When you can’t unfriend…
I don’t know what your relationship with Facebook is like, but on the whole, mine is pretty good. It’s introduced me to over 2000 friends, the majority of whom I didn’t know before, and they often like or share my posts, introduce me to new concepts or generally enrich my life. On rare occasions a few have proved troublesome – some trying to offer me services I definitely don’t want, others being rude about things I had said in ways that showed they were playing to another audience and yet others linking me to long tag lists which implied that I supported...
Read MoreKnowledge or Wisdom?
I chair the academic board of an Australian University College and at a recent board meeting we were discussing “the democratisation of knowledge”, which is a lovely little expression noting that information is now readily available to almost anyone. It’s simply true. I have been lecturing in class and said something like “that happened in 1827 – or was it 1828” and in less than 30 seconds I will have a student say, “Actually it was 1826 , the 4th of May 1826 to be precise – I’ve just checked on Google.” Mercifully most of my...
Read MoreCounting our more complicated blessings…
You’ve probably been taught to count your blessings. It’s good advice. When we count them we usually discover there are far more than we initially imagined, and it is certainly more refreshing to be in the presence of a grateful person than one who feels cheated and bitter. But what are we to make of what William Sloan Coffin has called “our more complicated blessings”? The expression is found in a challenging prayer from Riverside Church which Gil Rendle cites in his excellent new book on leadership, Quietly Courageous (2019) p11. Here is an excerpt from it: And, grant us to count our more...
Read MoreColliding Truths: Living with Paradox
Back in 2006 I published an article Colliding Truths: Embracing Paradox in Ministry in the British journal Ministry Today. Ten years later, I think that most of the points remain relevant, so here, with just a few minor changes and updates, is that essay. While the focus is on how pastors deal with colliding truths and paradox, I think that the relevance is far wider than for those who are pastors, and am sure that with just a little imagination you will be able to transfer the insights to your setting. I can still remember him saying it. It seemed mildly amusing at the time. “And the ninth...
Read MoreIs Cross Carrying Passé?
After preaching I am often asked for a copy of my notes, so I thought I would place them on the blog – well some, at any rate. Here is the text of the message I preached at Carey today. It is part of a series on the portrait of Jesus that emerges from Matthew’s gospel, and this sermon is based on Matt 10, focusing on verses 34-42. As always feel free to use it in any way you like, though if you do reproduce it in some form, it would be nice if you would credit the source as brianharrisauthor.com Hope it’s helpful… Is Cross Carrying Passé? Have you ever wondered what...
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