry
Retiring a Marriage Celebrant’s Licence
Today I voluntarily surrendered my licence to celebrate marriages. It’s part of “incremental retirement,” I suppose, but I prefer to see it as part of “a changing shape of vocation.” So why now? My last wedding was four years ago. Since then, administrative changes, including the advent of online form filling and streamlining legal obligations,Continue reading “Retiring a Marriage Celebrant’s Licence”
Try to Remember – a Sequel
My earliest memory “tomato-throwing” episode last night must have prompted some dreamwork while I slept. I awoke this morning with the questions, “Why is this my earliest memory?” and “Is this a metaphor for something deeper?” So I ponder how “chucking tomatoes from behind a fence” is a picture for a basic life stance. IContinue reading “Try to Remember – a Sequel”
Induction
Today Jenny and I were inducted into pastoring the same church into which we were similarly inducted 26 years ago! A bit different this time. In 1996 we were returning to a state from which we had been absent for 17 years. We knew the church only by reputation and were anticipating a good fit.Continue reading “Induction”
Teamwork
This has sat on display in our china cabinet for more than thirty years. It was presented me on behalf of a colleague with whom I had shared in a team ministry (with two others, I might add). We were the junior partners and collaborated on some innovative projects amongst four churches in Canberra inContinue reading “Teamwork”
House of Sand and Fog
Meeting with a book club forces me to read things I wouldn’t normally come across. I wouldn’t normally access books from Oprah’s Book Club, for instance. I’m glad of the opportunity however, for I have come across a range of fascinating material in the form of stories and dilemmas that would not arise out ofContinue reading “House of Sand and Fog”
When it all comes together
Church reviews, Celtic models of ministry and Paul’s letter to the Ephesians bring about another of those synchronous moments of which I am quite fond! The Revised Common Lectionary has us travelling through Ephesians right now – a marvelous treatise of a vision of universal community that embraces all – for all are from GodContinue reading “When it all comes together”
Celtic models of ministry
A few years ago I stumbled across something called the Celtic approach to Christianity. As I investigated further, it was apparent that I was at a fork in the road in how I approached my ministry. I realised that I was often focused on ecclesiastical organisational minutiae when my heart was really set on theContinue reading “Celtic models of ministry”
Wondering Pilgrim 