In the cut and thrust of busy ministry in a big church the weeks fly by like nothing else on earth. A steady stream of sermon prep, service prep, admin, conversations and meetings of all sorts – pastoral to administrative and everything in between. And then there are the bits and pieces I try to … More Passions

Its about 9 years or so since I started to blog, first at armyrenewal.com, and then at a few incarnations in my transition until establishing this website.  All my blogs are on this site and I’ll tell you….its amazing looking over the years of posts, remembering the journey and seeing God breaking in year by … More Blog Review!

None of these thoughts are particularly new, probably neither to you nor me.   In lots of ways these are the ‘what ifs’ which keep me up at night and the ones that create in me disatisfaction with the place we’re currently in; the things that motivate work for transformation. what if we followed Jesus as … More What if…?

You can’t move beyond him or graduate from Jesus. You can’t get stuck into meatier stuff instead of him or exchange him for an absent theology. He’s not just to be worshipped but followed. He’s not just to be heard, but imitated. He’s not just a man he contains the very secret of the Divine, … More Sticking with Jesus

A prayer that was made at the weekend was that I’d know and hear the words that Jesus heard after his baptism in the Jordan: you are my much loved son and with you I am well pleased. That is indeed a beautiful thing to hear and yet, unsurprisingly, comes with a variety of direct … More Dearly loved son…

Well…it was everything I hoped and expected and more.  The Glen was as beautiful and magical as ever.  The peaty brown river was flowing softly on its course.  It was a pleasantly warm autumn morning and great to meet with my family and my good friends Peter Neilson and James Faddes, who did the honourable … More Baptismal Reflections

A day to go and so good to have a chat with my brother, Peter, who will lead the proceedings tomorrow in the Sma’ Glen.  All is set….the water is warming up nicely (!!) Most of my spiritual journey has been openly shared on this blog for over 9 years and I don’t want this … More Baptism Day – One Day to Go!

Since making the decision to be baptised in the River Almond its been an interesting old journey.  The event takes place this Saturday morning at 11am.  It was looking for a moment that illness would prevent me, but all being well, should be able to go ahead! I’ve been taking a lot of time to … More Pre-Baptism Reflections!

There will never be a shortage of people to disapprove of you.  If I’m right about this, it moves us towards facing some important stuff.  It changes how we bend and shift to outside opinion, it changes how we respond to people and it affects the kind of people we will be.  The disapproval of … More Disapproval

I’ve always been a fairly average scholar…wasn’t astounding at school but got what I needed.  Wasn’t a straight A essay writer or exam sitter at Bible College but more a B average.  One thing that sticks with me from Standard Grade (GCSE level) History is a sentence that was drummed into us for the exam … More Sit Down for Jesus!