Now I’ve got your attention! From time to time, I see advice given about how to lead well as pastors, especially senior pastors. The advice is “give power away.” In other words, delegate and empower others. It sounds really good at first but I’m not that sure. I don’t think that we should be delegating,… Continue reading Don’t give power away
Posts
Invited to dinner
Overview of Galatians 2 In chapter 2:1-9, Paul continues to emphasise that he independently and directly received the Gospel but also that it was confirmed and affirmed by the other apostles. Importantly, there was agreement on the status of Gentile believers like Titus who were welcomed and offered fellowship without any additional obligations such as… Continue reading Invited to dinner
Arkeology
1 Chronicles 13 The Ark of the Covenant “Although the ark probably perished in Nebuchadnezzar’s destruction of Jerusalem (c.f. Jer. 3:16), the Chronicler gives greater emphasis to it than the compiler of 2 Samuel. This is presumably because he wanted his own generation to give priority to their own symbols of God’s covenant and presence,… Continue reading Arkeology
Boris Johnson resigns again
Yesterday evening I shared some thoughts about Boris Johnson’s resignation honours list. A Prime Minister can recommend people for honours when they resign from the job. Even as I was writing, Johnson was resigning again, this time as an MP. The reason for Johnson’s resignation was that he had seen the draft outcome of a… Continue reading Boris Johnson resigns again
A last word on note taking – what do I really care about?
Some of you will be following a little debate I’ve been involved in on whether or not we should be encouraging people to take notes during sermons. Alistair Chalmers wrote positively in favour of note taking here, I responded with the case against note taking here and finally, Steve Kneale offered this conclusive response, taking… Continue reading A last word on note taking – what do I really care about?
No other Gospel
Overview of Galatians 1 The theme of this chapter is that there is one true Gospel and that this is the only way of salvation. The Gospel is all about how Jesus has delivered us from evil. This was God’s will and plan, it is for his glory.[1] Paul is concerned that the Galatians are… Continue reading No other Gospel
Dishonours List
Apparently Nadine Dorries jumped the gun. It has been rumoured for weeks that she was going to be among a number of MPS named as new life peers in Boris Johnson’s resignations’ honours list. This morning she resigned as an MP but it turns out her name wasn’t down on the list after all. The… Continue reading Dishonours List
Zeal and righteousness
In Galatians 1:14, Paul describes his extreme zeal with regards to the Law (both written and oral traditions). Commentators associate this idea of zeal with a fascinating incident from the Old Testament.[1] The incident is referred to in Psalm 106:30-31 and described in Numbers 25:1-9. In Numbers 24, a prophet called Balaam had attempted to… Continue reading Zeal and righteousness
Calling
One of the things about the Transfer window is that you get all kinds of rumours. For example, this year, there are a few rumours doing the rounds concerning Billy Sharp, Sheffield United’s veteran and prolific striker. He has been linked with my home team, Bradford City. The only thing is that he gets linked… Continue reading Calling
Why the purpose of preaching matters
I’ve written recently about listening to sermons and taking notes. My main reason for being against note taking is that it shapes and is shaped by our view of the purpose of preaching. Note taking is more associated with treating the sermon as primarily intellectual, educating, sharing information, applied to the mind. We are also… Continue reading Why the purpose of preaching matters
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