Here’s the outline notes of a sermon I preached yesterday. Introduction As a church we want to be a grace filled community – a radical alternative to the world and culture around us. This means that every aspect of what we do and how we live is saturated in this thing called grace. We need… Continue reading Grace (Ephesians 2:1-10)
Tag: Culture
A breakthrough attack on abortion ethics will come at some point
The biggest concern in public health at the moment is that an escape mutation of the COVID-19 virus will emerge. This variant will have the ability to break through the current immunity defences of vaccines and natural immunity leading to a new wave of serious illness, hospitalisation and sadly deaths. The hope is that vaccine… Continue reading A breakthrough attack on abortion ethics will come at some point
That Hideous Strength (book review)
No, not the third in the CS Lewis Sci-Fi Trilogy, although the title is drawn from that book. This is Melvin Tinker’s analysis of the cultural dangers that the church and indeed Western society more broadly are facing today. Unsurprisingly, the primary cultural dangers identified by Tinker are the post-modern approach to tolerance that blurs… Continue reading That Hideous Strength (book review)
Line of Duty – knowing how to finish a story
Spoiler alerts Shortly before the final episode of the current series of Line of Duty, I shared my predictions. I suggested that, the ending would Prove a bit of a tear jerker Be ambiguous enough to leave open the possibility of a seventh series. Leave viewers frustrated and annoyed. Well, two out of three isn’t… Continue reading Line of Duty – knowing how to finish a story
In defence of complementarianism
One of the things I’ve seen coming up again and again is the suggestion that part of the problem with conservative evangelical culture that needs to change is complementarianism. Indeed, you will notice that the push is to argue that complementarianism is not only a risk factor for creating abusive cultures but furthermore is, in… Continue reading In defence of complementarianism
Changing our culture – the relationship between church leaders and church members
In my previous post, I talked about how to reform church culture towards a grace culture by focusing on our relationship towards one another as characterised by humility. Today, I want to talk about how leaders and congregations should relate to each other. Here are two important scriptures on the subject. First of all, we… Continue reading Changing our culture – the relationship between church leaders and church members
Calling men: – how will we respond to the Sarah Everard case?
This week we’ve been shocked by the horrific murder of Sarah Everard. In the same way that the killing of George Floyd provoked a public conversation as well as outpouring of emotion and demonstrations on the streets to say that #BlackLivesMatter so too we are seeing a similar response here as women talk openly about… Continue reading Calling men: – how will we respond to the Sarah Everard case?
Elders should be above reproach
I’ve been sharing a few thoughts about aspects of church life over the past few days to help those who are seeking to plant or replant churches think through the practicalities of church life. In this previous article, I wrote about elders and what they should do, today I want to talk about what elders… Continue reading Elders should be above reproach
Apologetics in its place and the need for Gospel reform of our culture
In the light of the Ravi Zacharias scandal, the debate has continued about what should happen to the vast empire of trusts and organisations that took his name. The options so far have been: Disband all of the trusts quickly and completely Dissociate individual national trusts from the US one which is seen as the… Continue reading Apologetics in its place and the need for Gospel reform of our culture
Confronting abuse in the church – reforming towards a culture of grace
I’ve written from time to time about the issues of bullying and abuse within the church. That is because recent serious scandals relating to high profile leaders that include sexual, emotional and physical abuse, and sadly the accompanying failure of the church to deal with such issues over many years raise challenges about church culture. … Continue reading Confronting abuse in the church – reforming towards a culture of grace
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