Media tropes assail us constantly. New catchphrases turn up in what we read and hear that we soon find ourselves using, more or less heedlessly.
Catchphrases like “white privilege”, “rewilding”, “nonbinary”, “Islamophobic” ... We may begin a bit puzzled, but before long they are part of our everyday lexicon. We neither question their origin, nor reflect on their integrity.
A startling thought crossed my mind after seeing the front pages of two newspapers within minutes of each other: Can Britain be saved from what seems its inevitable demise as a great nation?
Miraculous testimony
A little while ago I was sent an advance copy of the August edition of New Life, a popular evangelistic tabloid. Their page one headline, "Gunpoint miracle", featured the miraculous story of British missionary Duncan Dyason, who survived three attempts on his life in Guatemala City. Years earlier, as a Blackpool youngster with little obvious hope for the future, he had seriously considered suicide but called on God in prayer – just in case He was there!
TheTelegraph recently published a comment piece which argued that chronic illness and neurodivergence have become a "lifestyle trend" among young women, especially on social media.
Poppy Coburn, the editor who wrote the piece, also said that those talking about disability on social media were just “sickfluencers”, adding to the "social contagion" of disability in young women.
That was a big speech. Big in terms of rhetoric. Big in terms of delivery. Big in terms of diagnosis. This was Andy Burnham speaking to the Labour Party faithful a few days ago and setting a direction of travel for the party and the government.
In so far as he spoke to voters outside the hall, it was a pitch to left-leaning ones to "come on board" with Labour.
What does it mean to make a difference to people’s lives? To have "an impact"?
We know that deep discipleship, journeying alongside someone, teaching and pastoring, changes lives. But we also serve a God who transformed lives with a word, a touch, a moment.
Most of us can tell people how many people were at our service on Sunday. We are usually less certain of how many people live in the housing estate beside us, what languages they speak, or how far someone in the next town would need to travel to find an evangelical church.
We know a lot about ourselves as Christians, but our neighbours can remain something of a mystery! I wonder how that affects how we view mission as Christians?
The phrase "it does what it says on the tin" suggests transparency and, certainly, no surprises. But if you buy tinned mackerel these days, you might be very surprised.
An investigation by the Financial Times found that many products sold as tinned mackerel don’t actually contain any mackerel, but instead contain a lookalike fish from an entirely different family. It is still fish, but people have complained about its texture and taste.
Peace and reconciliation are not the same thing, and Northern Ireland is being reminded of the difference at Drumcree.
I still remember the Drumcree conflict in 1996. A dispute over an Orange Order march had brought much of Northern Ireland grinding to a halt. Those in the Protestant Orange Order attempted to follow their traditional route, the Garvaghy Road, ahead of the 12 July parade but the nationalist residents there protested - triggering widespread violence.
My internal radar always bleeps when I see any article titles such as "Should Christians Support the Equality Act?" This is just because some of our political parties are often talking about dismantling the Equality Act and, as a disabled person, this idea fills me with dread.
To many disabled people, this is a terrifying discourse because we know it’s very difficult to fight the many injustices we face even with the Equality Act.
The Church of England is approaching another crunch point.
You may have seen the headlines and reports from “Save the Parish” highlighting the decline in vocational parish ministry. The figures paint a sobering picture of the challenges facing the Church of England, and raise serious questions about what the national church will look like in five, ten or 20 years’ time.
Among several encouragements for evangelicals in the British Isles in the last few years, one is the establishment and progress of Westminster Seminary UK. Over the summer it moved to Oxford, where it now occupies a historic building in the centre of town.
An inaugural teaching week held there recently saw four days spent “immersed” in the Westminster Standards, a collection of 17th-century Reformed confessional documents.
There is a reason why Paul reaches for farming when he wants to describe what faithful ministry looks like. Not architecture, not conquest, not business, not a product launch – farming.
"The hardworking farmer," he writes to Timothy, "ought to have the first share of the crops" (1 Timothy 2v6). And to the Corinthians, pushing back on a church already obsessed with cliques and celebrity: "I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth" (1 Corinthians 3v6).
I have served as the pastor of the same church since 2009. In 2018, our church council made a controversial decision. We asked the Punjabi church which had rented space in our church buildings for nearly 20 years to find somewhere else to meet.
The separation did not go well, but the gospel fruit of that decision is clearly evident today – and the fruit continues to grow.
Readers of a certain vintage might remember a 1986 chart hit which had the title Callingall the Heroes.
Despite the lyrics being some nonsense that seemed to mash up fairy-tale sagas and images of ancient raiders attacking a community, the song (probably due to its catchy power ballad tune) somehow managed to reach number six in the charts. Ephemeral pop song it may have been, but its title would have made a pretty good chapter heading for Hebrews 11, with its procession of heroes of the faith.
Last weekend, I had the privilege of seeing one of my former students perform in her first professional role out of acting school, in the cast of High School Musical at Salford's Lowry theatre.
It was an infectiously enjoyable couple of hours with an audience made up of all ages, many sporting fan-made t-shirts and costumes. There was a clever, immersive set, a high-energy cast, and cameos by original cast member Kaycee Stroh (originally Martha, now playing Ms Darbus). Parent-age pop sensations Jason Donovan and Harry Judd only added to its appeal.
We have just returned from our annual summer holiday in Cornwall. We go back year after year because it’s beautiful – and because we love bodyboarding.
Ben Shelton became the latest American man to come close to winning his home tennis major tournament last week, losing the US Open final in four sets to German player Alexander Zverev.
Shelton, the eighth seed, had been considered one of the top picks to go all the way, taking advantage of an open draw in the absence of Jannik Sinner through injury and with Novak Djokovic’s chances having diminished somewhat this year.
This Saturday lunchtime, Tottenham Hotspur play Aston Villa in the Premier League. More than 60,000 people will fill the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and millions more will follow the game around the world. But behind these two global football clubs lies a surprising story: Bible classes.
Aston Villa’s connection is particularly direct. In 1874, four members of the Male Adult Bible Class at Aston Villa Wesleyan Chapel decided they needed a winter sport to complement the chapel’s cricket club. They chose football. Aston Villa was born.
Comment
How media language is reshaping your mind
Media tropes assail us constantly. New catchphrases turn up in what we read and hear that we soon find ourselves using, more or less heedlessly.
Catchphrases like “white privilege”, “rewilding”, “nonbinary”, “Islamophobic” ... We may begin a bit puzzled, but before long they are part of our everyday lexicon. We neither question their origin, nor reflect on their integrity.
Today's Britain: How can it be saved?
A startling thought crossed my mind after seeing the front pages of two newspapers within minutes of each other: Can Britain be saved from what seems its inevitable demise as a great nation?
Miraculous testimony
A little while ago I was sent an advance copy of the August edition of New Life, a popular evangelistic tabloid. Their page one headline, "Gunpoint miracle", featured the miraculous story of British missionary Duncan Dyason, who survived three attempts on his life in Guatemala City. Years earlier, as a Blackpool youngster with little obvious hope for the future, he had seriously considered suicide but called on God in prayer – just in case He was there!
'Sickfluencers'? The truth about chronic illness on social media
The Telegraph recently published a comment piece which argued that chronic illness and neurodivergence have become a "lifestyle trend" among young women, especially on social media.
Poppy Coburn, the editor who wrote the piece, also said that those talking about disability on social media were just “sickfluencers”, adding to the "social contagion" of disability in young women.
Burnham’s big vision – but what about family and church?
That was a big speech. Big in terms of rhetoric. Big in terms of delivery. Big in terms of diagnosis. This was Andy Burnham speaking to the Labour Party faithful a few days ago and setting a direction of travel for the party and the government.
In so far as he spoke to voters outside the hall, it was a pitch to left-leaning ones to "come on board" with Labour.
Mr T: Giving God the glory
What does it mean to make a difference to people’s lives? To have "an impact"?
We know that deep discipleship, journeying alongside someone, teaching and pastoring, changes lives. But we also serve a God who transformed lives with a word, a touch, a moment.
It's crucial to know the places we are called to reach
Most of us can tell people how many people were at our service on Sunday. We are usually less certain of how many people live in the housing estate beside us, what languages they speak, or how far someone in the next town would need to travel to find an evangelical church.
We know a lot about ourselves as Christians, but our neighbours can remain something of a mystery! I wonder how that affects how we view mission as Christians?
We live in a culture of deception – so what?
The phrase "it does what it says on the tin" suggests transparency and, certainly, no surprises. But if you buy tinned mackerel these days, you might be very surprised.
An investigation by the Financial Times found that many products sold as tinned mackerel don’t actually contain any mackerel, but instead contain a lookalike fish from an entirely different family. It is still fish, but people have complained about its texture and taste.
Drumcree: Peace and reconciliation aren't the same
Peace and reconciliation are not the same thing, and Northern Ireland is being reminded of the difference at Drumcree.
I still remember the Drumcree conflict in 1996. A dispute over an Orange Order march had brought much of Northern Ireland grinding to a halt. Those in the Protestant Orange Order attempted to follow their traditional route, the Garvaghy Road, ahead of the 12 July parade but the nationalist residents there protested - triggering widespread violence.
Repeal the Equality Act? No way!
My internal radar always bleeps when I see any article titles such as "Should Christians Support the Equality Act?" This is just because some of our political parties are often talking about dismantling the Equality Act and, as a disabled person, this idea fills me with dread.
To many disabled people, this is a terrifying discourse because we know it’s very difficult to fight the many injustices we face even with the Equality Act.
Anglican or not, here’s why you should pray for the CofE
The Church of England is approaching another crunch point.
You may have seen the headlines and reports from “Save the Parish” highlighting the decline in vocational parish ministry. The figures paint a sobering picture of the challenges facing the Church of England, and raise serious questions about what the national church will look like in five, ten or 20 years’ time.
Reformation riches
Among several encouragements for evangelicals in the British Isles in the last few years, one is the establishment and progress of Westminster Seminary UK. Over the summer it moved to Oxford, where it now occupies a historic building in the centre of town.
An inaugural teaching week held there recently saw four days spent “immersed” in the Westminster Standards, a collection of 17th-century Reformed confessional documents.
Service held after shock closure of Spurgeon’s College
A service at Trinity Baptist Church in Croydon has been held in response to the unexpected closure of Spurgeon’s College after 169 years.
Taking place on 17 September, there were approximately 500 in attendance and at least another 500 tuning in online.
Tired of 'plodding along' in ministry?
There is a reason why Paul reaches for farming when he wants to describe what faithful ministry looks like. Not architecture, not conquest, not business, not a product launch – farming.
"The hardworking farmer," he writes to Timothy, "ought to have the first share of the crops" (1 Timothy 2v6). And to the Corinthians, pushing back on a church already obsessed with cliques and celebrity: "I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth" (1 Corinthians 3v6).
Homogeneous churches in multi-ethnic areas – yes or no?
I have served as the pastor of the same church since 2009. In 2018, our church council made a controversial decision. We asked the Punjabi church which had rented space in our church buildings for nearly 20 years to find somewhere else to meet.
The separation did not go well, but the gospel fruit of that decision is clearly evident today – and the fruit continues to grow.
Abel, a hero ‘by faith’
Readers of a certain vintage might remember a 1986 chart hit which had the title Calling all the Heroes.
Despite the lyrics being some nonsense that seemed to mash up fairy-tale sagas and images of ancient raiders attacking a community, the song (probably due to its catchy power ballad tune) somehow managed to reach number six in the charts. Ephemeral pop song it may have been, but its title would have made a pretty good chapter heading for Hebrews 11, with its procession of heroes of the faith.
20 years of High School Musical: A message for Christians today
Last weekend, I had the privilege of seeing one of my former students perform in her first professional role out of acting school, in the cast of High School Musical at Salford's Lowry theatre.
It was an infectiously enjoyable couple of hours with an audience made up of all ages, many sporting fan-made t-shirts and costumes. There was a clever, immersive set, a high-energy cast, and cameos by original cast member Kaycee Stroh (originally Martha, now playing Ms Darbus). Parent-age pop sensations Jason Donovan and Harry Judd only added to its appeal.
Two Sunday services? Absolutely! Here's why...
We have just returned from our annual summer holiday in Cornwall. We go back year after year because it’s beautiful – and because we love bodyboarding.
When the waves were good, we were in!
US Open: The weight of great expectations
Ben Shelton became the latest American man to come close to winning his home tennis major tournament last week, losing the US Open final in four sets to German player Alexander Zverev.
Shelton, the eighth seed, had been considered one of the top picks to go all the way, taking advantage of an open draw in the absence of Jannik Sinner through injury and with Novak Djokovic’s chances having diminished somewhat this year.
The unexpected Christian roots of Premier League football
This Saturday lunchtime, Tottenham Hotspur play Aston Villa in the Premier League. More than 60,000 people will fill the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and millions more will follow the game around the world. But behind these two global football clubs lies a surprising story: Bible classes.
Aston Villa’s connection is particularly direct. In 1874, four members of the Male Adult Bible Class at Aston Villa Wesleyan Chapel decided they needed a winter sport to complement the chapel’s cricket club. They chose football. Aston Villa was born.
Why do church leaders communicate badly?
It’s often just a small "c", but it’s so important…
By which I mean communication.