This blog first existed on the cusp of what was then called Web 2.0, when blogs first began to emerge and digital tools and social media opened up new horizons for the church. I was a Baptist pastor in Queensland at the time and the blog was primarily about missional transformation in churches, digital & social media and leadership. It also indulged in a small percentage of satire.

The odd satire was important to me, as I passionately believe that organisations/denominations/entities that don’t have their worst foibles/sins/blind spots held up in a mirror, usually end up being the subject of Royal Commissions.

Within church denominations there is often a tendency to self-protection by people who need or want something from the denominational leaders. Self protection = silence. Let’s face it, our denomination from time to time makes terrible decisions, because the people leading it are just people, and sometimes the best meaning people do dumb stuff, some times unintentionally, and some times deliberately. I worked with national and state leaders and staff for over a decade and believe me, we’re all just human, no matter what the spiritual spin is.

It was through the blog that I came to the attention of the then national ministries director after a satirical piece about the disastrous new name ‘Australian Baptist Ministries’ and the equally disastrous new logo. He called me a gutless coward but a month later offered me a job. So blogging ultimately led to an 11 year stint working in the national missions department. It meant that the blog had to shut down, for I was now a company man.

That’s no longer the case and I’m free to resurrect the blog, but all the old stories and content have been consigned to the digital dustbin. Along the way I have gained a range of new skills, experience and perspectives through a bi-vocational life that has involved variously: evangelism, pastoring, denominational work, military & veteran chaplaincy and business. I am still an ordained Baptist minister, and share my time between military & veterans chaplaincy and business.

The primary audience of this blog is relatively small: people engaged in leadership (professional or lay) in Baptist church settings in Australia. The purpose is to provide some alternative perspectives on why, how, what, and what we can do differently as Baptists in order to be a healthier and more effective church.

WARNING: I use devices such as satire, polemic and hyperbole – as well as a great deal of tongue in cheek. Having said that, I hope at least some of my content provokes thought. If there’s anything you don’t like, if the shoe doesn’t fit don’t wear it:)

Stan Fetting.

[PS: If you click on the Facebook link you can interact with posts there.]