In Praise of Rosemary – in Praise of Marriage
I thought I’d take a weeks break from the current series “Towards a Theology of Personal Development” to mark a milestone birthday for Rosemary, the love of my life, who turned 70 on Monday. Actually, it isn’t really a break, for nothing develops you in quite the same way as love and marriage – and in a few months we will have been married for 45 years. When I say that, people often congratulate me and I never really understand it. After all, we congratulate people on achieving things that are difficult, or have required great effort, but this has been...
Read MoreRefresh: Reclaiming and Redeeming Gossip…
A couple of my recent posts have looked at words and the power of words. I thought it would be helpful to supplement these with this Refresh post from June 2022 which looked at the possibility of redeeming gossip. To find the fascinating origin of the word gossip – read on… Refresh: Reclaiming and Redeeming Gossip It was a prayer meeting I was at several decades ago. The person praying suddenly asked that God would help James and Jenni (yes, I have changed their names) in their marriage problems, especially after their last major argument which had been overheard by neighbours...
Read MoreTowards a Theology of Personal Development (4): Because the Body is a Temple…
It’s interesting how some Bible verses get emphasised in one era, are then almost forgotten about in the next, before making a bit of a comeback. 1 Cor 6:19-20 fits into this category: “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honour God with your body.” The immediate context is a discussion on sexual immorality, but shortly before Paul was working with a wider canvas that also included theft, greediness, drunkenness, cheating and gossip (v10)....
Read MoreRefresh: When Faith is a Quest…
I’ve met several people who have said words to the effect of: “I would really like to believe, it’s just that I don’t. And even with the best will in the world, that doesn’t seem likely to change. I have so many questions that seem to annoy those who believe. I find people of faith often lack curiosity. But that’s the catch for me. I’m very curious. And I love asking questions. And in the end it seems that I’m just irritating to believers, so I’ve backed away.” This refresh post from Dec 2022 looks at this question. Perhaps in some...
Read MoreTowards a Theology of Personal Development (3): 7 Pointers to Shaping Words as Gifts
As a child I often heard the ditty, “Sticks and stones will break your bones, but words will never harm you.” Much as I loved my childhood, this was an untruth I have had to recognise. Far closer to reality is a sign I saw in military barracks where the Sergeant Major had above his desk, “Sticks and stones will break your bones, but words will kill you!” He also had a philosophy that you shouldn’t say something if you could shout it, and though not all were slaughtered by his words, many were deafened! The power of words is forcefully affirmed in the opening...
Read MoreRefresh: Unbusy, Subversive and Apocalyptic – Three Big Eugene Peterson Words…
I can never get enough of Eugene Peterson, so this post was always going to make it to the Refresh page. Perhaps you can shape some time to explore how subversive you could be by being unbusy enough to listen to and notice others… Refresh: Unbusy, Subversive, Apocalyptic – Three Big Eugene Peterson Words One of the joys of teaching theology is that I get to engage with many student projects. Some remind me of things I have forgotten, others introduce me to ideas I have not previously considered. At present I am supervising a project which highlights the importance of the work of...
Read MoreTowards a Theology of Personal Development (2): Watching our Thoughts
Ever been lost in thought and had someone ask, “A penny for your thoughts”? Ok, realistically anyone under 60 is not likely to express it this way, but they might well ask, “You look lost in thought. What’s on your mind?” It can be a confronting question. After all, our thoughts are private, and even if we answer the query, we’re likely to edit it a little. I remember once reading that someone was working on a gadget that would give you the ability to know exactly what others are thinking, and my response was “well that’s a fast way to ensure...
Read MoreRefresh: Blending Amish and the 21st Century
With AI racing away and already impacting our lives more than we likely imagined, today’s Refresh from January 2022 has a fresh pertinency. As I re-read it I thought, “Oh yes, this is genuinely important.” So here is a repeat of some thoughts on blending Amish and the 21st century… Refresh: Blending Amish and the 21st century… OK, so I accept some will think this is one of my sillier blog posts, but I recently wondered if it might be possible to navigate life part Amish, part 21st century. Of course a whole lot of qualifiers need to be thrown in, and I realise...
Read MoreDeveloping a Theology of Personal Development (1): Inner Work First
I’m about to start an ambitious project – mapping out a theology of personal development. Now some may scoff that it’s impossible, and that the focus on us each developing to be the best version of our self is a reflection of Western individualism, and that it has little to do with the world of the Bible. In that world, commitment to the communal good quickly transcends individual good. The African concept of ubuntu (I am because we are – or we cannot decide our actions until we have stood in the shoes of the other) is far closer to the biblical ideal. In short, a...
Read MoreRefresh: 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 the area of regret. What are we doing now that we...
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