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 →
Lessons from ministry: me, myself and depression
My recent posts have looked at things I’ve learned from my 7 years at PBC (and the 7 in Nottinghamshire) about being a minister. So to round the picture out a bit here is the first of a couple of posts on things I’ve discovered about myself: The first warning sign was the overwhelming feeling... 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 →
BUGB the dreamliner denomination?
I’ve always been fascinated by aviation so have been interested in the progress of Boeing’s new 787 dreamliner aircraft. Maybe it has lessons for us: 1. It is designed to be cheaper to run. Boeing recognised that as costs rise they needed to design an aircraft which would be 20% cheaper to run than existing... Continue Reading →
Distinct Reflections 