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Somewhat controversially I have said that leadership is not the deal-breaker for Jesus mission in Australia. That status goes to discipleship that can multiply. In my book “The Genius in the Kingdom: How Discipleship Impacts Church Planting” I write: “At the Exponential Conference, in October 2023, I attended a workshop by Alan Hirsch speaking on… Read more: Discipleship Over Leadership: Lessons from Ephesians for Church Planting in Australia

I have found that “the intentionality with which the Church planter and the planting team have thought through how best to connect culturally with their community is a key factor.” And in my experience, I have found there are several stages to being intentional and I want to take a moment to describe these stages… Read more: Three Stages of Intentionality in Church Planting

What I see now is that we here in Australia need to learn to think like missionaries. In my book “The Genius in the Kingdom: How Discipleship Impacts Church Planting” I write: “In my experience, I have seen three main states of missionary–mindedness among new churches in Australia. The first state that a new church… Read more: Active, Transition, or Passive: Assessing Your Church’s Missionary State

A popular methodology for planting is the campus model. In my book “The Genius in the Kingdom: How Discipleship Impacts Church Planting I write: “I have observed that when churches plant churches these days, they choose to either hard–wire them or soft–wire them as a way of bringing sustained support and maintaining culture: (a)   … Read more: Hard-Wired vs. Soft-Wired: Discipleship Must Stay Central in Church Planting

Creating teams that can produce multiplying churches is the great challenge. In my book “The Genius in the Kingdom: How Discipleship Impacts Church Planting” I write: A calculated giftedness diversity in the team and in the relationships between the planting leader and team will have several important effects. First, it will keep the posture of… Read more: Building Teams for Multiplication: Aligning Diversity and Discipleship in Church Planting

Watching church planting take place over the years, I have noticed that the supporters for the new church are often weighing whether they should be involved or whether they should wait on a request from those involved. In my book “The Genius in the Kingdom: How Discipleship Impacts Church Planting” I write: “Sometimes the expectations… Read more: Intentional Support: Navigating the Emotional Landscape of Church Planting

The planting eco-system is a high emotional environment. In my view we often miss the significance of this reality. In my book “The Genius in the Kingdom: How Discipleship Impacts Church Planting” I write: “In my view, the coach and support personnel need to develop eyes for the real emotional and cultural distance between the… Read more: Bridging the Emotional Gap: Discipleship-Based Church Planting for Thriving Teams

From personal experience and observation, keeping the leadership and team in place for the first five years of a church’s life is a key to it’s ongoing health. In my book “The Genius in the Kingdom: How Discipleship Impacts Church planting” I write: “….the longer the planting leader and team are in synergy and partnership… Read more: The First Five Years: Building a Strong Foundation for Multiplication in Church Planting

Historically, disciples of Jesus, wherever they went carried a specific “default” that meant that wherever they were they took personal responsibility for disciplemaking. Too few of us carry this “default.” In my book “The Genius in the Kingdom: How Discipleship Impacts Church Planting” I write: “There are some defaults needed in a planter leader and… Read more: The Critical Defaults: Cultivating a Disciple-Making Culture in Church Planting

There are numerous pressure points for leaders of new churches. I write of one such pressure point in “The Genius in the Kingdom: How Discipleship Impacts Church Planting” – “…culture is communicated not only by words but also by the example of the planting leader and the team. This is particularly important in the first… Read more: Guarding the Culture: Overcoming Pressure Points in Church Planting Leadership

Discipleship based Church planting will still need leaders. If Ephesians 4 means anything it means that Jesus is already committed to raising up leaders for His work. The shift to a discipleship-based church planting approach does not mean leaders are no longer needed. In my book “The Genius in the Kingdom: How Discipleship Impacts Church… Read more: Inward work of the Spirit

Over many years I have had to confront my own tendency to live into the promises of God in terms of my own ability to perform them. A nasty habit that I hope none are you are in. In my book “The Genius in the Kingdom: How discipleship impacts church planting” I write: “The natural… Read more: Love in the manner as he loved us

Planters can be strategic and that’s to be encouraged. But there’s a level of instinctiveness that is needed too. In my book “The Genius in the Kingdom: How Discipleship Impacts Church Planting” I write: “If, at the level of instinct, a planting leader can discern and pivot to the hopes and dreams of those around… Read more: Evangelism and Disciple-making

Discipleship-based Church planting will still need leaders. If Ephesians 4 means anything it means that Jesus is already committed to raising up leaders for His work. The shift to a discipleship-based church-planting approach does not mean leaders are no longer needed. In my book “The Genius in the Kingdom: How Discipleship Impacts Church Planting” I… Read more: Resilience in Leadership: Partnering with Jesus in Discipleship-Based Church Planting

The period we are entering will be marked I believe by the refreshment of our foundations. In my book “The Genius in the Kingdom: How Discipleship Impacts Church Planting” I write: “From John 13–17, there is a kind of compendium on the heart of discipleship. It’s the heart not only of the internal world but… Read more: Foundations of Love: Rediscovering the Heart of Discipleship in Church Planting

The message we must be consistent on relates to the core ideas about discipleship. In my book “The Genius in the Kingdom: How Discipleship Impacts Church Planting” I write: “Someone who is being discipled is being formed to Jesus and not the Church. So, we are to help each new disciple, in every aspect of… Read more: Being of the Kingdom

The preference for courses to define the scope of a discipleship process is based, I think, on a preference for order and a simple life! But we are discovering the true nature and scope of discipleship in these days. In my book “The Genius in the Kingdom: How Discipleship Impacts Church Planting” I write: “One… Read more: Catalysts in the Process of Discipleship

I think the LORD has been deliberately leading us in specific conversations across the Body. Discipleship of course is one of these conversations. We are still to see the full implications of what the Lord of the Harvest has been doing but I believe the future is becoming clearer. In my book “The Genius in… Read more: Intentional Discipleship: The Genesis of Movement

Reaching our nation so that they can hear about Jesus in a way that will make sense to them will require something of us. In my book ‘The Genius in the Kingdom: How Discipleship Impacts Church Planting” I write: I am a tradesman-missionary who has learnt a few lessons while trying to be effective in discipleship.… Read more: Discipleship as the Key to Reaching the Nation

As someone who seeks to serve the Lord, I have learnt that the very foundation of sustained effectiveness as a disciple does not lie in any of the training, instruction or personal ability. Sustained effectiveness comes out of the work of the Spirit. In my book “The Genius in the Kingdom: How Discipleship Impacts Church… Read more: Empowered to Go: The Role of the Spirit in Sustained Effectiveness and Mission

Over my lifetime, I have observed that we as the Church in Australia have only on occasion become a “movement” – that is, where we have begun to multiply so that we see believers not only maturing but leading others to Christ and then disciplining them to do the same thing. This is what we… Read more: Disciples

On my website, there is mention made of services that I offer those in ministry. There are two services in particular that I provide that I would like to promote to you – one is mentoring and the other is coaching. In my experience, sometimes leaders need a coach and sometimes they need a mentor.… Read more: Mentoring or Coaching? Tailored Support for Sustainable Ministry Leadership

Some words can become problematic in conversation among us. And, over the years the word “apostolic” has been one of them. As I have grown into what Jesus was revealing to me and asking of me, I have developed through my work and research, my sense of what it means to be ‘apostolic’. Here’s an… Read more: Apostolic Leadership: Navigating the Dual Roles in Church Planting for Long-Term Multiplication

My first task after training was to plant a new church in Canberra. I had no preparation like that offered to planting leaders these days. I honour all those who have worked so hard to create effective assessing, training and coaching for planters. I admit I am nervous about putting our dependence for success on… Read more: Lessons from the Field: Contextualizing Grace and Discipleship in Church Planting

I have never seen myself as someone who would take the time to write a book. I love reading and so I have often wondered about the people who have taken the time to write the book in my hands. What kind of people are they? Why did they feel to write the book? But,… Read more: A New Chapter in Life