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There was a flurry of both despair and excitement earlier this week, when Pope Francis answered questions raised by a group of five cardinals on a series of questions—about the nature of God’s revelation, the possibility of the ordination of women, the role and authority of bishops in relation to the pope, the relation of … Continue Reading
How much should I share of my personal experience in the context of preaching? This is a perennial question facing anyone in ministry in the local church—and relevant to speaking on other occasions too. My first encounter with the issue arose when I was a teenager. I remember one of the lay preachers in the … Continue Reading
John Smith writes: The publication of Living in Love and Faith poses a challenge to the entire Church of England to think through the divisions over human sexuality which have so dogged the Church in recent years. I have found myself wanting to set out some thoughts from the perspective of one who experiences same-sex … Continue Reading
Dear Giles You are a very engaging writer, and I often enjoy reading your pieces. You have a great turn of phrase, and there are times when you are able to cut through all the complexity and dissembling, and hit the nail on the head (if you don’t mind me mixing my metaphors somewhat). But … Continue Reading
Dr Rhona Knight was a medical doctor in General Practice who then trained for ordination. During the last year, she has been developing a remarkable online resource, The Prayer Room, to help people pray as they experience the pandemic and lockdown as a time of trauma. I asked her about the project. IP: Tell me … Continue Reading
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
How much should I share of my personal experience in the context of preaching? This is a perennial question facing anyone in ministry in the local church—and relevant to speaking on other occasions too. My first encounter with the issue arose when I was a teenager. I remember one of the lay preachers in the … Continue Reading
There are moments in life when everything suddenly stands still—moments when an item of news or something we have witnessed changes everything in us and around us for the worse, perhaps for a short time, perhaps forever. Some of these moments are inevitable, yet are still traumatic, such as illness and death, and others are … Continue Reading
I have long been interested in the question of psychological profiling for two particular reasons. First, as a Personnel Manager working in a blue-chip manufacturing company, psychological profiling and psychometric testing were a stock in trade. In recruiting people for our National Office, I used a US-developed psychological profiling interview which looked for traits that … Continue Reading
Is being a follower of Jesus primarily about experiencing and living in God’s love, or primarily about living out the disciplines of discipleship? Is it about knowing that we are loved and accepted as we are, or about the need for change and transformation on the journey from sin to salvation? Is it about allowing … Continue Reading
The apostle Paul is not generally viewed as a pastor. Teaching, fearless advocate for the faith, traveller, apologist, pioneering church planter, yes—but pastor? As we read Paul’s letters, in some part because of our cultural distance, it is easy not to sense that we are encountering Paul the pastor. But the latest Grove Biblical booklet … Continue Reading
Ian Paul: theologian, author, speaker, academic consultant. Adjunct Professor, Fuller Theological Seminary; Associate Minister, St Nic's, Nottingham; Managing Editor, Grove Books; member of General Synod. Mac user; chocoholic. Tweets at @psephizo
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