In my 14 years of pastoral ministry, I have stumbled through cases of bestiality, incest, rape, complicated ‘family’ structures, multiple addictions, chronic mental illnesses, murder, and suicide. It has been a struggle trying to work through the mess of sinful humanity in a way that is biblically faithful—both to the injured party, their loved ones, […]

I picked up this book for two reasons: (1) the title intrigued me, and (2) because I was going through a phase in my life when I began wondering if I would be happier by having a change of scenery. It’s the curse of most pastors, I suppose (the honest ones anyway). If you stay […]

Our current church membership stands at about 70, with another 10 or so waiting in the wings to be baptised. We have a Sunday attendance of anywhere between 70 and 100 (I suspect that’s roughly the same number of urinals found at many mega-churches). By any description, we are a small church. Yet, as of […]

We have baptised at least a dozen people in Niddrie over the last six months, and it has been a powerful reminder to the congregation and the local community of the saving power of Christ even in the most hardened heart. When I came to Niddrie over seven years ago, there was a young woman […]