Bruce Staley

In one of my posts in July 2014, Meg told her story and mentioned she and her husband, Shane, wanted to get married again. They were married in 2007 in a registry office in Japan. Now  they wanted to be married in a church. Today, Saturday 28 February, I attended their re-commitment ceremony. It was a special day. Their pastor invited the guests to stand and to the music of Steve Grace's, Marry Me Again , Shane and Meg entered the chapel with their three delightful children, Nina and Mae on either side, and Taiki held safely in his father's arms. Shane looked very smart in a new suit, Meg was radiant in a lovely wedding dress and the children were all dressed for the occasion. I was very emotional. It was ten months since I baptised Meg following her acceptance of Jesus as her Saviour and I had watched her grow in her understanding of her new relationship with her Heavenly Father. Not only was a I privileged to pray a prayer of dedication during the ceremony but I knew I had be...

In an earlier post, January 2014, I mentioned that I had transplanted several pups from a bromeliad that my brother had given me. But, alas, I have to report the transplants failed! I reported my failure to my brother an d he explained that the pups I had cut off were too small. Fortunately another pup appeared, so I left it attached to the original plant until it had grown larger before cutting it off and transplanting. The good news is that it has taken and is happily growing in its new pot. While the original bromeliad, given by my brother, has continued to produce pups, those I cut off too early withered and died, and the pup I left attached longer has not only survived but thrived. Again my experience with the bromeliad reminded me of the Parable of the Sower told by Jesus in Matthew 13. Jesus wants to reproduce disciples many times over across the nations. We need to be about the business of sowing the Good News of Jesus so that God can produce the harvest. However, there will be...

My name is Philip. During a recent conversation with my mentor Bruce I emphatically stated I was having a ball. If you knew a little of my history life had been anything other than a ball. What has changed? Earlier in 2014 I decided to contact a former teacher. While it took nearly twenty minutes I was determined and I persevered until I finally contact Bruce. We became re-acquainted. It proved to be the first of many phone calls and text messages since. I wanted to thank Bruce for calling me a Christian, over 40 years ago. Bruce was a teacher at the school I attended and a fellow student had encouraged me to speak to him. Bruce welcomed our conversations and counted it a privilege to explain to me how I could get close to God and become a follower of Jesus. During one conversation in a local cafe I responded and received Jesus as my personal Saviour. Then Bruce declared that I was now a Christian thus confirming the transaction that had taken place between me and God. Over the phone m...

My name is Meg and I am married to Shane. We have three children, Nina, six, who has started pre-school, Mae, three, and Taiki, who was born last year. I grew up in Japan and Shane grew up in New Zealand. We met in Alice Springs when I was touring Australia. I didn’t want to get married but Shane was very persistent and he followed me home to Japan. We were married in Japan in 2007 Shane is a Christian but I never understood anything about be a Christian. We settled in Ballarat. I had to stay home to mind the children while Shane went to work. I was very lonely and we argued a lot. I realised something had to change so I started attending MOPS, Mothers of Pre-School children, at a local church, York Street Church of Christ. I then joined a Bible Study. However, my home language is Japanese and I found it very difficult to understand. One day two ladies, Karen and Janine, from one2one MOPs, came to speak at the York Street MOPs. I cried while I was listening to their stories. One day I ...

In my last post, the Power of Discipleship, I introduced the concept of a POD, a Power of Discipleship group, a group of people that is intentional about making disciples. After some wonderful preaching, a training program and a weekend conference on evangelism, and an attempt, by myself, to engage people in disciple-making through monthly workshops in our local church I've pondered before God, the question, "What would it take for the everyday person sitting in the church pew to become actively engaged in the work of the Great Commission?" "Is there some form of grassroots catalyst, like the small rudder of a large sea-going liner, that could bring about enduring change?" I had begun applying the lessons I had learned from the recent evangelism events and my own research, and discovered God rewarding my efforts to such an extent I was having difficulty keeping up with the opportunities to explain how a person can have a personal relationship with the Living God...

A Power of Discipleship or POD is a group of people, who are committed to follow Jesus under God's authority, compelled by the Holy Spirit to fulfill the Great Commission, waiting on God in prayer, going and reaching out to people God has brought across their path and making disciples. What we do? Gather a POD of 3-4 people Pray for one another Encourage one another in making disciples Pray for people, who God has placed on our hearts Reach out to people God has brought across our path and engage them in activities of common interest to build relationship and trust Learn to tell our story about how we became followers of Jesus and share it with others Learn to tell God's story and explain how a person can know God personally Disciple people, who have decided to follow Jesus, one-to-one and/or in a discovery group Regularly communicate with each other by text, email, Skype, Facebook, or any other way, even face-to-face, about our progress in making disciples ...

A little while ago my brother, Noel, gave me a bromeliad. The plant was already flowering with a large and interesting pink bloom. The bromeliad has now been blooming for months. No el explained that the plant would produce pups that could be cut off with a sharp knife and re-planted. If you look closely you will see a pup at the base of the plant on the right hand side.   In fact this is the third pup. I have already cut off two pups and re-potted them. The removal of the first two pups seemed to give the third an extra lease of life. I am looking forward to removing it and putting it into another pot. My experience with the bromeliad, which had been given to me, reminded me of the Parable of the Sower found in Matthew 13. Although the bromeliad will have produced a further three plants it reminded me of what God wants to do many times over across the nations. We need to be about the business of sowing the Good News of Jesus so that God can produce the harvest.