Author: faithrootsdw

Red Herrings and church life

I’ve written two articles describing examples of what are in my opinion “red-herrings” when it comes to the UK’s COVID-19 response. I could be wrong in my assessment. I write as an amateur arm chair critic not an expert. However, the point I wanted to make was that often we risk being distracted by something… Continue reading Red Herrings and church life

Are small groups overrated?

Jonathan Carswell was seeking to provoke a bit of discussion with this tweet -and he succeeded. So, what do you think? Are they overrated, ineffective and unaccountable?  It’s worth noting at this stage that Jonathan is making a relative comparison to the other ministries run in a local church, presumably including your retired ladies meeting,… Continue reading Are small groups overrated?

Competing kingdoms (Romans 5:12-20)

You can also watch a recorded version of this here. So far we have discovered that we are without excuse, exception or escape in the face of God’s righteous judgement. God has clearly revealed to us who he is and we have responded by suppressing that truth. All have sinned and so all are under… Continue reading Competing kingdoms (Romans 5:12-20)

Another red herring – the timing of lockdowns

In my opinion, the other red herring to be brought into play over the past 24 hours through the Dominic Cummings interview has been the question over whether or not the lockdowns, particularly the first one in March 2020 and the autumn one just after half term should have been earlier and whether that would… Continue reading Another red herring – the timing of lockdowns

A herd of red herrings

The big political dispute over the past few days has been as to whether or not the UK pursued a herd immunity strategy during the early stages of COVID-19.  It’s a red-herring because the answer is of course we were and still are following a herd immunity strategy. The alternative to herd immunity is to… Continue reading A herd of red herrings

Sleep and mental health

One factor affecting mental health is rest and sleep. There are two aspects to this. First of all, when we are struggling with anxiety and/or depression this can affect sleep patterns but also disrupted sleep is likely to affect our overall sense of mental well-being.  So, it is possible to get into a vicious cycle. … Continue reading Sleep and mental health

Thinking about the effect of environment on mental health and depression

In his review of The pastor with a thorn in his side, Mark Pickett calls for further theological, ecclesiological and sociological reflection on the causes and consequences of depression among those in Christian service. I agree and believe that such reflection will be helpful not just for church leaders suffering with depression but as we… Continue reading Thinking about the effect of environment on mental health and depression