Articles, thoughts, essays, and content from Brian as well as students – our budding theologians.
Seeing Through Another’s Eyes
It was one of the odder conversations I’ve had. We had just moved to New Zealand and were in a temporary house while the church manse we were to stay at was being finished. Being new, I wanted to get to know our neighbors and seeing the one on our left hand side in his yard, I popped my head over the fence to say hello. He was very friendly and showed interest in who I was and where I was from. I felt welcomed and as though we could become friends. And then a strange thing happened. “This is such a perfect country” he said. “And it...
read moreWhen the Mountain is You: Three Habits that Lead to Self-Sabotage
Most of us (and I include myself here) are instinctive blamers. When something goes wrong, it’s obvious whose fault it is. It’s theirs, and if it wasn’t for them, life would be so much better. The trouble is that every now and then we realise that that simply isn’t true. It is alleged that when asked the question “What’s wrong with the world?” the great G.K.Chesterton replied “I am”. You’ve completely missed the point if that makes you think we should blame Chesterton for everything!...
read moreOn Turning 69…
My long term readers will know that as the 13th of July approaches I write a reflection on turning a year older. It’s part of my attempt to follow the instruction of Ps 90:12 “Teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom”. And yes, a day after this post appears it is my birthday, a full 69 years since I gave my first wail on the 13 July 1957. Relax, no presents are required, but good wishes are always welcome! While getting older is sobering, it has many genuinely pleasing features. Increasingly people...
read moreOn Searching Your Heart: Reflections on Psalm 4:4
Recently I have been taking time to reflect more deeply on a few verses of scripture that have spoken to me. The latest is Psalm 4:4 “when you are on your beds, search your hearts and be silent”. I love the “and be silent” at the end. In other words, search your hearts, but don’t be super defensive. Don’t rush to a thousand excuses for why this is. Search your heart and sit with what you find. Think about it. Let it challenge you. Would you like what you find to be different? If so, what might you need to...
read moreTo be Known and Remembered: Reflections on Psalm 103:14
Sometimes a verse from the Bible jumps out at me and I know I need to journey with it. I’ve always loved Psalm 103, but verse 14 recently spoke to me in a fresh way: “for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust.” Immediately before the Psalmist had reassured us “As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him” (v13). While there is some Hebrew parallelism at play in “he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust” when the poet...
read morePermanence, Pervasiveness and Agency: Three Questions that help to get things into perspective
The old ditto goes “Two men looked out through prison bars, the one saw mud, the other, stars”. I have always been intrigued by the very different responses people have to the same situation. What is a catastrophe for one, is an exciting adventure for another, what leads to a response of indifference from one person, sees another almost besides themself with indignation. While the difference in people’s responses is interesting, I have come to realise that far more is at stake. Some responses are life serving and lead to...
read moreOn Beauty, Tragedy and New Possibilities…
Being in a brief nomadic phase, the final touches still being added to our new home, we decided a trip to Tasmania was in order. It’s been a great decision. I’ve only been here once before, and that was on a speaking tour which allowed limited time to explore the natural beauty. For Rosemary it is a first time visit. Each day has been filled with “wow”, “wow” and “wow” again. The natural beauty of Tasmania has to be seen to be believed, and I’m saying that during a winter visit, the time it’s least...
read moreOn saying goodbye to a loved home…
As I write, our home packers are filling boxes and blanketing furniture. Tomorrow the removal van will whisk our earthly goods into storage for a month as we wait for our new home to be completed. When you read this it’s likely that our possessions will be in storage and we will be in our nomadic month, housed courtesy of family, friends and timeshare. Yes, our house (no, our home) of 17 years is sold, and will soon be part of an earlier chapter in our life. True, each ending is also a beginning and Rosemary and I have much to look...
read moreBuilding in a Pause: Observing, Welcoming and Naming as a Path to Spiritual Growth
I’ve spend a fair amount of time thinking about spiritual formation – perhaps not too surprising since I’ve written a book on it (Stirrers and Saints) and have spent most of my life as a pastor or trainer of pastors. Naturally I always point people back to the tried and trusted resources of scripture, prayer, confession, worship, study, service, church involvement and the like. More recently I have been paying attention to what fosters deep inner growth – not simply the change of a few obviously unhelpful behaviours,...
read moreMaking Virtue Virtuous Again…
It would be unnecessary to say that it is good to be good if it weren’t that we are living in such strange times. After all, the world has been so impacted by the message of Jesus that for many centuries we have not questioned the wisdom of his parable of the Good Samaritan. Who is your neighbour and what is the right thing to do? This parable has provided a direct answer. Your neighbour is anyone who needs your help, and you should provide it, even if that person is not part of your in-group and it costs you something. It has been a...
read moreDesign, Discipline and Delight: The D’s that Drive Difference
You’ve probably heard that discipline is one of the most accurate predictors of long term success. And it is – especially if it is the resilient kind of discipline that accepts that life has its disappointments and lows, and that not everything runs to plan. Having the resilience and discipline to persevere during those times is crucial, and without them people give up too easily, and then wonder why their longed for dream does not materialise. How do we get this kind of discipline? Opinions vary. Many of them are of the...
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