Articles, thoughts, essays, and content from Brian as well as students – our budding theologians.
Refresh: Four Flavours of Regret
I’ve sat in many postmortems, dissecting meetings or events to learn from what went wrong, and to consider repeating what went right. More recently I have been part of a few pre-mortems, predictive meetings where we answer the question, “if something goes wrong, what is it likely to be, and what should we do now to make sure it doesn’t happen?” I now consider it part of responsible planning – thinking ahead of the likely blockers of desired outcomes. I think a pre-mortem is especially important when it comes to...
read moreLooking Inward – Listening Outward: The role of feedback, and it not being all about us…
How do you react when someone gives you some negative feedback? Do you swing into self justification? “Well thank you very much, but actually, this is what you don’t understand…” Or perhaps you go in the opposite direction, taking everything said on board, and then amplifying it, making it far more critical than was ever intended. “Oh I know, I’m really terrible at that. I’m sorry about it. I hope I haven’t made things too difficult for you. I feel awful about it.” Or do you sit with it,...
read moreRefresh: Redeeming Work – Job, Career or Calling
As AI gallops forward, many are wondering about the future of work, and there are many unknowns. This Refresh post originally appeared in Aug 2016, and explores the difference between job, career and calling through a biblical lens. I think it remains relevant in the important conversation which is starting to emerge. Refresh: Redeeming Work – Job, Career or Calling A significant portion of our life is engaged in ensuring that we have a roof over our head and food on the table. Some of us are able to work in such a way that life’s...
read moreWhen Life is Like an Egg… and When it Isn’t.
Not all images work. I wasn’t at all sure that this one would. The speaker was likening life to an egg – not a hard boiled one, long dead and simply waiting to be eaten, but one of those with a fledgling chick inside. As the young bird attempts to come out, it pecks away at the shell from the inside. Recognising how tough the task is, you might well be tempted to lend a hand and give the shell a little tap to break it open and hasten the birds release. Apparently that’s a big no no. If you do, you have almost certainly...
read moreRefresh: When Faith is Aspirational…
The old quip goes, “When all is said and done, far more is said than done.” It’s true. sometimes it works that way in faith as well. We claim huge things… we are set to change the world. But back at the ranch things are a little different. Sometimes faith is more about our aspirations than the reality. What happens then? This refresh post from August 2022 explores this dilemma. Refresh: When Faith is Aspirational… Have you ever asked if we do what we believe, believe what we do, or sit in an uncomfortable space...
read moreOn Turning 68: A bit of an Update…
If you are reading this on the date of its first appearance, 13 July 2025, it’s my birthday. Happy birthday me – all 68 years of me! While 68 is in many ways an annoying age, marking no special milestone (it’s not a zero birthday nor even a “last year in your 60’s” birthday) it feels a little bit special if only because of some recent changes in my life. “What are they?” you ask, while perhaps assuming I will announce the big ‘R’ word. No, it’s not retire, but here are some of...
read moreRefresh: Can Good Come from Conflict? Listening for the Spirit’s voice
Today’s Refresh is a lightly edited version of a sermon I have often preached. I wish the topic had faded into irrelevance, but it hasn’t. How do we find what God is saying to us when we are in battle with one another. Though times and examples change (and this first appeared in 2015), I hope some of the principles are helpful. Refresh: Can 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...
read moreBecause No is just an invitation to a different conversation…
I think it’s Brené Brown who said that “no” is just an invitation to a different conversation. That’s a helpful reminder to dive into opportunity thinking, rather than to assume all is lost when faced with a rejection. But how might this look in practice? There is an intriguing Latin phrase, “numinibus vota exaudita malignis,” which roughly translated means “enormous prayers which heaven in vengeance answered”. Attributed to the Roman poet Juvenal, the idea appears in CS Lewis’ writing on...
read moreRefresh: A Time to Speak – 10 Reasons to Speak Up
Today’s Refresh post is the other side of last weeks. This time we look at not when to be silent, but when to speak up. It’s an important topic, and was first published on the blog in Nov 2015. Refresh: A Time to Speak – 10 Reasons to Speak Up The last post looked at 10 reasons why silence is golden. But there is a flipside. The writer of Ecclesiastes 3 is right. There is a time for everything under heaven… and that includes both a time for silence and a time to speak up. Here are 10 signs that it is the time to...
read moreBecause grief is love with no place to go…
I’m not certain where the obscure title of today’s post comes from (it’s often attributed to Jamie Anderson) but I’ve been pondering it ever since I heard it as a throw away comment in the wonderful Three Pines mystery series. “Grief is love with no place to go”. Profound, isn’t it? I think it is usually accurate. But I also wonder if it can be reframed, so that the love we have within remains life serving – even joyous. Let me try to unpack what I’m thinking… You’ve probably...
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