The Case for Mercy…
I have been working my way through the Beatitudes and surprised myself by pausing for longer than usual at the 5th: “Blessed are the merciful for they will be shown mercy” (Matt 5:7). Why surprised? Well I’ve always assumed this one was not a struggle for me. I’m not a vindictive person and I deeply understand that life is often not easy and that it’s not uncommon for people to make decisions they later deeply regret. I’m more than sympathetic in such situations and am willing to give people a second or even third chance. So there you go. I am merciful, and I could conclude that this...
Read MoreRecovering Awe…
In an age where fairly ordinary experiences are described as “awesome” (“awesome movie”, “awesome meal”) there is a risk that we trivialise awe away. To confuse the mildly pleasing with awe is an issue, especially when it leaves us unobservant of that which should truly leave us in silent, speechless wonder. I’ve had a few awe struck moments in the last week, largely because I was able to get down south to the beachside resort of Dunsborough. There were times when I was on the beach alone, a vast ocean ahead of me. I had the strangest sensation of...
Read MoreRemembering and Hope…
We live in an era of chronological snobbery, where only the most current is seen to be worthy of attention. Often we judge the past too severely, assuming every tool at our disposal was available to earlier generations and forgetting how much they did with so much less than we have. While I am convinced that we should look more to the future than to the past, it is possible to push that too far. After all, one of the most frequent cries in scripture is “remember”, and to forget to remember is too risk misunderstanding the part we are called to shape and play in the ongoing story...
Read MoreBecause Place Matters…
I still remember the lines from Paul Tournier’s book, A Place for You, “Basically I have always been looking for a place. A place to call home.” Tournier writes at the interface between faith and psychology and insightfully explores the importance of belonging and knowing that there is a place for you. Place might be a psychological zone, but often it is a physical one – the tangible contours of a garden or a familiar chair that is left open for you. In my last post I explored Wolterstorff’s idea that Shalom (or Flourishing) is made up of 4 large blocks –...
Read MoreWhat does it mean to flourish?
It’s become a bit of a catch word – one you find in vision and mission statements which commit to building flourishing communities of hope or whatever. It’s a noble and inspiring sentiment, but what does it mean to flourish? We could immediately dash to definitions. Depending on your source, you will be told that to flourish is to prosper, to thrive, to be in a state of activity or production. If you go to the Greek philosophers you might well come out at Aristotle and his idea of eudaimonia (roughly translated as flourishing) by which he was pointing to the life well...
Read MoreChurch-Lite
Let’s face it. If you say the word “church” a less than enthusiastic response is likely to follow. True, there are some glorious exceptions, but by and large those who have never been part of a church tend to express views that have been shaped by the press coverage the church has been receiving (almost uniformly bad), while those who have often launch into a story of feeling let down, disappointed or even betrayed. Many will tell you that they now embrace a churchless faith, one which is real but which effectively says “Jesus yes, church, no!” Others will tell...
Read MoreBecause time matters…
If you’re like me, there never seems to be enough time and you often wonder if you can manage it better. And the truth is that most of us could – and if you follow these seven principles you probably will. But here’s the thing. I saved myself a wad of time by getting chatGPT to write this post for me. Lest you haven’t been keeping up with the news, chatGPT is an extraordinarily powerful AI tool which is taking the internet by storm and leaving educators anxiously asking about the future of assessment as it churns out sophisticated essays, poems and answers to classic...
Read MoreWhen we are Generous: A Counter-Cultural Difference
I’m finishing this brief series on the counter-cultural difference being a follower of Jesus makes by adding to the list of gratitude and providing a non-anxious presence that of being generous. Now I realise that some had hoped I would come out swinging against prevailing attitudes to things like sex and sin and sobriety, but I wanted to shift from passive morality to more active virtues… we are different through active gratitude, through actively leaving a sense of quiet confidence in the goodness of God and through being actively generous. Why generous? It is seriously simple....
Read MoreCounter-culturally non-anxious
To be clear this counter-cultural series is not an exercise in “them and us” with “them” being awful and “us” being amazing. But it is an attempt to dig into the Jesus difference that often becomes apparent in the lives of those who take up the invitation to be a disciple of Jesus the Christ. The last post explored being counter-culturally grateful, this one looks at being non-anxious, or perhaps more accurately, managing the anxiety we have in the light of our faith in Jesus. In short, following Jesus can make a difference to the way we face and work with...
Read MoreCounter-culturally Thankful: From Entitlement to Gratitude
If I had a dollar for every time I’ve heard someone say that Christians need to step up and be counter-cultural – well, I’d be rich enough to help fund multiple mission organisations. Trouble is, the way it’s said often sounds so very like the culture it is supposed to counter. You know what I mean? Sweeping statements made about villainous others whose motives are entirely suspect – they are the enemy. And then there is the aggression with which it is spoken, as well as the demand for complete agreement with the stance taken. There are also the over...
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