ministry

The Challenge of Loneliness

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The latest Grove Pastoral booklet explores the challenge of the growing loneliness many in Britain face in old age. Written by John Dawson, a hospital chaplain, and Pete Rugen, a parish priest in Chester diocese, it is a multifaceted exploration of the problems of loneliness—and some possible solutions. It begins by offering some typical examples of loneliness … Continue Reading

Is Church decline the fault of evangelicals?

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Last week Mark Woods posted an intriguing article asking whether evangelicals are to blame for the decline in people claiming to be ‘religious’. He is responding to a new survey conducted on behalf of Linda Woodhead which shows that, for those under 40, ‘no religion’ is the new religion. In a strange way, this might be … Continue Reading

Is our culture biblically literate?

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[Stephen Wright writes:] Rethinking Biblical Literacy is a collection of nine essays from different authors, exploring ways in which the Bible continues to feature in contemporary Western culture. Noting the frequent complaints from interested parties about a ‘decline in biblical literacy’, the authors ask probing questions about what this phrase means and how accurate it … Continue Reading

Preaching the infancy narratives

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In my previous post, I argued that we should be preaching at all our Christmas services, even when there are significant numbers of visitors. But can we find something fresh to say about texts that we know so well? The last piece Dick France wrote before his untimely death was a chapter in the volume … 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

Are we being honest about ordination training?

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There are some compelling arguments for the (relatively new) pattern of ‘contextual training’ for ordination. Steven Sherman, in his snappily titled Revitalizing theological epistemology (2008), argues that the historic separation of the seminary from the local church has created major problems for our whole concept of how we grow in the knowledge of God. His primary target … Continue Reading

Does the C of E ordain ‘priests’?

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Over the summer I enjoyed reading Graham Tomlin’s recent book The Widening Circle: priesthood as God’s way of blessing the world. Graham has just moved from being Principal of St Mellitus College in London, which has been seen as the pioneer of the new pattern of ‘contextual’ ordination training, to become Bishop of Kensington. I had … Continue Reading

Talking (non)sense about rural mission

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When we lived in Poole, and the kids were small, we loved to ride on the Swanage Railway. Its steam and diesel locomotives, run by volunteers, gently haul visitors from the busyness of the seafront to the drama of Corfe Castle, still standing defiant against the destruction wrought by Cromwell after the Civil War. But … Continue Reading

Do we need male leaders?

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Following my discussion about Synod elections and gender (sex) representation, I came across an article in Harvard Business Review on why women find it hard to break into secular leadership. (A friend tagged me in a link to it on Facebook—but in fact I heard it mentioned on Radio 4 a few days previously.) Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic … Continue Reading