Grove

The subversive power of grace

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The latest Grove Biblical text is by John Barclay, Lightfoot Professor of Divinity at the University of Durham, and is a profound exploration of the meaning of grace, following his major work from last year Paul and the Gift. John starts with a very helpful analysis of what might be called the taxonomy of grace: when … Continue Reading

What does the EU vote mean?

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The first dust has settled from the EU Leave vote, but it feels as if the earthquake has only just begun, and there is no telling what foundations it has yet to disturb. David Cameron has resigned; George Osbourne is likely to follow soon. Jeremy Corbyn faces a vote of no confidence, and already Nicola … Continue Reading

Does grace despise virtue?

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In our mid-size group in our church we are using the Pilgrim Course to study the Lord’s Prayer. This week we were reflecting on ‘Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us’, and we were directed to explore the so-called parable of the Prodigal Son (really, the parable of the Forgiving … Continue Reading

Adding dialogue to monologue preaching

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There has been some fascinating discussion in response to my two previous posts on why monologue preaching doesn’t work and why dialogue preaching isn’t practical. Before looking at how we might take the best of both together, two observations about monologue. First, those (usually clergy) who have theological training do have something valuable to bring to … Continue Reading

Should preaching be in dialogue format?

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My previous post, on whether preaching should be monologue, provoked a fascinating debate (somewhat ironically!) both on Facebook and on the blog post itself in the comments. The first wave of comments was mostly happy agreement—how can you possibly continue with monologue in this day and age? As I mentioned at the end of the … Continue Reading

Challenging Bullying in Churches

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Following my post last week about Rosemary Power’s new Grove booklet Challenging Bullying in Churches, I was sent this review from a fellow clergy person, drawing on that person’s own experience. I know who the author is, but the review is (understandably) offered anonymously. Nobody likes to be called a bully—and while it’s good to believe … Continue Reading

Should preaching be a monologue?

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A couple of weeks ago, early on a Sunday morning, I had a phone call. The person preaching at the service in two hours’ time was unwell, and would not be able to preach. I was leading the service; what should I do about the sermon? My first thought was: what a great opportunity to … Continue Reading

Does bullying happen in churches?

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As numbers of clergy decline, before the growth in younger ordinands offsets this, there will be some pressure on numbers nationally. But that disguises the uneven distribution and ages of clergy across different dioceses. Some dioceses have more than 40% of their clergy over 60, and so will see a significant drop in clergy numbers … Continue Reading