When I worked in industry I was particularly interested in the Lean Manufacturing approach associated particularly with the Toyota Production System. One of the things that a new engineer or manager would do when they started work in a factory would be to find a place to stand on the “Gemba” or shop floor, a… Continue reading Learning to hear
Category: pastoral-care
Adoption apologies and a clash of testimonies
Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve been picking up on the issue of testimony and the expectations we put on people sharing their stories. We’ve looked at it in the context of pastors telling their stories of suffering from depression and Premier Radio conversation about childlessness. Well, here’s a third example concerning adoption. A… Continue reading Adoption apologies and a clash of testimonies
Breaking taboos … is it okay to ask someone if they are trying for a baby?
I recently saw a clip from Premier Christian Radio debating whether or not it’s okay to ask a Christian friend about whether or not they are trying for a baby. You can see the original clip here: And here’s my response.
The limits of Testimony
Since The Pastor with a thorn in his side was published back during the pandemic, we’ve had lots of feedback, most of it positive. At times though, the feedback was “we were looking for more.” I don’t think that’s necessarily bad, providing we understand it to be a recognition of the limits of a book… Continue reading The limits of Testimony
Desire, temptation and depression
There are a few strands of thinking that I’ve pursued and engaged with over time on faithroots. You may pick up particularly that I’ve written extensively on concupiscence and also on depression. One of my concerns about the concupiscence (desire, temptation and sin) debate was that it seemed heavily focused on questions around gender and… Continue reading Desire, temptation and depression
The Church and the issue of suicide
Here are some reflections on how we might go about addressing the issue of suicide in church
Fire and flood
A month back, Sarah had a message to say that serious wildfires had broken out near her school. These had caused havoc leading to a number of people losing their homes to the fire and others being treated in hospital. Then a few weeks later our neighborhood was battered by a terrific thunderstorm with torrential… Continue reading Fire and flood
When tragedy hits
The news from the Big Church Festival is devastating. On Friday afternoon a large sign collapsed possibly due to strong winds. The festival was paused as news emerged of at least six injuries. Then later in the evening police sadly confirmed that a 41 year old man had been killed. The story was reported on… Continue reading When tragedy hits
Wedding anniversary reflections
Today is our wedding anniversary. So, I wanted to start my post by saying a couple of thank yous. First to my wife, Sarah, it’s a joy to be your husband and I am grateful not just for the 19 years of married life but for the 22 years it has been a privilege to… Continue reading Wedding anniversary reflections
Is pastoral counselling homework helping or hurting?
Casey McCall has picked up on and adapted the title of Stephen Corbett and Brian Fikkert’s book “When Helping Hurts” to talk about “When Helping hurts in pastoral counselling.” His main point is that pastoral counselling does more harm than good when those seeking it confuse it with therapy. To some extent I want to… Continue reading Is pastoral counselling homework helping or hurting?
