As I’ve been surrounding myself with writers from 4th century church life I’ve been struck by a couple of differences between their time and ours: - Emotions: They poured their emotions into right doctrine (eg: Basil claiming that those who don’t get the Deity of the Holy Spirit are ‘excessively stupid’) we look for... Continue Reading →
Reflections on Study Leave 1
I’ve been on study leave for a few weeks now and am making progress, albeit more slowly than I hoped, but enough to make me envious of anyone who gets to do this full time. One of the things I find hard to adjust to is the lack of adrenalin. Most of normal working... Continue Reading →
Visiting church
As I'm on study leave I decided that I would use the opportunity to visit other Baptist Churches in the area. It is rare for me to go to church as an a complete visitor these days but I'm facinated by the questions that go through my mind. I share them, not because they are... Continue Reading →
Walking on sunshine
May half term saw us take the caravan to Haltwhistle, giving plenty of opportunity to visit parts of Hadrian’s wall. The weather was great which made it easier getting out and about. Haltwhistle is a good place to stay because it is part way along the wall, enabling us to visit Housesteads & Birdoswald Roman... Continue Reading →
Warm at Easter
We’ve stayed at the Black Horse Farm Caravan Club site before on our way to or from France; this time we stayed for a few days after Easter. During which time we visited Dover Castle and War time tunnels (a fascinating day out) and walked out along the white cliffs to the old Dover light... Continue Reading →
Cold in Birmingham
I post occasional entries about where we get to on holiday so thought I would post a view site reviews. First our Feb half term trip earlier in the year when it snowed! We stayed at the Chapel Lane Caravan Club site near Birmingham; a site to the usual high standards with lots of... Continue Reading →
Study Leave
I'm on study leave at the moment. The aim is to write up as much of my PhD as possible before the end of July. As a result blog posts might be a bit more erratic for a while.
Leading a river
In an odd moment the other day it occurred to me that leadership in a church is like trying to use stones to change the course of a river. First, in order to use the stones effectively you have to put them in the river. But if you simply pile them up like a... Continue Reading →
Trinity Sunday
Guest post from St Basil for Trinity (letters 236):If we have no distinct perception of the separate characteristics, namely, fatherhood, sonship, and sanctification, but form our conception of God from the general idea of existence, we cannot possibly give a sound account of our faith. We must, therefore, confess the faith by adding the particular... Continue Reading →
Women in leadership 2
Following the letter to the BT I’ve been approached by some who are less certain that women in ministry is a good thing. I can’t easily blog all the reasons why I believe it is important we recognise the call of God on women but I do think that those who disagree need to consider... Continue Reading →
Distinct Reflections 