Category: pastoral-care

When friends turn – the enemy within

Friendly Fire: a phrase that puts together two words that should not go together.  The phrase came into common parlance during the 1991 Gulf War to liberate Kuwait.  Sadly a lot of soldiers were killed by their own side, the result of the challenges of bringing different armed forces together with different cultures and communication… Continue reading When friends turn – the enemy within

Abuse and The Church: Changing the Culture

Always Reforming I’ve shared a few articles recently reflecting on the less pleasant side of church life.  It should sadden us that the church (locally, nationally and internationally) often seems to fall short of what it should be as a haven of hope and safety. However, at the same time it should not surprise us. … Continue reading Abuse and The Church: Changing the Culture

Avoiding False Assurance

This is the next bit of our mini-series “A last Conversation with Jesus. Read John 13:18-30. Judas is present at the Last Supper but Jesus says that his words do not apply to him. Judas may be tempted to find assurance in his active participation in the Lord’s Supper or his role as treasurer but… Continue reading Avoiding False Assurance

Anxiety in a Time of Coronavirus

For those struggling with anxiety, the lockdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic will be a particularly challenging time.  Here, we wanted to share some thoughts and advice that we hope you will find helpful. First of all, just as if you were suffering from physical symptoms of illness, we would encourage you to seek appropriate… Continue reading Anxiety in a Time of Coronavirus

What is Love?

This is the first in our new series of vlogs as we reflect on Jesus’ teaching at the Last Supper from John’s Gospel this week. Our first post asks “What is real love, what does it look like and how do I know that God loves me?” Here are the words from Scripture (John 13:1-11)… Continue reading What is Love?

Abuse and the church: Small talk and social media

“It’s not what goes into your mouth that defiles you; you are defiled by the words that come out of your mouth.” (Matthew 15:11) I find Christian social media quite depressing and downright disturbing at times.  Over time I have witnessed significantly aggressive behaviour, people are belittled, dismissed, insulted.  I’ve also seen Christian leaders jump… Continue reading Abuse and the church: Small talk and social media

Abuse and the church – leaders and members

What should a healthy relationship between church leaders and church members look like? Hebrews 13:17 says: “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of… Continue reading Abuse and the church – leaders and members