Hint: They aren’t biblical.
The more I (begin to) understand the American mindset when it comes to church planting, it becomes clear that many (not all) of our cousins differ to us on the notion of success. How do we know when we have made it? How do we gauge when we have been successful in planting? Some think […]
In my last post, we looked at the issue of stress and burnout. We looked at some of the ways in which over-tiredness can affect us and those around us. Today, I would like to offer some practical tips to help us. Rest is such a hard thing to achieve in our frenetic culture. Finding […]
We all know that feeling: when Monday morning feels like Friday evening, and the energy levels are at an all-time low. The question of how we recharge our batteries spiritually, physically, and mentally is important for church planters, pastors, and inner-city church workers. I have just spent some time with a dear friend of mine, […]
What do we do with the words of the Lord Jesus Christ in Matthew 10:39? “Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.” The context is sending out the 12 to proclaim the ‘kingdom of heaven’ (10:7). They were sent out as‘sheep amongst wolves’ (10:16) […]
This is a book that quite simply introduces us to the devil. Who is he? Where did he come from? We learn that his main job is to destroy and undermine the goodness of God’s creation. “He defaces the image of God in human beings”. (p.23) Mike looks at Satan’s strategies in the world today, […]
What enters our minds (as local church leaders and/or gospel workers) when we think of inner-city housing schemes, council estates, and/or projects (or other socially deprived areas we know of)? What do you think that the residents need in order to alleviate the problems they face? It is easy to try to appease a guilty […]
I was away for the weekend and read a handful of books, so I thought I would give them an airing this week as we work on trying to update our site in the coming weeks. Hopefully, we will be coming up with an all new blog format too! Watch this space. So, my second […]
I picked up this little book (and three others in the series—reviews to follow) on my recent trip to the States. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect given the evangelical church’s ‘pass the hand grenade’ approach to dealing with this topic. But what a great little book it is. Allberry reminds us from the […]
Those of you who know me personally or have followed this blog for any length of time will know that I read a lot of books. A while back, I read a book entitled, ‘Toxic Charity: How the Church Hurts Those They Help (and How to Reverse It)’. I will enclose a short review here, […]
Church planters and pastors of all ilks are united by the fact that they (normally) have strong personalities. This is doubly so for those of us who work in housing schemes and/or other similar situations. We have to lead, often make snap decisions, and carry/encourage/develop/mentor a group of people seeking to live for Christ in […]