One of the criticisms I sometimes received during my last stint as a pastor, was that I wasn’t encouraging enough. Ouch! I certainly wanted to be an encourager. I thought I was. I tried to be, but from time to time the criticism came up This criticism often went alongside the more positive observation that […]
I have now done 9 months “cold turkey” without preaching. I didn’t expect it to be this long. It is officially the longest I have gone without preaching since I began as a pastor in 2000. Anyway, it has been good for me to be a listener instead. On top of sermons at my local […]
I recently heard Dr Ian Paul speak on the subject “Has Preaching Had its Day?”. It’s a really interesting listen, and I recommend you take a bit of time to listen and consider it. In his presentation, Ian presents seven objections to the preaching as we know it. He then responded to them. The first […]
Everyone’s got an opinion. Whether it’s climate change, Trump, Israel, or just about any hot potato of an issue, our social interactions are coloured by the positions we take. Social media has only made us more adept at publishing our opinions for the world to see, and I’m certainly not immune to that. All of […]
Earlier this year I officiated the funeral service of a young woman in our church who had committed suicide. She was in her 20s and had a young family—a husband, a 7-month old daughter and a 2-yr old son. After the birth of both her children she had severe post-natal depression, with the second time […]
(This post first appeared on Candour) Lam 3:19-23 19 I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall. 20 I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me. 21 Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: 22 Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions […]
(This first appeared on Viv’s blog in early March 2017) The summer holidays are a chance to worship away from home and experience a different congregational culture and worship style. This year the services we attended offered a smorgasbord of worship and preaching, and the chance to meet some genuine and friendly people. But the […]
They say there are two kinds of preaching… comforting the afflicted, and afflicting the comfortable. Most preachers will admit that they tend to specialise in one or the other. I like to afflict the comfortable. If I didn’t discipline myself otherwise, I would probably preach this way 90% of the time. I seem to have […]
Lord save us from boring sermons! Boring sermons tend to be dry or trite. Dry sermons assert ideas about God but don’t connect with real life (“So What?” sermons). Trite sermons address life’s struggles, but stay on the surface and offer easy answers (“Yeah Right!” sermons). A good sermon connects the head with the heart, […]
In August-September 2017 I am taking a group of about 35 students and friends from Carey to Israel and Palestine to walk over ancient sites, to read text in context, and to meet afresh the historical Jesus. Last year I went there on sabbatical and I became convinced (that wasn’t hard!) that I wanted to […]
