I'm sure it's not just rose-tinted nostalgia - but I don't remember my own teenage years being quite so angst-ridden as what I see going on now.
Of course, I had all the same things to deal with as everyone has always had:
It's annual appraisal week here at The Good Book Company. That yearly chance for staff to get together with their managers to talk about how things are going. We're a friendly bunch. There are rarely any major problems. But I like to do well in my appraisal so when, in a doctor's waiting room, I saw an article on making progress in your job, I thought I'd have a read.
"In today's employment market, where competition to get a job, hold onto it and get promoted is tougher than ever, it's important you learn to use your wiles to stay on top" it began. A slightly more ambitious tone than I generally adopt but I was still interested in its advice. How did it continue? To stay on top you should do 7 things:... continue reading
Having started up and pastored a new “plant service”, aiming to reach an unreached demographic; and now being a “punter” in a young church plant, I’ve fallen into all these traps, one way or another… (by the way, I'm assuming that the plant is Christ-centred, and Bible-preaching. Obviously, the biggest pitfall is not to preach Christ from His word, relying on His Spirit!)
1. Forgetting what you're doing
A church plant is a kingdom-building project; a new structure of bricks in the only building that will last forever (1 Peter 2 v 4-6). Every week a new church meets is a miracle of God’s grace. Every new believer or growing believer is a result of God’s mercy. Church planting is hard, can be lonely, is often slow work. It’s easy to forget what it is that is happening when a new church begins in an area, or reaching a section of society, that hasn’t heard the gospel for years, decades, centuries, or ever. In 200 years, what you do for, with and in that church (whether a pastor or a pew-sitter) will still matter. What else do you want to do with your life?... continue reading
It was cold; I was tired; so I gave in and jumped on a bus. It was packed (clearly everyone else had the same idea). Standing room only. Most were glued to their phones—texting, tweeting, surfing and occasionally even phoning. But then I tuned in to a conversation behind me. Someone was witnessing to the stranger beside him. Brave.
I couldn’t see either of them, so drew a picture in my mind as I listened.
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As human beings we don’t always do a great job at helping ourselves. Whether that’s battling sin, organizing our priorities, taking the exercise we need to stay healthy or keeping our finances under control, all too often we make our lives harder than they need to be.
In an idle moment (or, if I’m honest, a moment in which I was avoiding doing something far more important) I logged on to Twitter and typed in #ownworstenemy. And it seems I’m not the only person to have noticed this trend! Whether it’s a rant about a favourite football team failing to defend and haemorrhaging goals; a student’s plaintive cry that they’ve left reading War and Peace until the night before the seminar or a diet gone astray after the latest trip to the doughnut shop, there’s a whole world of people out there who seem to be shooting themselves in the foot on a regular basis.... continue reading
Cert: 12A
Out now
In the near future, Frank, a retired burglar, is becoming increasingly forgetful. His family, worried that he's going senile, buy Frank a robot helper. At first, Frank is very resistant to any technological assistance... until he realises that a conscience-free robot could help resurrect his unlawful career in burglary.
This is a very unusual movie. It's a science-fiction film yet the world is very similar to ours, with a few notable advances in technology. It's a film about family relationships and yet they mostly don't seem to care very much for each other. It's a film about an ex-con and yet he doesn't seem to regret or repent of his unlawful past. Most of all it's a film that heart-breakingly details a man struggling with the onset of old age and a failing mind.... continue reading
A great 5-minute video on the importance, the privilege and the challenges of rural ministry.
I got up early this morning keen to get out of the house, on the road and into the office to start work.
Tea made, lunches prepared for daughters, dog fed, Bible read. So far so good.
Then it started to go wrong.
The delivery man with the weeks' shop was late. I would normally set my watch by him at 7am on the dot. But today no explosion of barking from dog at the expected moment. Just silence. When he arrives with apologies, it all takes too long to sort out.... continue reading
This weekend a magazine insert caught my eye. I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a leaflet widely distributed before. It was a leaflet from an organization which offers assisted-suicide services at their premises in Switzerland.
It is not news that some diseases in this fallen world bring terrible suffering. Nor is it a surprise that human beings wish to escape the pain that can come with terminal illness. Few of us relish the thought of long-term agony. And as I read the featured story, I did have some empathy for the British woman planning to end her own life. I have sat with relatives at the end of their lives and a peaceful death is certainly easier to cope with – for both patients and relatives – than a traumatic one. But as I read the leaflet (and subsequently browsed the website) I was repeatedly struck by just how the much the literature differs from a biblical view of life.... continue reading
