Life & Ministry

Are resolutions the best way to change?

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Have you set your New Year’s resolutions yet? One day in, have you managed to keep them all? It’s a serious question, since we know from bitter experience that New Year’s resolutions seem to disappear faster than a cold turkey sandwich. Here are seven questions to help you think through your resolutions for the year … Continue Reading

Four prayers for the New Year 2016

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I am not really convinced by the idea of New Year’s resolutions. Although it is good to reflect on life, our goals and priorities, resolutions have never really worked for me and I don’t think they work for many others. (January is the biggest time for new gym subscriptions—but the gym habit doesn’t last for most … Continue Reading

There’s something (humble) about Mary

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I know Christmas circular letters are not everyone’s cup of tea, but we enjoy writing ours as a review of the year, and catching up with what has been going on in the lives of others. For those who don’t like them, their distaste is summed up in that archetypal circular where everything is going wonderfully … Continue Reading

Faith, purity and the virgin birth

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I really don’t know what goes through the mind of people who argue that they know much better than the gospel writers what Christianity is all about. Do they think the evangelists were stupid, ignorant, or just a little bit slow on the uptake—or perhaps all three? And how did Christian tradition make such egregious … Continue Reading

Tradition and the contemporary at Christmas

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Perhaps the greatest challenge at Christmas is how to combine the traditional with the contemporary. On the one hand, how do we honour people’s expectations of traditional forms whilst ‘proclaiming afresh in this generation’ the truths of Christmas? On the other hand, how do we make an ancient story connect with the concerns and questions … Continue Reading

Should we preach at Christmas services?

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David Walker, Bishop of Manchester, has done some research on the distinctive needs of occasional attenders who might come to Christmas services, but don’t attend the rest of the year. This appears to be an important group; I have noticed this year how many people are reporting increased attendances at carol services, and we saw … Continue Reading

A vision for ministry and training

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Dr Jon Coutts is a Canadian who recently joined the faculty at Trinity College, Bristol; he blogs at http://thissideofsunday.blogspot.ca. I conducted a virtual interview with him exploring issues around ministry and ministry training, and I think his answers are truly fascinating. We have things to offer other contexts—but we also have important things to learn … Continue Reading

The kingdom and the common good

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In one of the presentations at the Premier Digital Media Awards I attended last month, the speaker used a phrase about his project which has stayed with me. A group of coders spent a weekend trying to design computer and phone apps that could be used ‘for the kingdom and the common good.’ I was … Continue Reading

Just war, theology and bombing Syria

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Discussion about Just War theory and bombing Syria last week mostly focussed on whether or not we should initiate war—though that was a moot point since we have been bombing ISIS in Iraq for more than a year. But it was assumed that we were considering the dimension of jus ad bellum, whether there was a just … Continue Reading

Should we bomb ISIS in Syria?

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I hesitate to comment on this, as the issues are so complex that it seems impossible to offer any clear opinion. But discussion and reflection suggest that we cannot ignore the following points. 1. The British public do not support it The Independent reports research by the Daily Mirror: The survey conducted for the Daily Mirror … Continue Reading