… something to think about

Human Rights

It is a brave person who dares to suggest that followers of Jesus might want to question whether the human rights agenda can get us to where we want to be.

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Leading the Jesus Way

We believe that Jesus of Nazareth offers us a positive model of leadership that subverts the authoritarian models that we often default to.

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The Power and the Glory

Recent events seem to be generating something like a #metoo moment in the church, certainly in the UK. What is God up to in the midst of this, and what can we learn from it?

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Life and Faith

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and he will direct your paths”

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Thinking Deeply about Truth 1

Are we living in a post-truth world, or a temporary aberration that will one day right itself? When will the storm abate and what do we actually mean when we talk about truth?

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Saved from Sin or Set Free to Live? 2

If you look for wrongdoing in yourself or others, you will find it everywhere. It becomes your primary focus and you become a slave to it.

Far better to take the human condition so seriously that we focus as much of our attention as possible on the solution rather than the problem.

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Saved from Sin or Set Free to Live? 1

In this series I wonder aloud why the package popularly labelled “Christianity” is so different to the way Jesus actually lived as recorded in the Gospels.

Spoiler alert: following Jesus has little to do with trying hard to manage sin.

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Churches where People Flourish 3

Putting people on a pedestal is fine if you just want to admire them. But if we want to learn from each other there has to be a certain amount of vulnerability present.

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Churches where People Flourish 1

What is the purpose of human existence if it is not to flourish and grow? I have spent decades reflecting on how we can create church communities that facilitate positive change.

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We Can Be Better Than This

The Labour Party’s attack ads that began over Easter have given rise to much debate. This has to be a good thing if it focuses attention on how a nation conducts itself.

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Jesus & Certainty (Part 2 of 3)

Humans are storytellers, and the stories we tell ourselves reveal much more about our inner state than we think. Is it possible to be certain why we believe what we do, and to be certain we are right whilst others aren’t?

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Jesus & Certainty (Part 1 of 3)

Is certainty all it is cracked up to be? There are very human reasons why certainty is attractive, and all of us tend to be very selective in our choice of things we need to be certain about.

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A Story I can Live by

Humans are story tellers. And as we mature, the story we live by needs to grow with us if it is to remain authentically ours. I wrote this piece some time ago when the story I was taught as a younger man was no longer big enough…

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Thinking Deeply about Forgiveness

How are we to think deeply about the decision to strip Shamima Begum of her UK citizenship? And how could the teaching of Jesus apply to such a complex real-world situation?

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Wrestling with Myself

Why do I need people to agree with me in order for me to feel comfortable with them? Is it possible that they are ok as they are?

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Wrestling with Brokenness

Our brokenness is what makes us human, and interesting, and compassionate and empathetic. So why can’t we accept that others are ok even if they are not like us?

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Wrestling with Scripture

It is pretty much impossible to come to any issue with an open mind. We all read ourselves and our worldview into pretty much every scenario we encounter. So how can the bible be of use to us today?

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Wrestling with God

The Old Testament introduces us to a God who has a real problem with disability. I have wrestled with this, but struggled to find an easy answer.

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Wrestling with Identity

As the Baptist family I entered over 40 years ago attempts to listen to and converse with each other on questions of sexual identity and marriage, I have been drawn back into a profoundly personal period in my own struggle with God and the bible in hope that there may be a more settled place waiting to be discovered for both me and the strange family that embraced me.

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Anger

What do I do with my anger? Denying it is dishonest and unhealthy. Expressing it might be misunderstood and could be destructive. I must find ways of standing up and being counted though. Too many people are keeping quiet.

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What Does It Mean To Follow Jesus?

The whole point of believing is so that we might see and participate. This feels, says Jesus, like living according to the beat of a different drum, led by a Spirit that others cannot detect.

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Someone else will lead you where you do not want to go…

It was a line in Roy’s Advent blog that brought to memory those words addressed by Jesus to Peter at the close of John’s Gospel. It is easy to skim over them simply because they were an accurate prediction of Peter’s final days. But what if they form part of the permanent scriptural record for another reason?

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Listen Well (Part 1 of 3)

Our three carefully chosen phrases, Listen Well, Think Deeply, Live Authentically serve as statements of the shared values each of us seek to demonstrate in our everyday lives. Each statement is both simple and profound.

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Think Deeply (Part 2 of 3)

Our three carefully chosen phrases, Listen Well, Think Deeply, Live Authentically serve as statements of the shared values each of us seek to demonstrate in our everyday lives. Each statement is both simple and profound.

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Live Authentically (Part 3 of 3)

Our three carefully chosen phrases, Listen Well, Think Deeply, Live Authentically serve as statements of the shared values each of us seek to demonstrate in our everyday lives. Each statement is both simple and profound.

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Doing A Bit of Good

A world that reflects God’s loving purposes, a world where light overcomes the dark and goodness conquers evil. As Desmond Tutu once said: “Do your little bit of good where you are; it’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.”

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Monarch, Mourning and Pondering the Future

The second Elizabethan era is over. The death of Queen Elizabeth II marks the end of a long and dutiful reign. The country has changed substantially during her reign and her successor, King Charles III takes over at a time of great uncertainty, the monarch of a country that is far from stable. 

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Welcoming Diversity

I have appreciated listening to others and reading books that challenge my own assumptions. I find myself that often talking with people whose theology, politics and outlooks on life are different from my own.

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St Aidans Day

He embodies the monastic calling of seeking God and sharing life. Building a community where prayer and an intentional life of discipleship was nurtured and

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