Something profound to say

For some reason I feel challenged to write here again, although I am not sure I have very much to say. I am in the middle of writing a literature review for my MA, and am taking some of the writings of Jürgen Moltmann as my subject. I am thoroughly enjoying the subject, although finding [...]

Old conversation, new direction?

I’ve taken some time out for reflection and study this week and have been very encouraged in the process. It is always true that the greatest learning happens in interaction, and I have been grateful this week for a series of thought-provoking interactions with a number of people. The holiness/mission question won’t go away in [...]

Nouwen on Lent

It’s been a while since my last post, for a variety of reasons: time, priorities and not having very much to say. I have also been rethinking some of my attitudes to blogging and the whole social networking phenomenom. However, as we come up to the second Sunday in Lent something written by Gordon over [...]

Easter Eggs

I am not the first person to take a photo like this, but as I was grocery shopping this evening in our local supermarket I came across Easter Eggs on sale right next to the leftover Christmas stock. As I pondered on the apparent madness of going straight from Christmas to Easter I was reminded [...]

The Forgotten Ways

“Alan Hirsch’s seminal work, “The Forgotten Ways,” is a book that demands to be read by anyone trying to make sense of mission in the post Christendom world.” I wrote that first paragraph some months ago, filed the post away in the draft folder, and forgot about it. Having now completed the book and come [...]

Morning Prayers and Epistemology

Caitlin has been full of cold and conjunctivitis all week, and apart from conducting a funeral on Monday afternoon and a few errands yesterday I’ve been home with her. There are times when it is good to have the normal routines and rhythms of life stirred up a little. Whilst I would much prefer Caitlin [...]

Morning Prayers

With barely time to recover from a busy Sunday, Monday morning rolled around again, ahead of a busy day for both of us. Lynley headed up to the hall after dropping Christian off at school for the usual community chaos of our “Meet-In” café, and some pastoral/mentoring discussions scheduled over lunch. She is also having [...]

The Meaning of LYFE

“LYFE isn’t a magic formula, or technique you can pick up and drop at will. It’s about an attitude, a posture towards the Bible, requiring a deep hunger for God and transformation.” (www.lyfe.org.uk) One of the more interesting finds at the Christian Resources Exhibition last week was the Bible Society‘s LYFE toolset. Initially, I was [...]

Christian Spirituality: Five Views of Sanctification (6 of 6)

E. Glenn Hinson explains The Contemplative View with a very helpful, albeit hardly surprising, emphasis on the inner life in which, “Our relationship with God transfuses and informs everything we are doing. Hinson’s definition of contemplation as “loving attentiveness to God” is also helpful but in contrast with the grace-centred Lutheran view, for example, perhaps [...]

Christian Spirituality: Five Views of Sanctification (5 of 6)

Russel P. Spittler provides a thoughtful summary of The Pentecostal View, whilst recognising that this covers a very wide spectrum of opinion. However, I have struggled with his analysis most of all as he insists that speaking in tongues is evidence for the believer’s baptism in the Holy Spirit. Spittler does recognise that not all [...]