Defining secularism
Date posted: 17 Mar 2026
Dear Editor,
In recent editions of en, the word “secularism” has cropped up many times. I led the track on secularism at the Lausanne Congress in Seoul in September 2024, and we worked on a model of analysis which I think clarifies the issues.
CEEC says 2026 will be a 'critical year' for the CofE
Helen Catt
Date posted: 10 Mar 2026
This year will be a critical one for the Church of England (CofE), says the Church of England Evangelical Council (CEEC).
"The Living in Love and Faith trajectory is going to continue (confirmed by the recent General Synod); deanery and General Synod elections will be taking place; and the pressure on finances, stipendiary ministry and ordinand numbers is ongoing," CEEC says.
everyday theology
Intellectualist faith?
Michael Reeves
Date posted: 10 Mar 2026
Normally, those who think of themselves as people of the gospel do not openly deny the necessity of the new birth. But what if we did? We do not have to imagine, for that is effectively what happened in the 18th and 19th centuries with the Sandemanian sect. As Andrew Fuller (1754–1815) put it, the Sandemanians believed that saving faith is nothing but “bare belief of the bare truth”.
This was an intellectualist view of faith that sat especially well with the rationalistic times of the Enlightenment, though Robert Sandeman himself had an apparently evangelical logic for his view. Seeking to uphold a salvation that is all of grace, he argued that faith is really a human work if it involves any active leaning of the heart upon God. Faith must, he concluded, be nothing more than the mind’s assent that the gospel is true. It is an acknowledgment, not trust.
Ten Questions with Steffan Job
en staff
Date posted: 8 Mar 2026
Steffan Job is the Ministry Director of the Evangelical Movement of Wales, and an elder at Capel y Ffynnon, Bangor.
1. How did you become a Christian?
letter from Kenya
My great-grandfather was a murderer
Kip’ Chelashaw
Date posted: 7 Mar 2026
Do you know who was the first Christian in your family tree? My great-grandfather was a murderer. Shocking, and even today many traditional cattle herders in Northern Kenya kill and are killed in violent cattle raids.
After some time in prison, this murderer started attending church and was baptised with the name Noah. His son, Laban, walked 60km to find a school where he could learn to read and write. He was sent away, being too old for school, but found a mission station where he learnt to read the Bible. Laban was sent back home to start a school and a church, and he was the first in his family to reject the practice of polygamy.
Questions of authority
Date posted: 6 Mar 2026
Dear Editor,
It was a joy to read Wallace Benn’s article on questioning whether we are only willing to follow Jesus up to a point. He asks if faithfulness to the Word of God and the gospel of Christ is at stake are we willing to lose everything and look to God to vindicate that?
letter from America
‘The Times They Are A-Changin’. Again. Tumultuously
Josh Moody
Date posted: 29 Jan 2026
“The times they are a-changin’.” So sang Bob Dylan. “Change” was a prophetic theme when the song first came out. And change is upon us once more, albeit this time a different kind of change. The times they are a-changin’.
Ever since the 1960s, America – and I suppose most of the quote-unquote “Western World” – has lived with the revolution of those turbulent years. Fuelled by protest against Vietnam, and singing along to the tunes of not just Bob Dylan but (of course) The Beatles, and others, much of the discourse and context in which the church lives and works in the Western World has been shaped by the changing times in which we live, and which have been bequeathed by the 1960s.
Bible Society hopes to return to Iran 'soon'
Lydia Houghton
Date posted: 5 Mar 2026
An Iranian Bible Society worker says she hopes to return to Tehran to resume the organisation's work there - decades after it was banned.
"My prayer is to see the freedom of my country... I will be among the very first people who will go back to rebuild," says Nahid Sepehri, who leads the Iranian Bible Society from abroad.
Middle East: Growth brings fears of ‘discipleship gap’
Luke Randall
Date posted: 2 Mar 2026
Despite much turmoil across the Middle East, reports indicate that the gospel is advancing rapidly throughout the region, so much so that a “discipleship gap” could be looming if more church leaders are not found.
Local church leaders say that this “spiritual awakening”, which kick-started during the Covid pandemic, is growing at such a rate that positive problems are appearing, including the need for more spiritual leaders, as people increasingly search for meaning amidst the difficulties facing the region, according to the Church Mission Society (CMS).
DRC: People ‘hungrier than ever’ for truth
Luke Randall
Date posted: 2 Mar 2026
People in Goma are “hungrier than ever for the basic truths of the Christian faith” a year on from attacks by M23 rebels on Goma, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The Rwandan-backed force invaded the city in January 2025, leaving around 3,000 dead and 700,000 displaced. However, Martin Gordo, the Bishop of Goma, has revealed to the Church Mission Society (CMS) that a spiritual awakening has captured the area amidst the negative headlines, with thousands exploring matters of faith and becoming Christians.
A 'confusion of categories'
Ryan Burton King
Date posted: 24 Feb 2026
Dear Editor,
Last year, I wrote an article, for en's website, titled Should we ban public displays of non-Christian faiths? (see article here). I am grateful for the recent effort at engagement from Michael Reade in his article In defence of Christian nationalism (see article here).
Christian nationalism?
Dave Williams
Date posted: 24 Feb 2026
Dear Editor,
I was interested to read Michael Reade’s Comment piece on en's website (see article here) defending Christian nationalism and responding to articles by Ryan Burton King (see Ryan's piece here) and me (see here).
Andrew Anderson: FIEC President with zest for life
Mike Hitchings
Date posted: 24 Feb 2026
Andrew Anderson was called home on 1 November 2025. FIEC President in 1987, Andrew was the first to serve a longer term, becoming President again from 1992 to 1995.
Born on 2 June 1935 in Mill Hill, London, Andrew was converted at an early age. He was married to Pearl, who survives him; they had two daughters, Fiona and Colleen. He attended LSE and led the Christian Union there and went on to train at London Bible College.
Daniel Cozens
en staff
Date posted: 23 Feb 2026
Daniel Cozens, who has died suddenly, aged 81, was the founder of Through Faith Missions who also became well-known for pioneering the “Walk of 1,000 Men”.
A Church Times obituary by Paul Preston said that when he preached, “Daniel’s palm would be resting on his open Bible, his earnest expression engaging all in the room, as he gently helped us to place our hands into the hands of Jesus and look to Him, through His love and grace to prepare a place for us.”
Doing the right thing in the right way
Chris Sugden
Date posted: 19 Feb 2026
Book Review
Reparations should be required reading for all members of the Church Commissioners who wish to retain any reputation for competence, integrity, and acknowledging reliable scholarship before they dispose of £100 million of their assets – legally devoted to supporting parish ministry – for “reparations” for the slave trade.
Read review
A message to those who are doubting
Alistair Chalmers
Date posted: 14 Jan 2026
There are moments in the Christian life when faith feels sturdy and sure, and others when it feels as thin as glass. Prayers seem to fall flat. Scripture feels dry. Christian music maybe doesn’t lift your heart as it once did.
For many Christians these seasons can be unsettling, even frightening. We can wonder whether something has gone wrong with our faith, or worse, with us.
Paul Kinnaird
Lydia Houghton
Date posted: 14 Feb 2026
Paul Kinnaird has been appointed as the Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches’ (FIEC’s) Director for Bristol. Kinnaird was the pastor of Bankhall Mission, Liverpool.
Kinnaird will use his “wisdom and ministry experience to serve church leaders on the ground in a way that FIEC is not able to do centrally,” said FIEC’s Communications and Media Officer Joel Murray. Graham Beynon, who leads FIEC’s team of local directors, said he is “delighted” to have Kinnaird on the team.
Tony Wales: Remembering a Christian publishing expert
Julia Cameron
Date posted: 8 Jan 2026
Tony Wales, who had a possibly unrivalled knowledge of global publishing, has died.
He was born in the Belgian Congo (now DRC) to missionary parents. His family returned to the UK when he was ten. His father was to lead Scripture Gift Mission (SGM).
Can 'celebrity Christianity' disciple you effectively?
We live in a golden age of Christian content, but at the same time it is a fragile age for Christian community.
Sermons stream instantly. Conferences draw thousands. Podcasts, platforms, and personalities shape how many believers think about faithfulness.