“Where did everyone go?” asked the new Christian. They had come along to the church earlier in the year, accepted Jesus as saviour and got involved in the life of the church. Then we came to the summer holidays. Quite a few of the younger families headed off on holiday. Youth clubs, ESOL classes and… Continue reading Don’t disappear in the summer
Category: Church life
Pastoring a church through the question of men and women in leadership
Perhaps one of the greatest challenges for local churches right now is navigating potential controversies around how to understand the role of men and women in the local church. This reflects, a polarising between those holding to complementarian positions and those holding to egalitarian ones. How in practice can we address this in a way… Continue reading Pastoring a church through the question of men and women in leadership
Among the gleanings
Recently a visiting preacher at our church picked up on the story of Ruth. He particularly applied the message to those who might identify with Boaz in the story. At our life group, we broadened this out and asked people who they identified with in the story. In fact we discussed who we might want… Continue reading Among the gleanings
He is risen… He is risen indeed, alleluia
So goes the traditional Easter Sunday greeting. I love Easter and all it represents. As with Christmas, I’m a bit of a traditionalist on this. I think this is an incredible opportunity to sing great, joyful hymns, rich in the truth of the resurrection. It does seem that slightly older, more traditional hymns do this… Continue reading He is risen… He is risen indeed, alleluia
The now and not yet of Easter Saturday
It’s perhaps time for my traditional protest about those who try to make a thing out of “Easter Saturday.” There really isn’t such a thing! The Gospel accounts all move directly from the events of Good Friday to Sunday morning. Saturday was a Sabbath Day of course, so there was nothing that the Jewish followers… Continue reading The now and not yet of Easter Saturday
Spiritual Fathers?
If you’ve followed the Bethel story over the past few weeks, then you’ll be aware of an aspect of the culture that has caused problems. Interns at the church are from time to time allocated spiritual fathers. It’s in this context that at a minimum, boundaries have been blurred, crossed and potentially worse. This came… Continue reading Spiritual Fathers?
Thank you Sunbridge Road Mission
Yesterday I had the joy of visiting my “home church”, the place where I grew up and put my trust in Jesus. Sunbridge Road Mission is a city centre church in Bradford, planted 137 years ago. This year, the church family will be moving across the road to a new purpose built building having raised… Continue reading Thank you Sunbridge Road Mission
Does the world have more faith than us?
This little story caught my eye. Now, there are a few little details to be aware of. First of all, I understand that the church in question aligns with the Exclusive Brethren which tend to be regarded as a sect and that will potentially affect some of their expectations. Secondly, whilst there seem to be… Continue reading Does the world have more faith than us?
What prophecy is not … Just Bible study
Conservative Evangelicals struggle with the idea of prophecy, particularly if they are non cessationists. It’s not too much of a problem for cessationists. They take the simple approach that the more spectacular gifts, seen as sign gifts ceased with the close of the apostolic age and completion of the canon of Scripture. This means that… Continue reading What prophecy is not … Just Bible study
Christians awake …
We are often being told that we need to wake up. Various events have been described as “wake up calls” including atrocities we have witnessed this year such as the Manchester synagogue attack and the Bondi Beach massacre. We’ve been told at various times that we need to wake up to the danger our nation… Continue reading Christians awake …
