Author: faithrootsdw

Sticking with church through tough times

It’s one thing to stick with a local church when everything is going well.  If the church is growing, there’s a great music group, you relate well to the pastor and there are so many encouragements. What happens when the church is struggling though? What happens when there’s been falling out, the praise isn’t great… Continue reading Sticking with church through tough times

What might 2022 have in store for us?

Here are some predictions about what the New Year might have in store for us.  I’m not saying these will all definitely happen but it might be interesting to look back at the end of the year and see how many I did get right. COVID19 I expect this year to be when the pandemic… Continue reading What might 2022 have in store for us?

COVID and church risk management update (31/12/2021)

We go into 2022 with COVID cases high primarily as a result of the new Omicron variant. Case numbers recorded daily have been at eye watering levels with records broken daily. Currently the expectation is that cases will peak sometime in January but at exactly what level we cannot be certain yet, although it does… Continue reading COVID and church risk management update (31/12/2021)

Do we take the Bible seriously enough?

The other day, Eddie Arthur shared a blog article titled “Issues with my tribe.”  He is there referring to evangelicalism and he highlights two particular concerns, namely that despite our protestations, we don’t take the Bible or our doctrine seriously enough. Clues towards those conclusions are found in our Sunday services. In terms of taking… Continue reading Do we take the Bible seriously enough?

What would vocational training for pastors/planters look like?  (Part 2) Syllabus/Curriculum

I’ve been sharing a little bit more about my desire to see churches planted and replanted in urban contexts. My own particular concern is for the urban West Midlands including north and east Birmingham, The Black Country and Wolverhampton. I believe that such an effort is going to need a lot more people from a… Continue reading What would vocational training for pastors/planters look like?  (Part 2) Syllabus/Curriculum

Who’s engaging

One of the things I’ve done throughout COVID is run occasional snap polls on twitter to gage the views of those who tend to interact with me and faithroots on social media. I frequently give a health warning that the results are not representative. The reason for this is that a twitter audience doesn’t necessarily… Continue reading Who’s engaging

Free (Simeon’s Song – Luke 2:29-31)

Do you remember the film, “Braveheart”? There’s a scene in the film where the Scottish army are frightened by the English and suspicious of their own generals.  They are about to desert.  William Wallace rallies them with a stirring speech. He finishes with those now famous lines “They may take way our lives but they… Continue reading Free (Simeon’s Song – Luke 2:29-31)

What might vocational training look like (assessment)

I’ve talked frequently about the need for vocational/in context training for Gospel ministry. This arises out of A local vision to see people planting and replanting churches into the urban West Midlands A belief that we need to be on a mission footing rather than in maintenance mode across the UK. These things both lead… Continue reading What might vocational training look like (assessment)