Advent Synchroblog

I have been asked by Brother Maynard to be a part of an Advent Synchroblog . I am delighted by this opportunity as Advent really is one of my favourite times of year. The idea comes out of Brother Maynard’s book That You Might Believe: Praying Advent with the Gospel of John I plan to [...]

The New Conspirators – a more complete profile

We have just updated the conference website with a complete list of speakers & other interesting information.  I am excited because I think we are bringing together a broader array of innovators in the missional, emerging, monastic and mosaic streams than has been done at any previous conference. Check it out 

To Pray Without Ceasing

As we move toward Advent I have been thinking a lot about what it means to pray without ceasing – a concept that I have always struggled with and at times felt guilty about.  For most of my Christian life I have thought of prayer as constant intercession, something that gets both exhausting and draining [...]

Advent II Homecoming – Let Your Kingdom Come

Our Advent Seed Sampler will be out at the end of the week & our focus this year is on Advent II homecoming.  Part of what we look forward to during Advent is the return of Christ and the coming of God’s kingdom in its fullness – a time when everything will be made new, [...]

Explorer sinks

Here is an amazing photo of the ship that struck an iceberg in the Antarctic yesterday.  Sure makes me glad I don’t live on a ship anymore.

Making Movies, Making Shortbread

This has been quite a week with a high learning curve. When I started receiving requests for my Advent video a couple of weeks ago I was suddenly plunged into the legalities & intricacies of media production. Now I know all about sychronization licenses, ftp files & the difference between NTSC & PAL. I have [...]

A Short and Easy Method of Prayer

I have just finished reading A Short and Easy Method of Prayer, first written by Madame Jeanne-Marie Bouvier de la Motte-Guyon.  Madame Guyon was imprisoned for 7 years because her prayer style unsettled the established church of the time.  I have thoroughly enjoyed this delightful book which has been a wonderful preparation for the season [...]

Thanksgiving is here

Today is Thanksgiving here in the US, and most of us are getting ready to overindulge ourselves.  I did not grow up with Thanksgiving (your right Australians don’t have a time to celebrate what they are grateful for).  This is one holiday that I have embraced with enthusiasm however, not because I eat too much [...]

Overwhelmed by Advent Response

I am amazed by the how many people have viewed my advent video in the last couple of days. It is obvious that many of use are craving resources to help us live more intentionally into the events that are at the centre of our faith. so I thought I would try to keep the [...]

Advent – The Beginning of the Church Year.

I received an email the other day from someone who had never heard of Advent so I thought that it would be a good idea to give some explanation for those who have never encountered the church liturgical calendar before. For most Western churches the Christian calendar begins on the 4th Sunday before Christmas, with [...]