Tag: unity

How do leaders help the church family  to work through differences?

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Any church can expect to have people holding to a range of views in it.   You might expect people from different theological backgrounds, there might also be specific disagreements on issues from when and who to baptise, what songs to sing accompanied by what instruments and then there may be a range of ethical and… Continue reading How do leaders help the church family  to work through differences?

What unites us?

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It is rare to find a church that is completely homogenous in terms of beliefs and traditions.  My own experience of leadership has been in churches where people have come from all kinds of backgrounds, reformed, Baptist, Brethren, Anglican, Pentecostal, charismatic, cessationist, young earth creationist, old earth/theistic evolution, egalitarian, complementarian etc.  There’s a good chance… Continue reading What unites us?

Is John Stott’s successor my friend?

Evangelicals Now reports that the rector at All Souls, Langham Place, Charlie Skrine has said in a speech in Sydney that “Justin Welby” is not his friend.  Looking on as an outsider to the Anglican scene, this strikes me as yet another example of why the internal Anglican debate and even more so the debate… Continue reading Is John Stott’s successor my friend?

Marriage, mutual submission and headship: what does it look like in practice?

In Ephesians 5:22-32 Paul instructs: Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord … Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her” In a previous article, I argued that this was a fleshing out of 5:21 and the instruction to “submit to one another.” … Continue reading Marriage, mutual submission and headship: what does it look like in practice?

A prophetic church (1 Corinthians 14)

Paul has argued that the proud, divided church in Corinth needs some crucial things to correct those problems.  They need love in all that they do and they need the gifts of the Spirit to be exercised by the whole body.  Here he focuses in on one specific gift, prophecy. Especially Prophecy (v1-5) Paul says… Continue reading A prophetic church (1 Corinthians 14)

A Diverse Church (1 Corinthians 12:12-30)

Remember that one of the big problems in Corinth was the rivalry and tribalism among believers.  They were in the habit of identifying themselves with particular leaders and seeing their tribe as better than everyone else. The same habit was at risk of infecting their attitude to gifts so that people would see their particular… Continue reading A Diverse Church (1 Corinthians 12:12-30)

First and second things

At the weekend, the Keswick Convention put out a statement on social media as follows.  It seems that the convention has been subject to a bit of a protest about their stance on women speakers. It’s not the first time that Christians have decided to protest Christian events. In fact, back when we attended Keswick,… Continue reading First and second things

Laying down your life for your friends in a pandemic

Throughout the pandemic, pastors have found themselves under fire from two sides. For some, every decision to conform with guidelines, providing online services, introducing social distancing, asking people to wear masks has been seen as an act of compromise with the state driven by fear of death. Thy are told that they should not fear… Continue reading Laying down your life for your friends in a pandemic