Cheers and challenges
David Baker
Date posted: 1 Sep 2015
It’s very easy to lament all that is wrong about the Church of England – after all, there is quite a lot to choose from!
Sometimes, however, it’s also good to reflect on some of the positives that still exist. For example, as a national church, the CofE still has a voice that carries some weight in a way that other denominations do not. Thus, in recent discussions about the migrant crisis at Calais and its effect on the UK, the Bishop of Dover was on hand to offer a much needed Christian comment on how we view those seeking to come here.
Myanmar: the tide is rising
Peter Nicholas
Date posted: 1 May 2015
Myanmar’s economy is booming. International investor Jim Rogers says: ‘If you can find ways to invest in Myanmar, you will be very, very rich over the next 20, 30, 40 years.’ In 2012 the military government allowed foreign companies to have 100% ownership of the companies they start in the country.
The economic tide is rising fast. Everyone seems to have a mobile phone. Construction sites, modern hotels and shopping malls are everywhere in Yangon (Rangoon). The Myanmar Times is transitioning from a weekly to a daily edition. Tourists are now free to travel beyond the usual sites of Yangon, Pagan, Mandalay and the beautiful Inlay Lake. Luxury coaches ply the well tarmaced highways. Will the church in Myanmar be able to surf the wave?
Keeping the bookshop sailing
en staff
Date posted: 1 Feb 2015
The high street still provides tremendous opportunities for the gospel
The double award-winning Manna Christian Bookshop in Streatham, South London, opened in 1981.
Christian Aid?
Chris Sugden
Date posted: 1 Apr 2015
Christian Aid Week in May is an established national institution. Thousands of volunteers, including me, drop red envelopes through people’s letter-boxes and collect them at the end of the week. Thousands who never attend church respond generously to appeals to help the most deprived in the world.
Christian Aid began in response to the refugee crisis at the end of the Second World War. It puts into practice the teaching of Jesus to love our neighbours and to obey him in helping the poor, the hungry and the naked. Jesus did not specify that these poor people had to be Christian.
Nones on the rise
Dr James Emery White
Date posted: 1 Jul 2015
Martin Salter interviews Dr James Emery White for en
James Emery White is senior pastor of Mecklenburg Community Church in Charlotte, North Carolina and founder of Serious Times, a ministry which explores the intersection of faith and culture and hosts ChurchandCulture.org. Recently he authored the book The Rise of the Nones about people with no faith.