What is the point of the Frankfurt Declaration?

Over the years I’ve seen various “Declarations” and resolutions from groups of Christian leaders on all kinds of issues. In fact, these seem to becoming more and more common.  The latest offering is The Frankfurt Declaration. If you’ve not yet come across it, you can have a read here. “The Frankfurt Declaration of Christian and… Continue reading What is the point of the Frankfurt Declaration?

Should I give up on seeing people coming back to church?

It varies from church to church but most churches even if they’ve experienced growth through new people joining appear to have lost some people from in person attendance during COVID. I was arguing back in the Autumn that those who had not begun to re-join your gatherings or at least make active preparation probably would… Continue reading Should I give up on seeing people coming back to church?

Does it add up?

The controversy around #PartyGate continues to rumble on.  The Metropolitan Police have begun their investigation. Last week, Boris Johnson was reportedly sent a questionnaire by the police. Well, I understand that he likes a quiz. Whilst we await the outcome, people continue to speculate about what the implications will be if the Prime Minister is… Continue reading Does it add up?

Post COVID church -survey update

Since we began to move out of lockdown I’ve run a few little twitter polls to try and get more of a feel for what is happening in terms of church life. These are quite small surveys and to some extent we shouldn’t treat them as scientific polls. However, they do give a feel for… Continue reading Post COVID church -survey update

Don’t over infer

This week despite natural disasters and rumours of war in other parts of the world, the UK news has continued to be dominated by the Downing Street parties with Sue Gray providing a much truncated version of her report whilst we await the police investigation.  A few people have tried to excuse or justify the… Continue reading Don’t over infer

COVID-19 update”after plan B”

Today sees the lifting of the additional COVID measures brought in for England in response to Omicron. Scotland has also seen some restrictions around events and gatherings lifted this week. The big change in England is the removal of the face mask requirement for indoor venues. Last week I updated my risk management assessment and… Continue reading COVID-19 update”after plan B”

Who are our COVID decisions for?

I have had a little bit of pushback on my latest COVID advice, specifically the recommendation that people are encouraged to continue to wear face masks for a little longer even after the legal requirement has been dropped for England. So I thought it was worth sharing a little bit more of my thinking here.… Continue reading Who are our COVID decisions for?

Statues, parties and rule breaking

There have been two big cases in the last few weeks which have got people talking about what it means to be a rule breaker and what lawlessness looks like. First, there’s the Colston case where the protestors who tipped the statue of a Bristol slaver trader into the sea were brought to trial only… Continue reading Statues, parties and rule breaking

Laying down your life for your friends in a pandemic

Throughout the pandemic, pastors have found themselves under fire from two sides. For some, every decision to conform with guidelines, providing online services, introducing social distancing, asking people to wear masks has been seen as an act of compromise with the state driven by fear of death. Thy are told that they should not fear… Continue reading Laying down your life for your friends in a pandemic