Rethinking evangelism: an alternative to the Great Commission?

(Un)evangelistic personalities For the longest time, I resisted identifying as an evangelical Christian. I preferred to call myself a Protestant as a way to explain that I wasn’t Catholic and declined to define myself any further. Protesting is kinda cool; “evangelical” just makes secular Australians think of crazy southern Baptists. But also, evangelising is pretty much alien to my personality. I have friends who rave … Continue reading Rethinking evangelism: an alternative to the Great Commission?

Converse and convert

I stumbled upon an interesting website this week. In the wake of the failed plebiscite and planned postal vote on same-sex marriage, there’s so much noise around the issue that it really wasn’t hard to run into The Equality Campaign. Titled Having a conversation about marriage equality, this particular page struck me because it was so, well, familiar. “[R]eal life conversations are incredibly powerful. They’re what … Continue reading Converse and convert

Ecuador vs Bolivia, and losing the Missionary label

Lately I’ve felt the unspoken question of why I decided to go back to South America but not as a missionary (that is, not as a big ‘M’ conventional Missionary). This post is an attempt to explain this and, at the same time, share with you some of the thinking behind why I went to Ecuador then, and why I’m going to Bolivia now. Why I went to … Continue reading Ecuador vs Bolivia, and losing the Missionary label

Ten things you should know about being a missionary

The very fact that you are foreign is, on its own, a key part of whatever ministry you do. As a foreigner, you generally have more respect, authority and liberty in whatever you do, and people will want to be friends with you. The flipside of that is that being foreign can also be a limiting factor in ministry – especially in terms of language, … Continue reading Ten things you should know about being a missionary

Testimony – good, better, best?

On Thursday, I spent all afternoon with D helping him with a speech he has to do for class. It’s a free choice -type activity, so he wanted to talk about the Bible. He is so enthusiastic about the Word, everyone at school knows that he is an “evangelical”, and he’s not ashamed at all. I think it’s fantastic he is using every opportunity to … Continue reading Testimony – good, better, best?

Reflections on four months on the the field

I can hardly believe it’s already been four months, or one whole third of my mission trip. Though I’m feeling very much settled in Gonzanamá, a number of things have been running through my mind particularly in this last month. 1. Europe. For some reason – possibly random items coming up on my Facebook feed or Christmas approaching, and also comparing this experience with my … Continue reading Reflections on four months on the the field