So we (me and a team of students) were in Kent, to work with a church in an evangelistic push before Easter. Tons of prep. Lots of nervousness. But there is really only one thing to remember, and it is from Psalm 51:12-13 – Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me
Ever since I was an undergraduate I’ve had on my shelves Don Carson’s survey of New Testament commentaries. It’s his notes on every commentary and series that he’s read (a lot), with best buys marked up. It’s gone through various editions, been joined by Tremper Longman’s OT survey, and later this year will have its
One of my heroes is Chuck Yeager, the first man to break the sound barrier. But it’s not because he was the first, or the fastest, that makes him my hero. It’s what he chose to do to make that happen that makes him a parable of leadership. Many other people had tried before him,
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I first noticed it in Malcolm Gladwell’s clever little book Outliers. In almost every area of human creativity and endeavour, when you come across an overnight success story, you can bet that behind it lies hours of practice. Hours. 10,000 of them to be exact. Gladwell charts it in music, writing, the sciences – there’s
How far ahead do you you plan your sermons? Someone asked me this week, and was rather surprised when I said that my pattern in church was eighteen months ahead. Why so long? Here were my reasons Authenticity. I need to get inside this Biblical book and let it read me, repeatedly. I need to
Good question. True question. A small church with around twenty members is in a depressed part of town. Money is tight all round – the pastor is paid for by a generous denomination, weekly giving is around £25, and they have around £1000 in the bank. Most of the members are not tax payers. Years
People come to church for a lift. An encouragement. Maybe a challenge. They don’t want trouble. And those of us who stand behind the lectern agree with them. We’ll give them their lift and maybe their challenge. But we don’t like trouble either. So we conspire together to avoid certain subjects. Which isn’t healthy It’s
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It sounds so wrong when they say it but the flight attendants are right – if you’re travelling with children and the oxygen masks drop down, put your own on before fitting your kids’. Your instinct will be to help them, but if you conk out first, the kids can’t help you. And you can
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