Posts

Ministry nuts and bolts: What the pastor needs to know about safeguarding

Most churches are reasonably aware of the requirement for Safeguarding policies and DBS checks now. However, it’s not something that you are going to get detailed training on in seminary and how churches engage with those requirements varies with some being fantastic and others a little chaotic.  Also, I still hear people complain that such… Continue reading Ministry nuts and bolts: What the pastor needs to know about safeguarding

Messy Church

A few years back, I discovered to my disappointment that the label I wanted to apply to our experience of church life had already been taken.  If you hear the term “Messy Church” you are likely to associate it with an all age event, aimed at children but including their parents  with craft, Bible stories,… Continue reading Messy Church

Continuing to trace the rainbow – Why I’m talking about mental health and why it matters

This morning I got the opportunity to talk to a group of about 60 who are here in Birmingham to take part in the Commonwealth Games outreach. The team are from Firestarters UK and consist mainly of teens from Scotland and Wales. It’s been great to see these young people taking steps to share their… Continue reading Continuing to trace the rainbow – Why I’m talking about mental health and why it matters

Ministry Nuts and Bolts: What does the pastor need to know

I’ve recently wrote about things that church leaders need to know about and be trained in beyond the narrower limits of theological and even pastoral care education and training. I followed this up with a specific article about finances.  This prompted some feedback asking for further articles looking at practical aspects of leadership from safeguarding… Continue reading Ministry Nuts and Bolts: What does the pastor need to know

How can we keep hope in God’s mercy?

It’s not just us Christians that are out and about around the Commonwealth Games stadiums.  There’s a whole range of religions and other campaigns seeking to promote their message – understandably giving the large crowds attending. Today as I headed down towards Perry Barr Stadium to welcome visitors to the Games I saw a large… Continue reading How can we keep hope in God’s mercy?

A new hope

After a lengthy hiatus I’m getting back to rounding off “Hope for the City” which will eventually be an E-book on the resources site. A look at subversive fulfilment and urban mission. Sometimes we describe the affect of the Gospel in terms of seeing Eden restored. From this perspective, sin is forgiven and the consequences… Continue reading A new hope

A Task unfinished: The city and the Gospel in the UK

This article for The Gospel Coalition reminds us that if we are serious about sharing the Gospel then we need to pay attention to the ongoing growth of cities around the World.  We need to pay attention to those large urban areas because that’s where the people are. The article is I think primarily aimed… Continue reading A Task unfinished: The city and the Gospel in the UK

What competencies should we be training pastors for?

I’ve been arguing for a while that we need to change how we train people for Gospel ministry. Traditionally, we’ve started out with inputs. We’ve thought about the different subjects that we believe a potential pastor should be taught about. At it’s best that does give a systematic and comprehensive curriculum because people have thought… Continue reading What competencies should we be training pastors for?

Why we need to break out of our theological colleges

I’ve been arguing for some time that we need to make some step changes in terms of how we train and equip people for church leadership and paid Gospel ministry. I’ve argued that our methods of identifying potential leaders, pastors and planters exclude far too many and that particularly the traditional seminary route puts up… Continue reading Why we need to break out of our theological colleges