Secular TV has an obsession with the idea of going hunting for demons. You may recall that the original Buffy the Vampire slayer moved from vampire hunting to an obsession with demons. Recently, Netflix has been pushing a film with associated sound track called “K Pop Demon hunters.” At times, it can seem that Christian… Continue reading Demon hunters and discernment
Tag: discernment
Mutiny over the Bounty: Why it’s not a good idea to make decisions by popularity contest
The big controversy of the week is Mars’ decision to take bounties out of the Celebration variety tins and increase the numbers of other sweets. It could have been worse. They could have taken out one of the truly great sweets in the selection, the Malteser, the Galaxy (solid chocolate option not the caramel filling… Continue reading Mutiny over the Bounty: Why it’s not a good idea to make decisions by popularity contest
Did Paul disobey the Holy Spirit? (Lessons on guidance in Acts 21)
In Acts 21, we are told about Paul’s final journey to Jerusalem. It’s an illuminating case study on interacting with God’s guidance through the Holy Spirit. Paul travels from Miletus where he has met with the Ephesian elders and given them the commission to provide for and to protect the flock. He has spoken there… Continue reading Did Paul disobey the Holy Spirit? (Lessons on guidance in Acts 21)
Revealed (Mark 4:21-25)
“Is a lamp brought in to be put under a basket, or under a bed, and not on a stand? Mark 4:21 This is perhaps one of the best known sayings of Jesus. It’s often described as a parable but had a more proverbial feel. Also, it seems to have been used in different contexts. … Continue reading Revealed (Mark 4:21-25)
Discerning a calling (3) Questions to ask
I’ve been sharing some posts recently on how we discern a calling for Gospel ministry. Partly I’m hoping that these will be generally useful but I also have a specific concern in mind. Regular readers of Faithroots will know that my passion is to see gospel workers planting and leading churches here in the urban… Continue reading Discerning a calling (3) Questions to ask
Discerning a calling (2) Why we need to look backwards
Some of the questions you will want to ask when helping someone to discern a calling focus on what has happened in the past? Can’t we just forget the past and look forward to the future? Well, there’s certainly a risk that we can refuse to consider people for ministry now because of what has… Continue reading Discerning a calling (2) Why we need to look backwards
Discerning a calling (1) A process for the local church
The place where potential pastors, youth and children’s leaders and women’s workers are likely to be identified is in the local church and that’s exactly where it should be. A healthy church wants to encourage members of the church family to use their gifts to serve the Gospel. In some cases, this will mean considering… Continue reading Discerning a calling (1) A process for the local church
Discerning a calling to the urban West Midlands
My desire is to see gospel communities planted into our urban inner city and council estate neighbourhoods in the West Midlands. I believe that if this is going to happen then we’ll need two things. First of all, we’ll need indigenous church leaders from working class estate contexts and multi-ethnic contexts to be raised up,… Continue reading Discerning a calling to the urban West Midlands
Trustworthy
#TheDailyDose 1 Timothy 1:12-20
Finding the right hill to die on in practical pastoral leadership
I’ve been enjoying reading Gavin Ortlund’s “Finding the right hill to die on” about theological triage. The concept of Theological Triage was coined by Al Mohler to describe how Christians go about distinguishing first, second and third order issues. In other words, there are theological issues that are central to the Gospel itself, it is… Continue reading Finding the right hill to die on in practical pastoral leadership
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