If you've been following this year's TheCelebrity Traitors on BBC One, as I very much have, then you'll know about what happened last night – which was, I do believe, a first in The Celebrity Traitors history.
I have never seen an Israeli election so widely reported in the British media before. This tiny strip of land – yes, roughly the size of Wales – seems never far from our television screens, newspapers and political discussions. Its politics, its security and its future appear to occupy an extraordinary amount of attention.
Indeed, I must confess that I was a little surprised to be asked to write about the Israeli election for Evangelicals Now. Does it really matter that much to us? What benefit is there to you, or indeed to me, in discussing the complexities of Israeli politics?
I have a confession to make. When I was asked to write about creating a culture of engaging with Halloween in a church, my first thought was: "I'm not sure I've done that". At least, not intentionally.
What I have tried to do is help cultivate a culture of local mission. Over time, that has led more people in our church to see Halloween as an opportunity rather than simply something to avoid.
John Healey has given his first Budget speech as the UK’s Chancellor of the Exchequer.
A number of announcements have been made, and there are, of course, many details. For example, money has been found to help around 20 million households with rising energy bills: £100 for each of those households. The Budget is not all talk: it is quite down to Earth! Overall, however, Mr Healey’s Budget could fairly be described as cautious: not much has changed.
People from around the country gathered in Parliament Square on Tuesday 27 October to mark the anniversary of the Abortion Act, passed on 27 October 1967. The tone was sombre, as we lamented the loss of more than 11 million unborn lives since the passing of that act.
Today in Britain, a baby is aborted every two minutes. Babies deemed to have abnormalities can be aborted up to birth. As if that weren’t enough, earlier this year Parliament passed a form of "abortion decriminalisation", so that a woman is now able to kill her unborn baby at any stage of pregnancy without sanction.
I was very struck by the title of Douglas Murray’s recent article in The Spectator, “France is a warning – our civilisation is not immortal.”
Murray is right, of course; civilisations are not immortal. They come and they go. They rise and then they fall. The fall of a civilisation can be sudden or slow. Or even “gradually and then suddenly”, to misuse a famous quote [1].
The start of the 2026/27 football season has seen the Manchester United circus burst back into life, with key players now seemingly in open revolt against the club’s hierarchy.
Things had all seemed a bit rosier (or redder) in the garden; former player Michael Carrick had led the club back to the Champions League following a remarkable run of form under his interim tenure, leaving fans excited for the future under his leadership following his permanent appointment at the end of last season.
What profile does world mission have in your church? Is it something that is mentioned and prayed for regularly on Sundays and at prayer meetings? Or is it something that is only infrequently referenced?
What place, also, does world mission have in your own life? Are there organisations that you support both through your giving and your prayers?
For Halloween this year, would you rather retreat or reach out?
The church has a history of retreating within its walls during All Hallows Eve. Buildings get closed and individuals stay home. A time for precaution and locked doors. Days of eggs being cracked on our doors remain in the memory, and fear of celebrations of evil pervade.
I find it amusing how the national church is so concerned and surprised by the divisions and anxieties highlighted in the Theos report. What I don't find amusing is that, so far, I haven't heard a single Christian leader responding to the report acknowledge the church's own responsibility for its distance from the people it is called to serve, particularly the white working class.
Where is the examination of how our withdrawal from these communities may have contributed to the problems the report describes?
As a broadcaster, there are some programmes that stay with you long after the microphone has been switched off. My recent edition of All Things Considered on Aberfan and Faith was one of them.
Marking the 60th anniversary of the disaster, I wanted to explore not simply what happened on 21 October 1966, but how people had lived with its consequences. The collapse of the coal tip above the village claimed 144 lives, including 116 children, leaving wounds that remain part of Wales' collective memory.
Protests have been in the news a lot recently. From January's murderous putdown of protesters in Iran to simmering turmoil over student protests in France. Violence has erupted in Belgium and Albania. There are clampdowns against protests in Mumbai and, in these green and pleasant lands, there are regular local protests against immigration, accompanied by counter-protests.
Protests are a symptom indicating that something is wrong. When enough people become sufficiently angry to make a fuss by gathering on the streets, with banners and slogans, trouble can spill over. Protests tell those who cause the problem that change is needed, demanded and expected. Protests are often a response to sin and evil, speaking truth to power. Protests can also be a sinful and evil response to truth, resisting what is good and right.
It’s Black History Month, and while my relationship with this month is rather complex, it’s a good opportunity to stop to reflect on what it has meant to be a black Christian girl in the evangelical church in Britain.
If I could sit down with my ten-year-old self, newly beginning her journey with Jesus, I think there are a few things I would tell her.
Shoplifters get away with their crimes, security guards being reluctant to stop them. Ticket barriers at transport hubs are jumped; cyclists run red lights. Job applications and CVs, generated by AI, often contain outright fabrications; let’s call them lies, for that is what they are. The distinctive whiff of “weed” in our streets is more prevalent than ever. Some areas of our towns and cities, North and South, have become no-go areas, blighted by organised crime. All this, without mentioning the state of our prisons and our criminal justice system.
We were shopping in the centre of Marseilles on Saturday morning when a frightened security guard ran up and said, "We are under attack!" He was not wrong. Leaving by the back door, we felt the heat of a bonfire of tyres just outside. All over the city centre, demonstrators were congregating in substantial numbers and lighting fires.
On our street, young people dressed in black, faces covered to hide identities and filter out the tear gas, were streaming towards the Old Harbour. Quiet streets had suddenly become scary places. Bonfires of tyres and plastic barriers burned, the emergency services pelted with rocks as they arrived. This felt like a carefully planned event.
Following Joel Barder's recent article on Zionism and racism,"'Zionism is racism' falls short – here's why", this article by Rory McClure, pastor of Parkside Evangelical Church, part of the FIEC, further explores some of the related theological issues.
The continuing conflicts in the Middle East present Christians with difficult questions. How should we respond to the suffering of Israelis and Palestinians? Should Christians have a particular sympathy for Israel because of its place in Biblical history? Does God's covenant with Abraham give the modern State of Israel a special claim upon our support? How should the teaching of Jesus shape our attitudes towards these conflicts? These are theological and moral questions that deserve careful thought in the light of Scripture.
Autumn brings an annual cycle of events with which we are all very familiar.
There are bonfires, fireworks, pumpkins and discussions about how Christians should best handle halloween... And, on or around October 18th, there is quite often a discussion about whether famed evangelical pastor Martyn Lloyd-Jones ("MLJ") was right, on that day in 1966, to call for evangelicals to leave "mixed denominations" such as the Church of England.
It started with an invitation to lead some sessions for the church youth group on what it means to believe and belong.
The youth group met each Sunday evening for pizza and chips, followed by a study. At the end of the series some of the young people asked if we could continue doing some teaching and going deeper into God’s Word. Over time this expanded into all all age gathering: we introduced sung worship and regular communion, we had the privilege of baptising people and that gathering became a place where the homeless, single parents, prostitutes and asylum seekers encountered Jesus.
Over the summer I was on holiday with my family in Switzerland. We enjoyed a number of long hikes in the mountains. The idea of walking is a common, if not the predominant, metaphor for the Christian life in the New Testament.
It has its roots in the pilgrimage journeys of the Israelites in the Old Testament, whether through the wilderness to the Promised Land or up to Jerusalem to celebrate the festivals in the presence of God in the temple in Jerusalem.
Producers of this year’s The Celebrity Traitors are seemingly obsessed with death.
Look, I get it, the rules of the game literally involve "murdering" players; the premise in itself is deathly to begin with. But is it just me, or have they really ramped up the deadly themes in this new series?
Comment
A Traitor's confession, a burden lifted & a Saviour who offers rest
NB: This article contains spoilers!
If you've been following this year's The Celebrity Traitors on BBC One, as I very much have, then you'll know about what happened last night – which was, I do believe, a first in The Celebrity Traitors history.
Israel has voted – but should evangelicals care?
I have never seen an Israeli election so widely reported in the British media before. This tiny strip of land – yes, roughly the size of Wales – seems never far from our television screens, newspapers and political discussions. Its politics, its security and its future appear to occupy an extraordinary amount of attention.
Indeed, I must confess that I was a little surprised to be asked to write about the Israeli election for Evangelicals Now. Does it really matter that much to us? What benefit is there to you, or indeed to me, in discussing the complexities of Israeli politics?
Halloween: A mission opportunity?
I have a confession to make. When I was asked to write about creating a culture of engaging with Halloween in a church, my first thought was: "I'm not sure I've done that". At least, not intentionally.
What I have tried to do is help cultivate a culture of local mission. Over time, that has led more people in our church to see Halloween as an opportunity rather than simply something to avoid.
UK Budget: 'The prudent see danger'
John Healey has given his first Budget speech as the UK’s Chancellor of the Exchequer.
A number of announcements have been made, and there are, of course, many details. For example, money has been found to help around 20 million households with rising energy bills: £100 for each of those households. The Budget is not all talk: it is quite down to Earth! Overall, however, Mr Healey’s Budget could fairly be described as cautious: not much has changed.
Lamenting unborn lives lost since the Abortion Act
People from around the country gathered in Parliament Square on Tuesday 27 October to mark the anniversary of the Abortion Act, passed on 27 October 1967. The tone was sombre, as we lamented the loss of more than 11 million unborn lives since the passing of that act.
Today in Britain, a baby is aborted every two minutes. Babies deemed to have abnormalities can be aborted up to birth. As if that weren’t enough, earlier this year Parliament passed a form of "abortion decriminalisation", so that a woman is now able to kill her unborn baby at any stage of pregnancy without sanction.
Will Western civilisation really collapse?
I was very struck by the title of Douglas Murray’s recent article in The Spectator, “France is a warning – our civilisation is not immortal.”
Murray is right, of course; civilisations are not immortal. They come and they go. They rise and then they fall. The fall of a civilisation can be sudden or slow. Or even “gradually and then suddenly”, to misuse a famous quote [1].
Manchester United and the importance of personal responsibility
The start of the 2026/27 football season has seen the Manchester United circus burst back into life, with key players now seemingly in open revolt against the club’s hierarchy.
Things had all seemed a bit rosier (or redder) in the garden; former player Michael Carrick had led the club back to the Champions League following a remarkable run of form under his interim tenure, leaving fans excited for the future under his leadership following his permanent appointment at the end of last season.
Mission matters
What profile does world mission have in your church? Is it something that is mentioned and prayed for regularly on Sundays and at prayer meetings? Or is it something that is only infrequently referenced?
What place, also, does world mission have in your own life? Are there organisations that you support both through your giving and your prayers?
Halloween: Will you retreat, or will you reach out?
For Halloween this year, would you rather retreat or reach out?
The church has a history of retreating within its walls during All Hallows Eve. Buildings get closed and individuals stay home. A time for precaution and locked doors. Days of eggs being cracked on our doors remain in the memory, and fear of celebrations of evil pervade.
Before we condemn the 'Christian nationalists'...
I find it amusing how the national church is so concerned and surprised by the divisions and anxieties highlighted in the Theos report. What I don't find amusing is that, so far, I haven't heard a single Christian leader responding to the report acknowledge the church's own responsibility for its distance from the people it is called to serve, particularly the white working class.
Where is the examination of how our withdrawal from these communities may have contributed to the problems the report describes?
Aberfan: 60 years on – 'God gives us tears to shed'
As a broadcaster, there are some programmes that stay with you long after the microphone has been switched off. My recent edition of All Things Considered on Aberfan and Faith was one of them.
Marking the 60th anniversary of the disaster, I wanted to explore not simply what happened on 21 October 1966, but how people had lived with its consequences. The collapse of the coal tip above the village claimed 144 lives, including 116 children, leaving wounds that remain part of Wales' collective memory.
Protests: Following Jesus in a world of anger
Protests have been in the news a lot recently. From January's murderous putdown of protesters in Iran to simmering turmoil over student protests in France. Violence has erupted in Belgium and Albania. There are clampdowns against protests in Mumbai and, in these green and pleasant lands, there are regular local protests against immigration, accompanied by counter-protests.
Protests are a symptom indicating that something is wrong. When enough people become sufficiently angry to make a fuss by gathering on the streets, with banners and slogans, trouble can spill over. Protests tell those who cause the problem that change is needed, demanded and expected. Protests are often a response to sin and evil, speaking truth to power. Protests can also be a sinful and evil response to truth, resisting what is good and right.
Following Jesus as a black girl in Britain: What I wish I’d known
It’s Black History Month, and while my relationship with this month is rather complex, it’s a good opportunity to stop to reflect on what it has meant to be a black Christian girl in the evangelical church in Britain.
If I could sit down with my ten-year-old self, newly beginning her journey with Jesus, I think there are a few things I would tell her.
The endemic destructive spirit of lawlessness today
We are living in days of mounting lawlessness.
Shoplifters get away with their crimes, security guards being reluctant to stop them. Ticket barriers at transport hubs are jumped; cyclists run red lights. Job applications and CVs, generated by AI, often contain outright fabrications; let’s call them lies, for that is what they are. The distinctive whiff of “weed” in our streets is more prevalent than ever. Some areas of our towns and cities, North and South, have become no-go areas, blighted by organised crime. All this, without mentioning the state of our prisons and our criminal justice system.
France riots: 'A carefully planned event... but from where?'
We were shopping in the centre of Marseilles on Saturday morning when a frightened security guard ran up and said, "We are under attack!" He was not wrong. Leaving by the back door, we felt the heat of a bonfire of tyres just outside. All over the city centre, demonstrators were congregating in substantial numbers and lighting fires.
On our street, young people dressed in black, faces covered to hide identities and filter out the tear gas, were streaming towards the Old Harbour. Quiet streets had suddenly become scary places. Bonfires of tyres and plastic barriers burned, the emergency services pelted with rocks as they arrived. This felt like a carefully planned event.
Middle East conflict: Whose side should Christians be on?
Following Joel Barder's recent article on Zionism and racism, "'Zionism is racism' falls short – here's why", this article by Rory McClure, pastor of Parkside Evangelical Church, part of the FIEC, further explores some of the related theological issues.
The continuing conflicts in the Middle East present Christians with difficult questions. How should we respond to the suffering of Israelis and Palestinians? Should Christians have a particular sympathy for Israel because of its place in Biblical history? Does God's covenant with Abraham give the modern State of Israel a special claim upon our support? How should the teaching of Jesus shape our attitudes towards these conflicts? These are theological and moral questions that deserve careful thought in the light of Scripture.
MLJ, the CofE, evangelicals, you – and me
Autumn brings an annual cycle of events with which we are all very familiar.
There are bonfires, fireworks, pumpkins and discussions about how Christians should best handle halloween... And, on or around October 18th, there is quite often a discussion about whether famed evangelical pastor Martyn Lloyd-Jones ("MLJ") was right, on that day in 1966, to call for evangelicals to leave "mixed denominations" such as the Church of England.
Two Sunday services? Not necessarily
It started with an invitation to lead some sessions for the church youth group on what it means to believe and belong.
The youth group met each Sunday evening for pizza and chips, followed by a study. At the end of the series some of the young people asked if we could continue doing some teaching and going deeper into God’s Word. Over time this expanded into all all age gathering: we introduced sung worship and regular communion, we had the privilege of baptising people and that gathering became a place where the homeless, single parents, prostitutes and asylum seekers encountered Jesus.
Are your expectations about the Christian life right?
Over the summer I was on holiday with my family in Switzerland. We enjoyed a number of long hikes in the mountains. The idea of walking is a common, if not the predominant, metaphor for the Christian life in the New Testament.
It has its roots in the pilgrimage journeys of the Israelites in the Old Testament, whether through the wilderness to the Promised Land or up to Jerusalem to celebrate the festivals in the presence of God in the temple in Jerusalem.
Celebrity Traitors 2026: The deathliest series yet?
Producers of this year’s The Celebrity Traitors are seemingly obsessed with death.
Look, I get it, the rules of the game literally involve "murdering" players; the premise in itself is deathly to begin with. But is it just me, or have they really ramped up the deadly themes in this new series?