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

There have been a few verses of scripture floating around in my head for a few days now.  In John 6:68, Jesus and Peter are having a bit of a dialogue.  Jesus has been teaching hard things and many followers turn and walk away.  Whether Jesus is feeling rejection or whether he is feeling like … More To whom shall we go?

I’m just done packing up my few bits and bobs I’ve had with me here at Cliff College this week, ready to vacate my room before we launch into the last half day.  I’m looking forward to being home, but I’ve thoroughly enjoyed being here again for the last full week of my course. The … More Let’s pray about it…

I’m at Cliff College in Derbyshire this week, for the third of my four MA modules.  This week is on Pioneering ministry within our current cultural landscape and again I’m listening to stuff which is very familiar, not only from my own reading, but my experience of ministry ‘in the real world.’  In the slight ivory … More Constructing the future?