Category: pastoral-care

Does the Good Father really allow his children to suffer?

At one extreme during the COVID coronavirus was the claim that the pandemic was a judgement from God or at least a wake up call from him.  I have responded to this claim frequently and in detail in the past.  However at the other extreme  is the argument that God cannot have sent the pandemic… Continue reading Does the Good Father really allow his children to suffer?

Pastoring the grieving: walking with a family when the decision comes to end treatment

I’ve been sharing a few articles about how we pastor people through bereavement.  In a previous article, I wrote about walking with a family through a coroner’s investigation and inquest process.  In that article, I alluded to the fact that the time leading up to death may not  be straight forward. When it comes to… Continue reading Pastoring the grieving: walking with a family when the decision comes to end treatment

Pastoring the grieving: walking with a family through a coroner’s and inquest process

One almost inevitable responsibility and privilege for pastors is to walk with church family through bereavement.  I’ve been starting to put together some materials helping church leaders to think through and prepare for pastoring church members through bereavement.  I write having been both sides, having both pastored church members when they came to the point… Continue reading Pastoring the grieving: walking with a family through a coroner’s and inquest process

Every soul held captive by depression?

There seems to be quite a few worship songs at the moment which pick up on the theme of healing and declare it specifically in relation to depression. Quite why this is happening I’m not too sure.  Why the focus on depression and anxiety but not on other illnesses?  Perhaps it’s just that people are… Continue reading Every soul held captive by depression?

On hospital visits

This tweet is doing the rounds at the moment.  I must confess I found it rather hit and miss. Such is the risk with prescriptive advice listed out on social media. To be sure, the general principles about sensitivity to patient, family and staff are well worth keeping in mind. Basically the advice could be… Continue reading On hospital visits

Fragments and distortion

Original Revelation is the theory that humanity started with a clear revelation of God and truth. Sin means that this became increasingly fragmented and disrupted.  It’s central to the form of apologetics I’m most aligned to, presuppositional apologetics and the thinking of my favourite missiologist, JH Bavinck.  You’ll also find it showing up in the… Continue reading Fragments and distortion

Getting impersonally personal

Something struck me after engaging in a particular dispute recently.  It was the dispute about the Keswick Convention’s relationship to abortion campaign group CBR UK and their church focused project, Brephos.  I was reflecting back with my wife after some follow on conversations with people who had got in touch we me about my article. … Continue reading Getting impersonally personal

Submitting to one another and learning love languages

My friend Steve Kneale has written a very helpful article here about how we learn to experience love across cultures.  In his article, he picks up on how the concept of “love languages” has often been misunderstood and misused. Steve, observes that too often, people talk in terms of what their “love language” is meaning… Continue reading Submitting to one another and learning love languages