Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve been picking up on the issue of testimony and the expectations we put on people sharing their stories. We’ve looked at it in the context of pastors telling their stories of suffering from depression and Premier Radio conversation about childlessness. Well, here’s a third example concerning adoption. A… Continue reading Adoption apologies and a clash of testimonies
Tag: testimony
The limits of Testimony
Since The Pastor with a thorn in his side was published back during the pandemic, we’ve had lots of feedback, most of it positive. At times though, the feedback was “we were looking for more.” I don’t think that’s necessarily bad, providing we understand it to be a recognition of the limits of a book… Continue reading The limits of Testimony
All the way my saviour leads me
Today marks 46 years since I put my trust in Jesus. I’m sure I’ve told the story many times. It was a Sunday evening and we were with our parents at Sunbridge Road Mission. The Gospel was preached week by week there but they also had a tradition of marking out one Sunday as “Decision… Continue reading All the way my saviour leads me
Training and practice for worship leaders and teams
A lot of attention when it comes to both training people as worship leaders and when it comes to preparing and practicing as worship teams goes into making sure that the music is technically on point. That matters of course. The best thing that musicians can do to serve our corporate worship is ensure that… Continue reading Training and practice for worship leaders and teams
Take them to Jesus and tell them stories
Luke begins his Gospel be telling Theophilus that his purpose is “So that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught” What does he do next? Well, in our contemporary context, we would expect someone with that intent to begin to teach Theophilus some apologetics, to help him think systematically through… Continue reading Take them to Jesus and tell them stories
How do you collect and organise sermon illustrations?
I don’t, is the quick and simply answer! Furthermore, I wouldn’t advise anyone else to either. The question was put to pastors on twitter and I presume arises out of a culture where pastors and preachers are encouraged to go searching for potential little stories and quotes that they can easily select from in order… Continue reading How do you collect and organise sermon illustrations?
Depression, sin and trust issues
I just wanted to pick up on something I’ve seen suggested a few times namely that depression is intrinsically sinful because it involves a lack or loss of trust in the Lord. I’ve seen this suggested in the context of medication -that you should be depending on God to heal you but I’ve also seen… Continue reading Depression, sin and trust issues
When was the last time you heard a pastor tell their testimony?
This was one of the questions I asked in my survey about what pastors talk about. Here are the results. Now it could be that people have heard a pastor’s testimony, maybe not from the pulpit but for whatever reason its not registered. Yet that itself is a sign of salience. It matters that congregations… Continue reading When was the last time you heard a pastor tell their testimony?
I believe in childhood conversion
I saw this tweet the other day from someone saying that they don’t believe in small children around about the age of 5 converting through asking Jesus into their lives. It was an interesting statement for me to read because I still clearly remember that day, it was the 20th April 1980, sat on an… Continue reading I believe in childhood conversion
Facing Depression
I’ve previously shared this testimony on YouTube. Here’s an audio version for those who prefer to listen to podcasts whilst walking, running, driving etc.
