Life & Ministry

Maria Miller, corruption and the gospel

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After a week of pressure and mounting headlines, Maria Miller has resigned her post as Culture Secretary. There has been some speculation that pressure mounted on her from the press because of opposition to the government’s plan to restrict the press and make them more accountable, or from traditional Conservatives because she had been the … Continue Reading

I’m not busy

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Three times in the last week or so, I have received a communication from someone which says ‘I know you are very busy…’ and these have stuck in my mind. One of these said ‘I am sure you are very busy—I know that I am.’ A couple of things struck me immediately. The first, and … Continue Reading

The one thing missing from ‘Rev’

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Having missed (though recorded) the first episode of the new series of Rev, I managed to catch the second episode last night…along with (it seems) half of the Church of England clergy. Not surprisingly, the main plot line followed Adam Smallbone’s convoluted attempts ‘not’ to marry a gay couple in his church, but simply say … Continue Reading

A lot of nonsense about World Vision

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They say that, in war, the first casualty is truth—and in the war of words about World Vision USA’s decision to change their terms of employment this certainly seems to be the case. Richard Stearns, President of World Vision USA, announced in an interview with Christianity Today that its policy restricting employment to Christians who … Continue Reading

Can leaders say ‘I am sorry—I was wrong’?

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Mark Driscoll is a controversial figure, even in America. He has hit the headlines for a variety of reasons, including preaching that ‘God hates you‘ based on a verse in the Psalms. (If nothing else, this is useful in raising question about biblical interpretation!). In more academic circles, his work has raised serious questions about … Continue Reading

Famous, Rich and Hungry…and Human?

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I was incredibly moved by the second episode of Famous, Rich and Hungry tonight. If you didn’t get a chance to watch it, then do so if at all you can. The four wealthy celebrities  each moved to a second location, to see if they could apply what they had learnt from their first experiences … Continue Reading

Cringe-free All-age Worship

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On Sunday I helped to lead an all-age service at St Nic’s, where I am Associate Minister, looking at the story of Jonah. I had some interesting and encouraging feedback from the congregation; one person told me that they had brought a family they knew along, and that they so enjoyed it, they were planning to come … Continue Reading

How to Blog 2: building

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This is the second of three posts exploring in turn how to start, build and share a blog. The first part can be found here. A few years, it used to be fairly easy to find out how to start and build a blog, as blogging was a fairly new thing, and most bloggers saw … Continue Reading

Performance and Worship

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This is a guest post by Steve Stickley. Steve and Janet run the Footprints Theatre Trust, and are long-standing members of St Nic’s, Nottingham. I am sharing these thoughts as someone who is Christian and also a professional performer. They are intended to stimulate discussion with a view to re-evaluating our thinking and practice when it comes … Continue Reading