scholarship. serving. ministry.
Ian PaulToday sees publication of the Keogh report highlighting unusually high mortality in 14 hospital trusts, 11 of which are now going into ‘special measures.’ This has initiated the usual blame-game amongst politicians, in particular the Coalition blaming inadequate management by the previous Labour government. It has also prompted promises of new management, and review of … Continue Reading
Many people in public ministry find that preaching is one of the most demanding things they are involved in. To put yourself and your theology on the line, to seek to offer an illuminating and life-transforming insight, week in, week out, is very tough! Why exactly does it feel so hard? There are some obvious … Continue Reading
Many churches these days have digital projection and a screen—so the question is, how to use this in preaching? Many people use it to put up words, perhaps setting out the points they are making. This has some value, but I don’t think it is as effective as putting up pictures or images to illustrate … Continue Reading
1. Jesus said so Jesus didn’t command fasting as a spiritual discipline as such, but he appears to assume that that is what his followers will do. In the so-called ‘Sermon on the Mount’ in Matt 5–7, he says ‘When you give…’ (Matt 6.2), ‘When you pray…’ (Matt 6.5) and ‘When you fast…’ (Matt 6.17). … Continue Reading
When I first came across Bruce Longenecker’s 2010 volume Remember the Poor: Paul, Poverty and the Greco-Roman World I thought it would be mildly interesting and, knowing the author a little, imagined it would be well researched and engagingly written. I did not imagine that it would tackle an issue which leads to the heart of the … Continue Reading
The General Synod of the Church of England will again this month be discussing a proposal for the introduction of legislation to allow the appointment of women bishops. (Yes, you have to say it that carefully…). There will no doubt be much press coverage and publicity by all sides of the debate. But not many … Continue Reading
In doing some research on Matthew’s portrait of Jesus, I have been struck afresh by the poetic structuring of Jesus’ teaching. Noticing this raises interesting issues both about our engagement with the texts and our understanding of them, but also some questions about how the texts have come to us in their current form. A … Continue Reading
Kate Bottley, who trained at St John’s five years or so ago, has been getting her fifteen (or more) minutes of fame as a video of her leading a ‘flash mob’ dance routine at a wedding she was conducting. If you haven’t seen it yet, enjoy! Predictably, there has been a range of reactions. From … Continue Reading
Here is an article I have just written for Youthwork magazine, due to be published in May, and reproduced here with permission. The first, longer part is for the leaders; the second, shorter part is the summary message to the youth! Can I blame the Devil for wrong things I do? There was a time when … Continue Reading
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. … Continue Reading
The latest video in the St John’s Timeline project is my hour and 20-minute introduction to the Book of Revelation. In it, I explore different chapters of the book, and look at issues arising in our reading, starting with questions of genre (what kind of writing is this?), through history, cultural context, its use of … Continue Reading
Ian Paul: theologian, author, speaker, academic consultant. Associate Senior Research Fellow, Kirby Laing Centre for Public Theology; Associate Minister, St Nic's, Nottingham; Managing Editor, Grove Books; member of General Synod and Archbishops' Council. Mac user; chocoholic. Tweets at @psephizo
This blog is reader supported, not funded in any other way. Why not make a one-off or regular donation. You do that directly through PayPal
or through Ko-fi.
Gospel commentary index Lectionary Year A
Andrew Goddard Bible biblical interpretation Biblical literacy biblical theology Christmas Church of England culture discipleship discussion doctrine eschatology evangelism gay General Synod Grove guest Hermeneutics History hope interpretation James Blandford Baker Jesus John's gospel Justin Welby leadership lectionary Luke Luke's gospel Matthew ministry mission New Testament Paul politics power preaching Revelation same sex unions sexuality theology video Year A Year B Year C
