faithrootsdw

Abuse and the fault in our theology

I remember being asked once whether I’d prefer to pastor a church that was weak/confused in its doctrine but seemed on fire with passion for the Lord and loving or a church that seemed to be ticking all the right boxes doctrinally but wasn’t clicking in terms of love, welcome, enthusiasm. After thinking about the… Continue reading Abuse and the fault in our theology

Relax, refresh, restart

I’ve been writing a few articles about churches and life after lockdown. In them, I’ve included some potentially provocative comments about traditional midweek church ministries. Please don’t get me wrong on this. I’m not saying that you must never run these activities. I simply have a twofold point. The first is that a lot of… Continue reading Relax, refresh, restart

One step forward? Let’s hope it’s not two back

So, the Prime Minister has announced the roadmap route out of lockdown, arguing that it is a cautious route but hopefully irreversible. Much of what he said had already been leaked in advance and that’s something we keep saying needs to change but is unlikely to. The leaking of actual measures was not helped by… Continue reading One step forward? Let’s hope it’s not two back

Is it too early to come out of lockdown?

Understandably, there is still some nervousness about whether or not we should be coming out of the current lockdown just yet or whether it is too soon. I thought it might be helpful to have a look at the available data. The key information is as follows. First of all, the rolling 7 day average… Continue reading Is it too early to come out of lockdown?

One thing I ask (Psalm 27)

I love these words from Psalm 27 “One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after:that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire[c] in his temple.”[1] They stick in my head but it is important to not miss the context. David is… Continue reading One thing I ask (Psalm 27)

What would it help to know?

Yesterday I commented on the need of the pastor to be informed on a whole range of issues outside of their specific expertise in Biblical studies. We cannot and should not seek to become experts in every field but there are things we can do to help pastors be prepared for this aspect of ministry.… Continue reading What would it help to know?

So why run clubs and toddlers’ groups?

I’ve written a couple of articles recently about our outreach post COVID. I’ve suggested that we might want to revisit some of our weekday programmes. That’s partly because I suspect there will be a nervousness about attending such events for a while, and indeed, the suggestion that social distancing measures will be needed until well… Continue reading So why run clubs and toddlers’ groups?

I didn’t expect to need to know that

It’s been wryly noted that we suddenly have become experts in virology and epidemiology. Two years ago many of us didn’t even know that epidemiology existed. Today, we use terms like “R rate” freely and talk confidently about the impact of this or that variant and the efficacy of different NPIs. Similarly, I remember at… Continue reading I didn’t expect to need to know that

Confronting abuse in the church – reforming towards a culture of grace

I’ve written from time to time about the issues of bullying and abuse within the church. That is because recent serious scandals relating to high profile leaders that include sexual, emotional and physical abuse, and sadly the accompanying failure of the church to deal with such issues over many years raise challenges about church culture. … Continue reading Confronting abuse in the church – reforming towards a culture of grace

Showing Up – Turning From Idols

In the last chapter, I identified a number of redemptive offers, alternative hope offered from religious, political, social or economic perspectives. At the end of the chapter I observed that these alternative solutions have several things in common. They encourage people to assume a victim identity. The world is then divided between a powerful minority… Continue reading Showing Up – Turning From Idols