Author: faithrootsdw

Evangelistic Easter?

It was early 2011, we had been at Bearwood Chapel for a few months and one of the Trustees asked “Can we have a proper Easter?”  The church tradition was Brethren and historically the movement has not made a big deal of the big moments in the church calendar.  My response was “Yes of course,… Continue reading Evangelistic Easter?

Empires, beasts and demons: A response to Robert Gagnon on the Democrats and Republicans

US Scholar Robert Gagnon has engaged with John Stevens (FIEC) in a facebook post on this issue. He writes: “Yes, John Stevens and Fellow British Evangelicals: There Is Only One Political Party in America That Deserves the Label Satanic (and It’s Not the Republican Party) Robert Gagnon Only just now seeing that John Stevens, National… Continue reading Empires, beasts and demons: A response to Robert Gagnon on the Democrats and Republicans

What was going on in the White House

I’ve been experimenting with a slightly different approach to the faithroots podcast/video side of things. I’ve been putting together some short videos, filmed on my phone whilst I go for a walk. I’m calling it #WalkAndTalk. One of the series I’ve put together starts to look at the recent hoo-ha at the White House between… Continue reading What was going on in the White House

Thinking strategically about pastoral care and your church plant

Here’s a little prediction for church planters.  As your church grows, pastoral care needs will grow too and not just in number but in complexity.  If you plant with a core team of 20-30 people, you might expect the occasional situation where someone is suffering and you will be called to walk with them through… Continue reading Thinking strategically about pastoral care and your church plant

Islamophobia?

I’ve just  written about whether we dared to talk about Islam.  The context was a comment someone made on social media about whether you might dare to speak about Islam in (places like) Bradford. However, it got me thinking about the question of Islamophobia.  This is a term that has grown in currency in recent… Continue reading Islamophobia?

Dare you talk about Islam?

A friend of mine shared on social media that he was in Bradford this weekend to speak at a church event. Another prominent Christian immediately asked them whether they dated to speak about Islam.  Now, my first thought is “Why is that so often  the go to response to someone visiting Bradford?” To be sure… Continue reading Dare you talk about Islam?

Classical Theism or Neo-Classical Theism?

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You may have noticed that I refer to Classical Theism as Neo-Classical Theism from time to time.  Now the term has been used in other contexts, in fact some of those seen as in disagreement with classical theism have been labeled as such. So why use the label in this context. Well I remember first… Continue reading Classical Theism or Neo-Classical Theism?

Why the debate about sin, temptation and desire matters

I’ve had four concerns about the debate around temptation, desire and sin (concupiscence). I wanted  to just pick up on three crucial implications from these. First of all, by narrowing the debate down to one application, the impression has been unfortunately given that this isn’t to do with all of us.  Rather, it only affects… Continue reading Why the debate about sin, temptation and desire matters