I know we've now moved on to New Year but this year I experimented with a 'Blue Christmas' event; something I think we might do again in future years. I did it as an opportunity to reflect on Jesus incarnation for those who don't always rejoice at the thought of Christmas, perhaps because of loss,... Continue Reading →
dream of leading a big church?
Last week I shared three reasons big churches keep getting bigger on facebook and wondered how the UK church would be different if 1 in 10 Christians attended a church of over 2000, whether it would be a good thing and what chance there would be of any of them being Baptist? Whether vision or... Continue Reading →
BMS Catalyst LIve: my impressions of #catlive
Yesterday I went to Catalyst Live in Manchester, a new event put together by BMS world mission. The day aimed to help Christian leaders think about the ‘Mission of the Mind’, bringing together speakers with backgrounds in theology, apologetics, science and culture. I’d been a bit wary of an event with so many different speakers... Continue Reading →
Larger Churches leaders gathering
It was great to attend this earlier in the week, an annual gathering facilitated by BUGB for team leaders from the Union’s ‘larger’ churches. It’s encouraging to spend time with people who do a similar role to me, who face similar challenges and struggles, without feeling the need to apologise. [It is a strange quirk... Continue Reading →
A bank which wants to say yes
I had an idea the other day whilst thinking about Baptist life (though it could be applied more widely). Why not start a ‘bank’ whose purpose was to loan money to projects which might not pay back but which need money to get something started. OK ‘bank’ may be the wrong word, but words like... Continue Reading →
UK Christians sexist?
There's an interesting debate opening on the web about the question, 'are UK Christian conferences sexist'? It started off when Rachel Held Evans in the US challenged the organisers of the NINES conference on twitter, (a summary of the tweets are on storify ) which has then prompted some UK folk to look at what... Continue Reading →
Christians and new media #cnmac13
My twitter feed has been filled today with comments from #cnmac13 the Christian new media awards and conference. I’d wanted to go but lack of time and an unwillingness to pay £100 in rail fares got the better of me. Conferences like this bring out the good and the bad in us. Do we really... Continue Reading →
Keeping perspective in church needs distance
One thing I’ve noticed about being a minister is that the longer you are in a church the harder it is to separate your own thoughts about the church situation from your own sense of identity. In the early day’s it easier to see things because you approach them with fresh eyes; though you have... Continue Reading →
New(ish) worship songs
As part of our autumn preaching plan 'touches of heaven' we have also set about learning some new songs for use in worship. Since I've not had time to blog anything reflective this week I thought I'd share some video clips of the songs we've learnt. It's not exactly a balanced selection of modern hymnody... Continue Reading →
Autumn preaching theme: touches of heaven
September is usually a busy month and this year is proving to be no exception. It is one of two moments in the church year where you get a chance to set a direction and communicate enthusiasm for the journey ahead; but it is also the point where lots of activities restart after the summer... Continue Reading →
Distinct Reflections 