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Dear Editor,

Most of the discussions around unity in faith and life for Christians currently revolves around ethical issues specially, in this season, to do with gender or indeed the teaching of the Holy Scriptures on male and female, as the divinely ordained context for marriage and sexual relations. Such attention to the ethical content of our faith is deserved, because after all Jesus did not mince words: ‘Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them’ (John 14: 23).

Dear Editor,

I was fascinated by the article ‘Should we own property?’ by Michael Haykin (en December) about Benedict’s rule regarding private ownership. I am busy re-reading the wonderful biography William Carey: The Father of Modern Missions, by S. Pearce Carey, and am interested to add to the discussion the fact that he and originally four others agreed a covenanted community of fellowship in Serampore, based: ‘on equality of each, pre-eminence of none; rule by majority, allocation of function by collective vote; superintendence by each in monthly rotation; … the mutual forbidding of trading or of labour for personal gain, together with the pooling of all earnings, the apportionment of frugal pay to each family according to its needs, and the consecration of the whole surplus to the Mission’s expansion’ (pp. 183/4).

Dear Editor,

I enjoyed reading John Stevens’ article in the September edition on the new format of cricket with the introduction of The Hundred tournament.

Dear Sir

In July’s en, a full-page piece appeared about my published work, theology and associations, with particular attention given to The Mission of God 2016 (MoG). Misleadingly deploying partial truths, ana-baptist social activist James Paul Lusk – a retired career bureaucrat determined to save Britain from a so-called ‘Christian Right’ – sadly fails to engage the thesis of the book: the meaning of the Lordship of Christ and Kingdom of God in light of God’s total law-word. More balanced reviews of MoG were published in the UK by Prophecy Today and Affinity.

Dear Editor,

I was bemused and saddened by Tim and Lois Wells’ article in the February edition the merits or otherwise of of en about contextualising the gospel.

Dear Editor,

In the January John edition of en, Benton drew a striking parallel between the recent advent of safeguarding officers in the church and the introduction of video assistant referees (VAR) in English Premier League football. Provocatively, John chose to transpose the initial, lumbering use of VAR (seen as ‘petty’, ‘unjust’ and ‘dominant’) with the worst-case scenario of safeguarding officers subverting their roles to wrest authority from local church elders.

Dear Editor,

In September’s en you helpfully drew attention to developments in Hong Kong, explaining that this may result in some Christians using rights granted by the UK government to settle here.

Dear Editor,

Since reading the Independent Inquiry into the Child Sexual Abuse in Cof E churches, I became aware of how much the report mirrored my daughter’s experience. The difference was that this happened in an evangelical church. Therefore, I believe this report is valuable for all churches and needs to be read thoughtfully.

Dear Editor,

I would like to ask readers to pray for the Highbury Centre at 22-26 Aberdeen Park, London N5. Since 1893 it has been a place of welcome for missionaries and Christian friends from all over the world, who appreciated its Christian ethos.

Dear Editor,

I write in response to the article ‘Living with difference’ in the July issue of en.

Dear Editor,

Several of the Christian organisations, missions and churches which I support or belong to include in their regular mailing a Prayer Diary, with valuable topics and news for every day of the year.

Dear en,

Rachel Jones’ article (‘Is this how intro-verts feel when life is normal?’) immediately caught my eye. May I put in a plea that The Good Book Company seriously consider a book on personality types and the implica-tions for how we do church and discipleship? While the issue is not openly addressed in Scripture, it is perhaps implicit. Take, for example, Peter and John and their witness in Acts 3. All the action centres around Peter (the extrovert?) while John (the introvert?) is not reported as saying a word! And if it is indeed the case that behind the Gospel of Mark (fast-moving, action-packed) is Peter, then the contrast with John’s more thought-ful, intimate Gospel is telling. Squeezing introverts into an extrovert mould in terms of worship, fellowship and mission may be doing the gospel a disservice, so a quiet, thoughtful, biblical appraisal may be just the ticket! ; )

Dear Sir,

It was heartwarming to read of Robert Stivey’s attempt to re-open some of the chapels in the valleys of South Wales (en January, front page).

Dear Sir,

Every January something pops through my letterbox to bring a shaft of light into these dark days. The CofE authorities send me a little advertising puff about the annual Lent Course provided by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York. For years this has given me a laugh, although, to use a phrase of my mother’s, it’s too daft to laugh at. All the usual politically-correct nostrums cast in the Noddy language with which the church patronises and torments us to death. But suddenly this booklet isn’t funny anymore.

Andrew Marsay

Date posted: 1 Jul 2017

Dear Editor,

John M’s article, ‘Mixing mission’ (en May), highlights concerns about churches no longer prioritising missions as they used to. While this concern is understandable, the power of the plea is diminished because no biblical analysis of the problem is offered.

Dear Sir,

Jeremy Marshall’s article ‘Why a Northern lucidly highlights Seminary?’ (March en) the great need for gospel work in the North of England, which has often been neglected by theological education, church planting, and investment. He rightly observes that evangelicalism has a Southern and London bias at the expense of northern English cities, let alone Scotland and Wales.

Dear Editor,

I am largely in agreement with Ranald Macaulay’s concern over the prevalent evangelical tendency to shun engagement with society and its worrisome tendencies (en June ‘Evangelicalism in Crisis’). Yet I believe that his readiness to point the finger at European Pietism as providing an explanation of the origin of this tendency does not bear careful scrutiny.

Dear Editor,

Ray Porter’s obituary notice of Dorothy Marx (February en) brought back distant childhood memories for me. She and I shared the same piano teacher, the redoubtable Enid Bulow of Sutton, though Dorothy was 15 years my senior. She was a far more accomplished pianist than I ever became, as Mrs Bulow took great pride in her star pupil being awarded an LRAM (Licentiate of the Royal Academy of Music) diploma.

Dear Readers of en,

I was very grateful for the kind commendation of my new book Gospel DNA on page 25 of your May 2017 edition by Pastor Mark Troughton. I appreciate that his warm approval was only well meant, but it was sufficiently over-generous for me to feel obliged to comment. I would like to openly acknowledge the obvious but important truths that the 30 Co-mission ministries in London that he mentions (19 established churches and various pioneer ministries) are attributable a) to the extraordinary grace of our living Lord growing his churches by his living Word; and b) to the collective efforts of many servant-hearted leaders and congregation members across London. I raise this because we are clear throughout Co-mission not only that we are daily dependent upon God, but also that if we fail to give him the glory he deserves we may rightly face his discipline. For ‘neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything but only God who gives the growth’ (1 Corinthians 3).

Dear en,

Thank you for your concern for historical perspective and a coverage of global mission issues. We refer to the article on Latin America in the April issue (p.10).

Dear Sir,

I read with interest the article by John McLernon on mission strategy (en, May 2017); he presented well some of the challenges and competing claims that we experience as we aim to remain faithful to our calling to make disciples in a rapidly changing world.

Dave Williams

Date posted: 1 Mar 2017

Dear Sir,

I think it’s a good thing that there’s an ongoing conversation about church planting into our unreached areas via your letters page. I know that, from time to time, en puts the spotlight on church planting and on gospel work in tough areas. Maybe another spotlight on the great work happening in needy areas would be timely.

Dear Sir,

Paul Hinton (en letters, December) makes some valid points about church planting. I agree that if mission drives church planting, we shouldn’t just look for a ‘quick win’ by planting churches likely to appeal to students and professionals … whom we know to be on the doorstep! And yes, there is no excuse for establishing churches merely to further our theological ‘brand’ or to expand the latest ‘network’ of churches. To these concerns I would add the depressing trend among some contemporary church plants of resistance to accountability by the leadership. Too often, there is a failure to make the transition from the ‘solo ministry’ of the church planter to a fully functioning church.

Dear Sir,

As a church planter myself it might seem very strange to be in any way negative about contemporary church planting.