St John’s Nottingham…

...is a great place to study theology or train for ministry, full time, part time or by distance. To find out more visit the St John's website or email me on ian.paul (at) stjohns-nottm.ac.uk

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Seven reasons why I didn’t like Comic Relief 2013

It seems as though Comic Relief has an unrivalled opportunity to capture the public imagination, and particularly that of children, and mobilise them to address the issues of world poverty. Over its 25 years, it has raised over £800 million, and so has had a real impact on the areas in which it has worked. [...]

Personal disclosure in preaching

How much should I share of my personal experience in the context of preaching? This is a perennial question facing anyone in ministry in the local church. My first encounter with the issue arose when I was a teenager. I remember one of the lay preachers in the church I attended making some point and [...]

Why does God allow people to do evil?

This article was printed in the Winter edition of New Wine magazine, and is reproduced here by permission.

We are confronted almost daily with the reality of evil people at large in our world. Robert Mugabe is the latest in the long line of villainous leaders to dominate headlines. President of Zimbabwe since 1980, he [...]

Giving it up for God: Leviticus

I am working with Sarah Julian and Celia Kellett at BBC Radio Nottingham on an idea to present most of the books of the Bible, one a week, during 2011 as part of the celebrations of the King James Bible. The plan is to read some verses from the book, to give a one-and-a-half minute summary, to hear [...]

Do we need more sacrificial giving?

As we approach Lent, the subject of giving things up and discipline. At St Nic’s, where I worship, we are also exploring giving, as it is approaching our ‘Firstfruits Sunday’ where we review our planned giving to the church.

In the C of E, giving is not very impressive overall; we have struggled to reach [...]