There are times when it becomes necessary to move from one church to another, this might be because a church has departed from what the Bible teaches on primary issues touching on the Gospel or because you have changed your own position on some thing important and central to the beliefs and practices of that… Continue reading Sheep stealing, transfer growth and the end of the pandemic
Tag: pastoral care
“I don’t just want you to survive ….”
The other day, I talked about how the stand out thing I’d learnt from Mike Ovey was to allow God to disagree with me through his word. Well, one way that God disagreed with me came through Mike’s teaching, though in this case posthumously. After Mike’s untimely death, I remember one former student sharing that… Continue reading “I don’t just want you to survive ….”
Hope for the scattered, fragile and fearful
31 ‘Do you now believe?’ Jesus replied. 32 ‘A time is coming and in fact has come when you will be scattered, each to your own home. You will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me. 33 ‘I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In… Continue reading Hope for the scattered, fragile and fearful
The Valley of Vision
So, here is something new for you. You may have come across a beautiful collection of prayers by some of the Puritans under the title “The Valley of Vision.” The Puritans were both deep thinkers about God’s Word and firm believers in the conviction that faith in Christ should lead to radical heart and life… Continue reading The Valley of Vision
Come with me – simple discipleship
I have often been struck by John’s description of the first disciples being called. I would sum up his description of discipleship being that it is people following Jesus to be in his presence and inviting others to come with them and follow Jesus. That’s discipleship in a nutshell. I was reminded of this again… Continue reading Come with me – simple discipleship
Bullies in the workplace
“I would not be saying that, given the current economic climate if I were you.” The words are etched on my mind. I’d disagreed with one of our directors and he had not taken kindly to it. He was known for his temper and he was known to be one of the Managing Director’s henchmen.… Continue reading Bullies in the workplace
Towards a theology of depression
Over the last few months, I’ve been involved with a few projects and numerous conversations relating to the experience of Christian workers with depression. One thing that has come out so often is the extent to which the sufferers and their churches simply were not ready for it when it hit. At theological college you… Continue reading Towards a theology of depression
Reflections on Grief
“Blessed are those who mourn for they shall see God” These reflections arose from a sermon preached some time back on 2 Samuel 1. Mourning the death of a faithful servant of God This year we have stopped to mourn on a couple of occasions. As a church, we said goodbye to one of our… Continue reading Reflections on Grief
The year we were given
2020 was not the year we asked for and not the year we expected. A lot of people had focused on the big number year and its association with vision as a significant milestone to aim for. We all had 2020 visions. Others also because of the symmetry of the year had planned big wedding… Continue reading The year we were given
If someone says they have depression, please take them seriously
I saw this tweet the other day and would like to respond to it. The background to the tweet is that the pastor concerned had a high celebrity profile due to Justin Bieber attending his church. Sadly, as with so many pastors over the years behind the public persona was something different and his marriage… Continue reading If someone says they have depression, please take them seriously
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