This is a little follow up to my articles on singing in our hearts and on the Creeds. One of the questions that keeps coming up is about the command to sing corporately. This is particularly important for people who follow what is sometimes referred to as “The Regulative Principle.” There are two approaches to… Continue reading Are we commanded to sing?
Category: Church life
This isn’t the pandemic we were expecting
Whilst pandemics are frightening things we dread, when one strikes it can send a bit of an adrenaline rush can’t it? That’s why we have been hooked by films and TV dramas like 28 Days Later and the Last Ship. Did the adrenaline kick in for you just a little bit back in February/March when… Continue reading This isn’t the pandemic we were expecting
Is it really unhelpful to recite the creeds?
On Steve Kneale’s blog is an article arguing against reciting the Creed in Church. You can see his arguments here. In this article, I’m going to offer a response. To be clear up front, I’m from a non-conformist background and am most comfortable in “non-liturgical” churches. However, I am not anti-liturgy. I think it can… Continue reading Is it really unhelpful to recite the creeds?
You don’t have to be my Facebook friend
I was asked a brilliant question the other day. The questioner explained that they have friends on social media who they really struggle with, they find their regular comments about immigration hard to stomach and often there is an undercurrent of racism. For balance, they observed that they find some of the Black Lives Matter… Continue reading You don’t have to be my Facebook friend
Can we just sing in our hearts?
At the present time, Government guidance to churches is clear, we should not participate in congregation singing as there remain concerns about coronavirus being spread through singing and shouting. The option is there to listen to the songs. So, how are we to respond to this? So far, I have seen three approaches to this.… Continue reading Can we just sing in our hearts?
Blocked
If you are on social media then you are probably familiar with the idea of being able to “block” someone. The function is available on facebook and twitter. Blocking means that they can no longer see your messages or interact with you. On Twitter it means that you won’t initially see their tweets though you… Continue reading Blocked
Why we should embrace failure
In a previous article I started to look at the question of failure. Here I want to offer x good reasons for why we as believers and particularly church leaders should embrace failure. What happens if we refuse to encounter failure? First, if I don’t embrace the reality of failure then I am unlikely to… Continue reading Why we should embrace failure
It’s time we got over our tribalism
I grew up with my family attending an independent Methodist mission hall, elsewhere my Grandma was a fully accredited Methodist preacher. Her husband had grown up in the Brethren movement in Belfast. Apparently Great Grandma had herself been a Methodist but had joined the Gospel Hall her husband belonged to when they got married. Dad… Continue reading It’s time we got over our tribalism
Refugees – Blessing or burden?
Thinking back to a conversation I had with two other Christians about the Home Office’s approach to processing asylum claims, I was struck again by how much our perception of the asylum system is shaped by our view of asylum seekers themselves. If I think that asylum seekers are very likely to be fake, just… Continue reading Refugees – Blessing or burden?
Matters of conscience and matters of wisdom
This is a quick response to my friend Steve’s article this morning. Today, Steve has commented on the issues with identifying something as a matter of conscience. Some people seem to treat a “matter of conscience” as a kind of subjective route into saying that they can hold to their own personal truth unchallenged. As… Continue reading Matters of conscience and matters of wisdom
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