My formative Christian years were as part of Charismatic, Evangelical churches; either Baptist or ‘New Church’. The sense that God was doing a new thing, the kingdom of God was near was the dominant culture. There were strains of course, and I emerged as someone on the side of being ‘biblical’ rather than just ‘spirit... Continue Reading →
Easypastor.com. Sundays are an event
Sunday worship is in essence a simple affair; a gathering of believers who meet in Jesus’ name. Of course, this desire to meet in Jesus’ name requires more than simply turning up, it suggests a meeting that embodies the character and intentions of Jesus; so when we meet we want to put Scripture at the... Continue Reading →
Lessons from ministry: church meetings don’t work
When I first worked this out it felt like a guilty secret; but over the last six months I’ve seen several comments and articles which show I’m far from alone. Yet, I’m a Baptist Minister so surely I should be committed to this distinctive pillar of Baptist life? But what is it that Church Meetings... Continue Reading →
Easypastor.com. It takes a team
If I’ve learned nothing else from my years in ministry it is that I need a team. Who you need around you varies depending on your own gifts / skills but I need someone (or people) - Worship leader: someone with musicality who can lead the band, lead the congregation in song, choose songs and... Continue Reading →
Lessons from ministry: death of the hunter-gatherer
Early humans were hunter-gathers, a way of life that gave way to agriculture and settled modes of living. But whatever the advances this had for human history, it marks an unfortunate tendency in church life. Bluntly, most churches structure for comfort and stability. We like each other and like what we do, so developing an... Continue Reading →
easypastor.com? ministry is harder than it looks
Whilst being a minister is not that difficult (as my last post indicated) it is also harder than it looks. Over the last few years I’ve come to recognise a few of the reasons why. 1. The demands are relentless. It is not necessarily the volume but the fact that it keeps coming. Emails and... Continue Reading →
easypastor.com ministry is not that difficult
My second lesson from my 7 years in my current role (and 14 as a minister) is that being the minister isn’t as difficult as it looks or is made to sound. You need to manage 10 things, the first three need to be done well, the remainder you have a bit of latitude to... Continue Reading →
Learning from my mistakes?
They say you learn from your mistakes. So in the first of several blog entries looking back on 7 years in my current role (as Senior Minister of Poynton Baptist Church) I’m wondering, 'what have I learned?' 1. My biggest mistake is not to make enough mistakes. There are far more things I thought of... Continue Reading →
Some miscellaneous thoughts on leadership
Over the last month I’ve jotted down a few random thoughts about leadership as I've been musing on what God is calling me to do. 1. Listen and learn as well as lead. We’ve never arrived and never have a monopoly on truth and clear perspective, good leaders need others and pay attention to them.... Continue Reading →
Baptist strands
Pondering contemporary Baptist life in England it seems to me there are three main ways people think of themselves as being Baptist. 1. Convenience: These are groups of churches and ministers who are convenience Baptists; part of the Union because it’s worked OK for them so far. To some being a Baptist Church is like... Continue Reading →
Distinct Reflections 