The joshfiles Blog

The Amazing Journey

My name is Josh and I’m excited

My wife and I are pastors to an amazing church family in regional NSW where we have been for the last 8 1/2 years. It’s our first pastorate and it may even be our last. I for one, have no intention of being ’promoted’ out of here. The thing about being established in a community is that there are many we pastor, some of them even call themselves Christian. If you want more info on the church family we are part of you can go to www.christiancentre.com.au

In my training I was taught all about how to build the institutional church. It then took me too many years to discover that building the Church was not my responsibility. Jesus said He would build His Church so most of my training was useless. In fact I had proved that I was not capable of building it anyway. Everything significant that has been achieved in my life and in my church were so miraculous as to remove any doubt as to who was responsible. In my 23 years in Christendom. I have seen the best and worst of Christianity. I have seen God move miraculously many times and in many seasons and I have seen the efforts of man in its most ingenious and its most destructive. I have seen the institution fail too many too often to the point were I no longer believe in institutionalized Christianity. Strangely enough I still lead an institution and I am more excited about what Jesus is doing in and through His church than I have ever been.

The thing is, when you stop believing everything you thought was true, you are suddenly able to hear the voice of heaven. Jim Collins wrote;
                                ‘The best students are those who never quite believe their professors’

 A Presbyterian Minister friend declared the way of the institution as “Use em up, burn em out, spit em out, forget em!’ If you have been there done that and had the burn out to prove it. Or maybe you are interested in this Jesus Character but agree with the T shirt that declares “Jesus save me from your followers”. Perhaps, like most of us, your experience of Messiah, be it perhaps brief, has not lined up with your experience of Church. Then you will probably enjoy this Blog.

Welcome to the amazing journey.