Category: Hope For The City

What would I like you to know about Islam, Muslims and immigration?

Aaron Edwards has written a few articles on his Substack site about Islam and Britain.  Some of the articles require paid subscription whilst others are available free. You can read the last one here.  One comment on the article which said: “I read some comments from people living in the Midlands who are already living… Continue reading What would I like you to know about Islam, Muslims and immigration?

What if anything does the Bible have to say about class?

When I recently posted some articles concerning class, the church and the Gospel, I opened up comments for discussion.  Here is one comment that was posted. “What does the scriptures say about the class system that you are talking about? In which “class” would you put say Peter, Paul, Moses etc. What “class” would you… Continue reading What if anything does the Bible have to say about class?

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”?

More on class and church

I had some interesting responses to my recent observations about class and the church.  These ranged from “Yes there is a working class but it’s a small minority in the wider society, so we cannot really suggest that the church is dominated by a minority culture.  The culture that dominates is the culture of wider… Continue reading More on class and church

Resources on urban mission/ class and evangelical church

When reviewing Kirsten Birkett’s book “Class and the Evangelical Church”  I noted that she acknowledges that there is already a wealth of work that has been done on the subject.  I also expressed disappointment that she doesn’t really engage with that great wealth of work and limits herself primarily to two book with a couple… Continue reading Resources on urban mission/ class and evangelical church

Do we understand the middle classes?

There’s been a lot of discussion and debate in recent years about Britain’s class structure.  Most of the focus has been on analysing and understanding the phenomenon of a working class in society.  This is to some extent for two main reasons.  First, that much of the discussion happens in academic circles, and by definition,… Continue reading Do we understand the middle classes?

What is Birmingham’s bankruptcy saying to us?

Yesterday I wrote about our city going bankrupt and what that might mean for us.  As I explained in the article, there’s actually a lot of uncertainty and the honest answer to “what does this mean?” Is that we really don’t know yet.  It is entirely possible that for most of us we’ll see very… Continue reading What is Birmingham’s bankruptcy saying to us?

We need pastors who have never read the Brontes …and who never will

I saw this Tweet the other day.  I think I get the point the tweet author is making. I can’t say for certain. I’ve watched a TV adaption of Jane Eyre as a child and seen trailers for similar adaptions of Pride and Prejudice but I’ve read neither book. I write as someone with post… Continue reading We need pastors who have never read the Brontes …and who never will

Hope for the City: Urban Subversive Fulfillment

Well, I’ve finally got round to completing the first draft of “Hope for the city.” This was a little project I kicked off whilst on sabbatical back in 2018. I wanted to think a little more deeply about how we approach mission to our urban contexts. Back at Oak Hill when I was studying there,… Continue reading Hope for the City: Urban Subversive Fulfillment