Opinion
Business models: great for business but not always good for the church
Business principles can bring us good practice in terms of role descriptions and opportunities for review and encouragement, but they fall short when we are working with people who are giving up their time with no reward other than the great well done of faithful servants.
The Lord's Prayer: some thoughts on how we should understand 'lead us not into temptation'
The change to the Italian Missal controversially replaces "lead us not into temptation" with "do not let us fall into temptation", and it reflects the Pope's concern that the current translation can give people the completely wrong impression of God.
Georgia is protecting the unborn and Hollywood doesn't like it
Netflix is reported to be working with the ACLU to try and legally stop the Georgia law. This is the same Netflix that seems to have no problem with filming productions in some Middle East countries with serious human rights violations.
The Lost Message of Chalke
In 'The Lost Message of Paul', Steve Chalke argues that 'all the old narratives are dead' and that we need a 'new story'. But his new story suffers from some major defects.
What D-Day can teach Brexit Britain
May all the commemorations and celebrations surrounding D Day give us pause for thought as this country embarks once again on the biggest of big decisions about its future destiny.
Trump or King Cyrus: God doesn't always work our way
I can't say "Amen" to the "King Cyrus" parallels but I have to remind myself that God often works in the most mysterious ways - ways that do not always align with what I think are appropriate.
As Boris Johnson is summoned to court, we should all be worried
When you have one rule for the rich and another for the poor, it's not justice.
How can the church communicate God's love to people who have 'switched off'?
As a pastor, I'm only too well aware that fewer and fewer people, particularly young people read the Bible today, and so I'm constantly looking for ways to communicate the sense of purpose, hope and love that they would find in it.
What would a Christian conversation about transgender look like?
A combination of ignorance, prejudice, dogma and hysteria from some quarters and on all sides of the debate, mixed with social media, is a toxic brew. But as Christians we should be able to do better.
From King Saul to milkshakes in a few hundred words
The Israelites found out the hard way that it wasn't really a king they needed.
Does God really love you when the hard times roll in?
Sitting in the cold, sterile doctor's room, the words, "We found a 5cm tumor and it's either cancer or lymphoma" left me bewildered.
Why God uses trees as a metaphor
The metaphor God uses throughout the Bible more than any other might surprise you: trees.
10 challenges that pastors face - and church members need to be aware of
The challenges are not the members themselves, but the capacity to meet all the pastoral needs members have.
War, what is it good for?
Not all war is wrong. Granted, war always tends to produce greater evils than those which precipitated its cause. But to argue all war is wrong â to say that there is absolutely nothing good about it â just isn't true.
A forgotten voice in the Alabama abortion debate
The goal of the new, strict Alabama abortion law is to potentially overturn Roe v. Wade. The law would penalize abortion doctors, and it contains no exception clauses, except for the life and health of the mother.
Why did Jesus heal?
When we look at the healing stories with 21st century Western eyes, we miss so much.