Lessons Learned

101 5pm church update header

Friends it has been a while since the last 5pm Update (a good indication that things have been a bit full on!) – in fact there has not been an update since I returned from Study Leave for Easter. Thanks for allowing me time to get away.

Study Leave meant that I could attend a series of Conferences, visit a series of Churches and check-out some theological colleges. Refreshing? – Yes! Challenging? – At times! Educational? – Mostly! Beneficial? – I hope so, but you will need to be the judge of that.

There were so many times that I just felt immensely thankful to God for Trinity City and for 5pm Church and for the leaders we have and for the ministry that we do – and thankful because I could see other examples in the States of similar ministries or conversely I could see examples of things that were not done half as well as how Trinity does it (under God of course).

Here are 5 reflections with 5 corresponding challenges which may be of benefit for us.

Continue reading →

Imagine a World Where Death Wins…

1923448_960048914050102_7522526657374228578_n

In some ways it’s not hard to imagine a world without Easter. Even though most are pleased to enjoy the blessing of a long weekend, most live without Easter making any difference to their lives.

It’s not that the public holiday is the issue. Many of us enjoy other public holidays, without making much difference to our own lives. If our theme was  ‘Imagine a world without the Adelaide Cup’, we’d probably think we’d be all the better for it!

When Tom Playford was premier during the war years, he shut down the racing industry. Apparently the Prime Minister of the day had issued the instruction to close non-essential services because of the war effort, and Playford thought racing fitted the category (this was reportedly not what the PM had in mind, and the industry was reinstated a year later).

What would happen if we shut down the Easter ‘industry’?

Continue reading →