Just a couple of months back and it felt like the Commonwealth Games were going to go by pretty much unnoticed by Christians/churches. A few years back when the news first emerged that the games were switching from Durban to Birmingham, we had been asking the question “are there opportunities for churches to witness?” but… Continue reading Reflections on Commonwealth Games outreach
Tag: mission
Recycling and making it hard for people to do what we expect of them
Apparently, Birmingham has the dubious honour of being ranked at the bottom of the recycling table with only 22.5% of waste being recycled. Having lived here for a month, I’m not surprised. Our recycling centre (what we used to call the Tip) is closed currently and our recycling is collected fortnightly. At least we know… Continue reading Recycling and making it hard for people to do what we expect of them
Travelling Light (Mark 6:6-13)
Jesus has called twelve followers to specifically be with him as disciples. The number twelve was symbolic. If he was the new king of Israel, then they represented the beginning of new Israel, twelve apostles for twelve tribes. Now, he sends them out. They become involved in his mission, apostles are those who are commissioned… Continue reading Travelling Light (Mark 6:6-13)
A genuine grace saturated culture? Don’t lose the challenge
This is kind of a postscript or P.S following my two articles on Evangelical futures. There’s a further PPS to come in a few days where I want to talk about the positive aspects of Australian/Sydney Anglican influence on UK Evangelicalism. In this article I want to talk about two linked things that primarily are… Continue reading A genuine grace saturated culture? Don’t lose the challenge
Swifter, smaller, simpler
Our church family have just been on a weekend away. We are part of a family of churches that originated out of the same plant and are seeking to reach Birmingham with the Gospel. The church holiday brought the three congregations together. During the weekend, one of the speakers talked about our vision as a… Continue reading Swifter, smaller, simpler
Birmingham 2022 and the Gospel
The Commonwealth Games are coming to Birmingham. Whilst not up there with the Olympics, this is still a hugely significant event. It will bring together competitors from across the Commonwealth (the group of nations linked primarily through historically having been part of the British Empire and usually today with ties through the Queen). In fact,… Continue reading Birmingham 2022 and the Gospel
What does your church value?
I’ve been writing a few articles on things like mission and vision statements. There is the risk that such things can feel corporate, slick and fluffy. However, if a mission statement is really simply “Matthew 28:19-20 with a date stamp and a postcode” then what we are doing is helping the church apply God’s word… Continue reading What does your church value?
A vision for your church?
The other day, I wrote about mission statements and value statements. I also mentioned that it can be helpful to draft out a slightly longer statement describing what you might call the vision for the church. This is not about arrogantly making grand claims about what you are going to achieve. Everything will be in… Continue reading A vision for your church?
God’s Growing kingdom (Mark 4:26-34)
The imagery throughout Mark 4 is centred on this small seed which gets planted, buried in the ground and begins to grow. Yes there’s this period of time when it’s hidden from sight, when n-one knows what happens, yes there are the obstacles: birds, rocks, thorns but growth and fruitfulness is inevitable. That’s what we… Continue reading God’s Growing kingdom (Mark 4:26-34)
Breaking up the hard ground (more reflections on Mark 4:1-20)
At Bearwood Chapel, we had a partnership with OM and over several years hosted a number of teams. As part of that partnership I was involved in training OMers in aspects of mission. One of the things I would sometimes do is take the team members into our car park. I would say to them:… Continue reading Breaking up the hard ground (more reflections on Mark 4:1-20)
Faithroots 