Author: faithrootsdw

Were the Sunaks’ tax arrangements that big a deal?

The UK Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, has been under pressure because it recently emerged that his wife holds “non-dom” status and so has not been paying tax here on her income in India and elsewhere. The normal expectation is that you do have to pay tax here in the UK even from overseas. … Continue reading Were the Sunaks’ tax arrangements that big a deal?

Don’t let your church try to rebuild Babel

I’ve shared a couple of articles over the past few days about giving space to grow and permission to grow to a church. However, I want to spend a bit of time here focusing on one of the downsides and risks with a focus on growing one single congregation.  In Genesis 11, the descendants of… Continue reading Don’t let your church try to rebuild Babel

Boris, Rishi #Partygate and standards in public life

We now know that the Prime Minister and his wife as well as the Chancellor of the Exchequer have been fined over the so called #Partygate. Meanwhile there are questions about Rishi Sunak’s wife -and therefore him benefitting from her Non Dom status so that she did not pay tax in the UK.   Some people… Continue reading Boris, Rishi #Partygate and standards in public life

France, Le Pen and the Far Right

The French Presidential election heads into round two after Easter. The French electoral system relies on a two-stage approach. A kind of slowed down Alternative Vote system if you like. Instead of casting a second preference vote, you get to vote again to decide between the two front runners and have an opportunity to reflect… Continue reading France, Le Pen and the Far Right

When is the right time to plant a new church?

This is one of the big questions for churches and individuals looking at church planting.  Usually answers given will talk in terms of the pre-requisite health requirements of the existing church. Is it numerically strong enough to send people out? Does it have enough people covering existing ministries? Is its leadership team robust and healthy… Continue reading When is the right time to plant a new church?

Is “My Song is Love Unknown” antisemitic?

I’ve written a few times about the growing resurgence in antisemitism. I talk in terms of resurgence because this is a historic problem and whilst we think primarily of Nazi Germany, neither Britain nor the church has a good record here. Testimony to our failure include the writings of Martin Luther and some shocking examples… Continue reading Is “My Song is Love Unknown” antisemitic?

Space to Grow:  What are the potential barriers to growth?

In my last article, I wrote that we can end up putting barriers in the way of a church doing what we might naturally, legitimately expect it to be doing. It is natural for churches as living, healthy entities to grow.  So, what are some of the barriers or constraints that might be in place:… Continue reading Space to Grow:  What are the potential barriers to growth?

Celebrating Easter with joyful praise

When we first arrived at Bearwood Chapel, there didn’t seem to have been a significant emphasis on Easter. The Brethren tradition tends to particularly stay away from church calendar occasions. However, we had a few people, particularly but not exclusively from the older end of the church who wanted to make a bigger thing of… Continue reading Celebrating Easter with joyful praise

Some problems with Tim Keller’s comments about passing on a megachurch

Tim Keller has recently made comments on social media about why he and the leaders of Redeemer, New York chose to split the church into different churches rather than hand it on to a single successor as one entity. These reasons have been gathered together into one article by Outreach magazine. Now, before I go… Continue reading Some problems with Tim Keller’s comments about passing on a megachurch