Category: Church life

COVID19 update 16th December 2021

Last week, I expressed my concern that if the Government’s aim was to prevent a high level of cases driven by the Omicron variant then I wasn’t convinced that the measures announced at the time were likely to affect case rates much. In fact, by delaying some measures I was concerned that this might drive… Continue reading COVID19 update 16th December 2021

Throwing people under the bus

In a recent article I mentioned the “Rise and Fall of Mars Hill” podcast.  The Christianity Today series tells the story of Mark Driscoll and Mars Hill Church, Seattle.  Driscoll became well known as a church planter and mega-church leader succeeding in an area regarded as hard to reach. He went on to head up… Continue reading Throwing people under the bus

How we treat others – a lesson from The Magician’s Nephew

Prompted by a friend, I’ve started re-reading the Chronicles of Narnia. The one volume edition we have starts not with the Lion, the witch and the wardrobe but with its prequel “The Magician’s Nephew”, the story of how Narnia all began. The story is of a boy Digory and his friend Polly, tricked into using… Continue reading How we treat others – a lesson from The Magician’s Nephew

Update on COVID Church Risk Management (09/12/2021)

Yesterday Boris Johnson gave an update and brought in new measures for England in response to the Omicron variant. Those measures essentially bring England into line with the rest of the United Kingdom and include the following: The NHS COVID pass (vaccine passport) will be required for unseated venues (over 500 indoors and 4000 outdoors)… Continue reading Update on COVID Church Risk Management (09/12/2021)

The solution to toxic culture? – a meal with Jesus

Has there been anything in history comparable to the horrific things reports of abuse, bullying and toxic culture coming from evangelical churches over the past few years? Well, yes there has. Right back in the first century, the mission of the church could have almost been undone by the antics of the Corinthian church. There… Continue reading The solution to toxic culture? – a meal with Jesus

Abuse, bullying and slander – a war of attrition

When it comes to concerns about abuse and bullying I think we can identify the following types of context Clear examples of coercive, cruel and manipulative behaviour Clear examples of false accusation One off but significant failures The reality that all of us are finite and fallen and consistently get things wrong in terms of… Continue reading Abuse, bullying and slander – a war of attrition

The problem with church lad culture

I’ve not got round to listening to The Rise and fall of Mars Hill podcast. From what I’ve heard, it’s not easy listening.  The podcast tells the story of Mark Driscoll’s rise to prominence as an evangelical leader and subsequent fall from grace.  Driscoll became a bit of a poster boy for the neo-Calvinists and… Continue reading The problem with church lad culture

How might Omicron affect your church over Christmas

One thing we have to be aware of when planning things for our churches in response to COVID19 is not just the objective impact of the virus in terms of its actual threat to health but also how news and perceptions affect the decisions of members and potential attendees. With that in mind, I’ve conducted… Continue reading How might Omicron affect your church over Christmas

Update on Omicron and Church Risk Management

This is an update on my article yesterday regarding the recently discovered COVID Variant of concern. Two cases of Omicron have now been discovered in the UK.  This has to be accounted for in in decision making as when I wrote yesterday we were working on the assumption that the variant was not yet present… Continue reading Update on Omicron and Church Risk Management