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!
No, this time its not gaelic but some Latin for you. Although, if you’re Scottish, this phrase might be familiar to you. Its the ‘motto’ of the Church of Scotland and it means ‘And it was not consumed.’ It us usually accompanied by the cross of St Andrew and a burning bush. My personal journey … More Nec Tamen Consumebatur
Unsurprisingly, honesty is something we all desire in our deepest self. The yearning to be fully you and fully me is always there and we spend our lives in the battle between the true and false according to our environment. It can be difficult to be yourself. So many expectations fly. Life can overwhelm us … More Pursuing Honesty
Today I’ve mainly been reflecting on honesty, on what is ‘true’ and what is ‘false’. I guess the reason for this is that I’m simply tired of the façade, the glossed over appearance of this thing called life. I’m over tired with anything that just isn’t authentic or doesn’t ring true at that deeper level. … More Honesty
“I plunge neath the waters, they roll over me” – William Booth This post has been 18 years in the writing. I’ve been following Jesus (on most days) all of that time. Many of the years in the fellowship of Salvationists and the last 3 in particular in other parts of the body of Christ. … More “I plunge neath the waters, they roll over me”
In the course of the last 18 years, 12 as a minister in ‘paid Christian ministry’ I’ve been on a fair few retreats and spiritual days/weekends/weeks. For the first time ever, I’ve been away on a retreat this summer where, when you come back and people ask you what you did, I’ve had to say … More 5 Days of Transformation
Thats what theology does a lot of the time:- make theological statements. They have their benefits and their drawbacks but do help, at time, to express something of our thinking. I think if you distilled a lot of what I say it would probably still fit the Wesleyan Evangelical flavour…its what I was steeped in … More Theologically speaking…
“Attentive ears can hear the ancient whisper, reminding us that another world is possible.” – Shane Claiborne This is a fantastic quote from Shane Claiborne, true on so many levels when we are dealing with God’s rule breaking in to a myriad of situations. If you haven’t read or heard any of his stuff, he’s … More Ordinary Radicals
Can I moan for a minute? So, I had the inevitable response from yesterday’s blog…someone (not in my local setting) glad that I’ve ‘seen the light’ and going to start functioning as a pastor should, knowing every one of his ‘flock’ intimately and spending hours on hours drinking tea with every single one and…..you know … More Stick 2
