Challenge is a spin-off from WAVE. It is a weekly meet up for parents of babies or children with additional needs. It is, simply, a friendship group, offering support and love during a tough time. You can guess what happens (although you might not guess the stuff on offer to pamper the mums – they can be spoilt
THE MESSAGE OF THE CHURCH Assemble the people before me By Chris Green ‘The Bible Themes’ series of ‘The Bible Speaks Today’ range continues with this substantial volume on the Church. Christ Green, who lectures in preaching and church planting at Oak Hill Theological College, London (UK), has an obvious love and concern for the
WAVE is extraordinary – and as far as I know, unique. At least in London. And I should underline that as the new pastor of this church I take absolutely no credit for what I’m about to tell you. WAVE stands for We’re All Valued Equally, and it’s an unusual church. It meets monthly, and
One of the strange things that happened to me, when I moved back into church-based ministry, was the experience of preaching the same sermon, repeatedly. I’d had it before, but I’d forgotten what it’s like. I don’t mean that thing where you need to preach at short notice, dig up a golden oldie, and pray it
I was chatting to a younger minister, a few years out of seminary, but still getting the hang of things. He was also getting tired, and especially tired in the area of preaching. I don’t mean he was becoming bored or disillusioned. It’s just that he’d been hanging around a bunch of people (myself included)
There’s a curious, clarifying moment that happens. It’s impossible to engineer, but without it preaching feels lifeless, by rote. And it’s not something that happens in the moment, during the preaching itself. It happens days earlier, in the study. I find it goes like this: I’ve dug deep into the text, and done all my
I’ve just reviewed Robert Harris’s latest thriller, An Officer and a Spy, based on the Alfred Dreyfus affair, and William Boyd’s new take on James Bond, Solo. It was for the Oak Hill magazine Commentary, and you can read it here: http://www.oakhill.ac.uk/commentary/13_winter/pdfs/books.pdf
I have a desk. But my friend Peter has two. Why? Why two desks when he can only use one at a time? Because he’s a shrewd old Christian, and he knows the temptation of the mind, even a disciplined mind, to flit to the nagging task that is calling for our attention, away from
Ok, so this is very new, and if it means nothing to you, just pass along. But if you blog, and would like to take part in a virtual tour to launch the US edition of my church book, then I’m keen to write short articles, give interviews, guest posts – you get the idea.
You cannot read my mind. You might misunderstand me, mishear me, hear what you prefer to hear, or hear what you’ve think I’ve said. So I must speak with unmistakable clarity. I cannot read your mind. I can guess, follow false trails, be preoccupied with my own ideas, or be thinking of what I’m going
This evening one of my colleagues asked me about something – something I couldn’t resolve on my own. So I contacted the person who could help – and then sent what others would think an unnecessary email. I emailed my colleague saying that I’d spoken to the other person, and would get back to him
We said goodbye to a church we’ve known and loved for seven years – its first seven years. It had been a privilege to be a member rather than a leader, and to be part of a little Christian community take its first steps. Seven years before a team of 35 adults and 12 children
One of the ways I waste time on the computer, is by typing the same stuff over and over. The same email addresses. The same websites. The same information. Know the problem? It was the kind of thing that we were supposed to have left behind with typewriters. Enter the world of text expanders. These
This is a reverse blogpost. I need your advice. In exactly one week I start as the vicar (minister, pastor) of a large church with a big staff team What are the top lessons that I simply must put into practice? And what are the ministry-killing mistakes I must avoid? Pile in below – and
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