Managing Monday: With some help from Augustine
This February we have been trying to manage Monday with some insights from Augustine of Hippo (354-430) – perhaps the churches greatest theologian. Here are three more quotes. My advice (for what it is worth…), don’t gobble them too quickly – taste one at a time and let the import sink in… There is no saint without a past, no sinner without a future Beware of despairing about yourself; you are commanded to place your trust in God, and not in yourself. The church is the traveller’s inn where the wounded are healed....
Read MoreWhen singleness is a gift…
With Valentine’s day falling on a Sunday this year, many churches will use it as an opportunity to celebrate love, marriage and relationships. And fair enough. But in this post I would like to be a little counter intuitive and invite us to think about the singles in our midst. For some, Valentines day can feel like anything but a celebration. Not that we should fall into the trap of thinking that every single person would prefer to be in a relationship. Many are happily and intentionally single – and really wouldn’t want it any other way. For others, it is the way things...
Read MoreMessy church, messy mission…
You might know that in addition to my role as principal of Vose Seminary, I serve as the pastor at large and chair of the board at Carey – a school and church planting movement which by providing excellent community services wins the right to speak into the lives of thousands of people who would otherwise have no church contact. Sunday was our annual commissioning service – a wonderfully celebratory event, especially as the staff from our newly opened Forrestdale School were present, as were many of the staff from our fairly recently opened Timber Café (the rest were busy working...
Read MoreManaging Monday: A little extra Augustine…
Last week we had a taster of 3 Augustine of Hippo (354-430) quotes. Here are the next 3. Hope they help you manage Monday… From Augustine… Patience is the companion of wisdom What does love look like? It has hands to help others. It has the feet to hasten to the poor and needy. It has eyes to see misery and want. It has the ears to hear the sighs and sorrows of men. That is what love looks like. Take care of your body as if you were going to live forever: and take care of your soul as if you were going to die...
Read MoreAdam raised a Cain: When our children break our heart…
Don’t know if you are familiar with the Bruce Springsteen classic, Adam Raised a Cain, with its haunting closing lines, ‘Lost but not forgotten, from the dark heart of a dream, Adam raised a Cain.’ For those less familiar with the biblical story behind these lyrics, the song explains it in these words, In the Bible Cain slew Abel And East of Eden he was cast, You’re born into this life paying, for the sins of somebody else’s past. They are tough lines… Sin enters the world through Adam. It impacts his children, and one outcome is that his firstborn son...
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