Despite now being in my seventh-year working for a church and being a trained-up Anglican curate (not to mention the fact that I now rock up at church with a couple of my own kids in tow), the very thought of children’s ministry is still enough to bring me out in a cold sweat! So I thank God … More Starting Out in Children’s Ministry by Alison Mitchell – A Review
I’ve noticed myself doing this a heap of times recently. It’s my turn to give a prayer request amongst friends and, having explained whatever the issue is, the words then come out of my mouth as if by clockwork: “yeah, so please pray for wisdom.” Of course, that’s no biggy in itself. In fact, God wants … More We pray for wisdom, but when did we last expect someone to speak it into our lives?
What’s your story, and when you tell it – if you ever do – who gets the praise? Only yesterday I was hearing a veteran ministry couple speak of how personally precious they had found regularly looking back and ‘counting your blessings’ to be. And if that’s a healthy discipline for individuals, it’s also healthy for whole churches. Every church has … More Bearing Fruit in the Shadow of the Gherkin…
When was the last time you cried? Ok, so admittedly beginning like this does sound a bit like one of those ‘touchy feely’ weekend supplement celebrity interviews. In fact, perhaps for you it’s all too easy to answer the question. Life is hard right now. At the other extreme maybe you’re struggling to think of an … More When Apostles Cry – where are our tears?
It’s an obvious point, right? But perhaps it’s surprising how often we forget it. Not everyone sins like you do. And yet I’m surprised how often my thinking is very one-dimensional, aka me-dimensional, when it comes to thinking about how people think, feel, act. I met up with a friend recently and we were chatting … More Not Everyone Sins Like You Do
As Freshers’ Week approaches I’ve been putting together a series of posts looking at how University Christian Unions’ can be most effective during the first few weeks of term. You can check out Part 1 here, but now it’s time for Part 2: 2. Create a CU culture that loves the local church As well … More 5 ways for a CU to make the most of Freshers’ Week – Part 2
There’s an interesting discussion over at The Good Book Company Blog on how we introduce our preachers in church meetings. I know when I’ve led church services I’ve often used the familiar line ‘…and now X is going to explain the Bible to us’. But is ‘explain the Bible’ really the most apt phrase? Does that … More Just explaining the Bible?
God loves his church. Well that’s an understatement if ever there was one. But lately I’ve had the chance to see that afresh in 1 Corinthians. We’ve been going through it over the course of the last year in our Growth Groups at church. We do this because we believe the Bible is God’s word and … More The Giving God gives to His Church
Recently at church with every new sermon series at our 6.30pm congregation we’ve got into the practice of launching a ‘song of the series’. Each song is chosen in discussion with those leading the preaching so that it picks up the big themes and message of the portion of Scripture that we’re preaching through in … More Behold Our God
That Happy Certainty 