by Ken Morgan | Jul 21, 2026 | Uncategorized
Ever wondered why Jesus said ‘You will be my witnesses’ rather than ‘You will be my influencers?’ Obviously social media was not a thing back in the New Testament times (that was even before MySpace) – but the idea that Christians should be shiny happy people in order to make Christianity attractive has been around longer than selfie sticks. Influencers are evangelists for a particular way of life underpinned by a particular set of values. They create the impression that every nano-second of their lives is utterly, enviably insta-worthy (even though we only get to see a show-reel that’s been filtered and curated to the very limits of believability). The tacit promise is that our lives will be just as enviable, we’ll be just as popular and we’ll be happy if we simply consume the same products and embrace the same habits. Some versions of evangelism seem to be based on similar premise – just swap out the latest offering from Kimmy K or Gwyneth for the latest take on Jesus and your life will become insta-worthy – or at least trouble-free. It doesn’t really gel with Jesus’ warning that believers would face persecution or James’ encouragement to consider it pure joy when we face difficulties. While Jesus at times sent his followers to preach, in his final words to the apostles he did not commission them to be preachers or evangelists (although Acts tells us they did plenty of preaching). Luke records that Jesus promised power when the Holy Spirit came upon them and that they would be his witnesses. Matthew reports him commissioning the apostles to make disciples. Putting Jesus commission into practice is more about being and producing more than it is about tasks and techniques. It reminds me of Jesus...
by Ken Morgan | Jul 7, 2026 | Uncategorized
Why are families with toddlers the most common mission focus in Australian churches, while university students are a far more common mission focus for churches in the UK? The answer is simple, and explanation a bit more complex. In Australia, families with toddlers are one of the easiest people group to reach. The same goes for university students in the UK. Why are these people easier to reach than others? An explanation can be found in the work of Rodney Stark and Roger Finke in their book Acts of Faith: Explaining the Human Side of Religion. Stark and Finke argue that religious belief is much more about belonging to a social group than intellectually subscribing to a set of propositions. They contend that “…social networks make religious beliefs plausible and new social networks thereby make new religious beliefs plausible.”Religious conversion less about about seeking or embracing an ideology; and more about bringing one’s religious practice into conformity with that of one’s social network. People are loathe to convert to a new religious belief when they’re settled in a stable social network, because it would mean foregoing their existing social capital and investing anew in a different social network. Conversely, people are more likely to consider a new religious position when their interpersonal attachments to members of the new religious group overbalance their attachments to people within their pre-existing belief system – be it religious or not. Moving away from pre-existing relationships either by relocation or change of circumstance can shift the balance toward considering a new spiritual belief – or as Stark and Finke term it, a new ‘plausibility structure’. Lets think about that in terms...
