spirituality

Responding to Rev

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Jeremy Fletcher thinks there should be no more blog posts about Rev—so this, I promise, will be my last (of only two!). But my reflection here is less on Rev itself, and more in reactions to it, and why they have been so polarised. This was shown starkly in comments on my Facebook post. I … Continue Reading

I’m not busy

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Three times in the last week or so, I have received a communication from someone which says ‘I know you are very busy…’ and these have stuck in my mind. One of these said ‘I am sure you are very busy—I know that I am.’ A couple of things struck me immediately. The first, and … Continue Reading

The one thing missing from ‘Rev’

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Having missed (though recorded) the first episode of the new series of Rev, I managed to catch the second episode last night…along with (it seems) half of the Church of England clergy. Not surprisingly, the main plot line followed Adam Smallbone’s convoluted attempts ‘not’ to marry a gay couple in his church, but simply say … Continue Reading

What the church needs now

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This short essay under the title ‘The future of the Church in the UK’ won the LST/EA ‘Rising Theologian’ competition. It is written by Matt Walmsley, leader of Agape Student Life, part of Agape UK. We stand at the greatest moment of opportunity for the church since the Second World War[i]. However, recent church PR hasn’t been … Continue Reading

Nine reasons why you should fast

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1. Jesus said so Jesus didn’t command fasting as a spiritual discipline as such, but he appears to assume that that is what his followers will do. In the so-called ‘Sermon on the Mount’ in Matt 5–7, he says ‘When you give…’ (Matt 6.2), ‘When you pray…’ (Matt 6.5) and ‘When you fast…’ (Matt 6.17). … Continue Reading