The One Thing

Pastors what to help people, but when does this desire get the way of actually helping people?  Lauren Errington from the Family Systems Institute addresses some of the questions we need to ask when it comes to helping people, even well intentioned help:  - Who is actually responsible for what? - Have we confused empathy with needing to feel all the feelings the other person is feeling? - Is the best way of helping people to step back and let the person grow themselves? - Are we curious and thoughtful before we are ready to jump in and help? - Is the help actually about helping them or dealing with our own anxiety and need to step in and help? - What does it mean to be in "good contact" with someone? SHOW NOTES: Lauren's Workshop at the Reach Australia National Conference 2023 The Family Systems Institute ‘Bowen Family Systems Theory in Christian Ministry: Grappling with theory and its application through a biblical lens’ (Ed. Jenny Brown and Lauren Errington) Family Systems and Congregational Life by Robert Creech Growing Yourself Up by Jenny Brown CREDITS: The One Thing is brought to you by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Reach Australia⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. For ideas or questions please email ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠resources@reachaustralia.com.au⁠⁠⁠⁠ To support the Reach Australia Online Library head ⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠.

What is 'rest'? In our last episode we saw that rest was more than sleep and not working. Derek and Scott look at the work of Dr Saundra Dalton-Smith on different types of rest. 1. Physical Rest Giving your body a rest. 2. Mental Rest It could be that you need to give your mind a rest. 3. Emotional Rest We can get emotionally tired when we are not paying attention to our emotions. 4. Spiritual Rest Reconnecting with God 5. Social Rest Different relationships can ones that build us up or drain us. 6. Sensory Res Especially with screens. 7. Creative Rest Creative rest is not about putting a demand on your creative ability; that’s not rest, that’s work. It is the opposite. It’s allowing white space in your life and giving room for your creativity to show up. Creative rest lets you focus on your basic need for wonder. You can enjoy fulfilling that basic need in ways that don’t put any pressure on your being creative. Yes, creativity may bloom from the seeds planted, but creativity is not the objective, only rest. Summary Don’t have to do all of these every day, or every week. But it is helpful to be aware that there are different ways to rest and different people will rest in different ways SHOWNOTES: ⁠⁠Sacred Rest: Recover Your Life, Renew Your Energy, Restore Your Sanity⁠⁠⁠ by Dr Saundra Dalton-Smith ⁠ TED Notes from Dr Saundra Dalton-Smith ⁠ TED Talk from Dr Saundra Dalton-Smith ⁠ Rest: Why You Get More Done When You Work Less⁠ Alex Soojung-Kim Pang ⁠Atomic Habits⁠ by James Clear. CREDITS: The One Thing is brought to you by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Reach Australia⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. For ideas or questions please email ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠resources@reachaustralia.com.au⁠⁠⁠⁠ To support the Reach Australia Online Library head ⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Debunking myths about rest and productivity, emphasizing the importance of balanced work and rest, developing sustainable rhythms of rest, exploring the significance of rest and sleep for health and effectiveness, and discussing resources for rest and sleep improvement.

What advice would you give your younger self, especially in ministry? We asked Al and Kathy Stewart and Laurel Hall and asked them what they would say in Part 2 of our learning from elders. "I need you to manage your time and you want to really focus on ministry and really go for it. But also you got to be give your family strong marriage, your kids. Remember, your little kids are only  little for a little while. That's what I'd tell my younger dumb self. Be around more for your kids. And the other one is invest in those long term friendships that are gold in the long run. That's one thing I did get right. I've got over 35 year friendships with guys in ministry and that really does help keep you going." (Al Stewart) "I would say make sure you do it together with your husband. Because we talked about going to ministry after getting married.  But also that it's that the gospel, or gospel work [career], doesn't take top priority over other important things sometimes." (Kathy Stewart) "So I'm probably thinking I wish I had a greater understanding of the sovereignty of God.  Because it would helped me not live with regrets and being concerned about things that I actually didn't have control over. So I guess it would have been more of a sense of at peace with God and life." (Laurel Hall) SHOW NOTES: TOT 232: You Need Friends In Ministry  More from Kathy and Al Stewart on Marriage and Ministry  How People Change by Timothy S. Lane and Paul Tripp CREDITS: The One Thing is brought to you by ⁠⁠⁠Reach Australia⁠⁠⁠. For ideas or questions please email ⁠⁠⁠resources@reachaustralia.com.au⁠⁠ To support the Reach Australia Online Library head ⁠⁠here⁠⁠.

What advice would you give your younger self, especially in ministry? We asked Gary Koo, Peter Moore, Greg and Emma Lee and asked them what they would say as Derek and Jo reflect on their wisdom. "One piece of advice would be, do I truly trust that God's sovereign and I'm not in control? The second piece of advice: Do I actually know who I am to the point where I'm happy for people who are better at me in certain areas of ministry to be doing that and not having to be good at everything." (Gary Koo) "I think it would be be patient in my experience of pastoral ministry. It's amazing how little you can achieve in three years that how much you can achieve in four. So it won't happen overnight, but it will happen." (Dr Peter Moore) "I would say that your identity is in Christ, not in success and not in what other people think of you. So sit loose to those." (Greg Lee) "I don't know if it's advice, but maybe it's an encouragement that when you raise up leaders and you're part of that work, they actually minister to you. And it's a really absolutely beautiful thing to be led and cared for by people that you've grown up in the gospel." (Emma Lee) SHOW NOTES: Wisdom in Leadership by Craig Hamilton is available from Matthias Media Tim Keller article on Faithfulness and Ministry Want to know about Learn to lead Older video of Mikey Lynch interviewing David Jones about identity in ministry Sovereignty in Salvation: Justin Mote spoke to some church planters about sovereignty Norwest sermon series CREDITS: The One Thing is brought to you by ⁠⁠Reach Australia⁠⁠. For ideas or questions please email ⁠⁠resources@reachaustralia.com.au⁠ To support the Reach Australia Online Library head ⁠here⁠.

How do we think about our money and resources as Christian disciples? Yoel Frank has written a book to help us practically think through what it means to be a disciple with money. 1. Live Simply 2. Give Habitually 3. Spend Missionally 4. Invest Impactfully 5. Steward Wisely SHOW NOTES: The Barefoot Disciple Webpage **If you purchase the Barefoot Disciple from this link, Yoel will donate the proceeds to Reach Australia** CREDITS: The One Thing is brought to you by ⁠Reach Australia⁠. For ideas or questions please email ⁠resources@reachaustralia.com.au To support the Reach Australia Online Library head here.How

Money is a taboo topic for churches, and there has been some ministries that have brought disrepute to the gospel through the misuse of money, Yet we need to manage and talk about money and generosity as churches not just for budgets but because money management is a part of being a disciple. Jo talks with Tish Maier, Reach Australia's Support Manager, about how and why ministers need to talk about generosity. SHOW NOTES: The Generosity Project - a 6 part  interactive resource from Matthias Media aimed at shifting the culture of generosity in our churches, in a positive way.  - Rod Irvine talking about generosity to church plants Longer talk from Rod Irvine on raising resources for churches CREDITS: The One Thing is brought to you by ⁠Reach Australia⁠. For ideas or questions please email ⁠resources@reachaustralia.com.au To support the Reach Australia Online Library head here.

There is caring for people who are in need and there is disciple making. But do these things need to be at odds? Sally Sims is the Care Ministry Coordinator at Christ Church, St Ives, on Sydney's North Shore. She's author of Together Through the Storm A Practical Guide to Christian Care and she sits down with Jo Gibbs to talk about how pastoral care can be disciple making.   SHOW NOTES: Sally's book can be found here. Watch for the 2nd Edition in August. Care resource list from the Reach Australia National Conference Disciple Making Pastoral Care by Sally Sims Disciple Making Pastoral Care within Small Groups by Sarie King Keep watching for more Reach Australia Resources CREDITS: The One Thing is brought to you by ⁠Reach Australia⁠. For ideas or questions please email ⁠resources@reachaustralia.com.au To support the Reach Australia Online Library head here.

There's times when life falls apart and things just don't turn out as we planned, and they're often unexpected things that turn up that are not in your diary. It can be a matter of time before gospel workers are overwhelmed with requests and needs. How do we manage all this? Sally Sims is the Care Ministry Coordinator at Christ Church, St Ives, on Sydney's North Shore. She's author of Together Through the Storm A Practical Guide to Christian Care and she sits down with Jo Gibbs to talk about how to care for people in church without being overwhelmed.   SHOW NOTES: Sally's Book can be found here. Watch for the 2nd Edition in August. Care resource list from the Reach Australia National Conference Sally's workshop...coming soon. Keep watching for more Reach Australia Resources CREDITS: The One Thing is brought to you by ⁠Reach Australia⁠. For ideas or questions please email ⁠resources@reachaustralia.com.au

People think they come to church 17% more than they actually do!  Scott chats with Richard Sweatman and Antony Barraclough about their new book Unmissable church with advice for pastors and members of churches to encourage people to come to church more regularly. In this episode they look at whether going to a small group is enough, what excuses people make for not going to church and how do you build community with multiple congregations   SHOW NOTES: Part 1 is here Unmissable Church can be bought from Matthias Media or our friends at the Wandering Bookseller Antony's Doctoral thesis Richard has also written two books on small groups: Being a Small Group Leader and Writing a Small Group Study CREDITS: The One Thing is brought to you by Reach Australia. For ideas or questions please email resources@reachaustralia.com.au