I live what counts to me as walking distance of the Aston Villa football ground. It’s actually 50 minutes walk away from the ground. Where I currently live is predominantly but not exclusively white working class. However the next few streets along are increasingly Asian and whilst there is a Sikh Gudwara just round the… Continue reading Please don’t play their game
Tag: Birmingham
Please don’t stay silent …one further reflection on that Robert Jenrick comment about Birmingham
I have to admit that I can no longer get too worked up about politicians saying the kinds of things that Robert Jenrick said about Handsworth yesterday. It’s power for the cause for politicians to engage in dog whistle politics. More concerning is that they use the dog whistle approach because they expect it will… Continue reading Please don’t stay silent …one further reflection on that Robert Jenrick comment about Birmingham
Restrictions on street evangelism in Birmingham continue under the radar for the Christian press
In the last few weeks, Birmingham City Council have brought in two Public Space Protection Orders in Birmingham. You can find them here. The first prevents the use of amplification and musical instruments in certain streets in the city centre. It will affect street preachers as well as entertainers and buskers. Our concern is that… Continue reading Restrictions on street evangelism in Birmingham continue under the radar for the Christian press
Yes our binmen are on strike but please stop trash talking Birmingham
You probably won’t have been able to ignore it anymore, what started as a local news issue, bin strikes in Birmingham and the second city/largest single local authority bankrupt has moved up the agenda to a national news story with reports of rubbish bags piled high in the streets and rats the size of cats. … Continue reading Yes our binmen are on strike but please stop trash talking Birmingham
What competencies are we looking for in urban planters/pastors?
One of my aims is to find potential urban church planters and then to support and equip them through training, mentoring and coaching. Coupled with my concern to see new churches or revitalised churches in communities where there currently isn’t much of a healthy gospel witness is the desire to see many more people equipped… Continue reading What competencies are we looking for in urban planters/pastors?
Birmingham’s bankruptcy is exactly why we need church planters
The recent announcement that Birmingham City Council is in effect bankrupt will not have done the city’s image much good. It may put off business from locating here and people from investing in the city. It is likely to make a lot of people reluctant to relocate here for work. This might affect your thinking… Continue reading Birmingham’s bankruptcy is exactly why we need church planters
What is Birmingham’s bankruptcy saying to us?
Yesterday I wrote about our city going bankrupt and what that might mean for us. As I explained in the article, there’s actually a lot of uncertainty and the honest answer to “what does this mean?” Is that we really don’t know yet. It is entirely possible that for most of us we’ll see very… Continue reading What is Birmingham’s bankruptcy saying to us?
Together for the city and the Gospel
In part of the conversation that followed on from Jonathan Carswell’s provocative tweet about church planting, he followed up with this statement: “I wonder what great good could come by sacrificing style prefs and prize unity/partnership?” It’s a good question to ask and fortunately, we are in a place to answer that question. I can’t… Continue reading Together for the city and the Gospel
An Invitation
As it’s early in January this is a good time to be thinking about medium and longer term plans. So, I’d like to encourage you to consider this invitation. One of my priorities is to see people trained and equipped for urban church planting. There are two parts to this. First, I believe that if… Continue reading An Invitation
“Come over and help us” Start by praying
Over the past few days, I’ve been writing a little bit more about how you could partner with us for the Gospel as we seek to see the urban West Midlands reached with the Gospel. I’m spending a little time on this now because people often use the beginning of the academic year to evaluate… Continue reading “Come over and help us” Start by praying
Faithroots 