Time for a Revolution

The momentum is building. Do you feel it? The wheels are turning. Changes are happening. Cabinet is shuffling. Training College is moving. Corps are seeing lives transformed. Communities are being reformed.

We are living in exciting times. And I've been praying for a revolution. A complete change... For example:

* Corps that are not declining but Corps that are growing!
* More cadets entering College than Officers retiring!
* More soldiers being enrolled than soldiers putting down their armour
* More corps being planted than corps closing their doors
* People filled with the Holy Spirit, charismatic, loving, passionate...
* Social Centres becoming Social Jesus Centres (where Jesus IS the centre!)

It's TIME FOR A REVOLUTION! Spread the word. Make the change. Advocate for the difference. Jesus is Lord! Share

Reaching the subcultures

How far would you go to reach the subcultures in our communities with the gospel of Jesus? Interesting question.

Looking at the provocative picture to the left, we are left wondering, how we would even begin to consider reaching into some cultures; but we need to.

Take for example, a Goth becomes a believer in Jesus. Do we now compel the new Christian to lose the black clothing, and lose the ear pearcings, in order to fit into our established Christian communities? What about the concept that God is light and no darkness is found in him, will we use that as a way to compel the new believer to join our circles and fit in our ranks?

The debate really is about, how far can we incarnate the gospel of Jesus into particular subcultures. My thought would be that we start with our belief/understanding of Jesus (Christology) and with that foundational teaching we do Mission (Missiology) and then our expression of Church will derive itself from that (Ecclesiology).

So we're trying to reach the goth culture for Jesus. We would understand that Jesus is calling people to follow after him, to be a disciple, to leave the life of sin and go into the world and make other disciples. We would understand that Jesus says very little about what clothes to wear. We may even dress like a goth and connect with the goths in this way (knowing that our belief in Jesus is not compromised simply because we are wearing a different set of clothes). Goths start to follow Jesus and then a Church is established in this subculture, in which Goths can continue to be Goths, but be passionate for Jesus, passionate about holiness and passionate about the great commission.

Interesting thoughts. Am I pushing it too far? Let us know your thoughts. Share

Faith for the Future

Who has it?
Do you have it?
Do most of our Soldiers in The Salvation Army have it?
Do the officers of The Salvation Army have it?
I sure hope I have it.

FAITH for the FUTURE!

I believe 'Connections 07' is going to be great. That the Holy Spirit will move freely and powerfully in our midst!
I believe that God is reviving The Salvation Army, and that I'll be part of a wonderful Revolution.
I believe that we will be sold out to Jesus.
I believe we will have an integrated, holistic mission in the future.
I believe God will choose the right person to govern Australia.
I believe that many of the future leaders of our Salvation Army aren't even saved yet.
I believe that the way in which we train cadets, will change and adapt radically in the future.

I believe in Jesus, the son of the living God. Share

Australian 2006 Census Material

Steve Addison published some interesting stats on his blog recently. Have a read: (Or check out: www.steveaddison.net/)

2006 Australian Census
The latest figures for the 2006 Australian census are out. Here’s some highlights on religious identification:
Christianity remained the dominant religion in Australia, although non-Christian religions continued to grow at a much faster rate. Since 1996, the number of people reporting that they are Christian grew from around 12.6 million to 12.7 million, but as a proportion of the total population this number fell (from 71% to 64%).
Over the same period, those affiliated with non-Christian faiths increased from around 0.6 million to 1.1 million people, and collectively accounted for 5.6% of the total population in 2006 (up from 3.5% in 1996).
The most common Christian denominations continued to be Catholic (26%) and Anglican (19%). Since 1996, the number of Australians affiliated with the Catholic church grew by 7% to 5.1 million, while those affiliated with the Anglican faith decreased by 5% to 3.7 million. Other groups to decline were the Uniting Church (by 15% to 1.1 million) and the Presbyterian and Reformed churches (by 12% to 0.6 million). The fastest-growing Christian denomination was Pentecostal, increasing by 26% (to around 220,000).
Australia’s three most common non-Christian religious affiliations were Buddhism (2.1% of the population), Islam (1.7%) and Hinduism (0.7%). Of these groups, Hinduism experienced the fastest proportional growth since 1996, more than doubling to 150,000, followed by Buddhism which doubled to 420,000.
Since 1996, the number of Australian residents who stated no religion increased from 2.9 million to 3.7 million (17% of all residents in 1996 and 19% in 2006). New South Wales had the smallest proportion of its population not affiliated with any religion (14%), and South Australia had the largest proportion (24%).
ABS Media Fact Sheet Share

Invent the Future

We can't control the past.

How we live in the present determines the future.

We can change the present.

Therefore we can invent the future.


Will you dream with me a little..? ... ... ... ... I dream of pioneering thousands and thousands of healthy churches, that reach many, many people for Jesus. I dream of preaching the gospel in South East Asia, with many people coming to faith in Jesus! I dream of seeing corps reaching thousands of people with the gospel (Mega-Church or Mega-networks -- whichever!) I dream of having the influence to make the changes I know are right...

Will you dream once again? We CAN invent the future, by what we choose to do today. Share

Rest is Good

Rest is good. Rest is needed. Here Jo and I are at a place called Mannum in South Australia. Enjoying the view and taking some photos. God is good that there has been much rain lately. I pray God will send what's needed in the amounts that are needed.

Have you been too busy lately? Remember God is the one who grows the Church. Stop a little. Rest a little. Trust God that he will grow your ministry. Trust God that he will expand your business.

Rest is good. Rest is needed.
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Messianic Jews!

On Saturday morning a few of us went off to a Jewish Messianic Service... It was a little bit like Sunday Worship on Saturday.

What do I mean by Messianic? They were a congregation who worships the Messiah. The one we know of as Jesus. The ones the Jews call, 'Yeshua' which is simply Jesus in Hebrew.

What a sight! People dancing and singing and saying prayers in Hebrew. There were readings from the Torah (the first five books of the Bible) and there was a message from the book of Acts, highlighting the fact that Jesus was the promised Messiah that the Jewish people had been waiting for.

He is alive! He has come! Jesus has come to take away the sin of the World.
I've just got two words for that...

Awesome stuff! Share

Church Planting: The Foundation

What makes a Church, a Church? Some say it is simply: Worship, Discipleship and Mission

Church planting is an effective methodology for successful evangelism in the future. We can tire ourselves out in fixing churches that are on the decline, and some are gifted to do that (see Ezekiel 37), but Church planting births new growth, new expressions of worship, new expressions of discipleship and creative opportunities for mission.

Build a team that are willing to take the Word for God and their strong belief in Jesus as Lord, and allow God to use them to bring others to himself. We need more than just humility and servanthood, but we need strong leadership and a passion for God as well, to pioneer new worshipping faith communities.

The foundation for church planting is:

* A strong, united team of people, passionate about growing the Kingdom, and reforming society

* Worship

* Discpleship

* Mission

Lets put Church Planting back on the agenda. Share

Skpe: Change in the Communication World

Who wants to pay for overseas calls anymore? You simply download a program called Skype, and the other person downloads Skype and you both have a webcam and you're set. Free video calls to your friends overseas? What a Revolution?! My Uncle was recently chatting with my Dad living overseas in Michigan, USA, for one whole hour for FREE.

What about Telstra and Optus? Their whole income through Overseas calls is in jeopardy! This brings a complete change in the Communication arena...

Here's my thought for the Christian community today: Are we in need of some sort of missional method (call it emerging, call it what you will), that differs from methods used years ago (methods that used to work, but no longer work) ? Do we need to work at welcoming people that aren't Christians into communities of believers, as opposed to inviting them to a Church Building? Is it more about sharing 'life' together (whatever that means) as opposed to running nice smelling 'Christian Programs'?

Telstra's mission is most likely not to provide International Phone lines so people can connect via the phone, but part of their mission statement would probably be to provide the most effective way of connecting friends from one country to another.

Our mission is not to bring people to a Church building. Our mission is for people to believe in Jesus Christ and become a Disciple of him. If there's better ways to fulfill that, then lets explore...

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Time to Dream. Time to Prophecy. Time to Vision-Cast.

What's the time Mr. Wolf? I caught up with a mate today and we spent some time writing down ideas, strategies, and thoughts for how effective Youth Ministry could be done in the surrounding community.

I believe, it's time to dream! It's a time to think BIG! It's a time for the prophets to rise up and speak boldly and positively into the Church. It's a time for leaders to rise up and cast visions that the Church yearns to follow.

No more struggling churches. No more aimless programs. No more management mindsets. No more of the status quo...

I dream of churches thriving. Churches reaching the lost with the message of Jesus. Churches connecting with communities to reform society. The Kingdom of God expanding into the Western World just as fast as in the East! Will you join this radical pursuit for God's love to impact the lives of the nations we live in? Will you not just talk the talk, but will you be challenged to walk it? Will you step into the calling God has placed on your life? No, I mean really... Will you step into it?

Just think... God called Abraham many thousands of years ago to take his son Isaac up a mountain to sacrifice him (Genesis 22). Abraham obeyed God, but just before he killed his son, an angel of the Lord stopped him. Then the Lord provided a Ram for the offering.

If the Lord calls you, he will provide. Dream big. Don't just talk it, transform it.

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Worship that shakes the foundations

I remember a time, when on a Sunday night meeting, we were singing, 'How Great is our God' and we sang it over and over and over, each time the intensity rising. Ever been worshipping God in an atmosphere, where you feel like something is going to happen? My hands were literally burning with the presence of the Holy Spirit. The foundations of the place felt like they were going to shake!

Here's my thought... Passionate worship births effective ministry. Following this time of worship, my hands were hot, and I said to God, 'I GOTTA PRAY FOR SOMEONE!' I started chatting with a mate who owns a farm up in Horsham, and he was saying that things were tough. I said quickly, 'Can I pray for you!?' I prayed with an unknown passion, like a deep intercession that groaned in my stomach and heart for change to happen into the situation I prayed for. Passionate worship was birthing effective ministry. In this case, pastoral ministry.
I sat down, and my hands were still burning!! I sat at the front of the church after the meeting and said to God, the next person who comes to me, I'm gonna pray for... No kidding. A guy sitting up the back of the hall, immediately stood up and walked straight towards me! It was so weird! He didn't say much when he got to me, but I offered to pray and again, interceded strongly into this guys life.

What's my point... We need to encourage passionate worship, that will inturn birth effective ministry.

When's the last time you immersed yourself into God's presence when you worshipped?

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The purpose of a Salvation Army Officer

Commissioner Jim Knaggs came and spoke to the cadets today about the purpose of a Salvation Army officer. Did you want to know the most important thing? The one thing that is above the rest. The one thing that far outweighs anything else...

Well among some of the usual thoughts, Jim said, we need to be Christians that fulfil the Salvation Army's mission. We need to be filled with the Holy Spirit. We should not just see ourselves as pastors, but more than that; as people called to serve suffering humanity, to serve with the sleeves rolled up. He also shared that we are called to reform society by being prophets, and that we need to be advocates for change (e.g. within Government) even if that affects the income streams of The Salvation Army.

So what's the greatest thing? What's the greatest purpose of a Salvation Army officer?

The greatest purpose for Salvation Army officers and for any Christian needs to be and ought to be:

Saving Souls for Jesus Christ.

That's it. That's the greatest purpose and as a Salvation Army WE WILL keep this at the forefront of everything we do, because nothing else is more important. Share

Water found on Mars

I heard on the news tonight, they believe they have found water on Mars! That may help with Victoria's Water Shortage...

Just one thought. If Astronauts are sold out to searching the stars for life, how much more should Christians be passionate about a God who is bigger than even the largest of Galaxies? The issue here is faith. We live in a culture that says, seeing is believing, but God has always said that believing is seeing; faith brings sight.

Today. Just believe. Just do it. Believe in the God of the Universe, and actually live your life sold out to searching after Him, the one who gives you life abundantly through Jesus. Share

2 Muslims destroying Bibles?

Does anybody know the power that exists within the Bible? If only those boys from Melbourne knew that within the words of the Bible lives are transformed, and people are set free from drugs, suicide, anger, and loads more. I always hear stories about the Bible transforming a life, maybe someone in a Hotel room with a Gideons Bible, or someone reads one on their shelf from when a Christian friend gave them one.

'All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that we may be thoroughly equipped for every good work' (2 Timothy 3:16). The Bible is powerful, you better believe it. It's a Christian's road map and we would all be better off if we read some regularly.

If we get into the Word, then the Word will get into us, and then there will be a Revolution. Bring it on Jesus! Share

Revolution Earth is gonna rock!

Welcome guys!

Revolution Earth is the place to stay tuned for what God wants to do in our world. It's time for a revolution. A time for young people to be radical about what they believe. To stand for the truth. To stick up for their beliefs.

This site will keep you up to date with the revolution that's happening. So add "Revolution Earth" to your favourites and get ready to ride the roller coaster of passionate Christianity and risky faith that will transform a generation for Jesus.

Will you be a part of this Revolution? Share