Category: Church life

local lockdowns and the local church

When Leicester went back into “lockdown” the Government explained that their strategy would be what they referred to as “whack-a-mole” acting quickly with local lockdowns to supress new spikes. Last night, we saw the most significant example of this yet as parts of West Yorkshire and Greater Manchester had new restrictions imposed. This is something… Continue reading local lockdowns and the local church

Recovering from Biblical manhood and womanhood – a review

I finally sat down to read Aimee Byrd’s book Recovering From Biblical Manhood and Womanhood today (birthday present). You may recall that a few weeks back I had written in defence of Aimee following some rather unpleasant goings on in an online facebook group. Well I thought it was important to sit down and read… Continue reading Recovering from Biblical manhood and womanhood – a review

Stopping a virus from spreading

As churches we have made every effort these past few months to prevent a virus from spreading. We have self isolated, we have washed our hands, we have closed down our buildings for a while and when we have reopened we have been so careful to socially distance and wear masks. It is good that… Continue reading Stopping a virus from spreading

What if the vaccine never comes?

There have been encouraging signs over the past few weeks. We are hearing reports that trials with vaccines are having some successes. Meanwhile, we appear to be over the peak here in the UK and cases of COVID-19 have continued to decline even as society has started to open up again. However we continue to… Continue reading What if the vaccine never comes?

Are Christians meant to feed themselves?

A couple of years back, a US church surveyed its members to get a better understanding of retention issues. They discovered that a major problem was that a lot of members, especially those who were mature Christians felt that they were not being properly fed. The church’s response?  They began to look at how they… Continue reading Are Christians meant to feed themselves?

I don’t feel fed (part 2) – how do we feed the church?

Yesterday I wrote about the problem when people don’t feel fed in church. I highlighted that 30-40 years ago, many churches would have provided quite a programme in the week for teaching including services, adult Sunday schools and midweek ministry. Given that feeding has a wider dimension than just intellectual content, we might add to… Continue reading I don’t feel fed (part 2) – how do we feed the church?

The anxious middle

The Bishop of London has been quoted today observing that it is okay to be anxious at the moment, we are still in the middle of the Coronavirus pandemic and there is a real possibility of a second wave striking.  The heart of her argument is that well-worn phrase “It’s okay to not be okay”… Continue reading The anxious middle

Being Transparent about risk (2) COVID-19 is still with us

In a previous post, I argued that we need to be open with our church family about the risks associated with moving out of lockdown. As I explained in that article, this means that we should not engage in the over-hype which can happen when people are sharing alarmist headlines around social media.  This will… Continue reading Being Transparent about risk (2) COVID-19 is still with us