Are you strong?

How would you answer that question (I’m thinking here about inner strength, not physical strength!)? My instinct is to answer: no way... Maybe it’s my Kiwi tendency to talk myself down. Or perhaps it’s from all the times I struggle to flee from sin and pursue godliness.

But since studying 1 John early this year, this simple verse in chapter 2 has challenged some of my thinking.

I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God lives in you, and you have overcome the evil one (1 John 2:14).

What if being at church every Sunday was the default?

How often would you guess you make it to church? Go on, actually have a guess! Most of us have a rough sense: pretty often, most Sundays, unless something gets in the way.

Recently I looked through our attendance patterns, and it challenged that impression a little. Only about 30% of people who call City on a Hill home make it to church three out of four Sundays (this used to be the standard definition of regular attendance).

How important do you really think kids’ ministry is?

I wonder if, for many of us, we think about it primarily as having a future focus.

We teach children Bible stories, Christian values and knowledge about Jesus, hoping that one day, when they’re older, they’ll make the faith their own.

We do this now, but we’re expecting the real response to come later.

We even say, “They’re the future of the church.”

But what if that’s only half the picture?

Many of you will already know that we are currently looking to add another pastor to our staff team. We are asking God to provide the right person for the role of leading Hutt Church and overseeing Membership across all of City on a Hill.

Over the past few years, God has been very kind to us. More people are joining us, our congregations are growing, new people are coming to faith in Jesus, others are taking steps forward in faith, and there are more opportunities for ministry than we can currently pursue. The growth of Hutt Church in particular, alongside the continuing ministry of City and Night, has made it increasingly clear that we need to grow our ministry team for the years ahead.

This week I came across a blog that promised I could discover my life’s purpose in 20 minutes.

The method was simple. Take out a blank page. Write at the top, “What is my true purpose in life?” Then keep writing answers until one of them makes you cry. Apparently, when you get to that answer, you have found your purpose.

Now, I don’t want to be too dismissive. There is something right about slowing down, asking deep questions, and paying attention to what moves us. Most of us probably do not do that enough.