There’s an insinuation going around in some circles at the moment that because churches closed down buildings and started to meet online during the COVID-19 lockdowns and are currently conforming with face mask and social distancing rules that this makes us wet cowards. The narrative is that COVID regulations are some kind of authoritarian attack… Continue reading No the church did not roll over during COVID
Posts
What does it mean to “just focus on protecting the vulnerable”?
Over the past few weeks, I’ve seen a point of view gaining momentum in certain quarters which is that we should never have had a full national lockdown and that we should be lifting all restrictions now so that the young and healthy can be free to live their lives without interference. Instead we should… Continue reading What does it mean to “just focus on protecting the vulnerable”?
Miracles
I love the account of Jesus calming in the storm in Matthew 8. It’s a fantastic story for telling children’s groups. There’s so much you can do to include the kids in the story, getting them to blow li the wind, using a parachute game to get the wave effect, settling the children down peacefully… Continue reading Miracles
How are we going to get through the next six months?
“Not another six months of this?” That was the reaction of most of us to this week’s latest COVID-19 announcements wasn’t it. Something that we hoped would be sorted in a matter of weeks or maybe months is likely to be the dominant issue at least for a whole year and probably longer. We had… Continue reading How are we going to get through the next six months?
Is it hubris to believe we can control a virus?
Glen Scrivener thinks it is. So today I am going to do the risky thing and attempt to disagree with a brilliant mind! First of all, we need to distinguish between “Can we potentially control a virus.” And “have we been able to control this one” or “will we definitely be able to control it.”… Continue reading Is it hubris to believe we can control a virus?
A Great attempt at a letter -and why sadly I cannot sign it yet
A few church leaders have put together a letter to the Prime Minister and the first ministers of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. It expresses support for proportional responses to COVID-19 whilst expressing concerns about some measures and where the limit to their support is. They are inviting other ministers to add their signatures. You… Continue reading A Great attempt at a letter -and why sadly I cannot sign it yet
Seeking advice
I’ve written a couple of articles about giving advice but one of the key points I made was that there is no point giving unsolicited advice. Therefore, if we want to receive advice, we need to seek it out. So here are some thoughts on the other side of the equation. First of all, think… Continue reading Seeking advice
Yes Advice changes!
You know how when you are driving through town, you get instructed by the road sign to drive at 40 miles per hour? It’s very frustrating when 5 minutes later those in charge of the road change their minds and tell you to drive at 30 miles per hour. Then to compound things you turn… Continue reading Yes Advice changes!
Giving advice
Here are some thoughts on giving advice and opinions, especially in a church context. The first thing to say is that it is best not to offer unsolicited advice, it is very rarely welcome. Indeed, often when people tell you something, they are not particularly looking for advice. They are looking for three things The… Continue reading Giving advice
Isolated (Proverbs 18)
“Whoever isolates himself seeks his own desire; he breaks out against all sound judgment.”[1] These are probably not helpful words for a Government attempting to encouraging COVID-19 patients to self-isolate. Yet, our experience of having to socially isolate over these past 7 months have been a crash course in the cost of such isolation. When we… Continue reading Isolated (Proverbs 18)
