Last year I contributed to a short book called “The Pastor with a thorn in his side.” It’s a book which tells the stories of 7 pastors who have faced depression during their ministry. Steve Kneale edited the book and as well as telling his own story provides an introduction and a conclusion. In those… Continue reading Towards a theology of depression
Category: pastoral-care
Your pastor has considered giving up
That’s perhaps not the headline you wanted to read is it? However, this is the challenging reality. At some point your pastor/vicar/elders have thought “I could just walk out the building after the service finishes, in fact, I could do it right now. I could shut the Bible, walk out and never come back here.”… Continue reading Your pastor has considered giving up
The pandemic – faith and emotional health
Earlier this week, I shared the results of a survey that I had done among my twitter followers picking up on the impact of the pandemic. The survey showed that whilst quite a few people are able to talk positively about the impact on their spiritual health in terms of relationship to church family and… Continue reading The pandemic – faith and emotional health
The other effects of the pandemic
We know the horrendous cost of the pandemic through death, bereavement and serious sickness. However, there have been other consequences too. I recently ran a twitter poll in order to get us thinking about some of these things. First, I asked about how the pandemic has affected your relationship with God. I’m assuming that the… Continue reading The other effects of the pandemic
Is fear a sin?
Sometimes we say that we should only fear God and that we shouldn’t fear other people. I have often talked about how the things we fear are the things that become our idols. Jesus tells us: “do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy… Continue reading Is fear a sin?
Throwing people under the bus
In a recent article I mentioned the “Rise and Fall of Mars Hill” podcast. The Christianity Today series tells the story of Mark Driscoll and Mars Hill Church, Seattle. Driscoll became well known as a church planter and mega-church leader succeeding in an area regarded as hard to reach. He went on to head up… Continue reading Throwing people under the bus
Questioning gender
This question has come up in the context of the conversation about transgender issues. Some people have commented that they struggle a little with when people say that they have a clear sense of their gender.” I think they are particularly referring to when people consider themselves different to the gender on their birth certificate.… Continue reading Questioning gender
Bullying and abuse – do you know what is happening and what to do?
From time to time I write about bullying and abuse. I started tackling this subject a few years back as I not only became aware of some concerning stories surrounding significant ministries but observed first hand how Christians talk to each other on social media. In the last couple of years, some serious scandals broke… Continue reading Bullying and abuse – do you know what is happening and what to do?
Can we talk about ugliness?
John Piper hosts a podcast called “Ask Pastor John”. Recently he was asked: ““Pastor John, why did God make some people ugly and unattractive? How can I accept the fact that God, though capable of making me beautiful or at least average looking, chose to create me in an unattractive manner?” Now I guess, Piper… Continue reading Can we talk about ugliness?
How can we help?
The conversation you rather wouldn’t be having “I just don’t think we can go on. We’ve tried everything. It’s time to go our separate ways.” With those words, you are asked to give your blessing to divorce. Or, you’re sat talking with a young member. They’ve recently started dating someone who is not a Christian. … Continue reading How can we help?
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