» 2005 » May

According to the BBC, the number of priests is in serious decline in the UK. The Cardinal of Westminster has seen numbers of priest in his diocese slump from 850 in 1990 to 600 this year. The number is expected to decline to 470 over the next decade.

But we have a solution.

The Church is launching [...]

It’s the dinosaur effect. Powerful organizations and movements in one era end up crippled or extinct in another.

David and Mark Nadler have studied the effects of success on organisations. They contend, “Organizations become so convinced that what they’re doing is right that they stop paying attention to changes in the outside world—new competitors, new technologies, [...]

When I can’t sleep I like to mark papers. Marked one the other night. The student was wrestling with his call to church planting. The whole paper was about analyzing various church planting models and case studies in order to select the right one.

The equation? Right model = success.

A well written paper. Unfortunately it was [...]

Ed Stetzer and the folks at newchurches.com have done an impressive job of putting together some great church planting resources. Worth a visit.

Sat down with John for breakfast yesterday at Mocha Jo’s. He’s planting a church. I think it’s his second. It’s delicately poised at the moment. They’ve gathered a team and have begun connecting with people in the community. I’ve planted churches and I’ve been around planters for a long time. Not everybody makes it through [...]

Study this painting long enough and you’ll work out why movements move into decline.

Collins Books are in trouble. They’re selling off or closing down stores in an effort to survive. The reason? Competition from Amazon and newcomers to the Australian market like Borders.

Collins had a secure place in the world of bookselling. But the world changed. Collins has been left behind. It happens all the time. Proud businesses [...]

When I first met Ashley he was twenty-four years old. I was used to church planters seeking me out for coaching but Ashley was different. He didn’t want to just start a church. He wanted to start a missionary movement that would multiply churches among the poor in Australia and throughout Asia. As Ashley shared [...]

“Wherever riches have increased, the essence of religion has decreased in the same proportion. Therefore, I do not see how it is possible, in the nature of things, for any revival of religion to continue long. For religion must necessarily produce both industry and frugality and these cannot but produce riches. But as riches increase, [...]