Refresh: About Church Buildings…
Todays Refresh post originally appeared in November 2015 after a holiday Rosemary and I had just completed in Europe. I think it is well worth a re-read. Refresh: About Church Buildings… A common question of tourists is ‘So what did you see today?’ If they are touring Europe (as Rosemary and I have just done), you are likely to hear the reply, ‘abc’. Lest you have not heard the quip, abc stands for ‘another bloody church’. It is a little ironic that the worlds most secular continent is filled with church buildings – and not just...
Read MoreOn Bringing Little Bits of Happiness: The Value of Micro-Encounters
I was listening to a podcast to pass the 15 minutes that lay ahead on the elliptical trainer. The sentiment expressed was simple, but I thought it worth developing. Whoever the podcaster was (being on the trainer is my excuse for not knowing) said we often think that we only make a difference when we do profound and life changing things. She went on to cite research suggesting that pleasant micro encounters can make a major difference to the happiness of those who experience them. Perhaps that sounds just a touch too theoretical, but she was affirming an important truth. When we smile at a...
Read MoreRefresh: To Strive for Great Things. Is Ambition OK?
Ambition… It’s such a vexed question. This longish Refresh post from 9 Oct 2015 raises some important questions and outlines helpful principles to guide us. Hope you find it helpful… To Strive for Great Things. Is Ambition OK? J. Oswald Sanders starts his classic book Spiritual Leadership by contrasting 1 Tim 3:1 To aspire to leadership is an honourable ambition with Jeremiah 45:5 Are you seeking great things for yourself? Seek them not. There is a creative tension between the two sentiments. Is there a place in the life of a Christ follower for ambition? If you listen to...
Read MoreThe Different Faces of Temptation: A 21st Century Take
I’m part of the preaching team at my home church, Carey Baptist, and this Sunday get to preach on “Temptation”. It sounds like a quaintly Victorian concept, something you really shouldn’t take seriously – after all, one of my favourite chocolates is named “Temptations” and the manufacturer expects me to eat them, not avoid them. Isn’t “temptation” about the fun in life – with only the most dull and drab refusing to dive into all that is on offer? Perhaps, but I’ve enjoyed digging into Matt 4:1-11, the well know passage...
Read MoreRefresh: Churched, Un-Churched and De-Churched
This was a relatively early post on this blog – dating all the way back to Nov 2015 – but continues to be one of the most frequently downloaded. If anything, the topic is even more pertinent a decade later. Churched, Un-Churched and De- Churched If you’re up with the discussions on the future of the church you’ll know that commentators distinguish between people who are un-churched (as in never had any significant contact with a church) and those who are de-churched (as in once were involved, but no more thank you very much). While the church has always worried about those who...
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