» 2005 » August

Recently I wrote, “Somewhere at the heart of every church planting movement you’ll find a Charles Simeon doing whatever he can to empower a new generation of leaders.” Let me introduce you to a contemporary version of Charles Simeon. . .

It’s mid winter and very cold. Nine guys are enjoying a weekend away on Lake [...]

One of the most significant movements within Protestantism since the Reformation, Methodism fundamentally reshaped English and American culture, giving rise to the most dynamic missionary movement in the 19th century.

Here’s my post on How the Methodists won the US frontier.

A new book as come out examining the incredible rise of the Methodist movement and its [...]

Came across a report recently of a truck that destroyed a church in rural Australia last year.

The church, which was built in the early 1880s, had no-one inside when it was destroyed by the run-away prime-mover. The truck’s trailer held up the roof of the building while the truck cabin was perched on the edge [...]

Thanks to Andrew who sent me a Leadership magazine article on Charles Simeon following my post on mentors and movements. Here’s some additional insights on Simeon’s ministry.

During his lifetime (1759-1836) he did more than an other to awaken the churches in England. On Sunday evenings he held talks for ministerial students. Weekly he gathered eager [...]

Sat down with a denominational leader the other day and helped him grapple with how to encourage church planting within a system that doesn’t.

It was hard work for both of us. God is at work and this leader will find a way to get some churches planted. But it’s a long way short of fuelling [...]

“No evangelical Anglican in the early nineteenth century exercised a greater strategic influence on the course of the British missionary movement than did Charles Simeon of Cambridge.” Bobby ClintonWriting about my mentor in stone reminded me of one of my heros—Charles Simeon.

He was the pastor of the Anglican church at Cambridge for 50 years. When [...]

Adrian is my mentor in stone.

It all began in a city somewhere in Asia. Can’t tell you where.

I was feeling stressed at being away from home in a foreign culture surrounded by lots of people. We stepped from a bustling market through a door into another world—a small garden, a pond, a paved courtyard. As [...]

I wonder what it would look like if Jesus were founding a movement today?

I doubt whether he would be writing a blog, or teaching in a theological college, or running seminars or writing books or promoting a political agenda or appearing on Christiain television.

Somewhere he’d be making an impact on someone’s life. Somehow he would [...]

Ichak Adizes stands head and shoulders above the rest in understanding the organizational lifecycle. Here’s his paradigm.
Adizes has written two books on the topic. Corporate Lifecycles and it’s updated version, Managing Corporate Lifecycles. He’s technical but if you have an interest in this area, he’s the best.

He’s a business writer, but plenty of parallels for [...]