Scholarship • Serving • Ministry – Ian Paul
To long for things is characteristic of being human. It is in our nature to reach into the future, to envisage that things will be different from how they are now, to imagine our possessing of things, qualities and attitudes that we do not at present have—even to be people that we are not yet. This sense of longing often focuses on key issues, things of central importance to us:
I spent part of last week at our excellent clergy conference in Swanwick. (I will leave it ambiguous as to whether the clergy or the conference was excellent—or both!). As is the practice with the Partnership for Missional Church approach to mission (being used in a number of diocese including ours), we repeatedly spent time reflecting …
I’ve had quite a few interactions with Alan Wilson, Bishop of Buckingham, mostly on line and (once) in person. On some occasions he has been reasonable, thoughtful and well-informed; on others, belligerent and polemical. So when I received this book for review, I was intrigued to know which way it would go. Unfortunately, it is …
I was really delighted to see the new Church of England project iTestify launched this summer. (I was also a tad disappointed, since I was thinking of doing something similar myself!). The idea is simple – short, video testimonies of up to 3 minutes. Recorded on your phone or tablet and sent to us here …
The idea that those outside the Christian faith are ‘lost’ has, in the past, been of central importance in evangelical devotion. Around 10 million times a year, Christians sing John Newton’s autobiographical devotional hymn: Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, That saved a wretch like me. I once was lost but now am found, Was blind, …
One of the books I read over the summer was Andrew Atherstone’s fascinating biography of Justin Welby. It is a considerably expanded version of the short book which Atherstone wrote immediately after it was announced that Welby would be Archbishop. The first thing which strikes you in opening the book is the thoroughness of the research. Atherstone …
This guest post is a book review by Peter Bates, a friend and member of St Nic’s Church who works in community development. Robert Lupton’s book Toxic Charity (Harper Collins, 2012) is essential reading for anyone who gives time or money to assist the less well off. It’s a remarkably easy read that requires no background …
I am heading back (on Sunday) from what I can only describe as an inspirational service at Canterbury Cathedral where my friend Rob Innes was ordained as the new Bishop of Gibraltar in Europe. (Yes, formal Anglican services can be inspirational!). The recent debate about women bishops (which might continue, for reasons below) raises the …
The Church of England has just launched a new website for those interesting in having their children baptised, or ‘christened’ as the website mostly calls it. (The language here is a little odd: at one point it says ‘Baptism is the heart of the christening’; I had thought the two words were usually used synonymously.) And very impressive it is too. Or is it?
The historic investments of the Church of England are managed by the Church Commissioners, who are formally independent of Church leadership though report to General Synod. They hit the headlines in the 1980s when they lost a staggering £800 million, largely through unwise property speculation, and though there have been glitches since then, the financial …
I have written a Grove booklet on Same-sex Unions: the key biblical texts which is available from the Grove website. It explores, briefly, all the main biblical texts in the Old and New Testaments which come up in the debate on the issue. Here is the chapter on the gospels and Acts. The material in the gospels …
