By Mark Conner Eight years ago, I stepped away from full-time church leadership after more than three decades in vocational ministry. It was a major turning point in my life — one that marked not just the end of a role, but the beginning of a new journey. At the time, I wasn’t entirely sure … Continue reading Eight Years On: Life After Leadership
[Update] This year, I enjoyed preparing and sharing a new series of messages at Bayside Church on the theme of Everyday Experiences of the Divine. Part 1 - Everyday Experiences of the Divine: The Mystic (22nd February 2024) In this introductory message, I spoke about the centrality of spiritual experience to the Christian life, showing … Continue reading ‘Everyday Experiences of the Divine’ (Complete Teaching Series)
Last year, I shared a 5-part series of messages at Bayside Church in Melbourne around the theme of THRIVE. As we entered the year, our intention wasn't to merely SURVIVE another year, but to THRIVE. The English word ‘thrive’ means: to flourish, bloom, or prosper. It comes from an Old Norse root worth that means … Continue reading THRIVE
I wrote this in my journal 7 years ago … Thinking about Jesus today ... He had no role within any organisation or religious system. Yes, at times he worked 'within' the religious system (speaking in the synagogues, for instance) but he was not employed by it or accountable to it. He also moved 'outside' … Continue reading Jesus
I hope you had an enjoyable Christmas and that this holiday season brings you a tangible sense of peace and strength. Before you know it, we will be into another new year - 2024! It's been noted before that many people spend more time thinking about their holidays than they do their life. That's a … Continue reading A New Year Awaits …
Back in 1990, I had the privilege of leading worship on the first international Integrity Music album, All Nations Worship. It was recorded at Waverley Christian Fellowship (now CityLife Church) and produced by Tom Brooks. Many songs by Australian composers were included and the singers and choir were from a variety of churches around Melbourne. … Continue reading ‘All Nations Worship’ Revisited
Answers. We all love them. A test completed. A problem fixed. A riddle solved. A decision made. Confusion clarified. Resolution. The end. What about questions? Here are some good questions to ask yourself from time to time. Who am I? What do I value? Why am I here? What gives life meaning ... for me? … Continue reading Today’s Questions
I would like to wish each of you a Merry Christmas and all the best for the coming New Year. I have really appreciated your interest and support throughout 2022. It has been a good year with much to be thankful for but another crazy one in many ways - with continued uncertainty around the … Continue reading Merry Christmas!
In the final episode of this series, Nicole Conner shares some suggestions for applying the principles of narrative therapy to your own life, including discerning your dominant story. https://youtu.be/fZGwS-MJ3Zg For more information or to get in touch with Nicole, visit www.definingstories.com.au.
In this episode, Nicole Conner shares an example of the usefulness of narrative therapy in responding to the presence of anxiety in a person’s life. https://youtu.be/8H4l28JVSsU Visit www.definingstories.com.au for more information.
In this next conversation with Nicole Conner, we talk about the power of externalization. In all of our lives, we are not the problem; the problem is the problem. Externalizing prevents us from forming our identity around a problem story and enables us to deal with it more objectively. The 'table of life' is a … Continue reading The Stories We Tell Ourselves – Externalization and The Table of Life
In this conversation with Nicole Conner, we discuss various problem stories and what we can do about them. https://youtu.be/gSQuDtNb6AU
In this second conversation with Nicole Conner, we discuss the power of stories in our lives, where they come from, and how they influence us. In addition, we consider the idea of questioning our stories and potentially changing these powerful narratives that we live by. https://youtu.be/-dI4_xIw0ks
Today I begin a series of conversations with my wife, Nicole Conner, on the topic of 'The Stories We Tell Ourselves'. Nicole has a Masters of Narrative Therapy and Community Work from Melbourne University and she has her own narrative therapy practice called Defining Stories. Over the last few years, Nicole has been able to … Continue reading The Stories We Tell Ourselves – Narrative Therapy
The statistics are in from the 2021 census by the Australian Bureau of Statistics [ABS: source]. Only 43.9% of Australians now identify with its most common religion - Christianity. This is down from 50% in 2016, 60% percent in 2011, and 71% not long before that. That's what I would call a 'free fall' - … Continue reading What is Happening to Christianity?
