This is a brief explanation of what many call the 'missional church' concept.

Enjoy!

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arxfLK_sd68 

An important message of Jesus is to see others with eyes of love. That includes everyone: friends and family, those that dislike you and complete strangers. What does that look like? Here's a short film about the power of seeing others with love, I hope you enjoy it.

Here's a challenging video from Brian McLaren about how we deal with people from different faiths.

Toward The Other from The Work Of The People on Vimeo.

With the current riots taking place world-wide, including here in Oz, I was reminded of this Tropfest short film from a few years ago. I think it's highly topical. Have a look and see what you think.

Here's a quick exercise for you: think of a Christian guy or girl; what adjectives comes to mind for you?

And now, go to Google and type in "Why are Christians so " and then put in a single letter.

Check out this video which highlights it...

I went from a to z and it's even worse than the video shows, except for the letter K :)

Clearly our challenge is to be the Body of Christ and show the world very different adjectives.

Are you a leader? If you said no, are you sure? A common definition of leadership is influencing others. When we live in community with fellow humans we will have an influence, whether we intend to or not. Have a watch of this video from those amazing folk at TED and see what you think. I invite you to please make a comment afterwards.

A friend of mine mentioned to me lately that she really appreciated some of the values and disciplines that govern how my family lived. I mentioned to her that we had tried to model our way of life on the way and teachings of Jesus and that in short, that is what it meant to be a Christian. She responded by saying that she thinks that she can live the exact same way without having to believe that there is actually a God at the end of it. She said that she was committed to living out the ethics and lifestyle that Jesus espoused and yet she had no intention of believing in or submitting to him as a Deity.

This TED talk articulates her point of view perfectly. ATHEISM 2.0 is built around the idea that religion is a wonderful thing and should be embraced for its undeniable benefits for individuals and  communities. Of course, they also claim that there is no need to believe in a God as the ultimate source of this life. Please listen to his full argument before commenting. He has some wonderful affirmations to those of us who still believe not only in God but in the rich history of spiritual thought and practice...

Michael Frost

Michael opens up this conference by laying a foundation of what mission is, as understood by a new generation of Christians.  Very thought provoking…

As I've said elsewhere, I believe that comedians have a very important role to play in our society. One of the valuable services they provide is to point out when the Emperor has no clothes on. This is when the Chaser boys are at their best. This video comes from their latest show, The Hamster Wheel. Enjoy.

One of the ugly outworkings of several of society's worst aspects - individualism, haste, selfishness - is road rage. The relative anonymity that being in a car provides removes a layer of consideration for others and the results are often unpleasant. But what happens when that anonymity is removed? Check out this Tropfest short film.

(Warning: there are some rude words - but it is road rage so they're not gratuitous!)