I would like to draw your attention to the review that the churches safeguarding body, 31:8 carried out following the high profile accusations of bullying and abuse relating to their senior leader and Acts29 CEO Steve Timmis. News — The Crowded House Final+Report+-+The+Crowded+House+Learning+Review+-+October+2020.pdf (squarespace.com) I think it would be helpful for any church leadership teamContinue reading “Learning from Steve Timmis and the Crowded House (The 31:8 Report)”
Tag Archives: Leadership
Why we should embrace failure
In a previous article I started to look at the question of failure. Here I want to offer x good reasons for why we as believers and particularly church leaders should embrace failure. What happens if we refuse to encounter failure? First, if I don’t embrace the reality of failure then I am unlikely toContinue reading “Why we should embrace failure”
Failure
A few years back, I was asked to lead a seminar for the Midlands Ministry Training Course on “failure.” I wasn’t sure how to take the invitation! It was there at the end of the year and I suspect not many people would be thrilled at getting that particular gig and I am not sureContinue reading “Failure”
Matters of conscience and matters of wisdom
This is a quick response to my friend Steve’s article this morning. Today, Steve has commented on the issues with identifying something as a matter of conscience. Some people seem to treat a “matter of conscience” as a kind of subjective route into saying that they can hold to their own personal truth unchallenged. AsContinue reading “Matters of conscience and matters of wisdom”
Authority and Authoritarian
I’ve responded recently to Christian leaders complaining about authoritarian leadership by observing that there are plenty of people out there who are willing to complain that church leaders are authoritarian. What provokes this tends to be when Christian leaders give a clear exposition of Scripture with application that requires God’s people to respond to obligationsContinue reading “Authority and Authoritarian”
Yes Advice changes!
You know how when you are driving through town, you get instructed by the road sign to drive at 40 miles per hour? It’s very frustrating when 5 minutes later those in charge of the road change their minds and tell you to drive at 30 miles per hour. Then to compound things you turnContinue reading “Yes Advice changes!”
Who are deacons?
The first turn to Bible passage on deacons tends to be 2 Timothy 3. This is where Paul sets out the qualifications for both elders and deacons. In the first part of the chapter, Paul says that the role of elder/overseer/Bishop is a noble desire. He then sets out the qualifications for the role. OverseersContinue reading “Who are deacons?”
What are deacons (not)
I’ve just took part in an interesting conversation with other pastors which started out with a question about how we train deacons in the church. This led to further questions about what exactly is a deacon? Fascinatingly there didn’t seem to be a uniform opinion on this. So, I thought it might be worth thinkingContinue reading “What are deacons (not)”
Leadership is not about the committee you attend
Imagine if the way that your family functioned was that the husband/dad went down to the garden shed and made some decisions. Maybe he called round a few other men to join him for this meeting. Then afterwards, they came out and pronounced their wisdom. You can be by conviction a complementarian and still feelContinue reading “Leadership is not about the committee you attend”
How do we talk about work?
In an earlier post on rest and restlessness, I said that we are likely to be able to help each other in the area of getting rest if we start with a better approach to work. I then went on to say that we often see work as a necessary evil and that prevents usContinue reading “How do we talk about work?”
