Things mission agencies shouldn’t say #5
‘We should never say, suggest or imply that “mission” is a western endeavour that the church around the world is joining. That is, it is something that belongs to us that we are now sharing with them.‘
22 questions that reveal character – even across cultures
These are helpful for anyone looking to appoint leaders in their church.
Ten church fathers to start off with
If you want to read some of the work of the church fathers, where do you begin? What should you read? Ed Creedy offers a useful starting point.
Deteriorating mental health, Elijah and 7 reminders for us
The Bible isn’t silent about the struggles of mental health. Here are some ways the Lord dealt with Elijah in the midst of depression and what that might say to us when we are struggling.
The latest Evangelical convert to Rome, What does Rome have to offer?
Leonardo de Chirico considers Michael Nazir-Ali’s defection to Catholicism: ‘I don’t know if Lambeth is the best place for a believer to find his spiritual home, but certainly, Rome is worse.’
Experiencing the leadership of women in the church
‘The current mood (at least on my Twitter feed) within the church seems to be one of antagonism towards and rebellion against complementarianism, male leadership and even translations of the Bible that show, according to some, “gender bias” and this often within more conservative circles. As someone who served within a mixed denomination for many years, which meant working alongside and in some senses under women leaders, I find this increasingly concerning.’
From the archive: Thoughts on the Huddersfield bully and whatever happened to grace
‘Incidents like the one before us have a tendency to make us denounce this wretched, horrible child and thank someone (maybe no longer God) that we aren’t like this terrible human being. But of course, Jesus Christ – the one whom God sets as the measure against which we are all held up – may make precisely that sort of judgement about us. If Jesus’ words are true, ‘For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you’ (Mat 7:2), our reaction to this incident potentially renders to us a problem. If there is no room for grace and mercy, how will such things be measured to us?’