Author: faithrootsdw

Is it always a bad thing to name things after people or just when they are still alive?

In amongst the discussion about The Gospel Coalition setting up institutions named after Tim Keller (when he was still alive) and Don Carson, a few people have asked whether the issue is just a problem for living people.  What about the tradition of naming churches, buildings and institutions after specific people.  Older, established churches will… Continue reading Is it always a bad thing to name things after people or just when they are still alive?

A wrong turn on route to evangelical renewal

Tim Suffield has written recently about “The evangelical intellectual ecosystem.”  Tim has been raising questions about how we encourage theological thinking in the church, especially in the newer/charismatic churches and how we teach and train people theologically. There is perhaps some overlap between the kinds of questions that Tim is asking and the kind of… Continue reading A wrong turn on route to evangelical renewal

Please stop playing political football with education

I think there’s been more plans and initiatives to shake up education during my life time than I had hot school dinners back when I was a kid.  I’ve seen GCSEs replace the old GCE/CSE split, the expansion of Universities and introduction of tuition fees.  During my life time, we’ve bounced between child centred learning… Continue reading Please stop playing political football with education

Out of the frying pan …

Abram hasn’t been long in the promised land when famine hits.  He decides to leave then land and go to Egypt to find food.  There has been some debate on whether or not this was a good thing to do with some commentators pointing to the absence of explicit negative assessment.  However, sometimes the point… Continue reading Out of the frying pan …

Don’t make the wrong distinctions when it comes to preaching and Bible studies

In this month’s Evangelicals Now, the editorial describes the visit of an elderly Welsh preacher as follows: He began his address by explaining the difference between a Bible Study and a sermon. If we recall it aright, he said words to the effect that, while a Bible Study is aimed especially at imparting information to… Continue reading Don’t make the wrong distinctions when it comes to preaching and Bible studies

John Piper and coffee in the sanctuary

The other day John Piper tweeted Now, Piper tends to tweet regularly, everything from Bible verses to pithy comments and his tweets range from the profoundly encouraging to the provocatively controversial. In that respect, he’s pretty much like any of us.  Some of his tweets can sound a bit grumpy from time to time.  My… Continue reading John Piper and coffee in the sanctuary

Is it really “just” cultural?

One of the pushbacks I’ve seen against the criticism of TGC’s decision to name its new projects after, at the time, living Christian leaders is that it’s a cultural issue.  The argument seems to be twofold.  First, that it’s just grumpy Brits who are raising concerns, as though that invalidates the concerns raised.  Secondly, that… Continue reading Is it really “just” cultural?