Posts

Post pandemic pastoral conversations – those who haven’t come back

As we return increasingly to normality following the pandemic, I suspect that the vast majority of people who are intending to return to in person church attendance will have done so by now.  If the majority of your church are not yet back in person then you may have to have some searching conversations together… Continue reading Post pandemic pastoral conversations – those who haven’t come back

The Faithroots Podcast – Jesus and Gender with Elyse Fitzpatrick

In this week’s episode I talk with Elyse Fitzpatrick about her latest book (co-authored with Eric Schumacher) as we discover how returning to the Gospel and the example of Christ in Philippians 2 is crucial if we are to get beyond infighting over gender. We talk about the temptation for power and the desire to… Continue reading The Faithroots Podcast – Jesus and Gender with Elyse Fitzpatrick

What if this is the end of days?

Some people have been asking over the past few days whether the conflict we are seeing in Ukraine is an end times battle, one of the events that will signal the end of the world.  There are understandable reasons for the question to be asked.  First, the conflict involves one of the main nuclear powers… Continue reading What if this is the end of days?

Ukraine War: What should we pray?

As Russia invades Ukraine, I’ve shared some opinion pieces talking more generally about the conflict and In this article, I want to talk specifically about how we as Christians respond to what is happening in Ukraine.  How specifically do we pray?  I want to suggest five specific things that we should pray: We pray specifically… Continue reading Ukraine War: What should we pray?

Pastoral care – hearing and listening well

An important part of offering pastoral care is the need to listen and hear well.  Here are a few further thoughts on this. Prepare well.  Prior to meeting up make sure you are aware of what the context and purpose of your time together is. It is often helpful to have thought through some specific… Continue reading Pastoral care – hearing and listening well

Russia and Ukraine -what next?

Today there is war in Europe.  We cannot underestimate the size of this conflict. Ukraine has a population of around 41.46 million, a little smaller than the United Kingdom, Russia is a permanent member of the UN security council with a population of 146 million and one of the largest nuclear powers.  The conflict is… Continue reading Russia and Ukraine -what next?

Pastoral care – guidelines

Yesterday I shared some training notes on giving pastoral care in the church. Here are some guideline notes based on guidelines and policies from a previous church Safe-guarding Your church should have  a children’s and at risk  adults’ safeguarding policy. It is important that we recognise that those policies respond to specific legal and medical… Continue reading Pastoral care – guidelines

Discipleship, pastoral care and counselling

If you are involved in discipling others then there will be times when you are asked to counsel someone. This might be about helping them to work through a particular issue or decision -whether to go for a job or it could be because they are facing specific circumstances such as marital problems, debt or… Continue reading Discipleship, pastoral care and counselling