Raising great kids

Deuteronomy 6:1 - 9

In a classic passage on passing on the faith, two things stand out for me this week.  The first is that Moses instructs us to live out our faith in God, as a means of being a model for our children in growing in faith.  "Don't do as I say, do as I do" is such an appropriate way for us to live and witness to our children.  Secondly, raising children in the faith is not just for their parents.  It will also be the  primary responsibility of parents.  But grandparents, youth group leaders, Sunday School teachers and all members of the church have a responsibility to live out their faith and witness to our children. 

In raising children in the faith, there are five things we should teach our children to value:

1. their faith in Jesus Christ as lord and saviour;
2. their family as the source of unconditional love and acceptance;
3. themselves as someone uniquely made in the image and likeness of God;
4. other people, especially those who are needy or vulnerable;
5. the old and the new, finding the creative spot between innovation and tradition.

How do you see yourself contributing to the raising of great kids?

Core Values

Core Values are the values of Jesus Christ that are considered the most worthy and important for our congregation. They define why we do what we do and drive the ministry of the congregation. Being able to name, own and express our Core Values has the power to give our congregation and its members alignment in what we do, to identify what is distinctive about our congregation, to communicate what we think is important, to give us a positive direction through change, to influence our behavior, inspire us to action, shape our ministry character and affect our strategic planning. On the other hand, not being clear about our Core Values does lead to confusion, conflict, poor choices and indecision.


A healthy church discerns and clearly communicates a clear, concise and shared set of Core Values, so that everyone understands and can contribute. This is the process that we are in at the moment.



About five years ago, the following statement of Core Values was drawn up.

• A community of love, acceptance and forgiveness

• Dynamic worship of God in our services

• Reaching lost people in our community, helping them develop a personal relationship with Christ

• Spiritual growth via small group communities

• Ministry involvement, unleashing the gifts in people to help them grow through serving others.



Please read it and please comment on your reaction to it.

Please also consider how well these reflect our congregation at the moment.

The Discipline of worship

John 4:7- 26

One of the great and enduring debates of Australian society revolves around which is the iconic, classic Australian car - Ford or Holden.  A similar debate exists within churches, and that revolves around the style of worship.  Throughout the history of the church we have been conflicted about what is appropriate and what is not appropriate.  When ultimately, like the debate about cars, worship is just a vehicle to get us to a destination.  If we want to get to the destination badly enough, we'll use any vehicle (including an Hyundai).

Our corporate worship services are different, because they reflect the diversity of our people, and we have the choice to choose a preference.  But each service needs to take us to a destination.  That destination is a greater sense of the awe and wonder of the greatness of God, a renewed sense of his unconditional grace and the ongoing transformation by the Holy Spirit so that we may  continue to live as Christ followers, pursuing God's mission in the world.

To reach this destination we need to ensure that we prepare ourselves for worship, before the service starts.  During the service we actively participate in each element of worship, not being observers, there to be entertained, by co-workers in giving God that which is due to him.  Finally, we leave the service transformed to continue our walk with Jesus.

Worship helps shrink our magnificent egos so that there is more room for the Holy Spirit to work in our souls. 

How do you see worship fitting into your spiritual disciplines?