Life & Ministry

Should churches grow?

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Two articles were recently published by Al Barrett, Rector of Hodge Hill Church in east Birmingham, arguing (slightly tongue-in-cheek?) that we should establish an ‘anti-growth coalition’ in the Church of England, as a protest against the constant language of ‘we must grow’ coming from the centre. The first was his own article, ‘Simpler, Humbler, Bolder?’ … Continue Reading

The God of Small Things

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I write a quarterly column for Preach magazine, in which I explore a significant word or phrase in the Bible, or a theme or section of Scripture, and the ideas that it expresses. At the end of this piece I list the previous articles I have written for them. Here I explore what Scripture says … Continue Reading

Why We Need to Talk about Clergy Well-being

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Sean Cathie has just written an important Grove booklet on The Clergy’s Experience of Pastoral Care in the Grove Pastoral series. I have become acutely aware of the importance of this issue from travelling and speaking to clergy, and from my work on General Synod and the Archbishops’ Council. One of the factors has been the … Continue Reading

How big should local churches be?

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Some years ago, one of the fringe meetings at a session of the General Synod focussed on the needs of ‘mid-sized churches’, in this case defined as worshipping communities of 20 to 60. The reason for this was a question that William Nye, Secretary General of Synod and the Archbishops’ Council, had raised: Without meaning … Continue Reading

What’s the problem? What’s the Solution? The problem with ‘racial justice’ appointments

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John Root writes: The diocese of London is advertising for the post of the newly-created ‘Head of Racial Justice Priority’. Other dioceses (such as Leeds) are considering or have made similar appointments. Why? In this blog, with London as the example, I want to spotlight the potential of such appointments, but especially explore the ways … Continue Reading

Choosing Bishops: A Failure to Discern?

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Andrew Goddard writes: This article, building on my earlier account, explores issues surrounding this week’s public meeting of the House of Bishops to consider the Crown Nominations Commission’s (CNC) discernment process for diocesan bishops. Although that meeting was welcomingly transparent, the discernment processes leading to the proposals supported by it were much less so. Four areas … Continue Reading

Reading Eric Kaufmann’s ‘Taboo’ in the Church of England

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John Root writes: Eric Kaufmann’s Taboo (reviewed last week here) is centrally about the damaging slippage in Anglophone culture from ‘cultural liberalism’ (such as equality of opportunity) to ‘cultural socialism’ (such as equality of outcome); a process that requires cancelling the expression of resistant ideas, inflated concern about the dangers of ‘harm’, and an increased … Continue Reading