The Shock Absorber

From discussions around Easter to reconciliation, friendship recession, capitalism, communism and the battle of ideas, the guys discuss how in a world of so much change, there aren't ministry problems, but a plethora of gospel opportunities... 00:00 Intro 01:00 Easter 2023 18:52 Ministry problems, or gospel opportunities? 35:29 Secularism embracing the benefits of religion 47:16 God has created us...

Ethan comes onto the Shock Absorber with Joel as a guest host. They talk about Slow Horses, dive deep into the impact Jesus has on friendships and church. They finish up with some quick fire reactions to one person's life advice... 00:00 Intro 00:48 Slow Horses is great TV 05:50 Ethan's thoughts on friendship 15:30 Different but we can be friends 21:11 Jesus helps us skip to the friend part 27:33...

The Shock Absorber is back as Joel, Stu and Tim chat about different things going on in the world, including the what impact ChatGPT and AI will have, Stu challenging the Soul Revival staff team on the church's value of being friends and Vans shoes. 00:00 Intro 01:00 ChatGPT and it's implications 13:47 New technologies bring new ways of living 27:05 Vans culture 30:33 Why challenge the Soul Reviva...

We reach the final episode of our Momentum in Ministry series and Joel, Tim and Karen reflect on the many learnings of the season. They look at what engaging in the book Breakout Churches has taught us but also look at their own church and ministry contexts as well as what might prevent momentum taking hold. The trio's conversation comes down to a few key points: vision is important, as is the str...

Tim, Stu and Joel take time to look at the Big Mo (not moustaches). They chat about the common factors for momentum - being evangelical, leader longevity and prayer, and also what can jeopardise momentum. The conversation then leads to other momentum makers such as making church more than one hour per week, leader vitality and church planting. "God loves to act through our dependance..." 01:00 Wes...

Innovation and change is a key part of the church continuing to move forward and grow, just as the Christian life is one of sanctification and growth. From getting congregations on board for change, bringing in change too fast and the impact of facilities and location, the key for churches is to ride the line between resistance and innovation. Ultimately, it must come down to the vision, strategy...

Stu, Tim and Joel chat about how a culture of excellence differs from a church context to a business or corporate setting as it is Biblically and theologically driven. Jesus' model of leadership provides a framework to determine the expectations and freedom that ministry staff and lay leaders operate within with. This also helps leadership say yes or no to certain ideas so that the church stays tr...

The Third Space Studio is opened up again to discuss the importance of vision in ministry. Through the lens of the Vision Intersection Profile from Breakout Churches, the guys discuss how vision comes from working together with what God has given and what he calls people to, which is then backed by a passionate leadership team committed to the people they want to raise up. The guys also touch some...

Stu, Tim and Joel take a look at the structures and the people within the church that can contribute to momentum in ministry. While theological alignment is of utmost importance, another key contributor to momentum is strategy, which is often not discussed and even less articulated amongst churches. When aligned on these values, the leadership and church can be more flexible and ready to change in...

Change is hard. And making changes in churches can be hard. Stu, Tim and Joel sit down for another chat around momentum in ministry and look at how static models can lead to crisis moments, upheaval and change. Alternatively, a model that institutionalises change creates an environment for experiments to be had and leads to less of a need for such a crisis moment. 00:52 Cultural Artefact or story:...

In the shadow of the Queen of England's passing, Joel, Tim and Stu discuss her legacy of long term stability as a leader and what we can learn from such a legacy. As Thom Rainier explains in Breakout Churches, legacy leaders among the church are evangelical, long term, passionate and show unconditional love to the people they serve. Stu and Tim's varied experiences of ministry leadership become a...

Karen and Tim are in the Third Space Studio with Joel to continue discussing Momentum in Ministry. The term growth is inevitably linked to momentum. They look at the different types of growth and the key markers associated with it, including long term leadership and self-reflection. They also work through the danger of only applying business principles when determining how to grow, which can somet...

Stu, Joel and special guest Ethan are here to kick off the latest season of the Shock Absorber - Momentum in Ministry. They discuss how to identify if a ministry has plateaued or is even in decline, what to we can do to encourage fresh ideas, and ways to look out for institutionalisation. Also is Huckleberry Finn an accurate picture of what church is like these days? 01:29 Cultural Artefact: The A...

The Shock Absorber is back with a bonus episode on a Soul Revival institution - Week Away. What started as a holiday amongst Christian friends grew into slightly edgy, counter-cultural move against church being watered down to just one hour a week. 25 years on, Soul Revival Church's Week Away sees 250+ people go away to spend five days in God's word and with each other. Stu and Joel chat about mem...

Joel gives a quick update on where the Shock Absorber is headed next. CONTACT US Shock Absorber Email: joel@shockabsorber.com.au Shock Absorber Discord: https://discord.gg/jTD5KNAYVE Shock Absorber Website: shockabsorber.com.au Soul Revival Shop: soulrevival.shop Check out what else Soul Revival is up to here: https://linktr.ee/JesusChangesEverything

Tim and Joel close out the final episode of our season Whatever Happened to Evangelism? From Jesus' command in Mark 1:15 and touring through history, we gained an understanding of what has shaped evangelism up until today. Christianity is always going to be questioned but we can allow God to help us express a genuine faith and research reveals that people are more open to a conversation about Jesu...

This year, 2022, marks the 30-year anniversary since the inception of Soul Revival. The guys take a look over what's been learnt over the years to help Christians be humbly confident and as a result, continue to evangelise. This includes semiotics, giving your best night to God and spending time with one another, building relationships around Jesus. 01:29 Cultural Artefact: Soul Revival Semiotics...

A trope that's often thrown at Christians since 9/11 is that religion causes all wars. Stu, Tim and Joel are in the Third Space Studio to examine the oft-raised comment and contend that a deeper dive into statistics and world history paints a different picture. They delve into where such arguments come from, how Christians can approach it and how to hold onto the evangelical line when doing so. 2:...

The Shock Absorber takes it's tour of history all the way up to the present as we continue to discuss evangelism. Some Christians are perplexed on how to evangelise among a culture that continues to look as if we disagree more than ever. After looking at culture wars, the battle of ideas and Donald Trump; Stu, Tim and Joel settle on one thing: Let's preach the gospel and have a conversation centre...

The Shock Absorber welcomes Timothy Paul Jones onto the podcast! TPJ's presence inspires a wide-ranging discussion about the evangelical lines, the current state of evangelism, family ministry, apologetics and how it's often more about the morals rather than the miracles when discussing Jesus with non-believers. 01:47 Meet TPJ and Cultural Artefact - Skillet 11:38 The lines of evangelicalism and t...

Tim returns to the studio as the Shock Absorber discusses the 2010s and it's impact on evangelism. Following on from the three lines of Christian evangelicalism that emerged following the Scopes Trial in the 1920s, the 2010s saw the further splintering of both the fundamentalist and modernist/liberal strands. This leads to a discussion about how to hold on to the evangelical line, wrestling with w...

Stu and Joel continue to tour through the 2000s and look at how Christians evangelise. The 9/11 attacks signalled the beginning of a new era as the internet came into prominence. As a result, culture changes continued to accelerate and further pluralise an already pluralistic culture. This brought debate about religious extremism, atheism and inevitable changes (and responses) among Christians and...

Tim returns with Joel and Stu to examine the late nineties and early-2000s. The speed of change within culture continued to speed up and the challenge, as always was for the church to keep up. They look at different reactions to those changes including the immersive evangelical counter-culture, Christian schools, the ministries of Rick Warren and Bill Hybels and the shift towards a different versi...

It's time to delve into one of Stu's favourite eras: the nineties! Joel and Stu walk through experiences of the time and how many people found hope and meaning when you were supposed to not care and never sell out. They also continue to trace the evangelical line and how it lead to fresh ministry ideas such as the incarnational approach and the youth ministry discussions. While skateboarding and g...

Tim, Stu and Joel are finally back in the Third Space Studio, from the Moral Majority, to Monty Python, from John Chapman to John Wimber, they continue to discuss history, culture and it's influence on how we evangelise today. They further delve into the difference between an evangelical and fundamentalist and why it may be unhelpful to hold so strongly to such labels. We also answer a thought pro...