Tradition and nostalgia both seek to bring the past to bear on present and future practice. Tradition will do so in a way that encourages a view that looks forward with optimism, thankful for the past. Nostalgia will do so in a way that nurtures a view that looks forward with pessimism, longing to return …

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These twelve principles for guiding established churches through change by Sam Rainer make sense. Since every healthy established church is continually changing through growth, these need to be observed everywhere. In my observations, three, five, eight and ten are consistent areas of stumbling in fostering change. If we believe in the body of Christ, then …

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In the next couple of months MGPC will visited by a consultant to help us discern our opportunities for mission and ministry in Mount Gambier, with a special view to the transition of our second pastoral position early in 2016. Part of that examination is discerning our own congregational culture, to better know how we …

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A post about growing a heart that genuinely is joyful when hearing about other churches that are seeing more fruit than the one you belong to. This is hard. For me, anyway. We strive to see fruitfulness in our mission and ministry, but when others seem to have blessings that we’d like to experience there’s …

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