Category: Church life

Warning … Danger! What was going on with Ananias and Saphira?

It’s one of the most shocking and disturbing events in the New Testament. Ananias and Saphira, two early Christians turn up to make a donation to the Jerusalem church coffers, neither return home alive. They are struck dead by the Holy Spirit. What is going on there?  At one end of the spectrum are those… Continue reading Warning … Danger! What was going on with Ananias and Saphira?

For all the Saints

What is today?  For most people, it’s the day after Halloween.  That’s true whether or not you’ve enthusiastically celebrated the event, attempted to create an alternative or desperately sought to avoid it.  However, that’s quite ironic because Halloween is a contraction of “All Hallows’ Eve” or “All Saints’ Eve. We say “Happy Halloween” but not… Continue reading For all the Saints

An overflow of grace for the good of the city

One reason why I think it is right to say that a church exists for the good of the city is that if things are done right, then this simply is the case.  Why do I say that?  Well have a look at Hebrews 6:4-7 with me. It says: We tend to look at those… Continue reading An overflow of grace for the good of the city

Jesus for the good of the city

The other day I wrote a little bit about what it means to seek the good of the city. I was prompted to think about this because we’ve just had a week of prayer as a family of churches in Birmingham and on the Wednesday night, the theme was “For the good of the city”… Continue reading Jesus for the good of the city

For the good of the city

Our church has a list of reasons that we exist. One of them is that we exist “for the good of the city.”  Our church has been planted here in Birmingham with the conviction that we should not just become a “holy huddle.” A challenge is sometimes given to churches “If you ceased to exist… Continue reading For the good of the city

Finding joy – an answer to exhaustion

I recently shared a few articles about the Christian Sabbath. In one, I talked about how we shouldn’t be looking at how many meetings a person attends on a Sunday but whether the Sabbath is fulfilling its intended purpose.  My dad who has served as a lay pastor (unpaid whilst continuing in secular work), itinerant… Continue reading Finding joy – an answer to exhaustion

Why stripping back Sundays is helping me to think about Sabbath

I’ve recently commented that having been in a position for most of my life where I’ve attended church at least twice on Sunday, sometimes more, that now being in a place where we are only attending once, it feels in some ways that for the first time, the Christian Sabbath is doing its job. Now,… Continue reading Why stripping back Sundays is helping me to think about Sabbath

The pastor’s Sabbath?

Most pastors have something in their contract to the effect that they should have one day a week completely clear of work. Some contracts will refer to it as the pastor’s sabbath.  I’m deeply uncomfortable with that language because it suggests that the pastor should have his sabbath away from God’s people. It also begs… Continue reading The pastor’s Sabbath?

Trusting God in troubled seasons

You can now listen to some of the Faithroots Podcasts on Spotify. A while back I did a series on the book of Habakkuk. As well as working through verse by verse, I also included three short reflection talks. I think that the content is particularly helpful as we face tough and even fearful days… Continue reading Trusting God in troubled seasons