Author: faithrootsdw

The hermeneutical foul

If you’ll indulge me, I want to say a little bit more about the recent debate that followed that Jonathan Leeman article.  The article and the aftermath raised important questions about how we read and hear what others are saying, including God’s Word but also how we read and hear what each other are saying.… Continue reading The hermeneutical foul

Wounded, well-meaning and wolves

I recently referred to an article by Jonathan Leeman which led to a conversation about Spiritual abuse. In this article, I want to engage a little bit further with Jonathan’s article. I want to highlight some areas where I think he’s unfairly criticised, some important points he has made which need hearing and also an… Continue reading Wounded, well-meaning and wolves

Introducing the First Look Course

The First Look Course is an opportunity to start to explore the claims of Christianity. It runs for 4 sessions and includes discussion questions and videos to watch. It is based on the eye witness accounts of Jesus’ life reported by an early historian named Luke. You can find his Gospel in the Bible. You… Continue reading Introducing the First Look Course

Weaponising spiritual abuse

I’m encouraged to see that The FIEC are keeping the focus on the problem of abuse with a series of podcasts involving John Stevens and Adrian Reynolds looking at spiritual abuse in particular.  The term “spiritual abuse” has been at times controversial with people debating its definition and even its existence. I saw one definition… Continue reading Weaponising spiritual abuse

Questioning gender

This question has come up in the context of the conversation about transgender issues. Some people have commented that they struggle a little with when people say that they have a clear sense of their gender.” I think they are particularly referring to when people consider themselves different to the gender on their birth certificate.… Continue reading Questioning gender

COVID update for churches 23/11/2021

Here’s an update on where we are in terms of the current UK COVID data. Cases UK case numbers have been increasing for the past 13 days (with a small interruption on the 17th November. This reflects daily increases in English reported cases of between 8-10% towards the back end of last week and 13-18%… Continue reading COVID update for churches 23/11/2021

My big concern about the Trinity Debate

In the debate and conversations about The Trinity one thing has particularly concerned me. To be clear, it’s not that I’m unbothered about the risk of theological error. I hope that comes through in my own articles. However, I’ve been struck by our struggle to disagree well and how much of that arises out of… Continue reading My big concern about the Trinity Debate

Bullying and abuse – do you know what is happening and what to do?

From time to time I write about bullying and abuse. I started tackling this subject a few years back as I not only became aware of some concerning stories surrounding significant ministries but observed first hand how Christians talk to each other on social media. In the last couple of years, some serious scandals broke… Continue reading Bullying and abuse – do you know what is happening and what to do?

Do you take the role of pastor/elder seriously enough?

What exactly does it mean to be a pastor or an elder in a church?  First of all, you will notice that I am in effect using the words “pastor” and “elder” interchangeably because we are essentially talking about the same thing. An elder is someone who carries leadership authority within a family/clan/tribe linked to… Continue reading Do you take the role of pastor/elder seriously enough?