Category: Leadership

Discerning a calling (2) Why we need to look backwards

Some of the questions you will want to ask when helping someone to discern a calling focus on what has happened in the past?  Can’t we just forget the past and look forward to the future? Well, there’s certainly a risk that we can refuse to consider people for ministry now because of what has… Continue reading Discerning a calling (2) Why we need to look backwards

Discerning a calling (1) A process for the local church

The place where potential pastors, youth and children’s leaders and women’s workers are likely to be identified is in the local church and that’s exactly where it should be.  A healthy church wants to encourage members of the church family to use their gifts to serve the Gospel.  In some cases, this will mean considering… Continue reading Discerning a calling (1) A process for the local church

Have COVID interventions worked -more on difficult decisions in uncertainty

Were the Government reckless in failing to bring in additional COVID measures for England over the Christmas and the New Year period? Or did Scotland and Wales jump the gun with pointless measures that haven’t worked, were never going to and weren’t necessary anyway? A lot of people think so and hold their views very… Continue reading Have COVID interventions worked -more on difficult decisions in uncertainty

The danger of an overactive hindsight

Remember back in July when the Government announced that England was coming out of the final stages of lockdown without any further mitigations. There were a whole host of people lining up to denounce the unethical recklessness of this.  We were given apocalyptic warnings of England being a plague nation with the hospitals jam packed… Continue reading The danger of an overactive hindsight

COVID and church risk management update (31/12/2021)

We go into 2022 with COVID cases high primarily as a result of the new Omicron variant. Case numbers recorded daily have been at eye watering levels with records broken daily. Currently the expectation is that cases will peak sometime in January but at exactly what level we cannot be certain yet, although it does… Continue reading COVID and church risk management update (31/12/2021)

What would vocational training for pastors/planters look like?  (Part 2) Syllabus/Curriculum

I’ve been sharing a little bit more about my desire to see churches planted and replanted in urban contexts. My own particular concern is for the urban West Midlands including north and east Birmingham, The Black Country and Wolverhampton. I believe that such an effort is going to need a lot more people from a… Continue reading What would vocational training for pastors/planters look like?  (Part 2) Syllabus/Curriculum

What might vocational training look like (assessment)

I’ve talked frequently about the need for vocational/in context training for Gospel ministry. This arises out of A local vision to see people planting and replanting churches into the urban West Midlands A belief that we need to be on a mission footing rather than in maintenance mode across the UK. These things both lead… Continue reading What might vocational training look like (assessment)

Shepherding and heavy shepherding

Occasionally you hear rumours about a certain type of church. Perhaps you hear that they sit down with the church members and go through their accounts and payslips before telling the members how to tithe, or you hear about the two old ladies who go on a holiday together only to be met with a… Continue reading Shepherding and heavy shepherding

Training for ministry is not just about “what” but “who”

Over time, the pendulum swings back and forth in terms of what is considered a good education.  A few years back, schools were all about so called “child centred learning” where children were to be encouraged to explore and discover for themselves. Teachers were not “the sage on the stage” but “ the guide at… Continue reading Training for ministry is not just about “what” but “who”