Too many of our churches offer no connection to God
Matthew Roberts
Date posted: 30 Dec 2025
In my home town of York in the 1960s, archaeologists discovered a stone pillar. It has originally towered nearly 10 metres vertically, to the roof of what must have been a very imposing building, the headquarters of the Roman city in the 2nd Century AD. Now, a sad shadow of its former glory, it was lying on its side; its stone sections sprawling horizontally through the mud.
We live at a time when, for the first time in decades, perhaps in centuries, people are starting to yearn for something transcendent. The spell of secularism, with its creed that there is nothing higher than us, is for some at least being broken. If there is anything to the “Quiet Revival”, it is because people want to encounter truths, values, and ultimately a God who is higher than us. They want to revert to the vertical.
Will the ‘Quiet Revival’ change our civic life?
Paul Blackham
Date posted: 29 Dec 2025
Jesus said to a government official of His day: “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above” (John 19v11)
Power does not flow up from below, from the people, but rather, true power flows down from the Divine Empire, from the throne room of heaven. True earthly authority can only be given by King Jesus, not the ballot box nor the barrel of a gun.
Should we have an evangelism target?
David Robertson
Date posted: 19 Dec 2025
Remember the old adage – if you don’t have a target, you will miss it? Or, if you aim at nothing you will hit nothing? It’s an interesting feature of many contemporary evangelical churches that they have strategies, plans, goals and mission statements. And some have even adopted specific percentage goals.
When I first came to Australia to work in evangelism, I was asked to state what my “KPIs” were. This was somewhat difficult, given that I didn’t know what a KPI was! I know now. Key Performance Indicators. I didn’t know what to say. More people praying? People becoming Christians? Preaching the word faithfully. What were they looking for? They wanted facts. Percentages. Measurable outcomes. Figures. Apparently, this is what funders look for.
Ten questions with Charles Gardner
en staff
Date posted: 14 Dec 2025
Charles Gardner is a South African-born journalist and volunteer with CMJ (Church’s Ministry among Jewish people) living in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, and married to Linda, who teaches Christianity in primary schools.
- How did you become a Christian?
I was staying with my Jewish grandmother in north London when a friend from university athletics days in South Africa shared how Jesus had come to give us life in all its fullness.
I had become aware of a lack of direction or purpose, especially after failing to finish a marathon for the first and only time! Brian Jackson, a top athlete who was training for the Anglican ministry at Oxford, encouraged me to invite Jesus into my life and insisted I attend the evening service at All Souls Langham Place, the next day. I never looked back.
- What lessons have you learnt since that you would want to pass on to a younger Christian version of yourself?
Though I understood perseverance as a marathon runner, it took me a long time to learn patience, along with the importance of faithfully waiting for answered prayer, and for ordinary things like buses.
- How would you describe your prayer life?
Though I find myself communicating with the Lord on an almost continual basis as my absolute dependence on Him grows deeper, disciplined prayer times come in fits and starts.
- Which two or three Christian books apart from the Bible have most influenced your faith?
Appointment in Jerusalem by Derek and Lydia Prince and R.T. Kendall’s God Meant it for Good (re-released as Total Forgiveness), both published by Kingsway. Both helped cement my calling to the Jews.
- Who or what have been your biggest Christian influences?
The profound teaching of John Stott, our beloved pastor at All Souls, along with the leader of his ‘nursery class’ for new believers, Helen McIntosh, who always referred to herself as a ‘completed Jew’. It was through a sermon Stott preached on being salt in the world that I felt God’s call into journalism.
- What are the main challenges you believe Christians face today?
Staying true to the gospel in the face of growing antagonism from the liberal left’s unholy alliance with jihadism sweeping across the West like a tidal wave; and standing with the Jewish people as they face the potential of another Holocaust. The alternative is to cave in to antisemitic pressure by remaining silent, as the German church of the 1930s did to its shame.
- What encourages and what discourages you?
I love inspiring testimonies, which is why I founded the New Life evangelistic tabloid 43 years ago. I am discouraged by indifference to what I perceive as vital issues.
- What makes you laugh?
Only Fools and Horses and other great comedians like Morecambe and Wise. I love a good joke but am hopeless at telling them, though having a beer with friends is usually a recipe for much laughter.
- What would you want to say to the wider evangelical world?
Avoid being straitjacketed by a totally inflexible doctrinal position for which you believe there is no possibility of error. Be always open to guidance from the Holy Spirit who leads us into all truth. Avoid being a know-it-all and don’t put Christian “celebrities” on a pedestal; they are not the final arbiter of faith. That honour belongs to God’s Word.
- Which Biblical person (other than Jesus) do you most look forward to meeting in glory and why?
The prophet Isaiah. It must have been so hard to have been called to proclaim the gospel with no prospect of being taken seriously. “Who has believed our report?” (Isa.53) he lamented. As a journalist, I can identify with that. But thanks to him (and others), we can rejoice at the glorious outcome of what he prophesied. The Lord has often used Isaiah to encourage me and even call me to proclaim good news to Zion, telling them that their God reigns (Isa. 52v7)!
Comment
Worship renewed - January editorial
In his article, Matthew Roberts draws our attention to some glaring deficiencies that have crept into some of our evangelical churches.
He writes: “We offer no connection to God. We accuse liberals of removing God from the gospel – often with considerable justification – and yet in our worship we have peculiarly fallen into the same trap.” We have lost, he says, “what should be a towering vertical encounter with God”.
Happy 'ordinary' new year!
I do always love the New Year. Given that I’m naturally a glass half full kind of guy I always enjoy the blank-page sense of anticipation that this time of year brings.
For many of us the year ahead will be full of as yet unknown adventures. For others it will be tinged with unexpected sorrows. But here’s another possibility. It may well be full of… well, the same old. Same classmates. Same school run. Same commute to work. Same relational difficulties. Same bills. Same health complications. Same daily routine.
2026: By God's grace, take it one day at a time
This is the season for New Year resolutions, for making plans and setting goals for the year ahead.
We might find that prospect exciting; there are new opportunities and challenges in view, and we look forward with anticipation to what the Lord might do. But the New Year can also be overwhelming. The challenges are so great, the future so uncertain, that we wonder how we will get through 2026.
Too many of our churches offer no connection to God
In my home town of York in the 1960s, archaeologists discovered a stone pillar. It has originally towered nearly 10 metres vertically, to the roof of what must have been a very imposing building, the headquarters of the Roman city in the 2nd Century AD. Now, a sad shadow of its former glory, it was lying on its side; its stone sections sprawling horizontally through the mud.
We live at a time when, for the first time in decades, perhaps in centuries, people are starting to yearn for something transcendent. The spell of secularism, with its creed that there is nothing higher than us, is for some at least being broken. If there is anything to the “Quiet Revival”, it is because people want to encounter truths, values, and ultimately a God who is higher than us. They want to revert to the vertical.
Will the ‘Quiet Revival’ change our civic life?
Jesus said to a government official of His day: “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above” (John 19v11)
Power does not flow up from below, from the people, but rather, true power flows down from the Divine Empire, from the throne room of heaven. True earthly authority can only be given by King Jesus, not the ballot box nor the barrel of a gun.
Why we need truth and grace in political advocacy
As we have been remembering the birth of Jesus at this time of year, I want to reflect in this column on one key verse. The verse in my mind is John 1v14, which in the Christian Standard Bible translation reads: “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. We observed his glory, the glory as the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
In this single verse, the beloved apostle John reminds us that the pre-existent Word, the logos, or ultimate explanation of all things came to this world and tabernacled, or dwelt, among men and women. Just let the wonder of this sink in for a minute or two! The eternal Son of God, by whom and for whom all things were made, conceived in the womb of Mary, by the Holy Spirit, came willingly to this sin-sick world.
The Gettys at Christmas: 'As perfect as it could be this side of eternity'
One week before Christmas, more than 5,000 people filled the iconic Royal Albert Hall for a Christ-focused festive blend of music and poetry, Scripture and song.
Home for Christmas with Keith and Kristyn Getty was ambitious and frenetic, yet comforting and familiar. A concert in two halves – the first half was an intentionally joyful Christmas "party" combining well-known carols and festive songs with a fusion of the Celtic tradition (a strong nod to the Gettys' Northern Irish roots) and Nashville country vibes - seasoned with a little English Christmas spirit.
Don't say these 12 things to a wheelchair user
At the beginning of December, it was International Day of Disabled People. It’s also Disability History Month, which ends on 20 December.
But, we’re also coming up to Christmas and I like to mix relevant themes! So I’m going to add a bit of sparkle to the subject of how we interact with wheelchair users. Therefore I thought I’d give a vague nod to the song The 12 Days of Christmas and give you 12 ideas of what not to say to a wheelchair user. (Please don’t try to sing this to the tune!)
Should we have an evangelism target?
Remember the old adage – if you don’t have a target, you will miss it? Or, if you aim at nothing you will hit nothing? It’s an interesting feature of many contemporary evangelical churches that they have strategies, plans, goals and mission statements. And some have even adopted specific percentage goals.
When I first came to Australia to work in evangelism, I was asked to state what my “KPIs” were. This was somewhat difficult, given that I didn’t know what a KPI was! I know now. Key Performance Indicators. I didn’t know what to say. More people praying? People becoming Christians? Preaching the word faithfully. What were they looking for? They wanted facts. Percentages. Measurable outcomes. Figures. Apparently, this is what funders look for.
This 'anti-Muslim hostility' definition has serious problems. Here's why.
On Monday, the proposed government definition of anti-Muslim hostility was leaked to the BBC.
Earlier this year, the government set up a working group to come up with a definition of Islamophobia/anti-Muslim hatred. Baroness Gohir, a prominent member of the working group has confirmed that the definition leaked to the BBC is the one that the group proposed to the government in October. It had been kept secret since then, while the government has deliberated and consulted with various groups.
Are we forgetting that sports stars are human?
“There is no place for weak men in my dressing room.” That was England captain Ben Stokes’s frustrated verdict after another crushing defeat to Australia in the second Test.
Like many England cricket fans, I’m disillusioned with their performances in Australia this winter. Waking early and checking the score has produced an involuntary groan each time - much to the annoyance of my sleeping wife. Since the Brisbane defeat, the pile-on has been relentless, with every pundit, podcaster and pontificator finding fault in everything from technique and preparation to supposed attitudes and motivations.
Warily, I went to Tommy Robinson's Carols
Warily at first, I stood there in Whitehall on Saturday afternoon for Tommy Robinson’s "Put Christ back into Christmas" carol service. I wanted to experience for myself this apparent toxic nationalism. I would give it one go – one too many in the eyes of some.
I stand against racism of any kind and I had been issued with plenty of warnings in the last few weeks on social media by other Christians, notably bishops of my own denomination: this former criminal would be politicking cynically, out to hijack the faith for his evil agenda, I was told. Oh yes, there might be karaoke carols blasted into the open-air that day but watch out! It would be a guise for hate and all that this church and nation should oppose.
Reading God’s Word in a 'post-literate' world
As Christmas approaches, gift buying is underway. Shops are full, and atmospheric Christmas markets entice you with their beautiful, expensive, but ultimately unnecessary items. You return home with nothing - except perhaps a glass of mulled wine and a mince pie.
What to buy? Back in the day, the physical gift of music was an easy choice: a CD, a tape, or an LP, but now it's all accessed through streaming services. The other physical choice used to be a book, but has that disappeared too?
Bondi Beach: When Jewish history repeats itself
Bondi Beach forces our wider society to ask the difficult question. Why are Jewish people not safe? Hanukkah offers a powerful lens through which to do that.
The history of Hanukkah
Hanukkah commemorates events recorded in the books of 1 and 2 Maccabees, set in the second century BCE. At that time, the Jewish people lived under the rule of the Seleucid Empire, governed by King Antiochus IV Epiphanes. Antiochus outlawed Jewish religious practices, desecrated the Temple in Jerusalem, and attempted to force Jewish people to abandon their faith and identity. This was not merely political control; it was cultural and religious erasure.
Bondi Beach attack: 'A wake-up call' for the church
As Christians in England were singing Christmas carols – some underneath wintry skies in the open air – Jews on the other side of the world were being gunned down while lighting the candle marking the start of their Hanukkah festival.
The Sydney gathering beside the famed Bondi Beach turned into a shocking massacre, leaving 15 dead and 30 wounded, and a nation wondering how it could all have happened.
After Bondi: I am Jewish - this is how it feels today
I write this with sorrow, and with a measure of fear that has been quietly exhausting to me.
I am Jewish. Over the past two years I have stopped wearing Jewish jewellery in public. I moved to a new home and have not put a “mezuzah”* on my front door. When I was growing up, at Hanukkah, we would place our menorah in the front window for the neighbourhood to see. I don’t feel safe doing that anymore.
The unreached 94 per cent
Culture – in the evangelical church, we often talk about this in the context of mission and those of different cultures to the majority in our churches. We talk about being multicultural churches, referring mainly to race and sometimes to age-related "culture" such as youth.
In a country full of different cultures, many churches are working hard in their outreach to connect with many of them.
Ten questions with Charles Gardner
Charles Gardner is a South African-born journalist and volunteer with CMJ (Church’s Ministry among Jewish people) living in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, and married to Linda, who teaches Christianity in primary schools.
I was staying with my Jewish grandmother in north London when a friend from university athletics days in South Africa shared how Jesus had come to give us life in all its fullness.
I had become aware of a lack of direction or purpose, especially after failing to finish a marathon for the first and only time! Brian Jackson, a top athlete who was training for the Anglican ministry at Oxford, encouraged me to invite Jesus into my life and insisted I attend the evening service at All Souls Langham Place, the next day. I never looked back.
Though I understood perseverance as a marathon runner, it took me a long time to learn patience, along with the importance of faithfully waiting for answered prayer, and for ordinary things like buses.
Though I find myself communicating with the Lord on an almost continual basis as my absolute dependence on Him grows deeper, disciplined prayer times come in fits and starts.
Appointment in Jerusalem by Derek and Lydia Prince and R.T. Kendall’s God Meant it for Good (re-released as Total Forgiveness), both published by Kingsway. Both helped cement my calling to the Jews.
The profound teaching of John Stott, our beloved pastor at All Souls, along with the leader of his ‘nursery class’ for new believers, Helen McIntosh, who always referred to herself as a ‘completed Jew’. It was through a sermon Stott preached on being salt in the world that I felt God’s call into journalism.
Staying true to the gospel in the face of growing antagonism from the liberal left’s unholy alliance with jihadism sweeping across the West like a tidal wave; and standing with the Jewish people as they face the potential of another Holocaust. The alternative is to cave in to antisemitic pressure by remaining silent, as the German church of the 1930s did to its shame.
I love inspiring testimonies, which is why I founded the New Life evangelistic tabloid 43 years ago. I am discouraged by indifference to what I perceive as vital issues.
Only Fools and Horses and other great comedians like Morecambe and Wise. I love a good joke but am hopeless at telling them, though having a beer with friends is usually a recipe for much laughter.
Avoid being straitjacketed by a totally inflexible doctrinal position for which you believe there is no possibility of error. Be always open to guidance from the Holy Spirit who leads us into all truth. Avoid being a know-it-all and don’t put Christian “celebrities” on a pedestal; they are not the final arbiter of faith. That honour belongs to God’s Word.
The prophet Isaiah. It must have been so hard to have been called to proclaim the gospel with no prospect of being taken seriously. “Who has believed our report?” (Isa.53) he lamented. As a journalist, I can identify with that. But thanks to him (and others), we can rejoice at the glorious outcome of what he prophesied. The Lord has often used Isaiah to encourage me and even call me to proclaim good news to Zion, telling them that their God reigns (Isa. 52v7)!
Should Christians strike?
Industrial action has become a regular part of many of our lives in the past few years. The latest in a long run of resident doctor strikes called by the British Medical Association threatens to disrupt NHS care just days before Christmas.
Over the festive period we are also set to see strikes affecting national bus and train services, air travel, and even cinema-going.
Elite sport: Where is the contentment?
Sport has been plagued by conversations about money in recent years, exacerbated by golf’s high-profile breakaway LIV tour [a professional men's golf tour] and recent demands from elite tennis players for their prize money to be increased.
Golf
The formation of the Saudi Arabia-backed LIV Golf circuit in 2022 sparked furious debate in the golfing world, as some of the sport’s top stars departed from the PGA Tour [PGA is an organiser of professional golf tours] for the far greater sums on offer at LIV. This was seen by many as a betrayal of the established structures which had given the players their living, and paid them fairly handsomely already.