What makes a good leader?   Or a great leader?   On my bookshelf I have scores of books on leadership.   Some are written by business leaders.   Others are written by theologians.   Most of the books have to do with leadership in the church.   The authors are well known and well respected -- people like Robert Clinton, Stephen R. Covey, John Maxwell, Bill Hybels, Norma Cook Everist, just to mention a few.  But the one book I turn to most in my leadership quest is  a book not on my shelf but on my desk:  the Bible.     It has been a political circus in Australia this past week with...

Posted by: Jack De Vries in The Four Fold Task on Nov 30, 2011   Tagged in: Untagged  I found myself In The Chute this past few days.   Not sure if the chute refers to a parachute or waterslide chute -- but in any case, there was lots of momentum.   Close to 150 men and women gathered in Melbourne for the National In The Chute church planting conference put on by The Geneva Push.  I was truly heartened by seeing so many young couples attending this conference.   Some came to be assessed as church planters.  Others came to explore where God is leading....

Posted by: Jack De Vries in The Four Fold Task on Nov 30, 2011   Tagged in: Untagged  "If I could have only one novel on a desert island, this book would give me family, faith, and hope."   So writes F. LaGard Smith, author of The Daily Bible.   I bought this novel some years back, but only a couple of weeks did I pick it up, to read it.   Well, I not only read this book, I devoured it.   It is such a great read.    Perhaps I loved this novel since it takes place in the rural communities and surrounding cities near...

The vision to grow numerically and multiply within Australia is becoming a reality.   The CRC churches have not seen its membership over 9000 members for 13 years.   But the decline is reversing.   This past year, according to CRCA statistics, the CRCA has grown by 4.8%.   Just imagine!  The CRCA has not seen growth like this for almost 50 years -- five decades! Yes, the last time the Christian Reformed Churches in Australia(CRCA) saw significant growth was 1962 -- long before man took their first steps on the moon.   In the early sixties the CRCA even recorded double digit growth.   But for...

Posted by: Jack De Vries in The Four Fold Task on Sep 20, 2011   Tagged in: Untagged  What makes a good sermon?   How do you know if you are effective as a preacher?   How can we raise the bar as ministers of the Word?  What can churches do to increase sermon effectiveness?  These kinds of questions were asked at the recent meeting of Classis Queensland.   If we are serious as pastors to increase the overall health of our churches, one of the very best places to begin is with the Word being preached.   Good sermons are not automatic;  it takes much effort on...

In just over six months the Synod of the CRCA will meet.   The committees have been asked to write their reports.   Since Synod of 1996 the CRCA has been focused on a new missional initiative referred to as the Fourfold Task.   By God's grace and with the Spirit's aid and assistance we have made much progress in turning the tide of decline.   In every state we are witnessing the momentum of planting new churches.    The overall CRCA numbers of members are growing at a pace not seen since 1962 -- almost five decades.   As we move forward, what are the key elements for denominational effectiveness?...

A new church is being planted in Mackay – Pioneer Community Church.  And I guess I could start today* by talking about all the plans that have been made over the past number of months.   A lot has been accomplished. The launch team has put in many hours and many prayers into giving direction for a healthy launch of Mackay’s newest congregation – a church called Pioneer Community Church. And we will get to that – all the plans for the future of this church.   But we first we look to Jesus. We look to Jesus because this is what...

Pioneer Community Church, a CRCA church plant in Mackay, will kick off the second phase of the church plant at a gathering at the Mackay Harbour Park on Sunday 11 September 2011(2:30 - 5:00 pm).   It is with gratitude to God and in answer to many prayers that a group of believers is growing, a group committed to seeing the establishment of a Christian Reformed Church in Mackay. A launch team has been meeting for several months already and they are putting the final touches on the Mission Action Plan(MAP).   This was the critical task of the first phase of this church plant.   Wayne Crouch,...

I met with a young preacher today and he posed a question that made me do some reflection.   Over the next year he hopes to ask this question of a number of "older" colleagues in the ministry.  "What is the most important lesson I have learned in my years of ministry?"   I did not have to think long to format an answer in my mind.   The almost three decades of ministry have taught me a very important lesson.  When it comes to ministry in the church, we can be so busy with preparing sermons, visiting congregants, and attending meetings.   But if we are...

Ready, Fire, Aim! On Thursday evening, 19 May 2011, over forty adults gathered in the wonderful facilities of the Salvation Army in Mackay to see the launch of a new Christian Reformed Church in Mackay, a town which is listed among the ten largest growing regional centers in Queensland.  This meeting was organised by Ninette Nell and Dolla Marneweck, local residents of Mackay, in consultation with myself, Jack De Vries, representing the Christian Reformed Churches of Australia (CRCA), and Wayne Crouch, one of the pastors of Bray Park Community Church.   A number of table hosts prepared the hall, set up...

Posted by: Jack De Vries in The Four Fold Task on May 20, 2011   Tagged in: Untagged  Imagine our churches as training centres where the gifts, passion and missional potential of every disciple could be realized? Imagine that the training of leadersordained, non-ordained, full time, part time and voluntary, all dedicated to expanding the Gospel impact in our communities. That is the vision of the CRCA – to multiply the number of well-trained persons lovingly dedicated to reaching people for Christ. The CRCA Training Workgroup was formed by Synod 2009 to encourage whole of life discipleship, life-long learning, and leadership...

With gratitude to God and in answer to many of our prayers, we are pleased to announce the first gathering of people interested in seeing the establishment of a Christian Reformed Church in Mackay.   Invitations have been sent out to a growing number of contacts in Mackay.  On 22 May 2010 I visited Mackay and met many people at the South African Dance social gathering.   I also had the privilege of meeting a number of Saffers in their homes or at a cafe.  People shared with me their deep desire to see a Biblically based, gospel-focused Reformed Church planted in the town of...

Posted by: Jack De Vries in The Four Fold Task on Apr 19, 2011   Tagged in: Untagged  Please pray for Peter and Nel Mechielsen as they seek God's will as to which ministry couple to forward the baton to when they retire at the end of June. They write: "We need our Father to lead us to them and for God to prepare their hearts to minister to the people at Langwarrin CRC." Comments (0) Original link