Lifequest Podcast

Continuing with the nature of Seasons as a useful category for the Navigational point of Journey the 2nd point, it is very important to understand the nature of seasons let alone knowing what Season God has us in. Obviously if we don't know what Season God has us in, then our Journey will feel rather Disoriented..Where am I going? What am I supposed to be doing with my life? What vision do I have...

The world has become rather crazy in the last 2-3 years has'nt it? We can easily lose or way in life and lose a sense of direction and our lives can be marked by a sense of Disorientation. When you're Disoriented, you don't know where you are and are confused and need to get your bearings. It is the same with the Story we are living in. These 3 Navigational points then are exactly that-that can fa...

A Framework of Redeeming Chronic Pain

The experience of Chronic Pain from several different perspectives and a Framework of Redeeming Chronic Pain.

How can we utilize the watching of this film 'Jesus Revolution' to develop the discussion of the relevant themes and issues between the 1960s Jesus People who the traditional church struggled to accept with the issues of our own day? Many of the hippies of Southern California in the 1960s were becoming followers of Jesus. But the traditional churches did not accept them and there was a lot difficu...

In Acts 4v34 it says that there was 'no one in need'. This is because they sold their possessions and even sold their houses. The neediness in the early Ecclesia in Acts 4 was based on how vulnerable they were. This vulnerability created authentic community that in turn became a powerful witness to those who did not know Jesus. The unselfish sacrificial lifestyle and willingness to be vulnerable w...

How do we Interpret our story? Well most of us do not Interpret our story. We can all admit that we don't normally interpret our lives well. But Interpretation of our story can help to crystallise the essence of who we are or who we are becoming. The Category of Warfare is crucial because the whole backdrop of the Bible which is about God's bigger story from Creation to New Creation will character...

One of the concepts that can help keep us awake, alive, diligent and as whole hearted as we can be in a fallen world is the idea of Interpretation. How many of us regularly Interpret our lives, our story, our hearts, our calling, our vocation? It is not something if we are honest that we engage with much. It is not really our default disposition is it? I wonder why not? Maybe the society we live i...

4 Key Questions that Dan Allender, a Christian author, speaker, and psychologist clarifies in his book 'To Be Told' can help us significantly to get the clarity that we all need. To Be Told is about our Story because we all have a story....that needs to be told. How many of us get to speak our story with someone who truly listens well and provides much needed insight and counsel? Its rare is it no...

Sometimes God brings disruption into our lives but it is to redirect our lives. It is also to bring to the surface deeper underlying issues in our lives, in our hearts, our relationships and our character. In a time of disruption when our story feels stuck, we have to let ourselves FEEL what we are REALLY feeling however difficult and painful because God is up to something. This is a follow up to...

Have you ever experienced a feeling of being stuck in your life. The feeling of being stuck in our lives is about much deeper underlying and historical factors of the story we have lived in. Story and Identity are crucial because we can only know who we are because of our story. We can feel a sense of shame when our life becoems stuck, especially men. There are different kinds of 'stuck'. Some of...

The early Ekklesia from AD32 to AD313 was a persecuted minority on the margins. But it was a Movement that did not have much of what the Western Institutional Church has today. After AD313 when Constantine established the Edict of Milan which permanently established - toleration for Christianity within the Roman empire- the marginalised persecuted Ekklesia radically changed and became part of the...

The Ekklesia, the called out people of the One true and Living God is both a journey inward into one's own interior life and a journey outward that takes the follower of Jesus into active service and mission in response to human suffering. The Gospel is so much greater in scope than we have been led to believe. God as Three in One balances the One and the Many. All societies are based on the One a...

The Traditional Institutional Church in the West only tells half the story of the Fall and Redemption, while neglecting Creation and Consummation/Restoration. This is largely the result of the Dualistic and unbiblical 'Sacred-Secular' divide that is totally entrenched in traditional top down hiarachal church. People in transition right now that relates to Stages 4 and 5 in the Stages of Faith that...

Dualism has its roots in the philosophy of the Greek philosopher Plato who split reality into two realms, the eternal spiritual realm and the physical realm. Plato believed that the eternal spiritual realm is superior to the lowly physical realm, so all physical matter including the human body is inferior. So we have to escape the physical body because the soul is superior in the spiritual realm....

A poem about Johnny will resonate with countless numbers of Christians who may feel in a place of transition. This is about Stage 5 and 6 in the Stages of Faith. Stage 5 is deeply transitional similar to Stage 4, but mystery & paradox can sit comfortably with deep assurance because they are not separated, but are more integrated into a meaningful whole. Stage 5 people see both sides of an issue at...

In the first 3 podcasts in this short series, I laid a foundation by explaining the meaning of 'Kairos' moments or events, which was about learning to be proactively engaged with these defining moments in our lives whatever the nature or size of the moment/event. Here I begin to clarify some of the characteristics of different Stages of Faith. So this is about the Stages of Faith. It is based on t...

There are 6 words that we can practice in engaging significant Kairos Moments. In the last podcast I discussed the first 3 of Observe, Reflect and Discuss. Here I talk about the next 3 of Plan, Acountable and Act. In Discuss we have brought a person we can trust and have a good connection with. Plan is about learning from what we have Observed about how we reacted to Kairos moments and events that...

This talk is to develop the foundation that I am laying in order to provide a context before I get to the main topic which is the Title Looking Back To Move Forward The Call of the Ekklesia. There are Kairos Moment and Events that impact us individually, in our family, different ethnic groups and people groups, nationally and culturally. There are defining Kairos moments and events in all of our l...

This is the first of a short series on 'Looking Back' to the New Testament 'Ekklesia' the called out people of God and how they the community of Christ was characterised by Mission, Discipleship, Community and Movement. I am laying a foundation here in this first discussion because of the impact of the last 2 years on all of our lives in different ways. Kairos Moments or Events can help us to live...

Mystery and paradox can sit comfortably with deep assurance. What do I mean? Becoming and overcoming characterise a bigger story we are called to live in. Our greatest gift to others is hidden in our deepest wounds. Initiation rites of passage have been universally practiced for thousands of years but Western culture does not acknowledge them. Before the industrial revolution boys spent all day wi...

Our Calling is hidden in our deepest pain but we have to take a journey to find it. It's where deep empathy is birthed, and when we connect with who we are becoming because of what have had to overcome by God's grace, it becomes unthinkable to compromise our authentic and unique self. Who are you becoming because of what you have to overcome? Our beliefs are core to who we are and this relates to...

What makes your heart come alive? Why can it be difficult to answer this question? How the cold winds of Crisis can summon us to an inner transformation to confront the false selves we construct. Standing on shaking shifting ground and responding the the call to cross over from one identity to another.

What are your non-negotiables? What makes your heart come alive? What Cause would you die for? Do you know your core desires? Can you crystallise the essence of who you are? What are the two unmet needs in the world you are compelled to meet and why? What are the major Turning Points from your story that shaped who you are? How does the idea of Seasons give us clarity? Who are you Becoming because...

Some people live out of their true identity, and know what their true Calling in life is. As followers of Jesus we are not necessarily equipped to know or Calling. Just as a Sat Nav is a navigational device to help us reach our destination, there are 3 Navigational points that can facilitate us toward discovering our true Calling. These Navigational points are: Story, Journey and Desire