Pre-Order your copy of JESUS CHRIST!

JESUS CHRIST! Nine Lies, half-truths and outrageous misconceptions about the most revolutionary person who has ever lived...

It's Peter Brookshaw and Stephen Court's second book in this series and looks at the person of Jesus Christ. Who was he? Who does the world say he is?

Jesus Christ was not just a nice man. He wasn't just a good moral philosopher who taught us to love each other. Jesus walked the earth saying he was the Bread of Life and the Resurrection and the Life. He said he would die and rebuild the temple in three days. Either this was true, or as C. S. Lewis says he was a lunatic or at best a liar. This book, 'Jesus Christ!' will challenge you to consider this revolutionary man that transformed the world. When you read this, what will your response to him be?

This book isn't just another book for a shelf, but a great pocket sized book to read and share, packed full of amazing information that will leave you challenged and inspired.

Grab it now: 

Pre-Order 'Jesus Christ!' Book Here.

Contact Pete Brookshaw directly for discount bulk copies of 10+ books.

The Salvation Army does not belong in a box!

I was asked to contribute an article to the Journal of Aggressive Christianity in recent days. The editor Major Stephen Court challenged me to write and express my views. Here's the article I wrote and I think it's worth the couple of minutes to read:

The Salvation Army does not belong in a box!

God bless you.

Holy! - Why the Launch of my new E-Book is Turning Heads!

It has finally arrived!

Grab your hands on the new E-book of Holy!

Co-authored with Stephen Court, we've taken a tired topic and given it some life. See, holiness has not always been a widely read topic. People envisage old ministers with brown sweaters and 45 minute intellectual sermonizing. People think of holiness and quickly equate it with 'boring', 'bland' and even 'irrelevant.'

We turn heads when we write a short, provocative, catchy book on the most radical experience you've never lived. Find out what you might be missing out on!

People are buying it from right around the world, including the United States, Indonesia, Australia, the UK and South Africa.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01HHRF3LE/ref=rdr_kindle_ext_tmb#navbar

If you love reading blogs on petebrookshaw.com can I please encourage you to write a quick review for me on Amazon.

God bless and spread the word!

P.S. - If you want to be like Jesus, start by loving people.

Why The Salvation Army is in Decline and What We Can Do About it!

This may well be my most provocative blog yet. Sometimes things are just painful. If you don't like pain, please turn away now. And this blog comes with a warning; these are my thoughts and my musings, not that of The Salvation Army, nor those of my wife. My children are only 2, 5 and 7, so it sure ain't theirs either. You can blame me if you disagree.

The Salvation Army is in decline.

The quicker we acknowledge the truth, the better.

Stephen Court highlights some sobering statistics in a blog back on January 20th at Army Barmy. Let's look at the facts:

1. Number of Corps
2015 - 15636

2016 – 13826
Decline of 1810 in one year.

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2. Junior Soldiers  

2015 - 385994

2016 – 378881

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3. Senior Soldiers

2015 – 1174913

2016 – 1056722

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4. Soldiers (combined)
2015 – 1560607

2016 – 1435533

Decline – 125074

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5. Officers.

2015 – 26497

2016 – 26675

Before I highlight why I believe The Salvation Army is in decline, we might as well admit that it is. One does not deal with their alcoholism until they admit they're an alcoholic. 

Let me suggest some reasons WHY I think The Salvation Army is in decline and this is the bit that gets controversial:

• We have promoted music over mission
• We have placed the Holy Spirit into the pentecostal don't-dare-go-there basket
• We have created an unnecessary divide between evangelism and social work
• We have failed to call people to follow Jesus
• We have relied on our Public Image, more than our Image-giver
• We have taken our eyes off the radical mission God calls us to, and watered it down to a pew-warming, lovey-dovey envrionment that celebrates mediocority. And yes, I spelt mediocrity wrong, because I couldn't be bothered fixing it. Call me apathetic.
• Hmm... Should I go on?
• We lost sight of the identity of the Army, within the trappings of the Army, and are only now seeking to reclaim the identity that we so quickly dismissed.
• We call people to less than full salvation in Christ.

Maybe I've said too much and maybe the list is incomplete. Maybe we don't need to focus on such things? Maybe I'm being too pessimistic for once. Well, it's difficult to fix a problem you don't believe exists. 

Have a read of this:

Major Darren Elkington offers these provocative, yet insightful words, 'Sociologists would tell us that we are now living in a new age … that the old is gone … replaced by a new reality … that we are no longer living in the age of Christendom … but rather a new era … the post Christian era where every area of life is steadily being divorced from Christian ideals and re-interpreted in humanistic terms. Meaning that for many today, that the things that we cherish: God, Christ, grace, the cross, Easter … the church … is considered meaningless, irrelevant, and for some they would even go as far as saying to believe in that stuff is just strange or bizarre.

Now, like all new ideas … this is all debatable … and it’s certainly not my intention to debate whether or not this is indeed our new reality  … except to say … if it is true … then surely it requires a newness, a freshness, a new way of thinking and doing … Because if we simply continue operating under an old premise … or that this new division becomes no more than just the old division re-badged as new … then my prediction is that this new division will go the way of the old … each year producing less Soldiers, smaller congregations, fewer conversions, less ministry and more closures of corps.   

And so we need to embrace the new … new leadership, a new way of doing, new ideas, news initiatives, new possibilities, and as we do, I don’t believe it means that we have to re-invent ourselves.  This time last year, I arrived in back in Australia after being out of the country for the last 6 years … and what I’ve encountered on my return is a busy army, a diverse army, a social army, a uniformed army, a caring army, a fundraising army, a compliant army … and these are all good things in themselves to be … But God raised us up to be a Salvation Army … William Booth said it best.  This is our speciality: Getting saved, keeping saved, and getting someone else saved, and then getting ourselves mightily saved again and again.' 

 
So what can we do about it?

We need to be The Salvation Army. We don't need more facebook groups celebrating old Salvation Army buildings that have closed down, brass bands that had glory days in the 1970s and social media communities that are designed to have a whinge about the past, the present and anything worthy of trying to better the future. 

Fix your eyes upon Jesus, Salvation Army. God raised us up for more than good music, good social work and a comfortable Sunday morning. We are called to win the world for Jesus. Anything less is an insult to William Booth and a kick in the guts to Catherine. Re-embrace a radical, passionate, courageous faith in Christ, that causes you to substitute what is good, for what is great. Seek first the Kingdom of God. Pray like Jesus is coming back tomorrow. Live like you only have days left on the earth. Commit to sacrificial giving, disciplined obedience and compassionate gospel work.

Come on. Let's change the world.

Repent. Pray. Believe. Radically respond.

Journal of Aggressive Christianity - An Interview worth reading?

Before you go on. Have you liked my facebook page above? Just click like, if you like.

Major Stephen Court interviewed me (amongst others) recently for the new Journal of Aggressive Christianity.

I think it's worth a read. A little firey. A little provocative. A little in your face.

Have a look here: Journal of Aggressive Christianity: Peter Brookshaw

An Innovative Salvation Army

The church is called to be innovative, creative and able to adapt to changing circumstances.

Click here to see an article I wrote published recently in the Journal of Aggressive Christianity on The Salvation Army being an innovative movement.

I think you will enjoy the read.

Thanks to Major Stephen Court for his ongoing passion to be editor of this journal.

*****

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A change of pace... Some blogs I've enjoyed recently

Recently, the pace has been up with blogs on different topics - see the recent list top right. So for a change of pace... Here are some blogs I've read and enjoyed recently:


* Bob Hyatt's Blog - No one remembers what you preach anyway - Preachers? Read this. http://bobhyatt.typepad.com/bobblog/2010/07/from-the-archives-and-for-bill-kinnon.html
* Next Reformation Blog - Some funny thoughts on church noticeboards  http://nextreformation.com/?p=4170
* James Thompson - Statistics on sex inside marriage and sex outside marriage. Interesting.  http://woetome.wordpress.com/2010/06/28/hazardous-sex-outside-of-marriage/
* JR Woodward (Dream Awakener Blog) A mammoth 'primer on the missional church'. Getting started in thinking about mission - read this blog entry. Love this blog from back in 2008. Have a read/study. http://jrwoodward.net/2008/11/a-primer-on-todays-missional-church/
* Stephen Court's latest blog (wed July 7th) talks about the basic fundamental Christian beliefs. Good to browse over. http://www.armybarmy.com/blog.html
* Marney Turner is blogging hard. Check out: http://jesusrevival.blogspot.com/2010/07/you-never-know-what-jesus-is-going-to.html for a blog on faith!

If you have a blog entry worth noting - drop me a line or give it a plug in the comments section.

God bless, be close to Jesus.


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