Ian Paul | Psephizo

The Hidden Issue Behind the Debate on Women Bishops

November 12, 2014July 1, 2013

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 …

The poetic structure of Jesus’ teaching

July 3, 2015June 27, 2013

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 …

What can we learn from the ‘Viral Vicar’?

July 4, 2013June 26, 2013

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 …

Can I blame the devil for the wrong things I do?

March 25, 2013

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 …

Seven reasons why I didn’t like Comic Relief 2013

October 4, 2013March 16, 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. …

Introduction to the Book of Revelation

November 7, 2017January 25, 2013

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 …

The secret of a good all-age talk

November 11, 2014December 12, 2012

Here are my Ten Commandments of speaking in an all-age context. What are yours? 1. Don’t call all-age services ‘Family Services’ However nicely you put it, using the term ‘family’ in any title will put off the (on average) 40% of your congregation who are not in a nuclear family. Even ‘Church Family’ does it. …

The secret of making all-age services work

December 4, 2014December 9, 2012

There is nothing that quite gets opinion going as the subject of all-age services in local churches. I think there are some really good reasons for doing all-age worship, both practical and theological, but I won’t go into those here. The chances are, especially around Christmas or during the summer, you are going to be …

Phoebe, carrier of Paul’s letter to the Roman Christians

November 12, 2014December 1, 2012

Romans 16 has been the subject of growing attention in scholarship for the last few years. Where an earlier generation might have thought it an addition, or an aside, commentators increasingly now see it as exemplifying a number of Paul’s concerns expressed earlier in the letter, and giving a vital window into Paul’s understanding and practice as …

Personal disclosure in preaching

November 11, 2014November 29, 2012

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 …

What does the decision on women bishops mean?

November 12, 2014November 21, 2012

As you will be well aware, General Synod this week voted not to approve the measure to allow women to be ordained bishops. Was this the most important thing that happened in the news? No. Does it spell the end of the Church of England? No. Is it a reason to leave the Church? No. Does it fatally compromise the Church’s life and ministry in this country? Contrary to some reports, I believe not. I do not think that having women bishops is of the esse of the Church. (I don’t think having any kind of bishops is, but that is another story.)

But we do need to reflect on what has happened here.

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