On Baptism

I’ve argued elsewhere that the Sunday gathering is for worship, but as the priests gather in the Temple they find that the Lord comes to them. The occasion is worship, but we encounter God as he comes to us. As one of the four ‘events’ when God meets us as we worship him, Baptism is part of… Continue reading On Baptism

The Importance of Tradition

What is the place of ‘the tradition’ in Church life and our theology? Should us new church types even care about the last two thousand years of Church life? I recently read a book about the Lord’s Supper written by a pioneer of the British New Churches back in the 1980s. I agreed and disagreed… Continue reading The Importance of Tradition

Why Read St. Irenaeus?

I’ve spent the last few months working through the works of St. Irenaeus. Which to most readers probably sounds utterly uninteresting. You aren’t going to do that. That’s OK, though if you’re an Elder or Deacon or anything similar I’d like to gently suggest it would be good for you to read some Christians from… Continue reading Why Read St. Irenaeus?

Stories and the meaning crisis

I’ve been reading Charles Taylor’s famous magnum opus, A Secular Age. It’s a monumental achievement that I’ve been chewing over slowly for approaching a year now, though its sheer scope and breadth makes summarising (or critiquing) the argument a challenge. Taylor wants to tell a story about why, five hundred years ago, not believing in… Continue reading Stories and the meaning crisis