In an interview with a potential staff member or pastor, you have an opportunity to do two things, first to go over any questions arising from their application and secondly, to find out a bit more about their pastoral competency, what would they be like in a pastoral and counselling situation. So how do you… Continue reading Interviewing a potential pastor: What do you ask them?
Posts
Why the Reformation still matters
As well as being Halloween, the 31st October marks “Reformation Day.” It’s the anniversary of the day when Martin Luther launched his protest against the Catholic Church. Now, I don’t think that Reformation parties are likely to catch on or engage culturally as an alternative to Trick or Treating, so if you were planning one,… Continue reading Why the Reformation still matters
What should we do about Halloween?
Graham Nicholls writes for Affinity about the dilemma that many Christians face when approaching Halloween. I suspect that the dilemma arises because the event itself is messy. You are encountering not just one festival or “holiday” but several and they have all got muddled up together. First (though not chronologically) there’s the festival from which… Continue reading What should we do about Halloween?
How do you preach the Psalms?
This is a question that my friend Steve Kneale shared on his blog recently. My answer was as follows: “ I have actually preached all the way through but during COVID when we were doing something daily. I think there is a lot to be said for helping people see the Psalms fitting together as a… Continue reading How do you preach the Psalms?
Reading the room
Is the Quran really wrong about crucifixion?
A blog post offers a tantalizing refutation of the Quran and therefore seemingly a surefire knock down argument for engaging with Muslims. You can read the argument here. In short, it is that the Quran has Joseph and others talking about crucifixion, so for example the baker whose dream is interpreted is crucified instead of… Continue reading Is the Quran really wrong about crucifixion?
Towards D-Day
Tipping points: Men and women, headship and submission, preaching and leadership
racism, antisemitism and the church
Here’s a playlist of short talk videos I did a while back looking at racism and antisemitism
Do you have an anchor?
I hope that the immediate answer is that “yes, Jesus is my anchor.”. However, I’m thinking of something slightly different here. Most good football teams have a player whose position is “anchor midfield” or sometimes “holding midfield.” Their job is to sit in front of the defence, protecting the back four. They anticipate danger, break… Continue reading Do you have an anchor?
