Today I turn 50. It’s interesting how those big number birthdays can affect you. I remember feeling a certain weight with turning 40, not so this time round. Perhaps it is that I’m now past any sense of pretence that I’m still young, I cannot ignore that I’m well past the half way mark. I’m… Continue reading All the way my saviour leads me
Posts
TL:DR Jesus loves his church … so let him
I recently suggested that the TL:DR (quick summary for those who because something was too long, didn’t read it) of Ephesians 5:22-32 is “husbands are to love their wives and wives are to let them.” The basis for my argument was that we may struggle with authority(headship) and submission language but authority is to do… Continue reading TL:DR Jesus loves his church … so let him
Reset
The church that you are pastoring this side of the 2020 COVID19 pandemic may not be the same as the one that went into the pandemic. I argued during lockdown that many churches would in effect need to adopt a church plant mindset coming out of lockdown. What we’ve seen is that the pandemic caused… Continue reading Reset
We need to talk about depression
I’ve just been writing some responses to advice given from older guys in ministry via the Christian media. I’ve responded to a few of these in recent years where the time seemed to be very much “it is all terrible now. It was better in the past”. I wonder to what extent rather than editors… Continue reading We need to talk about depression
The visible church
In Matthew 13:21-30, Jesus tells a parable about a farmer who plants seed, only for an enemy to intentionally plant weeds in among the crop. The owner’s servants ask permission to go and uproot the weeds but the farmer says no because there is a risk that good crops will be uprooted with bad. This… Continue reading The visible church
Submitting to one another and learning love languages
My friend Steve Kneale has written a very helpful article here about how we learn to experience love across cultures. In his article, he picks up on how the concept of “love languages” has often been misunderstood and misused. Steve, observes that too often, people talk in terms of what their “love language” is meaning… Continue reading Submitting to one another and learning love languages
Unburdened by doctrine?
They saved the two best speeches until the end. Rishi Sunak left Downing Street speaking humbly rather than defiantly, apologising for his failings and then praising his successor, acknowledging that Sir Keir Starmer is a decent, public servant and encouraging everyone to see the new PM’s successes as “all our successes.” Starmer on his part… Continue reading Unburdened by doctrine?
Prophecy and the excluded middle
Sometimes’ a football team’s strategy is to hit the ball long, consistently bouncing it between defenders and strikers so that the midfielders become passive observers. The middle of the pitch is excluded. There are ways in which we can exclude the middle too. There is a tendency I think for churches to think in terms… Continue reading Prophecy and the excluded middle
The difference
So, that was that, for all the talk of England’s date with destiny, it turned out to be Spain that had the invite after all. The Three Lions managed to pull back level after going a goal behind and only lost 2-1 in the late stages of the game. However, the narrow scoreline and late… Continue reading The difference
Should we make our church harder to join?
“Yes and no” The question is raised by Tim Suffield here. Or rather, Tim answers the question from his perspective with a hard “yes”. He argues that we shouldn’t be too easy to join, that “welcome requires walls” and that this means a church should be clear in communicating what makes it distinctive and what… Continue reading Should we make our church harder to join?
Faithroots 