Just a further follow up on the Stephen Sizer case. In my original article on this, I commented that: First, there is a lot of upset and grievance generally within the conservative evangelical constituency. The result is that at times it seemed that some prominent leaders could do no right. Lots of niggles and complaints… Continue reading You didn’t respond the way we wanted
Tag: bullying
Is narcissism the problem?
The Gospel Coalition have just published this article offering further engagement with Chuck De Groat’s book “When narcissism comes to church.” The writer, Dan Doriani, is positive towards Chuck’s work but has some concerns, particularly with the thesis that: narcissism is especially common among pastors because they often enjoy a high profile. Narcissists crave power,… Continue reading Is narcissism the problem?
We shouldn’t be throwing anyone under the social media bus
The other day, I shared this Gospel Coalition article urging people not to throw their pastor under the bus. The article was specifically about how Christians engage on social media. I thought it might be helpful to say a little bit more about the specific subject. By social media we mean internet sites and phone/tablet… Continue reading We shouldn’t be throwing anyone under the social media bus
Do we owe sympathy and gratitude?
This is a follow on to my article the other day about how we respond when leaders fall and fail. My article then was specifically focused on our response to Liz Truss’s fall from power. That’s the starting point today and so I want first to share a tweet from the Archbishop of Canterbury that… Continue reading Do we owe sympathy and gratitude?
How we think about abuse matters
Yesterday I shared an update on my correspondence with Premier Christianity about their article claiming that Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene. We might leave it there except that the article seems to be part of a concerning trend from a pastoral perspective. It was followed by two articles that I find deeply concerning in… Continue reading How we think about abuse matters
Bad theology plus complacent thinking = dangerous pastoral care
I’ve been writing a little about Biblical counselling recently. I’ve been particularly picking up on some of the dangers with certain strains of it but I do so as someone who believes that properly used, Biblical counselling does have a crucial place. I intend to write a little bit more about this shortly. However, first… Continue reading Bad theology plus complacent thinking = dangerous pastoral care
It may appear to come from your side but it’s not friendly fire
You may be familiar with the term “friendly fire”. It refers to when a military assault on the enemy ends up taking out members of the same side as well as or instead of the enemy positions. This can be caused by those people being in close proximity to the enemy at the time or… Continue reading It may appear to come from your side but it’s not friendly fire
What can I do when falsely accused?
Sadly, we’ve seen some high profile examples of sin, bullying and abuse or of church leaders failing to handle such situations well. I’ve written occasionally about these things because I’m concerned to see healthy churches and healthy leadership. However, not every accusation will be true. Sometimes this is because there has been a genuine misunderstanding… Continue reading What can I do when falsely accused?
Anatomy of an abusive relationship
Last week when talking with Ryan Burton King about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, we discussed the response in Russia. Over the past few week’s we’ve seen a lot of examples of bravery from Russians willing to protest, most notably a young Russian TV editor who interrupted a news broadcast holding up a protest sign. At… Continue reading Anatomy of an abusive relationship
Throwing people under the bus
In a recent article I mentioned the “Rise and Fall of Mars Hill” podcast. The Christianity Today series tells the story of Mark Driscoll and Mars Hill Church, Seattle. Driscoll became well known as a church planter and mega-church leader succeeding in an area regarded as hard to reach. He went on to head up… Continue reading Throwing people under the bus
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