Category: Church life

In defence of complementarianism

One of the things I’ve seen coming up again and again is the suggestion that part of the problem with conservative evangelical culture that needs to change is complementarianism. Indeed, you will notice that the push is to argue that complementarianism is not only a risk factor for creating abusive cultures but furthermore is, in… Continue reading In defence of complementarianism

Changing our culture – the relationship between church leaders and church members

In my previous post, I talked about how to reform church culture towards a grace culture by focusing on our relationship towards one another as characterised by humility.   Today, I want to talk about how leaders and congregations should relate to each other. Here are two important scriptures on the subject.  First of all, we… Continue reading Changing our culture – the relationship between church leaders and church members

Talking about church culture -and how to change it

One of the things coming out of the recent bullying and abuse scandals within the evangelical church has been the beginning of a conversation about church culture and the need for reformation.  I am going to give a little bit of attention to the question here. At this stage, it is important to emphasise the… Continue reading Talking about church culture -and how to change it

Scandalised

One of the really sad things about recent abuse scandals in the church is the way they mirror some of the horrific things we see in the world around us.  We should be able to respond and to offer something that is beautifully counter cultural.  Yet instead, we are seen to ape some of the… Continue reading Scandalised

#churchtoo, abuse bullying and culture – let’s have the conversation

In the light of the Timmis, Fletcher, Smyth and RZIM reports, there does seem to be a level of willingness amongst church and network leaders to talk about church culture and how we encourage reformation in this area. I will be including some more articles next week addressing this subject further but at this stage,… Continue reading #churchtoo, abuse bullying and culture – let’s have the conversation

So how do we get back to in person gatherings for ALL sooner?

This is a follow up article to this morning’s article on Vaccine passports.  My aim in writing that article was to get us thinking about how we open up for in person meeting sooner, with the aim for all who wish to gather in person to do so. My aim is to enable church families… Continue reading So how do we get back to in person gatherings for ALL sooner?

Why I won’t be doing a Passover demonstration

These things have become increasingly popular, particularly around this time of year. The idea is that someone, occasionally a Messianic Jew often a Christian who has done some research sets out a demonstration of a Jewish Passover meal.  As the Last Supper was Jesus’ sitting down to eat the Passover, it is felt that this… Continue reading Why I won’t be doing a Passover demonstration

The church is still the bride of Christ

Imagine turning up at a wedding, heading towards the groom and telling him he was a great mate, a general all round good guy and your favourite friend. Then after a short pause you tell him “but your bride is a hideous troll isn’t she. Can’t stand her mate.”  A few minutes later you find… Continue reading The church is still the bride of Christ