Last Friday was a good day for my book problem: I finished another! I’ve blogged a fair bit about Jesus Wept and this is the last post I plan to write on the thoughts in this provocative book. Listen to this quotation which the authors of Jesus Wept take from Nouwen’s In The Name of Jesus: Formation in the … Continue reading »
I am possibly one of the more disciplined people I know. In fact, some of my friends seem to think I run my life on six-minute slots* after my lawyer days where one of those six-minute slots would set you back twenty quid or so. (I feel obliged always at this point to clarify that … Continue reading »
If the ministry is reduced to being primarily a helping profession then those who take up that office cannot help being destroyed if they have any integrity. For they will find themselves frustrated by a people not trained on the narrative of God’s salvation, not trained to want the right things rightly, but rather a … Continue reading »
I have picked up a new book in recent days. It is Beeley’s Leading God’s People. Listen to this excerpt: what ultimately moves people into a deeper life in Christ is not personal charm, social connections, or managerial expertise, no matter how useful they may seem in the short term. Instead it is the real and … Continue reading »
I really have enjoyed reading Herrick and Mann’s Jesus Wept. It is another of those books which seems to have leapfrogged the others in the reading pile. That’s perhaps because of its thoughtfulness – well, that and the fact that it is easier to read than the academic books! Here is another excerpt: The role of … Continue reading »
I learned something very useful in the last few weeks. It started with that week, the week when – for a moment – I lived at less than my usual hyper-speed velocity. A beautiful week: of peace, of calm and stillness. I had space to think and space to be. It was possible to live … Continue reading »
Silence and solitude are not just luxuries for a committed few. They are the very ground in which God places his seed and they are possible even in the midst of a busy life and a hectic schedule, for the silence is the silence of the heart and the solitude a trust in God beyond … Continue reading »
As I contemplate the trajectory of culture, my heart feels heavy. I don’t know whether that should ever be the case, given the God whom we serve, but I feel weighed down by the sheer size of the task. Our vision at LifeGiving to become an outward-reaching community of disciples is perhaps more counter-cultural than … Continue reading »
There’s been little reading for pleasure lately. It’s only when I come to blog about my readings on life and leadership that I realise how bad that situation has become! Instead I have been reading for research, I have been reading for lectures on a Biblical Perspectives course I’m due to start teaching next month … Continue reading »
Brothers and sisters, we are not professionals. So says Piper.* But we are. Or, at least, I am. I am a professional. After an idyllic three years at the ‘right’ university I walked into a job with a top three City law firm. And there began my professional training. I became a professional. In ways … Continue reading »
