The One Thing

Term 4 is not the time to slow down, we have great opportunities in events like Christmas but also planning for 2024. Make sure you are ready to go. You need to ask questions like: How do I make the most of Christmas and more importantly what comes next for people who are interested in finding out more? How are you increasing mission heat leading up to Christmas and in January? Have I planned out...

"Referring people on to experts is an act of love". Lauren Errington is asked about when is it a good time for someone to see someone professionally about a mental health issue. She recommends asking ourselves: Do you have the expertise? Do you have the capacity and time to deal with this? How do I have the conversation that someone needs some help? Who should they see? SHOW NOTES: Reach...

Pastors what to help people, but when does this desire get the way of actually helping people?  Lauren Errington from the Family Systems Institute addresses some of the questions we need to ask when it comes to helping people, even well intentioned help:  - Who is actually responsible for what? - Have we confused empathy with needing to feel all the feelings the other person is feeling? - Is...

What is 'rest'? In our last episode we saw that rest was more than sleep and not working. Derek and Scott look at the work of Dr Saundra Dalton-Smith on different types of rest. 1. Physical Rest Giving your body a rest. 2. Mental Rest It could be that you need to give your mind a rest. 3. Emotional Rest We can get emotionally tired when we are not paying attention to our emotions. 4. Spiri...

Is the reason that gospel workers are tired because they don't understand what rest is? Derek and Scott discuss three myths of rest: Myth #1: Doing more work does not make us better workers:  Truth #1: Resting makes us better, more effective workers Myth #2: I don’t need to rest, that’s what holidays are for Truth#2: You can’t binge your rest, it needs to be a habit Myth #3: I get some sleep e...

What advice would you give your younger self, especially in ministry? We asked Al and Kathy Stewart and Laurel Hall and asked them what they would say in Part 2 of our learning from elders. "I need you to manage your time and you want to really focus on ministry and really go for it. But also you got to be give your family strong marriage, your kids. Remember, your little kids are only  littl...

What advice would you give your younger self, especially in ministry? We asked Gary Koo, Peter Moore, Greg and Emma Lee and asked them what they would say as Derek and Jo reflect on their wisdom. "One piece of advice would be, do I truly trust that God's sovereign and I'm not in control? The second piece of advice: Do I actually know who I am to the point where I'm happy for peopl...

How do we think about our money and resources as Christian disciples? Yoel Frank has written a book to help us practically think through what it means to be a disciple with money. 1. Live Simply 2. Give Habitually 3. Spend Missionally 4. Invest Impactfully 5. Steward Wisely SHOW NOTES: The Barefoot Disciple Webpage ** If you purchase the Barefoot Disciple from this link , Yoel will donate the proc...

Money is a taboo topic for churches, and there has been some ministries that have brought disrepute to the gospel through the misuse of money, Yet we need to manage and talk about money and generosity as churches not just for budgets but because money management is a part of being a disciple. Jo talks with Tish Maier, Reach Australia's Support Manager, about how and why ministers need to talk...

There is caring for people who are in need and there is disciple making. But do these things need to be at odds? Sally Sims is the Care Ministry Coordinator at Christ Church, St Ives, on Sydney's North Shore. She's author of Together Through the Storm A Practical Guide to Christian Care and she sits down with Jo Gibbs to talk about how pastoral care can be disciple making.   SHOW NOTES: Sa...

There's times when life falls apart and things just don't turn out as we planned, and they're often unexpected things that turn up that are not in your diary. It can be a matter of time before gospel workers are overwhelmed with requests and needs. How do we manage all this? Sally Sims is the Care Ministry Coordinator at Christ Church, St Ives, on Sydney's North Shore. She's au...

People think they come to church 17% more than they actually do!  Scott chats with Richard Sweatman and Antony Barraclough about their new book Unmissable church with advice for pastors and members of churches to encourage people to come to church more regularly. In this episode they look at whether going to a small group is enough, what excuses people make for not going to church and how do you b...

People think they come to church 17% more than they actually do!  Scott chats with Richard Sweatman and Antony Barraclough about their new book Unmissable church with advice for pastors and members of churches to encourage people to come to church more regularly. How regularly should you come to church?   SHOW NOTES: Unmissable Church can be bought from Matthias Media or our friends at the Wanderi...

"It's been a showcase of God's work in the network". After 6 years and 300 episodes Derek and Scott reflect on the ministry of the One Thing, their favourite episodes and interviews. SHOW NOTES: Episode 1: Convictions Drive Direction Episode 189: The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill Episode 188: Bible Nudism Episode 244: Reset: Where are you Now? Episode 245: Reset: Where do you want t...

Derek talks to Lee Murray, the new Director of Partnerships at MTS.

Scott, Derek and Jo catch up on Day 3 of the conference in the noisy foyer.

Jo, Derek and Scott catch up on Day 2 of the National Conference.

Peter Jensen talks through his new book The Life of Faith. It's a systematic theology you will actually read!

What if going to the movies was not just entertaining, but also useful in evangelism?  Peter Blanch sits down with Reel Dialogue guru Russ Matthews to talk about how you can become an expert in using movies to talk about Jesus.

Scott sits down an old friend of the network and church planting guru: Ed Stetzer.

Scott chats with Mat Stevens from Turramurra music and talks about how to make sound ministry work and why it's important.

Derek and Scott dive into the murky world of how long a gospel worker should work.

Scott and Derek look at why is Term 2 is unique.

Peter and Scott get back to basics on clarity and why it is so important and yet hard to keep.

Pete and Scott look at the Reach Australia 2023 Impact Report.