Mission – Ministry – Life
How does Christianity keep people from Jesus? That’s the radical question this book considers as it examines the factors that keep Indian people from becoming disciples of Jesus. The book considers 9 different barriers; the first three: cultural separation, “Christian” and Church being the most fundamental. The separation that comes from believers seeking to withdraw... Continue Reading →
Last week I went to a lecture put on by the Centre for Theology and Justice in Manchester (the annual David Goodbourn lecture). The speaker was Michael H Taylor, one time principal of Northern Baptist College, subsequently CEO of Christian Aid for 12 years and now, among other things Emeritus Professor of Social Theology at... Continue Reading →
We can’t talk about global mission without talking about the local church. When all the paraphernalia of mission agencies is removed the call to share the good news and make disciples is a call to the church. I’ve blogged before (here) about some practical steps churches can take to get involved in global mission but wanted... Continue Reading →
Moving house has meant little time for blogging but I’ve continued to process thoughts and ideas from the Thinking Mission symposium. It’s a bit disjointed but here are some of the things bubbling round my mind. While Stroope is right that using the word ‘mission’ is problematic it is here to stay. What will be... Continue Reading →
I had the pleasure of chairing a conversation day run by the Baptist Ministers’ Fellowship this week. Entitled “Pathways for Baptist ministry” speakers shared their varied experience of ministerial life, training / formation and ways of working. Although the conversations ranged wide, two things stood out for me from the day: 1. The majority of... Continue Reading →
One function of blogs is to share half-baked ideas. The weekend saw blogs by Richard Littledale (here) and Vicky Beeching (here) exploring issues of digital legacy. Does an excessive use of social media drown out the awareness of our own mortality and finitude? Is the presence of an on-line self after death helpful for people? What... Continue Reading →
I’ve spent an interesting afternoon with a group from the mission department of the German Baptist Union. I was curious to learn how they structure and resource mission in Germany. In general they seem to have adopted a regional approach where the group gather together a couple of times each year (this time for a... Continue Reading →
Today Sir Fred Goodwin (former head of the Royal Bank of Scotland before the crash) has been named as one of the people who has a super injunction to prevent details about his life been discussed in the media; though anyone who uses the internet as a source for news has known about it for... Continue Reading →
I came across this blog yesterday which says a lot about the Archbishop of Canterbury. Here +Rowan is to be commended because I know that some people's experience of Christian leaders is less positive; they feel that they are remote, don't care or aren't interested. One might want to debate the Christology of explaining Jesus... Continue Reading →
Preparing Easter services from John’s gospel this year I’ve been struck by Jesus' promise, during his extended last supper discussion, not to leave the disciples as orphans and how it encapsulates the gospel. Lives which had wondered away from God have been called back and invited to follow Jesus. And now Jesus promises not to... Continue Reading →
