You Raise me up

At our church weekend away, Jonny Mellor took us to Psalm 8 during the morning prayer meeting. Chatting with Jonny, we were both struck by the way that Psalm 8 seems to resonate through into Ephesians 1. In Psalm 8:4-6 we are told: what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that… Continue reading You Raise me up

Swifter, smaller, simpler

Our church family have just been on a weekend away. We are part of a family of churches that originated out of the same plant and are seeking to reach Birmingham with the Gospel.  The church holiday brought the three congregations together. During the weekend, one of the speakers talked about our vision as a… Continue reading Swifter, smaller, simpler

Aren’t most asylum claims fake?

I’ve been writing a little this week about asylum, responding particularly to arguments about the UK’s policy of removing asylum seekers arriving across the channel to Rwanda for processing. One of the assumptions I frequently hear is that the vast majority of claimants are not genuine that they are really economic migrants using the asylum… Continue reading Aren’t most asylum claims fake?

On not being weirder than you have to be

One of the perennial discussions amongst Christians is around weirdness.  Christians are seen as weird.  We don’t fit in with the culture around us.  We are often mocked for our peculiarities.  Is there anything we can do about that? I would suggest that there are basically three camps in responding,  Weird it out This approach… Continue reading On not being weirder than you have to be

All the single ladies?

I’ve written before about how men in the church should talk to and shouldn’t talk to and about women.  Sadly, there was a horrific example of how not to talk about women in an interview between Doug Wilson and Michael Foster posted recently online. The conversation is primarily about singleness but I want to pick… Continue reading All the single ladies?

A vision for urban West Midlands Church planting

My current focus is on encouraging church planting into the Urban West Midlands. My desire is not to see one church growing big but to see a city that is full of churches bringing Gospel light to needy neighbourhoods. My specific concern is for those areas that are often less reached with the Gospel.  This… Continue reading A vision for urban West Midlands Church planting

Do we need to control immigration to protect our culture?

I promised the other day, that I would deal with one specific argument for why we need to tightly control immigration.  It is stated here: The argument is that mass immigration will distort and destroy our culture.  We therefore need to restrict immigration at a level which enables newcomers to assimilate into the host culture. … Continue reading Do we need to control immigration to protect our culture?

Pray for the Commonwealth Games

As I mentioned in an earlier article, the Commonwealth Games are approaching fast. I would like to encourage you to pray for outreach during the Games in late July/early August. Here are some photos from around the main venue, Alexander Stadium to whet your appetite. Please pray for local churches including Church Central, Perry Beeches… Continue reading Pray for the Commonwealth Games

Why I consider the Rwanda policy immoral

Yesterday, I wrote responding to the criticism that opponents of the Government’s “Rwanda policy” haven’t come up with any proposals of their own.  Well, it seems that having stated what some of those proposals are, the criticism switched back to “but in your article, you didn’t offer a critique of the Government’s policy.” It seems… Continue reading Why I consider the Rwanda policy immoral

Birmingham 2022 and the Gospel

The Commonwealth Games are coming to Birmingham.  Whilst not up there with the Olympics, this is still a hugely significant event.  It will bring together competitors from across the Commonwealth (the group of nations linked primarily through historically having been part of the British Empire and usually today with ties through the Queen).  In fact,… Continue reading Birmingham 2022 and the Gospel