Articles, thoughts, essays, and content from Brian as well as students – our budding theologians.
Post Christmas Pondering…
It is unfortunate that New Year rushes in so quickly after Christmas. No sooner have we finished singing the final bars of ‘O Come, all ye faithful’ than our thoughts gallop forward to the promise of the year ahead. Worthy resolutions quickly spring to mind, and the babe of Bethlehem is tucked away for another year. The basic problem is that we are catapulted into thinking about what we are going to do, rather than being encouraged to spend time thinking about what God has done. Perhaps on this one we should join Orthodox...
read moreA somewhat sobering Christmas…
This is not the Christmas post I planned to write. In my mind, it was going to be jovial, generous, and filled with hope. Indeed, Christmassy. Perhaps I will manage the hope part. Sometimes things change quiet suddenly – like today. I am writing on the 23rd, with Christmas two days out. I set out into the day with gentle confidence and a lightness in my step. My must do list had been reduced to manageable proportions, and I knew that after speaking at our Christmas services on the 24th and 25th, I could contemplate 10 days off. The...
read moreIf Christmas hadn’t happened
A rather harassed looking student popped into my office a while back, claiming a mental block whilst doing an assignment. For some, that’s a permanent condition, but this student is usually pretty diligent, so I was indulgent. I asked what the assignment was about. ‘We’ve got to discuss the relevance of John 1,’ he said, as though it was a remarkable task. Now while I’m not able to recite all Scripture by heart, this is a familiar passage (‘In the beginning was the word…’ for those of you who never won any prizes for Bible memorization). As...
read morePrince of Peace? Really…
Last year I was part of a group finalizing a Christmas preaching series. We decided on the theme ‘Call Him’ and planned to look at a range of names given to Jesus. You know the ones I mean? He shall be called wonderful, counsellor, mighty God, Prince of Peace, Emmanuel and so on. Great names, they rightly inspire and motivate us. I landed up with the ‘Prince of Peace’ title, and dutifully set about planning a message on that topic. It turned out to be stretching. Of course the new atheists would snigger, ‘Jesus. Prince of...
read moreIs there a place for quiet leaders?
In 2013 Paternoster published my book, The Tortoise Usually Wins. It works from the simple thesis that while we often assume that leaders need to be larger than life charismatic figures, the reality often turns out to be different. There is a place for those who are quiet leaders. Sometimes they approach the task of leadership hesitantly, even reluctantly. But they often go on to make a significant difference. Many people have found the book helpful and it has now had a second print run and has also been translated into Indonesian. Here is...
read moreCan good come from conflict? Listening for the Spirit’s voice…
Most of my sermons only get preached once. They serve a particular purpose, and while I file them away, hopeful that they will prove useful on another day, most of them never resurface. Not so with this message. In some ways it is a little sad… a sermon about conflict needing to be preached over and over again. But no point in being silly about it. Conflict often does arise amongst Christians. So here is what I have said about it. If you are in a tricky situation, perhaps it will be helpful in your setting. Actually, sometimes it is...
read moreJournaling: A 4 H approach…
Most of us want to grow spiritually, but aren’t always sure how. One path many find helpful is journaling. I have been using it to varying degrees for over 30 years. My journals have become trusted friends, reminding me of insights I have gleaned, things I have been challenged about, and ways in which God has broken through to me when things seemed bleak. You probably agree that journalling about your journey with God is worth doing, but might be feeling, ‘great idea, but in practice how do I go about doing this?’ First the basics. To...
read moreAbout teaching and learning…
Perhaps you wonder why you are reading this post. ‘I’m not a teacher,’ you say, ‘so teaching and learning really doesn’t have anything to do with me.’ But most of us are teachers of one form or another. We might be raising our children – then, regardless of if we want to be or not, we definitely are teachers. Or we might be responsible for supervising someone in the workplace. Or perhaps we lead a home group, or… you get the point. Teaching does not only take place in those formal settings...
read moreSo what to do? The question of guidance…
I once vowed that I would never preach a sermon on guidance. It was an understandable promise at that time, as my own life seemed complicated and I felt that I had made one poor decision after another. But time marches along, and I realise that while there are no easy answers, it is important to think about the way in which God guides and leads us. So I preached a sermon on guidance a few years ago… nothing earth shattering – just a simple exploration of some tried and trusted principles that have helped guide God’s people...
read moreMirroring God: Implications of the Imago Dei for Pastoral Care
I recently finished teaching an introduction to Pastoral Care course at Vose Seminary. It was a great class, and many thoughtful projects and case studies emerged. One that especially struck me was this essay by Alycia Randell on the implications of our being made in the image of God, for the provision of pastoral care. Alycia is drawing towards the end of a combined BMin/BTh degree at Vose, and together with her husband Peter is engaged in pastoral ministry in Mandurah. I thought that this fine essay more than justified Alycia being...
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