My friend and former colleague Martin Thompson wrote this interesting piece on his reflections on church.  I’ve a deep love and respect for Martin and Kay, and all at once, I agree and disagree with him on it.  In the interest of online discussion, I wanted to jot a few lines. I agree in that … More Martin on ‘Church’

I mentioned in my last post that I’m using an Ignition prayer retreat this Lent.  A key part of Ignition spiritual practice is to place yourself inside a story either to observe it, or to play some part in it, and to see where the Spirit leads.  For example, you may imagine yourself as part … More Jesus’ Room

The first week of Lent is coming to an end and I’ve really enjoyed the season so far.  I’ve been enjoying more dedicated time for prayer, reflection, and prayer walking in the community.  I have also ended up being led into engaging with one of Ignatius of Loyola’s ‘First Exercises’ which is a 24 day … More Father

And so Lent has arrived. I have had a wide variety of experiences today, all meaningful in their own ways.  I began the morning with a time of preparation.  Worship, prayer, and reflecting on words from a Mumford and Sons’ song, ‘Sigh no more’ that came to mind.   Serve God, love me and mend … More Ash Wednesday

For many of my formative years, Lent didn’t really appear on the Christian calendar.  It wasn’t really until moving south in 2003 that I got an idea of what it was about.  And now, in 2017, I’m heading into Lent tomorrow with a great deal of anticipation. It will begin with ashes at my local … More Preparing for Lent

I opened up the editing pages of my website to write about something else, but then had a vivid remembrance of a young woman we got to know a little bit in Glasgow.  She had turned up on our doorstep one day looking for a church and looking for God.  We invited her in, chatted with … More Life and Death

Some recent reading has me wondering how literate we are when it comes to the fulness of the gospel.  Certainly when I first received the gospel, and for many years afterwards, it was all about how Jesus died for my sins and that I needed to be forgiven.  Trusting in Jesus to save me and … More Gospel Literacy

I don’t spend hours writing a blog post…they are reflections ‘in the moment’, most often about what I’m thinking about.  They are a sort of public journaling when it seems possible that they may provide some grounds for reflection for others.  I say that because what I’m about to write is no definitive ‘how to’ … More How do we hear God?

During January and February I’m preaching, at Homewood Road URC, a series of talks on the person of Jesus and his identity as lover, liberator, life-giver, leader and, ultimately, what his identity as ‘The Christ’ means. Missiologist Alan Hirsch identifies that one of the greatest challenges to churches today is to ‘Re-Jesus’. In other words, … More Re-Jesusing

I first heard of the Jesus Prayer a few years back whilst away on a retreat weekend. Basically, it’s a phrase taken from the gospels, uttered in part by Bartimaeus to Jesus: ‘Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, have mercy upon me.’ This phrase is used often in Eastern Orthodox circles as a … More The Jesus Prayer