If you look at the very end of 1 Corinthians 16, you’ll read Paul describing a spiritual reality that I believe is at the very heart of effective Christian ministry, fruitful discipleship and that is also one of the most difficult lessons to learn as we mature in faith as ‘ordinary’ men and women.
Grab a coffee or can of diet Coke or a Kit Kat or something; I think it deserves the spotlight for 5 minutes: (more…)
When I read the book of Acts, I really want to be a believer, a lover, a follower of Christ. I’m glad to be. I’m proud to be. When I go to church, I often feel like there’s something very important missing and I can be left feeling like I do when I occasionally go to KFC for some fried chicken – i.e. I’ve just eaten a bucket of it but I want to eat something else to combat that slightly empty, greasy feeling that it leaves me with. (Not that I’ve ever been to a church that I would describe as being greasy, or ‘chickeny’).
I’ve been ‘in church’ all my life so I’m not talking about looking for the mythological ‘perfect church’. (It’ll be our wedding day when we are ‘perfect’). And I absolutely agree that church certainly isn’t all, or even mainly, about our consumption and ‘being fed’. But it is a bit, isn’t it? Even when we’re ‘self-feeders’. Believers need the gospel as much as unbelievers, surely? Pastors need discipling as much as anyone else, right?
What I am talking about is the frustrating and inadequate compromise that there seems to often be in churches who excel in one major area of ecclesiology but then struggle in others. Let me give you some examples:- (more…)
Last year I wrote and submitted a book proposal with several UK and US publishers for a fresh book on prayer which is currently in the process of being edited and re-worked. It’s a book for millennial young people and young believers about radical prayer – so it’ll be fresh & original though I’m sure I’ll be brushing up on my semi-colon usage 😉 (more…)
“Eat, Sleep, Rave, Repeat” is the mantra that you’ll hear if you tune in to Fatboy Slim’s 2013 hit on YouTube, of the same title, which, by the way, has approaching 6 million views. Either that, or you take yourself along to your local gym and do a Les Mill’s BodyPump class, and the current shoulder track, which plays the same banging tune. (more…)
I’m approaching the end of a year at Holy Trinity Richmond serving as worship pastor, come September. The time for Mairi and I has been a cultural shock in many ways but mainly of adjusting to the relentless busyness of living in London….going to bed with the sounds of sirens and buses…waking up to the sounds of sirens and buses.
I must confess, this wasn’t my idea; but it is a great thought and I wanted to develop it a bit.
