Holiness rooted in the heart
Michael Reeves
Date posted: 16 Oct 2025
The difference between an evangelical and a non-evangelical understanding of holiness can be seen well in a difference between the 17th-century Puritans and their contemporaries, the high-church Caroline Divines. Perhaps the most influential of the Carolines was William Laud (1573–1645), Charles I’s Archbishop of Canterbury.
Laud loved what he called “the beauty of holiness”, by which he meant liturgical orderliness. He strictly insisted that the clergy must follow all the rubrics of the Church of England’s prayer book, and was deeply concerned with clergy attire and the maintenance of church buildings and their physical beauty. And it was a particular sort of building he preferred: despising the Reformation – or “Deformation,” as he called it – he preferred new churches to be built in the pre-Reformation, Gothic style, with an architectural emphasis on an altar instead of a Communion table. For, he said, “the altar is the greatest place of God’s residence upon earth, greater than the pulpit; for there ’tis Hoc est corpus meum, This is my body; but in the other it is at most but Hoc est verbum meum, This is my word.”
Ministering in an area of deprivation today
Jonathan Macy
Date posted: 11 Oct 2025
Reflecting on one’s journey through life and ministry is always a fascinating exercise, helping us see where God has been actively working beyond our efforts.
In 2014, I joined the Church of the Cross (Thamesmead), which is in an area of significant deprivation, at a time when it was facing significant challenges, and I quickly realised that my college hadn’t prepared me for the realities I was now stepping into.
How can we grow leaders together?
Clive Bowsher
Date posted: 4 Sep 2025
“It takes a village to raise a child,” so the proverb goes. It certainly takes local congregations to raise future leaders who will shepherd Christ’s church.
As the vine flourishes and discipleship grows, some of the fruit is leaders given by Christ to enable further growth (e.g. Ephesians 4v7-16). And there’s a distinct role to play too for organisations and teachers able to bring additional theological expertise. Importantly, it all happens in the context of the vine (John 15) or, to switch metaphors, in the body of Christ.
Are we praying with eternity in mind?
Andrew Drury
Date posted: 8 Oct 2025
There is a familiar theme in many prayers written by saints who have gone before us. It is noticeable in the prayer by the Polish-born reformer Zacharias Ursinus (1534–1583).
His prayer commences conventionally, with the acknowledgement to God the Father that we are weak - for we are being attacked by the Devil, the world and our own flesh unceasingly. The prayer includes the plea that the power of the Holy Spirit would keep and strengthen us, so that we would not be defeated.
The Keswick Convention’s repeated transformation
Philip Sowerbutts
Date posted: 23 Jul 2025
Keswick has always been about transformation.
The Convention’s founder Thomas Dundas Harford-Battersby, Vicar of St John’s Keswick, was a man troubled by a lack of holiness in his own walk with God. It was while on holiday on the Cumbrian coast at Silloth that he was first introduced to a new teaching that would lead to a personal transformation by a work of God’s Holy Spirit. In just three weeks, he and his friend Robert Wilson organised their own “Holiness Convention” in June 1875 using a tent in the garden of Harford-Battersby’s Keswick vicarage (see photo of the 150th anniversary book cover*). Hundreds attended, and such was the success it was decided to hold another the following year, and so it has continued for 150 years.
the Bible in action
If you could travel in time...
Martin Horton
Date posted: 28 Jul 2025
If you could travel back in time, where would you go? The parting of the Red Sea? Jesus feeding the 5,000? How about the day of Pentecost?
You arrive in Jerusalem – and you can’t understand a word! You reach the upper room just before it happens. The violent rush of wind, the tongues of fire and, in a moment of astonishing lucidity you realise you can hear someone speaking your language.
a Jewish Christian perspective
Encouragements in Jewish evangelism
Joseph Steinberg
Date posted: 27 Jul 2025
I am encouraged by so many good news stories coming from the world of Jewish evangelism.
In my role as the International Coordinator of the Lausanne Consultation on Jewish Evangelism, I have the privilege of interacting with evangelistic organisations and missionaries to Jewish people from all over the world and hearing all the good that the Lord is doing right now among Jewish people.
everyday theology
Finding true friendship
Michael Reeves
Date posted: 15 Sep 2025
I wonder if you’ve read C. S. Lewis’ The Four Loves? If you haven’t, you’ve got a treat to enjoy sometime. His chapter on friendship is a favourite of mine. It’s an insight-packed paean to friendship. And friendship is a vital part of our life together in Christ, a foretaste of what is to come.
A friendship is not the same thing as an exclusive coterie or cabal. “True Friendship,” says Lewis, “is the least jealous of loves. Two friends delight to be joined by a third, and three by a fourth, if only the newcomer is qualified to become a real friend.” The foundation for friendship, Lewis says, is companionship, which is what we often mean by the term “fellowship”. Companionship entails a basic willingness to get on and work well with others.
Mission among Welsh speakers: an urgent need
Gwilym Tudur
Date posted: 13 Nov 2024
In mid-October, Wales held its annual Shwmae Su’mae Day. Translated roughly as ‘hi there’, both shwmae (pronounced shoe-mai) in south Wales and su’mae (pronounced see-mai) in north Wales are colloquial greetings used to start a conversation.
Held since 2013, the purpose of Shwmae Su’mae Day is to encourage people to begin conversations in Welsh and promote its use in everyday discussions. Now in its 11th year, Shwmae Su’mae Day has become a national occasion as businesses, workplaces, and universities host events to motivate employees and students to practice the language.
earth watch
Tending to our recycling gnat and carbon camel
Paul Kunert
Date posted: 9 Sep 2025
The lights flicker briefly. Then complete darkness. A few seconds later, the drone of back-up generators all across the neighbourhood, the part-muffled roar of our own, and with bleeping electronics, everything’s back on.
Living in Dar es Salaam 20 years ago, we soon got used to the blackouts. It happened so often, it barely made the news. Here in the UK though, even a short interruption is big news and a few days, especially in winter, a state of emergency. That’s perhaps as it should be.
earth watch
Is real change possible in stewarding God’s earth?
Paul Kunert
Date posted: 2 Aug 2025
Is real change possible? That, for those who watch closely our heating world, is the crucial question. If we’re to avoid the worst effects of climate breakdown, we need actual real change.
Or to bring it into the Biblical narrative, if we’re to fulfil our first calling to rule and care for all creation as God’s agents, we’ll need actual real change. It sounds obvious but it’s not always easy to see.
Cambodia 50 years on: Stories from the killing fields
Julia Cameron
Date posted: 21 Jul 2025
It is 50 years since the brutal Khmer Rouge seized power in Cambodia. Their genocide resulted in the deaths of 1.5-2 million people in the four years that followed. Here, the testimony of Christians from that time echoes down the years.
You are about to read some remarkable stories, writes Julia Cameron in the foreword to the book from which these accounts are drawn. They will stay with you. I’m sure of that.
A 'church plant mentality' can be problematic
John Newton Webb
Date posted: 8 Aug 2025
"The reason that we’re so active in evangelism is because we’re a church plant.” “I suppose we do Sunday services this way because we’re a church plant.” I heard many of these sorts of sentiments expressed when I came to pastor Izumi Church, Japan (which started in 2009) in 2016.
Talking to the believers who thought like this, I discovered a mistaken ecclesiology and a large set of unbiblical assumptions about the difference between having a missionary leader and local pastor. Working through these issues led me to reassess the church and church plant distinction.
Five images to help us share the gospel
Robin Ham
Date posted: 8 Aug 2025
Communicating the good news of Jesus in the West in 2025 is challenging. Christianity is often portrayed as irrelevant, out-of-touch, even unjust and toxic. And like it or not, that’s got to shape how we communicate the Christian faith.
In light of this, I’ve been exploring some different imagery for "connecting and confronting" with the good news of Jesus in our cultural moment. In part, it flows from the "rubber hitting the road" in everyday conversations. In part, it flows from working on a Mission & Apologetics module I've taught.
The false religion of climate alarmism
Paul Mills
Date posted: 4 Aug 2025
“Watch out for false prophets... By their fruit you will recognise them…every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.” (Matthew 7:15-17, NIV)
Climate alarmism [1] is often spoken of in religious terms. [2] The connection naturally springs to mind when considering the priestesses of Gaia at "climate" demonstrations, or the cult-like statements of protestors justifying their latest acts of cultural iconoclasm or infrastructure sabotage. Claire Coutinho, the former UK Energy Secretary, noted that the achievement of net zero carbon emissions has become “a religion” for such protest groups. [3] This way of thinking would appear to have become a sub-sect of full-blown Nature worship, or is certainly adjacent to it. Commentators often note that alarmist thinking has filled the religious vacuum in Western societies as adherence to Christianity has waned.
the ENd word
Lead on Good Shepherd
Jon Barrett
Date posted: 3 Aug 2025
As a kid growing up in a Christian family I was always familiar with the 23rd Psalm, although for some while my young mind was confused about who “Shirley Goodness” was, or why she’d want to follow me all the days of my life.
I had a bit of a gift as a youngster for mishearing things, also spending time pondering what a “foggle” was after first hearing the song Bright Eyes – it wasn’t until I was in my 20s that I realised Art Garfunkle actually sang “there’s a fog along the horizon!”
everyday theology
Why a band of brothers is better than a ‘great man’
Michael Reeves
Date posted: 30 Jul 2025
“Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow... And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him – a threefold cord is not quickly broken” (Ecc. 4v9-10, 12).
One of the greatest practical problems I see across the church is the isolation of so many church leaders. There are many contributing factors, but surely one of them is the idea that spiritual growth occurs only or mainly through the purposeful, influential actions of elevated individuals. We might call this the “great man” theory.
everyday theology
Mistakes in the Bible?
Michael Reeves
Date posted: 7 Jul 2025
We can submit to Scripture with confidence because of our Lord. Jesus was consistently clear that what Scripture says, God says.
For example, conversing with the Pharisees, he said: “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’?” (Matt. 19:4–6)
When shame closes doors, love opens them
Jason Roach
Date posted: 5 Jul 2025
For years, Eleanor slipped into our church services late and left early. She always sat in the back row, always turned down invitations to coffee and her attendance was sporadic at best. When she did come, she kept her head down, rarely making eye contact - many assumed she was just shy or private.
What none of us knew was that Eleanor was carrying a burden of profound shame. Her flat had gradually become overwhelmed with possessions: piles of magazines, bags of clothes, stacks of boxes - until there were only narrow pathways between mountains of items. The situation had deteriorated to the point where it posed genuine health risks, but her shame kept her locked in silence. She felt that if people saw how she lived, they would judge her and think something was wrong with her.
everyday evangelism
The shameless audacity – of two men called John!
Gavin Matthews
Date posted: 5 Jul 2025
John always prayed for his unbelieving son – regardless of what people thought. His prayers involved tears, and his voice would tremble as he implored God to intervene. Yet sometimes I could detect something of an unspoken “tut” in the prayer meeting.
For some people such persistence in prayer showed a lack of trust in the Lord, while for others such demonstrations of emotion were unseemly, and certainly slightly awkward for us British!
Is our apologetics ‘frightfully early 2000s, darling’?
Jon Barrett
Date posted: 27 May 2025
Controversial opinion: much of our evangelism and apologetics fails to scratch where non-believers are itching, because it seeks to answer questions they’re not asking.
Or, perhaps more accurately, we remain methodologically committed to answering questions they once were, but are now no longer, asking. With the exception of that old chestnut of theodicy (the ‘why suffering’ question) much of our apologetics output still seems to be looking to undercut the objections born out of the Enlightenment or the era of scientism, and I’m less than convinced that those once-pressing issues now represent the focus of the emerging generation’s attention and curiosity.
a Jewish Christian perspective
How odd of God...
Joseph Steinberg
Date posted: 2 May 2025
British journalist W.N. Ewer wrote: “How odd of God to choose the Jews” and in response are the words: “But not as odd as those who choose a Jewish God and hate the Jew.”
Christian antisemitism is confounding. It is a terrible self-harm on the part of the church. In Genesis 12 the Lord chose Abraham and cut a covenant with him (Gen. 15) so that “through your offspring all the nations on earth shall be blessed.” (Gen. 22:18) What does God’s intended blessing to the nations via the Jewish people look like? It looks like the days of the early church!
Ten questions with: Israel Oluwole Olofinjana
en staff
Date posted: 9 Jun 2025
Israel Oluwole Olofinjana is director of One People Commission, part of the Evangelical Alliance.
He is a Baptist minister and has led two multi-ethnic Baptist churches and an independent charismatic church. He is the founding director of Centre for Missionaries from the Majority World, a mission network initiative that provides cross-cultural training to reverse missionaries in Britain. He is a consultant to the executive team of Lausanne Europe, advising them on matters related to diaspora ministries in Europe.
