One of the things that you may have picked up from the Ravi Zacharias scandal is that a lot of responsibility for accountability lay with family and friends. That’s one of the problems with a self selected group of people becoming responsible for a person’s accountability. If we simply choose our own friends and family… Continue reading “Family and friends” are not your accountability.
Author: faithrootsdw
Building back better -discipleship after lockdown
Some of our churches are going to need to do some building back after lockdown. I’ve mentioned before that I don’t think that we were pandemic proof and so COVID-19 hit us like a full on Tsumani. Yet, in many respects, what the pandemic took out for our churches was not the real stuff. We… Continue reading Building back better -discipleship after lockdown
The “both – and” of mission
Republished from the archives (2018) One of my personal passions and priorities is to see people get involved in urban mission, making disciples who make disciples in communities where there is practically no gospel witness at the moment. That’s why I keep pointing visitors to faithroots.net to our ActBC pages. That urban focus means that… Continue reading The “both – and” of mission
What (if anything) have we learnt about God’s Sovereignty during lockdown?
One of the charges laid against those who are seen as most enthusiastic about lockdowns and vaccines is that they have forgotten about God’s Sovereignty over life and death and so are doing everything they can to cheat death. Furthermore, the argument is that belief we can control the virus is “hubris.” I’ve argued in… Continue reading What (if anything) have we learnt about God’s Sovereignty during lockdown?
Did we grow to love the fringe too much?
I resisted for a while, especially when I hoped lockdown would be short but eventually I succumbed. I realised that my hair was beginning to look like I was channelling Boris Johnson. So, I bought some clippers and in a dramatic, bold move set them to number one before unleashing them on my head. I’ve… Continue reading Did we grow to love the fringe too much?
Gifting, discernment and abuse
This is the sermon mentioned in my article about spiritual abuse Worship is about Glorifying and praising God Encouraging one another up /being a witness Hearing God speak to us? How do we know that it is God speaking? By Knowing our own limitations (v 1-2) A question about Spiritual things –… Continue reading Gifting, discernment and abuse
Idolatry and Abuse
I am republishing this article from 2016 in the light of recent challenging news stories How can we be alert to the risk of abuse, manipulation and control in church life? Sometime back, I preached on 1 Corinthians 12:1-3. I talked about how the devil wants us to stop hearing God and instead turn to… Continue reading Idolatry and Abuse
Come with me – simple discipleship
I have often been struck by John’s description of the first disciples being called. I would sum up his description of discipleship being that it is people following Jesus to be in his presence and inviting others to come with them and follow Jesus. That’s discipleship in a nutshell. I was reminded of this again… Continue reading Come with me – simple discipleship
Has COVID exposed our problem with legalism?
I remember a conversation with someone who came from a fairly strict church background about when it was permissible to not say grace. They explained how church leaders in the past had gone to great lengths to talk about the size of the meal. It was a bit like the gymnastics the government went through… Continue reading Has COVID exposed our problem with legalism?
If RZIM is truly repentant then they need to disband
No parachurch organisation can presume that it will be permanently around. Indeed, even local churches cannot make that assumption according to the first few chapters of Revelation. Too often, institutions have focused on protecting their own reputation over and above the priorities of The honour and glory of Christ The Gospel Those who have been… Continue reading If RZIM is truly repentant then they need to disband