word | spirit | world | church
In Mark chapter 10 we encounter a famous story about a rich young ruler who thinks he keeps the commandments but find Jesus’ demand that he leave behind his wealth to follow him burdensome. Hidden away at the very end of the story are these strange promises from Jesus: Peter began to say to him,… Continue reading My Hundred Homes
The Bible often compares churches to buildings (e.g. 1 Peter 2). Which can sometimes sound a little odd on ears brought up on the resounding cry that the “church is the people not the building.” I appreciate that we probably needed the refrain, I live in a country dotted with beautiful relics of ancient churches.… Continue reading Renovating the Church
There’s a principle in the Bible that’s foreign to our Protestant intuitions. When the people of Israel were dramatically saved by the Lord, they built a monument. Or at least, sometimes they did. The two famous examples would be at Gilgal in Joshua 4 or at Ebenezer in 1 Samuel 7. In Joshua 4 the… Continue reading A monument of gift
Last week I moved a lot of sand. We laid a patio out the back of our dining room and dug out and concreted the path down the side of our house. I hit a lot of things with a mattock—which I like telling people because I like the way the word ‘mattock’ sounds in… Continue reading Sand
Two years ago, you might have approached the pink house with its purple garage door and knocked wondering at the riot of colour you would have been greeted with inside. Instead, as you open the door it would clash loudly on another door within, the two of them too close together to be opened. “Come… Continue reading Crossing a threshold
Dust hung in the air. My skin was rough from living in this house for so long. The taste thick at the back of my mouth, though I was getting used to it. Somehow that was the scary bit. It was brick dust, the one with the thicker, grittier texture and almost biscuity taste: dry… Continue reading Dust
When Helen and I were first married we bought a second-hand dining table from a friend. It was a square IKEA table that extended to seat six just about, or ten if you were feeling optimistic. We developed a habit of stuffing people around the table because we didn’t have the room to do otherwise.… Continue reading A table is an ark
Christianity is practiced around the table. Maybe you’re hearing the call to increase your hospitality, but your house makes it hard. I can imagine, we lived in a building site for over a year as we slowly renovated our house through the pandemic. There are two answers to this: 1) we’re trying too hard, and… Continue reading When hospitality is hard
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