My friend, Steve Kneale, argues here that we should not give over every Sunday to Advent. His argument is that whilst it is not sinful to celebrate Christmas as a cultural festival, we are not required to, it’s not a Biblical command and nor is Advent a Biblical thing. So, he argues, to give up… Continue reading Leaning into advent
Category: Church life
Home and grief
It’s now 3 years since we said goodbye to my mum and Sarah’s dad within the space of a few weeks. In both cases, there was an unexpectedness although we were aware of serious health conditions. In mum’s case, she had gone into hospital for surgery on a hiatus hernia but didn’t recover from the… Continue reading Home and grief
Home For Christmas
I wonder what you think of when you hear that title. You might just have the lyrics of one of Cliff Richard’s Christmas numbers in mind where he croons into an imaginary phone about using whatever has been invented: planes, trains, cars and apparently stars to get home for a romantic Christmas rendezvous. There was… Continue reading Home For Christmas
The pipelines that might be broken and why it probably does not affect many of us directly
I’ve just written some thoughts in response to an article that GYD shared about perceptions of a break in the ministry pipeline. In conversation with them, they talked about being involved in conversations about recruitment and there was an indication that they were also talking about the pipeline of youth workers into the church. So… Continue reading The pipelines that might be broken and why it probably does not affect many of us directly
Christian Nationalism and its deeply grievous implications for church
The late Philip Hacking once said that he was an Evangelical Anglican with the emphasis on the Adjective. In other words, the important bit of that was that he was first and foremost an Evangelical and secondly an Anglican, that’s where his loyalties lay. I do wish that many Evangelical Anglicans now would get that… Continue reading Christian Nationalism and its deeply grievous implications for church
Still reforming?
Most people will have their eyes on Halloween as the big celebration today. However, 31st October is also the anniversary of the start of the Protestant Reformation in 1517. Now some of you may be asking whether or not that’s something to celebrate. Wasn’t the Reformation a negative and divisive thing. So it is helpful… Continue reading Still reforming?
Can you stay faithful in an unfaithful church?
I’ve just watched this video by a guy called Rev Dan. It’s about why he believes that not only should he stay in the Church of Engand but you (if you belong to the CofE) should do too. Now, I’ve got a lot of time for Dan, and people like him. In fact, I quite… Continue reading Can you stay faithful in an unfaithful church?
Stay in touch – sort of responding to a TGC article on what to wear to church
An article about what to wear to church is currently doing the rounds. If you want to think through what to wear to church in more detail then you can read this which Steve Kneale has reposted here. To be honest, the arguments advanced in the TGC article are pretty thin. There’s the good old… Continue reading Stay in touch – sort of responding to a TGC article on what to wear to church
Will the new Archbishop be God’s pick for the job?
Rumour has it that the Crown Commission are set to announce their recommendation for the new Archbishop of Canterbury tomorrow (Friday 3rd October). I saw one friend’s comment on this news, it was a prayer that God would make sure the new Archbishop will be God’s pick. That’s a great thing to pray. Indeed, really.,… Continue reading Will the new Archbishop be God’s pick for the job?
How we talk about a possible revival may reveal something of our heart situation
How do you feel when you hear reports of what is being called a “Quiet Revival”? I’m sure there will be a variety of feelings and responses. Some of you will be feeling really excited at the moment because you are the ones seeing young men turning up seemingly out of nowhere. Others may be… Continue reading How we talk about a possible revival may reveal something of our heart situation
Faithroots 