Respect and seeking to understand: A husband’s calling in 1 Peter 3v7
Tim Vasby-Burnie
Date posted: 16 Apr 2026
How should husbands live if they are members of God’s chosen people, and living stones in His spiritual temple-house? This is the question Peter turns to in 1 Peter 3v7: "Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers" (NIV)
The phrase "be considerate" sounds a bit tame. "Being considerate" is often viewed as a matter of a few nice manners. But Peter wants husbands to consider their wives and understand them. The ESV has Peter telling husbands to "live with your wives in an understanding way".
Pastor, have you hit 'rock bottom'?
Dave Burke
Date posted: 15 Apr 2026
The Daily Telegraph recently featured a ten-year-long study of 500 Anglican clergy revealing that 41 per cent felt demoralised, 40 per cent felt isolated, and 35 per cent showed signs of possible mild clinical depression[1].
It should be no surprise; Christian ministry is psychologically demanding.
faith and life
The challenge of diversity
Debbie Dickson
Date posted: 15 Apr 2026
One of the joys of arriving for our Sunday morning service is seeing who is on the welcome team. It is, I think, a feeling which reflects the growing cultural and ethnic diversity in our churches; for sure, there will be a mix, but where might the welcomers be from? Hong Kong? The UK? Nigeria? Iran? India?
Firstly, this growing diversity means we have the potential to reach a wider variety of people unfamiliar with the church or the Christian faith. This is reflected in my own experience when, a few years back, some Hong Kong Christians invited a neighbour – who was not a Christian – to a Chinese New Year party organised by my church. Though not a believer, he was an excellent calligrapher and kindly made decorations for the party – red banners of Bible verses in Chinese characters. Many others have found a warm welcome which has been instrumental in their wanting to know about Christ.
Reflections on life, possessions and eternal significance
Andrew Drury
Date posted: 14 Apr 2026
There is a somewhat apocryphal tale of two men talking at a reception after a funeral. One man asks the other, “What did our friend leave?” The reply was: “Everything”.
We can be so eager to acquire transitory things – money, possessions, reputation, status and the list is endless – that we forget that this planet is only temporary in the light of eternity. It is easy to fall into the mentality once expressed in a bumper sticker: “The person with all the toys wins”.
updates from the mission field
The power of 'welcome'
WEC International
Date posted: 14 Apr 2026
Baptisms are always a special time in any church but on this occasion my wife and I had special reason to rejoice. As Min shared her testimony before the congregation we found out that we had been a very small part of her journey to Christ.
Min (not her real name) came to the UK as a student with her young family and moved into some apartments near our inner city church. She comes from a country where there is no religious freedom and had never encountered Christianity before.
Digital discipleship: Following Christ in an age of screens
Alistair Chalmers
Date posted: 13 Apr 2026
We are the first generation in history to carry a portal to the world in our pockets at all times.
With a swipe, we can access news, entertainment, theological debate, and the curated lives of thousands. The digital age has not merely changed how we communicate – it has reshaped how we think, desire, worship, and relate.
An interview with Christian drill producer Scotty C
Jake Owen
Date posted: 13 Apr 2026
Often described as the UK’s leading Christian drill producer, Scotty C here chats with Jake Owen about starting out in the Christian music scene, collaborating with other artists, and the recently launched Official UK Christian and Gospel Singles Chart. For the uninitiated among us, including the en editor, drill music is, according to this explanation, "a type of contemporary rap from Chicago. It came to the UK in 2012 and has spread from Brixton to all areas of the country. It's characterised by ominous beats, haunting melodies and dark lyrics. With roots in disadvantaged inner city London, it appeals to young people who grow up in deprived areas. It is a form of expression for otherwise voiceless communities."
imperfect parenting
Do we trust our generous Heavenly Father?
Katie Holloway
Date posted: 8 Apr 2026
At the time of writing, we are in the short period between our two children’s birthdays. My husband and I have been chatting about the fact that choosing and giving gifts to our kids is one of our favourite parts of being parents. It gives us the chance to consider each child and their likes, their skills, their personalities, and the people they are becoming as they turn another year older.
I genuinely think that I love seeing my kids’ faces when they open a gift I’ve chosen for them more than I love receiving presents myself. (That said, I may have shed a tear when presented with the finger-knitted snake my son had lovingly made for me this Christmas.) But even though I know God is my Father, I don’t often think of Him in this way: the Father who loves to give good gifts to His children, who delights in them receiving good things from Him. And as such, I’m missing out.
Sex, gender & sport: Clarity and compassion
Jonny Reid
Date posted: 7 Apr 2026
In a landmark decision the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has announced that Olympic women’s sport will be limited to biological females.
It follows nearly 20 years of debate since the rise of athletes with DSD (differences in sexual development) winning World and Olympic medals. There will now be a one-off sex test, which will prevent any athletes with a Y chromosome, including transgender women and DSD athletes, except in extremely rare cases where they do not benefit from the performance-enhancing effects of testosterone, from competing in women’s categories. This slightly wordy description shows us some of the complexities in this case that we sometimes miss.
evangelicals & catholics
Ecumenical or evangelical?
Leonardo de Chirico
Date posted: 6 Apr 2026
As expected, the highlight of the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea was the ecumenical prayer presided over by Pope Leo XIV at the ruins of the church of St Neophytus in Nicaea (today the name of the town is Isnik), where the Council meetings were held in 325 AD.
The Pope was symbolically at the centre of the scene, the point of connection between everyone, flanked by the Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew and other ecclesiastical dignitaries seated behind him in lesser roles.
Spiritual gifts: A nuanced position worth learning from?
Adam Ramsey
Date posted: 6 Apr 2026
This is the third in a series of articles written by Adam Ramsey of Liberti Church, Gold Coast, Australia, exploring what we can learn from Martyn Lloyd-Jones today in relation to the Reformed faith and a Scriptural understanding of spiritual experience. The essays, of which there are five in total, need to be taken together. They are taken from original, yet-to-be published research undertaken by Ramsey for his Doctor of Philosophy thesis. They also, we hope, represent something of the generous-hearted, thoughtful, Biblical approach that en was founded 40 years ago in 1986 to embody. Read Ramsey's first article here and his second article here. Next month: “Why Martyn Lloyd-Jones was not a charismatic.”
pastoral care
Why do people leave churches?
Helen Thorne-Allenson
Date posted: 5 Apr 2026
In recent months, there seems to have been an exciting increase in the number of people coming through the front doors of our churches.
It’s so encouraging to see new faces, hear new questions, and see new people becoming regular members of the congregation. But, at the same time, I am hearing an increasing number of stories of people leaving by the back door. Not storming out – not moving away – not finding themselves unable to get to church – but people quietly slipping off to “do church alone”.
‘Tender mercy and rich love’ – surprising encounters with the risen Lord Jesus
Daniel Johnson
Date posted: 5 Apr 2026
Tucked away in Paul’s glorious description of the saving grace of Christ in Ephesians 2 is a phrase that appears only this once in all of his letters: “But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions – it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus.”
The “great love” of God for us. Polys Agape. That word “great” is used four times in John’s Gospel to describe the vast crowds that Jesus encountered. At Easter, we often associate the love of God with the death of Christ (rightly so), but rarely speak of the resurrection – and our resurrection with Christ – as being evidence of God’s love. But the risen Jesus, resplendent in power, majesty and authority, is the radiant glory of the great love of God.
The blessedness of 'inefficiency'
Matt Waldock
Date posted: 4 Apr 2026
In secular leadership circles, the holy grail of self-development is the attainment of a "highly productive life".
In this world, productivity is typically measured in terms of how many plates one can keep spinning without everything crashing down.
faith and life
What is good, anyway?
Jonnie Green
Date posted: 4 Apr 2026
Recently I was going through the new Uncover resource with a Hindu friend. During the conversation he stated that ultimately all religions are the same, because all religions are trying to create good.
There was a sense in which I agreed with him. Yes, there is something about us as humanity which loves to try and distinguish between good/bad, clean/unclean, honourable/shameful. Often these become formalised into religious philosophies. There is something wonderfully uniting about humanity and its quest for the “good”: we set boundaries, create laws, promote some behaviours, outlaw others.
What did Jesus accomplish on the cross?
Wallace Benn
Date posted: 3 Apr 2026
As Christians mark Good Friday, Wallace Benn reflects from John 19v16-42 on what Jesus accomplished on the cross.
1 - HE CREATED A COMMUNITY OF LOVE: "WOMAN BEHOLD YOUR SON! / BEHOLD YOUR MOTHER!" (JOHN 12v27)
There is a very moving scene at the foot of the cross, described for us by John who was himself present (19v25-27). Jesus' selfless care for others is on full display. Despite his own intense suffering, he is concerned for those standing faithfully by him. Mary especially must have felt devastated. There is nothing worse for a parent than to see their child die in front of their eyes, and before their own death. Jesus, whom she had carried and cared for as a child, her very special and unique son, whose birth and life had been so full of hope and joy, now crucified and dying a horrible death. Aware of her pain, and knowing now how much she would need care, Jesus says to her, "Woman behold your son!" and to his "beloved disciple" (John), "Behold your mother".
Communion from the hands of the tailored and the track-suited
Jason Roach
Date posted: 2 Apr 2026
There was a glint in his eye. I couldn’t quite tell if it was a tear or a smile. He grinned, put his coffee down on the table and said: “As a teenager, it was the most special thing about church every Sunday.”
We’d been talking about life on estate churches.
AI’s assault on the press
Jenny Taylor
Date posted: 2 Apr 2026
My father had a saying, an old Suffolk “saw”: “While fools go prating far and wide, we stops at ’ome, my dog and I.”
There is a certain truth in that. The world seems to be getting more “foolish”, and I am less convinced that prating far and wide – a public life of activism for its own sake, be it political or journalistic – makes much difference to the betterment of the human condition. And anything with “global” in its name makes me run for the hills.
