word | spirit | world | church
In the last year I’ve read three different Christian self-help books. I wasn’t a particularly big fan of any of them, but they all came recommended by someone I trust, and they all had things I appreciated about them. There was wisdom in each and every one. I’m comfortable reading books I disagree with or… Continue reading On Biblicism
Christianity is practised, and practiced, around the table. The table is one of our central metaphors for everything we do, and its around the table that we learn how to be disciples. We need more tables. We need more time around the table. Jesus ate with people all the time, they said of him that… Continue reading Around the table
As I write this American Baptists are tearing each other apart over a complex set of ideologies and academic approaches collectively called “Critical Race Theory” and often abbreviated as CRT. By the time you read this—I am committed to the idea of cold takes—I would not be surprised if they were still devouring one another… Continue reading Plundering the Egyptians
In my day job I like metrics. I’ve got a bit of a reputation for it. In a certain meeting I’ve uttered the phrase “that’s not a metric” often enough that some people look and wait for me to say it whenever a way of measuring success is suggested. In most of the jobs I’ve… Continue reading Measuring Success
For you know how, like a father with his children, we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.1 Thessalonians 2:11–12 I am not a man naturally given to encouragement. If you were being polite… Continue reading On Encouragement
We have been told that Covid-19 is the “great leveller” as plague puts us all in the same position, reduces our power and places us at the mercy of tiny particles. As many commentators have pointed out, this has been demonstrably false. Covid disproportionately affects ethnic minorities, the poor, the elderly and those with a… Continue reading The Exposer
#representationmatters We’re confronted with the idea everywhere: we need to see more diverse faces and hear from more diverse voices in our media so that all of us feel that we are ‘represented’. This tends to focus on groups who have been historically marginalised or who continue to have or be perceived as having less… Continue reading Representation matters
The bright spring day of April’s heatwave lasted for about five months, a single timeless moment. We were locked down due to Covid-19 from March through to June, and then with schools closed until September those who could continued to work from home. I lived without rhythm. My work was at home on my laptop,… Continue reading The Rhythm of Rest
“When I caught Gerald in ‘68 he was completely wild.” “Wild? I was absolutely livid!” There’s a cliché that abounds in evangelical spaces that you can’t “put God in a box”. Well, no. If we’re feeling particularly clever with ourselves, we might then quip that “someone tried that, it didn’t end well.” Quite. I haven’t… Continue reading The wildness of God
We like justice. Our nation cries for it, our discourse is all about it, and Generation Z in particular perceive justice as the highest good. The Bible doesn’t disagree. Justice is good, and God is Just. In fact, justice is fundamentally good news. There is a day coming when all the evil in the world… Continue reading Justice starts here
nuakh 