What I miss and don’t miss about being a pastor
‘2021 was the first year I wasn’t a pastor since 1999. It was a good year. Here are the things I enjoyed the most about not being a pastor.’
Lions are lurking outside my door! And other excuses we might make this year
‘2022 may be the year of the tiger on the zodiac calendar, but for many, it will be the year of the lion. Not a flesh-and-bone lion, but the sluggard’s lion from Proverbs 26:13. The lion of excuses.’
Leaving faithfully
This one doesn’t go into the whys and wherefores of leaving a church. If you have decided to go somewhere else (for whatever reason), here are some ways in which you can leave graciously and helpfully.
It’s not about tweaks, it’s about what your life orbits
‘It’s the time of year that we try to start new habits and new routines. For many Christians it’s the time of the year when they resolve to start trying to read the bible through in a year, or to copy Daniel’s 3 times a day prayer routine, or make promises about trying to make it out to the Bible study. None of those things are bad things. But here’s my issue with them, they are peripheral.’
“One anothers” I can’t find in the New Testament
Ray Ortlund: ‘The kind of God we really believe in is revealed in how we treat one another.’
5 easy (and not so easy) ways to support SEND families you know
Chances are you probably know a family who have children with Special Education Needs and Disabilities. Even if you don’t just yet, your church ought to be setup so that folks with SEND children can still come, be welcomed and are able to function (even if they don’t always feel like they’re functioning so well!) Here are some pretty easy ways you can help anyone with SEND children and set your church up so they are best welcomed.
From the archive: Is belief in God the same as belief in Father Christmas?
‘Often, people make the comparison between God and Father Christmas. After all, you can’t see either of them. Some people believe in him, most people don’t. They both see all – weighing up your good and bad deeds – and decide to reward you based on how good you’ve been, so the argument goes. And, the clincher, both are essentially myths that bring people a bit of comfort and joy with not much behind them in the way of evidence. But the parallels are really only there for those who wish to force them.’