It was early 2011, we had been at Bearwood Chapel for a few months and one of the Trustees asked “Can we have a proper Easter?” The church tradition was Brethren and historically the movement has not made a big deal of the big moments in the church calendar. My response was “Yes of course,… Continue reading Evangelistic Easter?
Category: evangelism and mission
The gift is …
The waiting and anticipation is over. It may be that some of you knew all along what you were getting for Christmas. You made a list, you were asked for suggestions. Some presents will have come as a surprise, you weren’t expecting them. I’m a traditionalist, so that means I don’t like the idea of… Continue reading The gift is …
Don’t serve thin gruel. Offer them a “better than” Christmas
A friend posted on facebook a comment to the effect that Christmas decorations are not meant to be understated, they are meant to be over the top, exuberant as though someone has “vomited up joy.” Well, I’m not sure if he went a little bit too far with that image but I think you get… Continue reading Don’t serve thin gruel. Offer them a “better than” Christmas
The difference between Jesus and Santa
I once made the mistake of provocatively stating that “Santa” about as close as you can get to the Anit-Christ. The mistake I made was not checking who was in the room. One of the youngsters in the church was present. Fortunately, I made the mistake in a Bible study/prayer meeting and not in a… Continue reading The difference between Jesus and Santa
Unworthy
A Son is along way from home, homeless, treated as an outcaste, on the brink of death. This could in fact describe two sons. In the story that Jesus has been telling, the younger son has left home for a far off country. There, he has wasted everything and at that point, famine hits. Penniless… Continue reading Unworthy
Worthy: What are you worth this Christmas?
Are you looking for something to give away to friends at Christmas that communicates the Gospel? Here’s a little booklet that we are going to be using as a giveaway at our church Christmas events. It’s based on some of the advent reflections I’ve been sharing over the past few weeks. Worthy tells the story… Continue reading Worthy: What are you worth this Christmas?
Were we just Halloween lite?
With most events and activities, we tend to spend a bit of time planning before hand but also reflecting afterwards. Christmas tends to see a lot of up front planning and a lot of resources provided from outside, Easter not so much so. Halloween, reflecting perhaps our uncertainty of where it fits in tends to… Continue reading Were we just Halloween lite?
What should we do about Halloween?
Graham Nicholls writes for Affinity about the dilemma that many Christians face when approaching Halloween. I suspect that the dilemma arises because the event itself is messy. You are encountering not just one festival or “holiday” but several and they have all got muddled up together. First (though not chronologically) there’s the festival from which… Continue reading What should we do about Halloween?
Attracting men to church
My wife sometimes tunes into a certain Christian radio station when driving. She reports that the other day, she was listening in when the presenter introduced a topic of conversation “There are far fewer men than women in the church, why do we fail to attract men and can we come up with creative ways… Continue reading Attracting men to church
Is reaching urban Britain “cross cultural”?
In “Hope for the City”, I talk about reaching urban Britain as requiring “cross cultural mission”. But is it? I’ve also wanted to insist in recent blog posts that we shouldn’t be thinking in terms of a minority working class but rather about people who are simply normal ordinary members of the same society. So,… Continue reading Is reaching urban Britain “cross cultural”?
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