Banner of Truth have republished an article recently calling for churches to preserve with holding evening services -or in many cases to recover them. I’m not sure who the target is of such articles? Is the aim to lay a heavy burden on pastors for not persevering with opening up buildings knowing that few if… Continue reading If we claim to love God’s Word then we need to handle it correctly
Category: Leadership
The myth of inner calling
London Seminary have posted an article talking about the importance of having an inner calling to Christian ministry. There are a few minor concerns I have with the argument. First, LS state that the only qualification that is required prior to study with them is a “calling to Christian ministry.” Now, unless they specifically mean… Continue reading The myth of inner calling
Should pastors expect to preach 3 times a week?
As a follow up to John Brand’s open letter to those training people in church contexts, a further letter to the editor appeared in the next month’s issue from David Randall. You can read it here but it may be behind a pay-wall. So, in summary, he contrasts what Brand had referred to as “real-world… Continue reading Should pastors expect to preach 3 times a week?
Reset
The church that you are pastoring this side of the 2020 COVID19 pandemic may not be the same as the one that went into the pandemic. I argued during lockdown that many churches would in effect need to adopt a church plant mindset coming out of lockdown. What we’ve seen is that the pandemic caused… Continue reading Reset
The difference
So, that was that, for all the talk of England’s date with destiny, it turned out to be Spain that had the invite after all. The Three Lions managed to pull back level after going a goal behind and only lost 2-1 in the late stages of the game. However, the narrow scoreline and late… Continue reading The difference
Total Recall and VAR (lessons from Harry Kane’s penalty for cultural analysis)
In both of England’s recent Euro semi-finals, there’s been penalty controversy. Some pundits branded the decision in favour of Kane the other night “a disgrace.” At the time, I agreed with the VAR decision but have found the lively, good natured social media debate fascinating. Many England fans have argued that it should not have… Continue reading Total Recall and VAR (lessons from Harry Kane’s penalty for cultural analysis)
Revitalisation
My first real experience of Christian ministry was in the context of church revitalisation. A little Pentecostal Church between Bradford and Leeds had fallen on hard times, suffered a split and was down to its last half a dozen elderly members. My dad had preached there regularly after they first approached a larger church for… Continue reading Revitalisation
The cost
Jesus famously said that those considering following him should first count the cost. His point was that they were going to face persecution and have to be willing to give up their life. They would lose friends and influence for the sake of the Gospel but the Gospel is worth it. Jesus’ words were not… Continue reading The cost
Church membership
Occasionally I have conversations with church planters and revitalisers about whether or not they should have church membership. There are actually quite a lot of Christians who don’t agree with the idea of membership and say they would refuse to join a church. How do churches do membership? Every church has some form of membership.… Continue reading Church membership
Spotting and developing potential leaders
How do we identify potential future leaders in the church? A lot has been made of the “Blokes Worth Watching” approach associated with Philip Jenkins, Sydney Anglicans and ministry schemes in the early years of this century. This has been seen both positively and negatively with on the one hand, many in conservative evangelical circles… Continue reading Spotting and developing potential leaders
Faithroots 