One of the striking things about the controversy concerning Peter Mandehslon is the seeming lack of curiosity at senior government level. Keir Starmer had indicated that he wanted Mandelson as the US Ambassador. A vetting process had been put in place. However, it remained the case that Mandelson was his personal, political appointment. Furthermore, Starmer… Continue reading The crucial gift of curiosity
Tag: pastoral care
The prophet with a thorn in their side: prophecy, preaching and pastoring with depression
One of my observations is that those who seem to particularly have a prophetic gift in church often have a particular sensitivity to others and what is going on around them. It seems that the spiritual gift particularly aligns with the more natural, common grace gifting of sensitivity, intuition and emotional insight. It also strikes… Continue reading The prophet with a thorn in their side: prophecy, preaching and pastoring with depression
Depression and why hymns and worship songs struggle to get it right
The hymn “God moves in mysterious way” contains the line “behind a frowning providence he hides a smiling face “. There’s something that jars a little about that line. It seems to give the impression that the goodness and kindness of God is something hidden behind a more austere exterior. Do we risk a similar… Continue reading Depression and why hymns and worship songs struggle to get it right
Demon hunters and discernment
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
Don’t train leaders
This may be a surprising title. However, I’m increasingly of the view that we have put too much focus on identifying and then training leaders. We look first at whether people show potential to lead and then we train them. Though of course sometimes we leave them to get on with it. The risk is… Continue reading Don’t train leaders
Developing pastoral care systems
One of the things that I’ve been thinking quite a bit about recently is how a church develops pastoral care as it grows from being a small church plant, a group of young friends that know each other well to being a medium to large sized established multigenerational and multi-cultural church. You can listen to… Continue reading Developing pastoral care systems
Pastoral Counselling: Take them to God’s Word
The unique thing that Christians have to offer in pastoral counselling is not our experience or wisdom, nor is it the latest methodology or theories in psychology and therapy. I don’t want to downplay those things. We have much to learn from what we may refer to as God’s common grace and general revelation. However,… Continue reading Pastoral Counselling: Take them to God’s Word
Temptation, desire and self-deception
In recent social media discussion relating to my article on Calvin’s view of sin, temptation and desire, one person suggested that the question posed when John Stevens shared my article should be modified from: ““Are we sinning when we experience sinful desires that are unwanted, unsought and that we resist/rejected.“ To: “are we sinning when… Continue reading Temptation, desire and self-deception
Pastoring the Grieving – Give them context
I noticed that this Sunday, a few churches made assisted dying and the Christian response their sermon topic. I couldn’t help think that it was a little bit late for this. Yes, the Bill has still got further stages to go but the wheels are already serving motion. More than that though, now is too… Continue reading Pastoring the Grieving – Give them context
An Alcoholic meets the Trinity
Methuselah was one of the people we met a few weeks back. He had a drink problem. Now we know what The Bible has to say about alcohol. Whilst wine gladdens the heart (Psalm 104:15; Ecclesiastes 10:19) and is useful for sickness (1 Timothy 5:23), drunkenness damages and is associated with folly (Proverbs 20:1; 21:17). … Continue reading An Alcoholic meets the Trinity
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