Would Tommy Robinson be welcome in your church?

Dave Williams answers this challenge and then points out an important distinction between those who are welcome and affirming their presenting ideology.

Why my watch buzzes at 10:02 every morning

I really like this idea and might just start doing something like this myself.

Does God Predict History?

‘God is not watching independent processes of history unfold which he can understand and predict. God is not a fortune teller. He does not have an infallible crystal ball. He never — mark it — never merely predicts. He performs his word; he speaks it, and then he sees to it that the word will come to pass.’

Have We Sold the Church Short on Deacons?

This one addresses an important question about our emphases and how it has a tangible (not always totally beneficial) impact on local church ministry. In our emphasis on word-ministry, have we ended up failing to take deacons seriously and to encourage enough people into diaconal roles?

Stop Worrying About the Percentage of Foreigners

This is a thoughtful one about the optics of majority foreigner churches operating in indigenous cultures. It has plenty of crossover for those working in deprived communities with majority middle class congregations. This one has definitely made me think, even if I am not sure (yet) whether I fully agree. But there are definitely things here well worth thinking about.

Pretending to Be Spiritually Mature—Our Sobering Likeness to Ananias and Sapphira

‘I think one of the reasons we struggle with these passages is because modern people don’t really believe that sin is all that bad. Why would these people get struck down simply because they didn’t come completely clean about the full amount that they’d sold this field for? They sold the field for a certain amount, and they gave a percentage of that to the church, but they pretended that it was the full amount.’ Iain Duguid looks at this one and draws some parallels with how we, too, might operate the same way.

From the archive: Three types of people who won’t last in a deprived community

‘We are periodically approached by people who want to come to serve in our community. We tend to want to be open-handed to people. If they love the Lord Jesus, they are willing to commit to the church and submit to the elders, then we are happy enough to welcome them. But it has become clear over time that there are certain types of folks who – no matter how much they seem to want to join – I am sure will not last the course.’