Today I read the following article, which underlines the idea that demographically, it seems the USA is catching up the UK. Perhaps, however, as more and more people conclude it is no longer “cool” to attend Church, what we are already seeing on both sides of the Atlantic is that those who choose to stay are taking their faith commitment more seriously. The church will of course survive this downturn as it has every other before. “The number of Americans... Read more
It is of great encouragement to me that an idea that is both in many ways rather unremarkable, and yet sadly seems quite revolutionary, is gaining traction in many different places. This is simply the plan that we should befriend, serve, listen to, and generally too good to people from other faiths and none, whilst all the time making clear we still believe what we do. In a way it is simply a restating of old principles like “freedom of... Read more
This post represents the confessions of someone who struggles to know how to pray but is learning. If I was given a few pounds or dollars (I don’t take euro’s!) every time over the last few decades I have said I want to improve my prayer life I would be a rich man. But I would be much richer still if I had been given money for the times I had either forgotten to pray, or perhaps worse, had remembered... Read more
Legalism is possibly more dangerous than liberalism, so fight for grace! Grace is absolutely foundational to the Christian walk, and should be a massive emphasis for us, as anybody who has been around this site for a long time, or for that matter a church belonging to the family of churches I am glad to be a part of, will most likely realize. The Christian’s relationship to law and grace has been emphasized thanks to the ministry of Martyn Lloyd-Jones who’s excellent work on Romans... Read more
I continue to update the “Top 100 list of Christian blogs ranked by Twitter followers” which looks like it will soon be renamed the Top 200! As well as looking at the list on this site, you can subscribe to it on Twitter, or go through the list there and follow the people that look interesting. I am still looking for any I have missed, but to get into the Top 100 it now seems you need at least 2,000... Read more
This post will encourage you to stop moaning about all the problems with iOS and iPhone 5 maps and instead start doing your bit to help fix Apple Maps and get your church or business listed so people can find you with their iPhone. Millions of people will soon have an iPhone 5. Millions more will upgrade to iOS 6 despite all the coverage about the deficiencies of Apple Maps. The vast majority will not know that there are ways... Read more
I’m not planning today to go through the arguments for and against egalitarianism or complementarianism. I thought instead that as a follow up to my “spectrum” post I would share some of the key Scripture passages that people on both sides of this debate believe are important in our understanding of this debate. If you can think of any other crucial passages I have left out, do let me know in the comments section below, via Twitter, or email. ... Read more
This is another of my “theological spectrum” posts. Previous examples include the arminocalvinist-spectrum, charismatic spectrum, a spectrum on hell and universalism, and an evolutionism-creationism spectrum. With this particular spectrum it is fair to point out that many people and movements have gone on a journey along this spectrum in recent decades. Typically from more “complementarian” to more “egalitarian”. One shouldn’t assume that any individual or movement (including the present author) is still on the same place on this spectrum they once were.... Read more
In this post I will explain why in part I blame Google, TomTom and Yelp! Apple have a well-earned reputation for introducing things that “just work.” Unfortunately, there is no way of denying it, even for an Apple fan-boy, this is not one of those occasions. There is no doubt that the Maps app is beautiful, and that it will surely improve, but at least today, as one writer puts it, the icing is great but there are serious... Read more
As I conclude, this series of posts based on a sermon about joy, we ask what are our reasons to rejoice? This is other than of course the most important reason, that we have been saved, and our glorious God has done so much for us! But at times we all need a gentle prod, so here some good reasons: 1. Joy is commanded Deuteronomy 12:18 says: ‘You shall rejoice before the LORD your God in all your undertakings’. Psalm... Read more
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