Category: Church life

Do we take the Bible seriously enough?

The other day, Eddie Arthur shared a blog article titled “Issues with my tribe.”  He is there referring to evangelicalism and he highlights two particular concerns, namely that despite our protestations, we don’t take the Bible or our doctrine seriously enough. Clues towards those conclusions are found in our Sunday services. In terms of taking… Continue reading Do we take the Bible seriously enough?

COVID and Omicron responding to the current situation

In today’s post I want to update on risk assessment and risk management. I’m aware that a lot of churches will have big decisions to make this weekend about how to respond to the current new wave of cases driven by the Omicron variant. My advice as things stand would be as follows. Continue to… Continue reading COVID and Omicron responding to the current situation

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