I recently went to hear Rob Bell on his latest tour. Let me give you the background. I’ve had a love-hate relationship with Rob Bell over the years, especially in the heady days of my most ardent fundamentalism!  I think of my early reactions to his stuff and, many times, he made me down-right angry.  … More Kadosh, kadosh, kadosh…

We’re all baking in a bit of a heatwave.  I ‘d love to be sitting by the sea with a cool breeze washing over me, just enjoying the moment.   Refreshing, cooling, and relief from the hot intensity of the weather. Finishing reading Donovan last evening was a little like that.  In the complexity and … More Donovan and the context of the gospel

It’s not really that I have anything against the England football team.  I wish them well, and I hope the fans get their hopes realised.  However, I won’t be watching the football.  I wouldn’t even be watching the games if Scotland were involved.  I seem to have something of an inbuilt resistance to football that … More Football, loneliness and toxic masculinity…

As I read more of Donovan’s ‘Christianity Rediscovered’ I am amazed at how much he had an early grasp on the fact that the end of Christendom was approaching fast.  In 2018, many Christians don’t even understand the implications of that. Christendom was a social/religious/geographical arrangement created by nation states and the church in cahoots.  They … More Donovan and The End of Christendom

It has taken me more years than reasonable to get round to reading ‘Christianity Rediscovered’ by Vincent Donovan.  I first remember hearing about it back in the 90s.  A Salvationist friend of mine had read it and it had profoundly affected him.  I wasn’t in the place (as a teen still on the ‘basics’) to … More Christianity Rediscovered in Hertford?

Almost every Christian community I’ve served in has had a preoccupation with what we do over who we are; what we say rather than how we live; what we prefer rather than what is essential to our call as God’s people; how church fits into our lives more than how to be missional disciples called … More Fiddlers on the Church Roof….

We all have stories that we tell about ourselves –  our lives, our families, our past, our present, and maybe even about our future.  These stories shape our behaviours in the present moment and are, without a doubt, shaping the course of our lives. As someone who not too long ago invested significant hours of … More Our Narratives

Twice in 18 years of my ministry, I’ve had a powerful ‘encounter’ with Christ in a very particular way.  Both times, it has been reminiscent of an Old Testament ‘appearance’ of Christ to Joshua – a ‘Christophony’.  I’ve only recently had a similar ‘vision’, yet again – recurring theme! In Joshua 5, as Joshua is preparing … More Commander of the Lord’s army…

I was trying to think, the other day, of the 10 non-fiction books that I’d say have been the most influential, or that I love most, and so thought I’d list them here.  It should really go without saying that the Bible is one of them, so I haven’t included that in the Top Ten. … More Most influential books so far…

 Publisher: IVP, 2014. Pages: 175 Rating: 3.5/5 Review: I’ve read a few of Tim Chester’s books over the years, mainly on mission and church life.  This very readable volume on prayer was well worth the read. His writing is always thoroughly saturated in scriptural references, and this book is no exception.  With Chester coming from … More Book Review: ‘You Can Pray’ by Tim Chester