faithrootsdw

“Not my will but yours” – who is talking to who?

In Matthew 26, Jesus is in the Garden of Gethsemane after he has shared the last supper with the disciples. There in the garden he goes to pray on his own and says these famous words. “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.”[1]… Continue reading “Not my will but yours” – who is talking to who?

The Son with amnesia?

In an earlier post, I talked about the challenges and the importance of talking about the Doctrine of God. I mentioned the controversy around the Doctrine of the Trinity and the Eternal Functional Subordination debate. Over the next few posts, I want to talk in a little more detail about this. My personal view is… Continue reading The Son with amnesia?

Lead us not into temptation

A lot of people struggle with this one and so have sought to amend it. Why on earth would God lead us into temptation? This implies doesn’t it that he might, but surely that would mean he was encouraging us into evil. Perhaps this is a strong way of emphasising the next part of the… Continue reading Lead us not into temptation

Conversations about God

There has been much debate about the Doctrine of God over the past few years. The technical end of the debate is about whether a particular historical approach known as Classical Theism is the benchmark of orthodoxy and whether certain theologians have strayed beyond that therefore making them heretics. There are two specific examples of… Continue reading Conversations about God

Forgive us our debts

When we get to this point in the Lord’s Prayer, we are reminded of two stories Jesus told. I have mentioned the first one a few times. It is the story of the unforgiving servant. The other one is about a young man, who demands his inheritance and heads off to a far country where… Continue reading Forgive us our debts

#ChurchToo – Pastoring the accused

What are our responsibilities towards someone who has been accused of abuse or bullying within the church? It is important to remember at this stage that being accused and being found guilty are not the same things. So, our first responsibility both to the accused and the accuser is to seek truth and justice. Secondly,… Continue reading #ChurchToo – Pastoring the accused

Give us this day our daily bread

The next part of the Lord’s prayer is a request that God will provide for us. It is a reminder that all good things come from God alone and that he is the one who provides for us and protects us. At a practical level, this is a prayer that God will oversee conditions around… Continue reading Give us this day our daily bread

How do we handle #ChurchToo allegations? Supporting the victim

It is perhaps helpful when thinking about how we would handle a complaint from an adult about abuse within the church to remember that we have some starting points. Much of what we should do is covered in the policies we tend to have for safeguarding children and vulnerable adults. I think the key things… Continue reading How do we handle #ChurchToo allegations? Supporting the victim

Losing Sleep and a hill to die on

The other day I talked about the issues we choose to lose sleep about and not feeling compelled to lose sleep about everything that others are passionate about. Well, I’ve just started reading a book by Gavin Ortlund called “Choosing which hill to die on.” The imagery is about defending your position in battle and… Continue reading Losing Sleep and a hill to die on

Why I still think #EatOutToHelpOut is wrong … but what it might achieve

I have been arguing since it was announced that Rishi Sunak’s “Eat out to help out” scheme was a bad idea economically. You see, the assumption seems to be that the measure will encourage people to start eating out in restaurants again. The problem is that the thing that has stopped people eating out over… Continue reading Why I still think #EatOutToHelpOut is wrong … but what it might achieve