Refresh: Churched, Un-Churched and De-Churched
This was a relatively early post on this blog – dating all the way back to Nov 2015 – but continues to be one of the most frequently downloaded. If anything, the topic is even more pertinent a decade later. Churched, Un-Churched and De- Churched If you’re up with the discussions on the future of the church you’ll know that commentators distinguish between people who are un-churched (as in never had any significant contact with a church) and those who are de-churched (as in once were involved, but no more thank you very much). While the church has always worried about those who...
Read MoreMissing You: Gaps that aren’t Filled when People Leave…
I came across a beautiful poem by Irish poet Dennis O’Driscoll entitled simply, Missing God. It’s about the societal drift away from God and all the things we lose in that journey. One verse reflects on how different civil marriage ceremonies feel as they avoid words like “everlasting” and “divine”: Miss Him during the civil weddingwhen, at the blossomy altarof the registrar’s desk, we wait in vainto be fed a line containing wordslike “everlasting” and “divine”. If society misses the signs of the Divine it once paid close attention to, it’s also true...
Read MoreAspirational or Actual: Navigating the Gap…
Do you have a picture of an ideal you? What does it look like? My ideal me is wise, kind, loyal, energetic, creative, courageous, prophetic, pastoral, thoughtful, engaged, pure, free, mindful, generous, funny, impacting, sensitive, inclusive, affirming, joyous, hopeful, positive, smart, informed, full of faith and at least a dozen other hopelessly optimistic adjectives and adverbs. He also has the looks and strength of a 30 year old with the insight gained from 80 whirls around the sun. On my better days I am a few of these – but then there are more ordinary days, as well as downright...
Read MoreBecause You are Called…
Through some slightly unusual circumstances I’ve been asked to preach on the same topic (at different churches) for a few weeks in a row. The topic? “Called”. Or “Because you are called”. Perhaps you could say I’ve been called to preach on being called – but perhaps that’s trying to be too smart. I love the idea behind “called”. It presupposes two really important things. One – that there is a caller, and two, that this caller notices us – notices us enough to call us. Both make a radical difference to the way we are...
Read MoreWhen Church is Beautiful…
I don’t know if you have ever left a church service thinking, “Wow – that was beautiful – really beautiful.” Given the bad press the church often gets, I can imagine some of the cynical comments that could be forming, but why not put them on hold, and listen to the experience I’ve had the last two Sundays – when I’ve left the same smallish church both weeks thinking, “that was beautiful – really beautiful.” A quick disclaimer. I was the preacher both weeks. “Ha, ha, you say – you don’t think that might have...
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