It’s a classic sermon challenge “What are you running away from?” It’s a good challenge. Often people are on the run. Shame, guilt and fear are the primary causes of running. We are afraid that our shame and guilt will be exposed, we are afraid of enemies, of mocking, of abuse. But, I remember being… Continue reading Is it always wrong to run?
Posts
The Rule of Law
What makes a democracy? Is it simply that people get to vote for their political leaders and their policies? Well, not quite. Even dictators are fond of plebiscites (the traditional reason given by older politicians against the use of referenda) and some of the most brutal and corrupt regimes officially have elections. Those tend to… Continue reading The Rule of Law
Zoom communion revisited
Back when we first went into lockdown, our church decided to use zoom and Facebook to enable us to continue gathering. We recognised that these means were not perfect but we felt that the Scriptural injunction to gather was so important that we should try by every means possible to do so. As a church… Continue reading Zoom communion revisited
Was Jesus a refugee?
We are around about the stage of Christmas when people focus in on the visit of the magi and Joseph fleeing Herod with his young family to Egypt. Over the years, people have frequently drawn comparisons with the early life of Jesus and the experience of refugees forced to flee their own countries and seek… Continue reading Was Jesus a refugee?
Cancelling exams will not level up
One of my big questions about the new lockdown concerned the thinking of the Government in cancelling exams this summer. Last May/June, it was obvious why exams were cancelled, we were in the middle of lockdown and so it was theoretically unsafe to run the exams. I say “theoretically” because there were people who argued… Continue reading Cancelling exams will not level up
Knowledge is power, France is Bacon
This little article had Sarah and me in stitches. Of course we were laughing with the poor guy, not at him because we’ve all been there at some point in our life, completely mishearing something leading to confusion. I remember my mum’s perplexed concern when I arrived home from school fresh from our first ever… Continue reading Knowledge is power, France is Bacon
To open or not to open
This is the dilemma that John Stevens posted following the announcement of lockdown three. “Just because we can open does not mean that we should open” Churches will be permitted to remain open for public worship during the third lockdown, unlike in the previous two. So, how to respond? I must admit that I felt… Continue reading To open or not to open
Lockdown 3 Five questions for the Government that politicians and the media are not asking
In terms of volume, the COVID-19 debate in the UK is dominated by two extremes. These tend to reflect traditional political divides, the libertarian right versus the liberal left, the Brexiteers versus the Remainers. It is as though COVID-19 is another proxy for old battles. On the onside, lockdown obsessives insist that nothing less than… Continue reading Lockdown 3 Five questions for the Government that politicians and the media are not asking
The Rule of Ten
One of the little thought experiments Chris Green encouraged his leadership students at Oak Hill to do was to think in terms of the rule of ten. Think in terms of ten times less and ten times more. So, if you had a church of 100, then stop and think about what it would be… Continue reading The Rule of Ten
To stop a crisis like the pandemic you need to identify root causes
So here we go again. In any crisis there are three types of people. There are those who don’t think there is a crisis. “What’s all the fuss? ” They ask before accusing those wanting action of sinister motives. Then there are those running around shouting, panicking and trying anything and everything. Sadly, the COVID… Continue reading To stop a crisis like the pandemic you need to identify root causes
Faithroots 