Scholarship • Serving • Ministry – Ian Paul
A notable feature of a number of contemporary debates in the church is the lack of well-informed use of Scripture. It’s not unusual to hear one party or other either trot out a proof text, or write Scripture off on the basis of such proof texts—or hear views expressed which demonstrate basic lack of familiarity with …
You wake up one night in a cold sweat. You have had the most horrible nightmare! You dreamt that the new preaching rota at church had you down to preach a series on the Book of Revelation! You get up, drink some water, and go back to sleep. Then the next morning you check the …
There has been much talk in recent months, for a whole host of reasons, of eliminating the ‘culture of deference’ within the Church of England. This has been highlighted over the weekend in the comment by Stephen Cottrell, on the day of his ‘enthronement’ as Archbishop of York, noting that his predecessor has not been …
Evan Cockshaw writes: I could feel the nausea building in my stomach. Sweaty palms. Heaviness in my chest. I got out of my beat-up Volvo and parked next to an array of cars from all walks of life parked side by side on the gravel of the car park. I remember thinking my car was by …
Bob Hartman is well known for his use of storytelling to introduce people to the Bible and understand its message. He is now celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Lion Storyteller Bible, which has a new edition out to mark the occasion. I was able to catch up with him and ask him about his …
Why do Church of England bishops wear mitres? In our age of visual media, there is a tendency to reach for visual symbolism; it seems sometimes that those on television they don’t think they are actually talking to a bishop unless the person is wearing a purple cassock. But there are many reasons for saying …
In the week that Stephen Cottrell is confirmed as Archbishop of York, Andrew Atherstone reviews the archbishop’s latest book, On Priesthood (Hodder & Stoughton, 2020). There is no shortage of paperbacks about Anglican ministry, and about Christian leadership more broadly, flowing from the printing presses at a rapid rate. Several of our bishops have such …
I have posted this main part of article several times before. But there are currently some high-profile issues being talked about in the C of E, and they have been depicted solely as issues of race and racism—when I think a big part of the underlying problem was a failure to give honest feedback when …
At last week’s Diocesan Synod in Chelmsford Diocese, a paper was discussed which proposed a radical reduction of stipendiary clergy posts from 275 to 215 within the next 18 months, a reduction of 22%. (Since these papers are in the public domain, you can read it for yourself here.) Despite some of these positions already …
The imposition of social distancing and then ‘lockdown’, including the closing of church buildings as places of gathering for worship, has changed the shape of ministry for everyone. But what exactly does that mean for the local church? And in amongst the challenges, are there signs of hope? James Blandford-Baker is vicar of Histon and …
Ian Parkinson works for CPAS teaching leadership to those training for ministry in the Church of England, and has just written a wide-ranging book on Understanding Christian Leadership. I was able to interview him about the book. Paul: Ian, thanks so much for sending me a copy of your book—I really enjoyed it. You cover so …
