We need to regularly ask God to burst our Christian bubbles. People talk about the “Westminster bubble”. It means politicians and journalists are living in their own world of Westminster, out of touch with the mood of the rest of the country. Similarly, mainstream media (based in big cities, employing people of a very particular …
[Note: this is a longer read about a big subject, that’s only going to get bigger in the years ahead] In shocking news, our reporter at the Jerusalem Post can reveal that Alexander the Coppersmith has accused the apostle Paul of spiritual abuse. Dear presbytery of Jerusalem, I’m afraid I’m writing with some difficult news. …
Breaking news: “spiritual abuser” allegations rock early church! Read More »
What did the apostle Peter think of non-Christian “culture”? He wasn’t very complimentary. He didn’t celebrate it, or appreciate it. He doesn’t seek to preserve it. He describes it as “the futile ways inherited from your forefathers” (1 Peter 1:18). What Christian converts inherited from their family wasn’t valuable. He doesn’t want them to continue …
For the last year, there’s a phrase that’s been rattling around in my head. It comes from Hebrews 5:14 and talks about our “powers of discernment [being] trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil”. I think it’s a phrase we, as Christians, need to get acquainted with. This phrase shows us that distinguishing …
Majoring on the minors and minoring on the majors Read More »
It’s easy for those of us who’ve been Christians for a while to forget how big a deal it is for someone to walk into church for the first time. Thousands of families live within a mile of the church building, when realistically it’s as far away from them as Timbuktu. When Paul described the …
We need to talk about the NHS. Like the BBC, the NHS is a beloved national institution, which we highly prize and also get frustrated with. People at church work for it and almost all of us will have benefited from it. We celebrated it in the London 2012 Olympics. We’ve been encouraged to clap …
Let me start with two caveats. Firstly, I’m called to be a minister of Christ’s eternal kingdom, not the United Kingdom. I’m not a politician, or qualified to talk politics and economics. I’m no expert in these areas. Secondly, I don’t believe the United Kingdom, or the British Isles, or London, will be around forever, …
