Tag: pastoral care

Why is Sheep Stealing such a bad thing?

Last Sunday, I wrote about the issue of sheep stealing by which I meant the attempt to poach/steal/attract people from another church to join yours.  But why is this a problem? Surely we are part of the one family of God, surely as long as people are in the kingdom it doesn’t matter too much… Continue reading Why is Sheep Stealing such a bad thing?

Sheep stealing, transfer growth and the end of the pandemic

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

“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 ….”

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