Some of the most powerful people in world football are currently arguing about power. And one of the things they apparently agree on is that leadership should not be about possessing it.
Amid threats of World Cup boycotts, breakaway competitions and an increasingly bitter struggle over Gianni Infantino’s future, one sentence in an extraordinary letter from three of FIFA’s confederation presidents stands out: "Leadership in football is not a possession. It is a duty of service."
After struggling with insomnia for all my adult life, I can tell you with great confidence that there are many different reasons why someone may struggle to sleep. Rest, with which sleep overlaps so much, is obviously the same.
Just as the shepherd calls the sheepdog away so the sheep can settle, resting requires us to safeguard ourselves – for a while and as best we can – from those things which conspire to keep us constantly in physical, mental or spiritual motion.
In this, my third column on supporting people when disability arrives in their lives, I’m going to be looking at the issues around personal denial of a disability.
At Living Out, we are aware of the responsibility that we carry. We know it from the emails that we receive from believers who experience same-sex attraction and are looking to us for help and resources. We know it from the churches who come to us for advice and wisdom as they seek to hold a Biblical position on both sexual ethics and pastoral care.
In the two months since the announcement that Sam Allberry has been declared disqualified from ministry by his church in Nashville, USA, quite a lot has been written.
It has been good to read many articles expressing compassion and personal support for and appreciation of him. This is right, and is often missing in responses to the fall from grace of gospel ministers.
What do you think the greatest fear in the Western World is? Death? Poverty? Climate Change? For decades, the number one fear has been shown, in both the US and the UK, to be public speaking.
Anecdotal evidence and the lived experience of many would seem to suggest that congregational singing is in many churches, if not all of them, much poorer than it used to be. This is not a wholly new development. As long ago as 2008, the now defunct magazine The Briefing carried an article entitled “The Slow Death of Congregational Singing”.
“It is winter in Narnia and has been for ever so long ... Always winter, but never Christmas,” the faun Mr. Tumnus responds to the despair of Lucy Pevensie in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Haunting, beautiful, and powerful imagery that author C.S. Lewis used to describe life in Narnia under the White Witch.
Imagery that I loved, but will now confess, I had never really understood, until God called me to minister in the place that is now home.
During a recent trip to Ghana, Archbishop of Canterbury Sarah Mullally renewed her commitment to a £100 million reparation fund in light of the Church of England’s historic investments in companies involved in the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade.
The fund was originally pledged by Mullally’s predecessor Justin Welby, who argued that the reparations would give a "better and fairer future for all, particularly for communities affected by historic slavery".
During every trial that I've gone through, I have tangibly experienced the presence of the Lord, but none more so than in the last three years.
To lose one close family member is hard, but three? In quick succession? A tougher person than me might ask "Why, Lord?" and buckle or lose faith under the weight of such devastation.
The Clacton by-election takes place on 13th August with 33 candidates – none from the main political parties – challenging Reform’s Nigel Farage to become the MP.
Mr Farage said that he triggered the election to set up a contest between "the people" and "the establishment", appealing to the voters to vindicate his conduct over the heads of the Parliamentary authorities.
Jeff Featherstone, an evangelical member of Reform UK, replies to Lib Dem MP Tim Farron's piece "The rise of populist politics?".
Jeff writes:
As a former Liberal Democrat councillor who is now a Reform member, Tim Farron’s article on the Evangelicals Now website is of particular interest to me.
I was born in the mid-1970s when there were three television channels in the UK: BBC1, BBC2 and ITV. That was it. If you wanted to watch TV, you had very little choice about what to watch and no choice about when to watch it.
If your favourite programme was broadcast at 8pm on a Tuesday, you had to be there to watch it at 8pm on a Tuesday. If you missed it, you missed it. And that was that. No video recorders. No internet. No streaming. No catch-up. You missed it.
John the Baptist was dead. Beheaded. It was unjust, brutal, and senseless.
On hearing the news, Jesus left what He was doing and went with His disciples to a solitary place. He must have wanted to mourn, and pray, away from the crowds. But when He arrived, there was no solitude: somehow, word had spread about where He was going, and now a large crowd was waiting for Him.
My son does social media for his part-time job. Part of the task is creating posts for the business's social media account.
The hope behind so much online activity is shared by many: that one day a post will "go viral", meaning that a post catches the algorithm, the numbers rise, strangers pass it to other strangers, then suddenly, thousands of people are paying attention (and buying stuff!).
Do you ever feel guilty and powerless as you walk past a homeless person?
Maybe you stop to chat. Maybe you take them into a fast-food outlet and marvel at how many spoonfuls of sugar go into their tea. Maybe you do nothing, and feel bad. Whatever you do or don't do, the feeling of powerlessness often kicks in.
This is the second of a mini-series of articles looking at the four soils in the Parable of the Sower (Matthew 13v1-23).
There’s a phrase often used in our culture today. Apparently it derives from life in the American mines in the mid-19th century. Saltpetre (the common name for potassium nitrate) was an ingredient in the gunpowder used by miners to create explosions and make fuses. Dampness or wind often caused the spark to fizzle out before it reached the explosive. That experience became commonly known as “petering out”.
The General Synod of the Church of England has engaged over decades in a cycle of groundhog-day debates about human sexuality. Members employ the same stories and arguments over and over again.
Living in Love and Faith (LLF), the eight-year-long project of listening to one another, learning from the Scriptures and looking at current practice, ended in February this year. LLF was declared to be dead, to the relief of nearly half of those on General Synod. Others believe LLF is just resting. A new private member’s motion, brought by Helen King, stirred up yet another debate this July.
Comment
What does FIFA's dispute reveal about leadership?
Some of the most powerful people in world football are currently arguing about power. And one of the things they apparently agree on is that leadership should not be about possessing it.
Amid threats of World Cup boycotts, breakaway competitions and an increasingly bitter struggle over Gianni Infantino’s future, one sentence in an extraordinary letter from three of FIFA’s confederation presidents stands out: "Leadership in football is not a possession. It is a duty of service."
How do I rest when the pastures aren't so 'green'?
After struggling with insomnia for all my adult life, I can tell you with great confidence that there are many different reasons why someone may struggle to sleep. Rest, with which sleep overlaps so much, is obviously the same.
Just as the shepherd calls the sheepdog away so the sheep can settle, resting requires us to safeguard ourselves – for a while and as best we can – from those things which conspire to keep us constantly in physical, mental or spiritual motion.
When someone isn't ready to call themselves disabled
For the first two articles in this series, see: "My church friend has become disabled: What do I do?" and "How to support a church friend facing disability".
In this, my third column on supporting people when disability arrives in their lives, I’m going to be looking at the issues around personal denial of a disability.
A helpful challenge – but I don’t recognise those views
This article was written in response to the article "Same-sex attraction and identity: Are evangelicals on the right track?" by Matthew Roberts.
At Living Out, we are aware of the responsibility that we carry. We know it from the emails that we receive from believers who experience same-sex attraction and are looking to us for help and resources. We know it from the churches who come to us for advice and wisdom as they seek to hold a Biblical position on both sexual ethics and pastoral care.
Same-sex attraction and identity: Are evangelicals on the right track?
In the two months since the announcement that Sam Allberry has been declared disqualified from ministry by his church in Nashville, USA, quite a lot has been written.
It has been good to read many articles expressing compassion and personal support for and appreciation of him. This is right, and is often missing in responses to the fall from grace of gospel ministers.
Why do I feel vulnerable when I evangelise?
What do you think the greatest fear in the Western World is? Death? Poverty? Climate Change? For decades, the number one fear has been shown, in both the US and the UK, to be public speaking.
Does that surprise you?
Sing UP!
What is your church like at singing?
Anecdotal evidence and the lived experience of many would seem to suggest that congregational singing is in many churches, if not all of them, much poorer than it used to be. This is not a wholly new development. As long ago as 2008, the now defunct magazine The Briefing carried an article entitled “The Slow Death of Congregational Singing”.
Belfast and poverty – both physical and spiritual
“It is winter in Narnia and has been for ever so long ... Always winter, but never Christmas,” the faun Mr. Tumnus responds to the despair of Lucy Pevensie in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Haunting, beautiful, and powerful imagery that author C.S. Lewis used to describe life in Narnia under the White Witch.
Imagery that I loved, but will now confess, I had never really understood, until God called me to minister in the place that is now home.
Should the CofE pay slavery reparations?
During a recent trip to Ghana, Archbishop of Canterbury Sarah Mullally renewed her commitment to a £100 million reparation fund in light of the Church of England’s historic investments in companies involved in the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade.
The fund was originally pledged by Mullally’s predecessor Justin Welby, who argued that the reparations would give a "better and fairer future for all, particularly for communities affected by historic slavery".
How God used my grief to bring me closer to Him
During every trial that I've gone through, I have tangibly experienced the presence of the Lord, but none more so than in the last three years.
To lose one close family member is hard, but three? In quick succession? A tougher person than me might ask "Why, Lord?" and buckle or lose faith under the weight of such devastation.
The rise of populist politics?
The Clacton by-election takes place on 13th August with 33 candidates – none from the main political parties – challenging Reform’s Nigel Farage to become the MP.
Mr Farage said that he triggered the election to set up a contest between "the people" and "the establishment", appealing to the voters to vindicate his conduct over the heads of the Parliamentary authorities.
Populism: Reform members reply to Tim Farron
Jeff Featherstone, an evangelical member of Reform UK, replies to Lib Dem MP Tim Farron's piece "The rise of populist politics?".
Jeff writes:
As a former Liberal Democrat councillor who is now a Reform member, Tim Farron’s article on the Evangelicals Now website is of particular interest to me.
The liberty of exclusivity: Choice, freedom and Jesus
I was born in the mid-1970s when there were three television channels in the UK: BBC1, BBC2 and ITV. That was it. If you wanted to watch TV, you had very little choice about what to watch and no choice about when to watch it.
If your favourite programme was broadcast at 8pm on a Tuesday, you had to be there to watch it at 8pm on a Tuesday. If you missed it, you missed it. And that was that. No video recorders. No internet. No streaming. No catch-up. You missed it.
Why I believe God does give us more than we can handle
John the Baptist was dead. Beheaded. It was unjust, brutal, and senseless.
On hearing the news, Jesus left what He was doing and went with His disciples to a solitary place. He must have wanted to mourn, and pray, away from the crowds. But when He arrived, there was no solitude: somehow, word had spread about where He was going, and now a large crowd was waiting for Him.
Beyond the algorithm: Faithfulness in a 'viral' age
My son does social media for his part-time job. Part of the task is creating posts for the business's social media account.
The hope behind so much online activity is shared by many: that one day a post will "go viral", meaning that a post catches the algorithm, the numbers rise, strangers pass it to other strangers, then suddenly, thousands of people are paying attention (and buying stuff!).
Is your church healthy? A sabbatical may reveal the answer...
What would you say if I told you that your church has more to gain by a generous sabbatical policy than the pastor?
Given that few churches even mention the word "sabbatical" in their official documents, my guess is it would raise some eyebrows.
Why we think job creation is part of the church’s mission
Do you ever feel guilty and powerless as you walk past a homeless person?
Maybe you stop to chat. Maybe you take them into a fast-food outlet and marvel at how many spoonfuls of sugar go into their tea. Maybe you do nothing, and feel bad. Whatever you do or don't do, the feeling of powerlessness often kicks in.
Context is not a constraint. Be faithful where you are
Have you ever wondered why God brought you… here?
Not them.
What to do if your friend's Christianity 'peters out'
This is the second of a mini-series of articles looking at the four soils in the Parable of the Sower (Matthew 13v1-23).
There’s a phrase often used in our culture today. Apparently it derives from life in the American mines in the mid-19th century. Saltpetre (the common name for potassium nitrate) was an ingredient in the gunpowder used by miners to create explosions and make fuses. Dampness or wind often caused the spark to fizzle out before it reached the explosive. That experience became commonly known as “petering out”.
Why I took a stuffed parrot to CofE Synod
The General Synod of the Church of England has engaged over decades in a cycle of groundhog-day debates about human sexuality. Members employ the same stories and arguments over and over again.
Living in Love and Faith (LLF), the eight-year-long project of listening to one another, learning from the Scriptures and looking at current practice, ended in February this year. LLF was declared to be dead, to the relief of nearly half of those on General Synod. Others believe LLF is just resting. A new private member’s motion, brought by Helen King, stirred up yet another debate this July.