Managing Monday with John Stott
Several years after his death, the ministry of John Stott (1921-2011) continues to impact many people, most commonly through his writing, with his classic Basic Christianity, his profound study The Cross of Christ and the deep insight shown in I Believe in Preaching, continuing to win him new fans. Stott was one of the key authors of the 1974 Lausanne Covenant, which continues to shape evangelicalism. Here are some of his insights… The Gospel is good news of mercy to the undeserving. The symbol of the religion of Jesus is the cross, not the scales. John Stott Humility before God is...
Read MoreManaging Monday with T.S.Eliot – Take 2
Ever since studying Murder in the Cathedral during my school years, I have been a bit of a T.S.Eliot fan. For those not familar with his work, Eliot (1888-1965), who identifed himself as an Anglo-Catholic, was one of the most significant poets and playwrights of the twentieth century. In 1948 he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. Here is a second taste of some of his many reflections… Anxiety is the handmaiden of creativity. T.S.Eliot The purpose of literature is to turn blood into ink. T.S.Eliot Time you enjoyed wasting is not wasted time. T.S.Eliot Only those who risk going...
Read MoreManaging Monday with T.S.Eliot
Ever since studying Murder in the Cathedral during my school years, I have been a bit of a T.S.Eliot fan. For those not familar with his work, Eliot (1888-1965), who identifed himself as an Anglo-Catholic, was one of the most significant poets and playwrights of the twentieth century. In 1948 he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. Here is a tiny taste of some of his many reflections… Where is the life we have lost in living? Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge? Where is the knowledge we have lost in information? T.S.Eliot To do the useful thing, to say the courageous...
Read MoreManaging Monday with George Herbert – Take 2
George Herbert (1593-1633) was a Welsh born Anglican priest, theologian, poet and orator. Though he was only 39 when he died, he accomplished an extraordinary amount in his life (including a brief stint in the Parliament of England in 1624 and 1625). While a priest remembered for his genuine care of his parishioners, he struggled with his call to ministry, reflected in one of his most famous poems The Collar which concludes with the words, But as I rav’d and grew more fierce and wilde At every word, Me thoughts I heard one calling, Child! And I reply’d, My Lord. For a second week...
Read MoreChurch: From Members to Attenders…
Language reflects the way we think about things, and with that in mind I was struck when someone recently claimed that it has only been in the last 50 years or so that Christians have spoken about “going to this church” or “attending this church”. For the many hundreds of years before that, they would have said “I belong to this church”or “I am a member of this church”. If the claim is true (and I suspect it is) it’s an interesting change – from members to attenders. Think through the implications… Attenders are primarily...
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