The Shock Absorber

Joel and Stu sit down to break down some statistics from the NCLS and McCrindle. What results is a discussion around church growth, church planting, trust in institutions and why copying culture may not be the ideal church growth strategy. DISCUSSED ON THIS EPISODE The Hunt for Red October Sean Connery Infernal Affairs The Departed Reach Australia/Geneva Push Acts 29 Menai Anglican Church Growth,...

Both Stu and Joey return to the podcast to discuss Soul Revival's partnership with Miranda Congregational Church before talking about discipleship differences and how it can be harnessed to create something new together, especially in church planting. They round off the episode with a chat about how it's important as Christians to create cultural goods that have impact on the world. 00:00 Intro 00...

Tim and Joel are joined by college student and expert on Japan - Lewis, to chat about Soul Revival's Planning Day and including young people in church strategy. Later, a discussion about church growth turns into a dialogue on measuring the success of a church leader. 00:00 Intro and Japan 12:40 Why Lewis went to Bible college so soon after becoming a Christian 15:30 After Soul Revival Church's 202...

Stu, Tim and Joel re-visit a previous episode to get Stu's thoughts on the importance of church. They discuss the impact of Descartes' "I think therefore I am" on indvidulism, society and the church at large as well as the tension we must hold between individual faith and collective worship. Church is about both/and rather than either/or and could it go from daggy to dangerous to desirable to deli...

In the first ever episode outdoor AND not recorded in the Third Space Studio, the guys discuss plans for Soul Revival Church's upcoming 2023 Planning Day. Last year was about 2030 goals, this year will be about implementing them. They look at a number of frameworks that will structure the day and the big picture ideas they created including: communicating ideas clearly, empowering church members t...

Brayden and Tim are on the podcast this week to discuss a question that Brayden was posed at Bible college - Why is it important to go to church? In Australia, a churchgoer is considered regular when they attend once every four weeks. When we are able to attend church regularly and work together in a community, everyone benefits. It may also be an attractive proposition to those who don't go churc...

After talking through cultural instances of old and young working together, Stu, Tim and Joel get into why it would be great to recapture the intergenerational elements of pre-Industrial Revolution village life and how generations since have experienced various forms of dislocation. They discuss its impact on the church and then how ageless friendships amongst the generations can be forged and bri...

After a quick dip into Night Bombers and Culture Making, Stu and Joel talk about how Christians impact culture by expressing their identity in Christ. They touch on church networking, youth ministry, leadership structure, band night and creating action within the church and how it all brings glory to God. 00:00 Intro and Night Bombers 07:26 Christians influencing culture 21:51 Networking amongst c...

Tim and Joel engage in a wide-ranging and thoughtful chat on a wide variety of topics that includes, the Reformation, how we can make more space in our lives for God to make himself known, to discipling emotions, good reasons gone wrong and Tim's research paper. Some questions to think about: • God is gratuitous in his love and we must be attentive to it • Which of how habits are helping us grow c...

Joey, pastor of Ryde gathering joins Stu and Joel on the pod this week to chat church planting, especially in the context of Soul Revival Church in Ryde. Using the ideas from syntropic farming, the guys discuss what it would look like to grow some weeds in certain areas in order to grow something out of nothing. They also discuss ambiguity in ministry, why strategy is vital regardless of the conte...

Brayden (Student Pastor, Arts Pastor, Youth Coordinator) and Ethan (Youth Mission Pastor) join the podcast to chat about Soul Revival Church's first ever youth camp - Origin. They run through how it was organised, what was hard, what was re-run from the old day and what wasn't. The discussion leads on to how holding a youth camp help grow the young crew in their faith and also their leadership cap...

Tim and Joel use a question from Tim's Effective Ministry podcast as a springboard into a discussion on why we come to church and what our expectations are for church. Certain factors have possibly lead to a strong focus on cognitive engagement with the preached word of God. While essential for Christian formation, it perhaps has lead to a diminished focus on the other reasons we meet at church. 0...

The guys sit down to have a chat and make some Jesus beads while attempting to explain the gospel in five sentences. Later on, they discuss Stu's idea of reversing how the leadership should think about youth ministry (any young crew coming along is a bonus) and finish with a deep dive on what costly discipleship looks like in a world that actively teaches against it. 00:00 Intro and Jesus beads 03...

This week on the Shock Absorber, the guys chat about ensuring tunnel vision does not develop when it comes to discipleship and mission. They chat about two clear examples of discipleship and mission at Soul Revival Church and what that entails for the church and also individuals as it pursues it's 2030 goals. Quote of the episode: "Not everyone has to do evangelism, but everyone CAN do evangelism"...

Stu and Tim return to continue their intellectual stoush around Stu's Phd work. It leads to a discussion around the impact of suburbia from the 1950s onwards and the loss of community due to the subsequent individualism and materialism. That also leads to questions about the church. Have Christians been lead to conflate the values of the gospel with the values of a middle class suburban identity?...

Tim and Joel have the pleasure of having Aaron Smith, of the Aspire podcast, second year SMBC student and Student Pastor at Anchor Church Northern Beaches to talk ministry opportunities and pathways and how churches can continue to look for the next generation of pastors and ministry staff. 00:00 Intro and magic jackets 01:17 Welcome Aaron 07:49 Tim's trip to Nashville 12:12 Alone 15:30 Journeys t...

Sorry we don't have an episode for you this week, but WE WANT YOUR QUESTIONS! Send them to joel@shockabsorber.com.au! CONTACT US Shock Absorber Email: joel@shockabsorber.com.au Shock Absorber Website: shockabsorber.com.au Soul Revival Shop: soulrevival.shop Check out what else Soul Revival is up to here

Stu, Tim and Joel continue to debate ideas around Stu's phD and the Four Views of Youth Ministry. Just like the book, Tim has his rebuttal ready and waiting for Stu's announcement last episode of leaning more towards the Strategic approach than before. Stu gets to respond, while also reflecting that it's too hard to get feisty when he agrees with someone as much as he does with Tim! The discussion...

Stu and Joel look at how youth ministry shapes can shape churches now and in the future. Using Stu's recent revelations after re-visiting Mark Senter's downright feisty Four Views of Youth Ministry, they discuss what a church that wants to keep changing looks like. Could youth leaders be trained up to eventually plant churches? Could relationships be institutionalised in a way so the young are pre...

Joel and Stu chat coming up with ideas and getting people onboard with those ideas. They use Everett Rogers' diffusion of ideas theory as a lens to look at how ideas start, spread and build momentum. The encouragement is that Christianity by its very nature is perpetually new, so we are afforded a great freedom to explore new ideas as we partner with Jesus while He builds His church. 00:00 Intro 0...

Tim and Joel chat the strategy children's ministry. They look at a myriad of different approaches and discuss why Soul Revival practice intergenerational ministry as well as also age-specific ministries. 00:00 Intro & High Ground 05:23 Tim's passion for children's ministry and ministry barriers 15:26 Ministry shaping metaphors 33:47 Children within intergenerational ministry 50:50 The benefits...

The guys continue the discussion on the Shock Absorber about the effect the pursuit of professionalism has had on churches. From the 1980s churches have felt the need to create an appealing 'product' to those who don't know Jesus. In some respects, that approach lead to churches competing against one another and caused an increase in transience, affecting discipleship and mission. Under God, Chris...

Stu, Tim and Joel are back in the saddle for another episode. They get Stu's reaction to the Jesus Revolution movie and some of the lessons from it to discuss church planting, gospel opportunities and welcoming failures. They round out the episode with a discussion about the importance of carving out intentional time to spend with each other in the name of Jesus. 00:00 Intro 01:16 Jesus Revolution...

Jai (Planting Pastor) and Brayden, (Arts and Student Pastor) join Joel for a peek behind the curtain at Soul Revival Church by bringing ideas discussed as a staff team straight onto the podcast. They explore some the gospel opportunities that have emerged at the church amidst the background of the church's goal of Doubling Up by 2030. They discuss what makes any Soul Revival gathering the same, ho...

The friendship recession appears to be a real thing, but what are the causes of it? Joel, Tim and Ethan chat about the implications of the internet and the digital realm, what can be done about it and how being a Christian changes how we approach it. 00:00 Intro and Ethan's Disney jumper 02:32 Lego Masters 08:24 More connected, but more lonely 22:44 Time and task, proximity matters 26:10 Is there...