I’m not your Saviour

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I recently wrote in response to a quote from John MacArthur where he suggested that husbands are in effect their wife’s saviour, rescuing them from loneliness, a lack of care and protection and unfulfilled potential in terms of children.  Of course, when MacArthur talked about husbands as saviours, he wasn’t intending us to think that… Continue reading I’m not your Saviour

When patching up no longer works

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Our previous car lasted us a good decade. Well, strictly speaking it lasted a good seven  years.  Then things started to go wrong.  Every time the car went in for service, it would come back with a big bill to pay and a significant bit of work.  Then there were the times when we had… Continue reading When patching up no longer works

You don’t have to apologise because I disagree with you

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US pastor and writer Kevin DeYoung has been at it again, offending people on twitter.  This time with this tweet.   A lot of people have been quick to react, seeing something deeply heretical and offensive in the tweet.  How, they ask, can Kevin say that we are fundamentally sinners when Genesis 1 says that we… Continue reading You don’t have to apologise because I disagree with you

How to engage emerging adults in church Book Review

The other day I wrote some thoughts in response to an article by Rebecca Glover on the missing generation of 18-25s in the church.  Rebecca’s article was part biographical and part an introduction to the short book I’m now reviewing.  The book is part of aa Grove Youth series and is short at 28 pages… Continue reading How to engage emerging adults in church Book Review

On hospital visiting as a pastor

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This is prompted by a twitter discussion recently about whether non-conformist pastors opt to wear a clerical dog-collar when visiting the sick. Dog-collars tend to be part of the traditional uniform of the clergy, particularly though not exclusively among Anglicans.  A lot of us would tend to frown upon then  seeing them as emphasising a… Continue reading On hospital visiting as a pastor

The hard work of the pastor

I think we can fall into one of three traps if we are involved in church pastoral ministry.  At the one end of the spectrum are those who see pastors as basically chaplains, nice, homely sorts who are primarily employed to go round and visit the elderly church members and drink copious cups of tea.… Continue reading The hard work of the pastor

The danger of boxes

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The other day, I wrote two articles which, it later struck me, highlighted the problem with our tendency to think we can compartmentalise out lives, putting things in different boxes.  The first was a follow up on Stephen Sizer and antisemitism. I wrote about how it is possible to think that we couldn’t possibly be… Continue reading The danger of boxes

Continuing to trace the rainbow

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Back a few months back, as the news came in that Queen Elizabeth II  had died, a rainbow appeared over Windsor Castle. It was a beautiful symbol of God’s goodness and promises at a time of grief.  I’ve frequently talked in terms of “tracing the rainbow” based on the lyrics of the hymn “Oh Love… Continue reading Continuing to trace the rainbow