I have a friend who pastored in the North West coast of the United States for many years called Randall. He recently told me the story of an older man in his congregation who left a sum of money in his will to the church.
It was a sum that would equate to a low six figure amount in today’s economy. My friend was naturally ecstatic and deeply grateful for the man’s gospel heart.
There have been two questions I’ve been asked more than any others in the last few weeks. First, what do you think about assisted suicide? And second, what do you think about Justin Welby? There’s plenty that could be said in answer to both. But at heart, the answer I want to give is the same: It’s all about God.
Of course we want to talk about the ethics of medicine, the sanctity of life, the devaluing of the weak, the protection of the vulnerable, the application of justice to the wicked, the goodness of marriage, the sinfulness of sexual immorality, and many more things beside. But they are, in a sense, derivative; for all of God’s laws flow from God Himself. When terrible ethical failures happen, it is because there is first a failure to know and love the one true God.
'It’s not a competition!' This is a common phrase for me, especially when surrounded by competitive men.
When I ran camps, 'competitiveness' was often an issue with male leaders - often to the point of having to write this into my risk assessment. The desire to win a game often clouded out the need to keep children, and themselves, safe from injury! The risk assessment then became a competition - the win being to be named as a risk in it.
What do you do when a friendship goes wrong? Do you call them up and explain how you were hurt - or do you stop replying to messages and remove them from your life entirely?
If you are a part of Gen Z, you might do the latter. Sociologist Jenny van Hooff recently published a paper exploring how our culture views ‘toxic friendships’[1] and found ‘dispiriting’ results. Toxic behaviour was described as anything ‘unsympathetic or simply negative’ and ending a friendship like this was seen as a ‘desirable… even courageous’[2].
Near the start of A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens describes Scrooge as ‘a tight-fisted hand at the grindstone’. When a pair of portly philanthropists assail Scrooge on Christmas Eve, looking for a charitable donation, he says something that proves the description accurate. On being told some would rather die than go to the workhouse, Scrooge says, ‘they had better do it, and decrease the surplus population’.
It is a moment of heart-stopping heartlessness. In the peerless Muppet adaptation, Beaker and Doctor Bunsen Honeydew shake their heads in disbelief and consternation. This moment has signalled Scrooge’s unmistakeable depravity to generations of readers, staking out just how far his inhumanity goes — and therefore just how drastic his redemption will need to be.
There were several things about the recent debate in the House of Commons on euthanasia which were revelatory of where our society is at. They are lessons we need to learn.
I’m not talking about the obsession with autonomy – something which the elites of our society are desperate to believe in. They are used to getting things their way and cannot see why they should not be able to choose the time and place of their own death. Don’t fall for the line that this was all about preventing insufferable pain – the Leadbetter bill is not restricted to those who have unbearable pain. As has been amply demonstrated in other countries with euthanasia laws, the slippery slope into involuntary euthanasia is all too real. But my concern in this article is with three other issues.
After Justin Welby completes his official duties as Archbishop of Canterbury on January 6, there’s a lot more to put in place than a new Archbishop.
Welby's departure leaves more than a vacancy, it testifies to a multi-faceted crisis of leadership in the Church of England. Many have commented on his legacy, but I wish merely to observe that during his tenure, and especially at his resignation, a few long-festering narratives converged.
How do we respond to Parliament’s decision to progress a bill to legalise assisted suicide? We don’t despair.
God has heard our prayers, He is sovereign, and we approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need (Heb. 4:16).
When sharing the gospel, we seek to contextualise without compromising, so that people can better understand concepts of sin, salvation and Messiah without being waylaid in unfamiliar ‘Christianese’. But we also remember that it is God who works through these interactions, and only He can save.
People bring their own attitudes into gospel interactions, ranging from hostile to friendly, and while their response is beyond our control, our commitment to godliness remains unwavering as we strive to make Jesus known. In fact, when people get mad with us it means something in their heart is moving.
Each year, during the festivities, I like to take in a performance of Handel’s Messiah. This year was no exception, made even more special under candlelight in the magnificent venue of Llandaff Cathedral.
The Messiah was composed in 1741 by George Frideric Handel, whom Ludwig van Beethoven declared as 'the greatest composer that ever lived.' I adore Handel's epic oratorio, but my love for this annual event is entirely theological. Each year I am presented with a taste of Heaven, an image of the new humanity whom God gave His Son to redeem.
Like many Christians and indeed others across the nation, I was saddened to hear the news that the UK parliament voted in favour of legalising assisted suicide.
As Christians, we are not opposed to the withdrawal of life-extending care, but we are against the active murder of anyone. Fundamentally, we believe that every life is sacred and unconditionally valuable - human dignity is not something we assign to ourselves and can then take it away when faced with illness, poverty, or disability.
When my youth leader invited me on a trip to Taizé, I had never heard of the place. But, it was France. It would be my first time abroad, and I was excited, thinking I would see the Eiffel Tower.
The one dampener was that we were going by coach and ferry (for £35, an amazing price even then!), but the unfortunate Zeebrugge ferry disaster had taken place months earlier, causing ferry travel to experience heightened public scrutiny. But I and other young people went with the youth leader, other church leaders from the area, and some of their young people.
In the four years of writing for Evangelicals Now, the published responses to my articles have been few and far between. The responses sent by post to me (c/o Beacon Church Camberley) have been even rarer.
Actor Ralph Fiennes has apparently said recently that he attributed Trump’s win in the United States presidential election to having a better story.
It seems he thinks that Make America Great Again (MAGA) was able to capture people’s spirit and imaginations in a way that liberal progressivism wasn’t.
Life as 'foreigners and exiles' may involve oppression from our surrounding culture — it may also involve temptation, as our hearts are drawn to the treasures of this passing age.
In some contexts it can be easy to rail against the moral collapse in our nation rather than the love of mammon that ensnares the hearts of many Christians in good, Bible-believing churches.
I had been meaning to go to the Natural History Museum since my baby was born. I had visions of wafting around a floor before a quick feed on a bench and popping home to conjure a healthy nutritious meal for my family. For those with - or memories of - newborns… laugh, my friends. Laugh heartily.
Anyway, a friend gave me a ticket to a baby sensory class in the marine animals room at the museum and it was the excuse I needed for a scramble over to South Kensington. When we finished up, we were encouraged to explore the rest of the establishment at leisure and, after dragging myself past a piece of pumpkin and butterscotch cake that had its eye on me, I followed my nose and ended up in - a collection of meteorites.
In 1453, Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire, fell to the Ottoman Turks. This was a disaster for the Greeks but it became a blessing for Western Europe. It was inevitable that those who had the means, that is, the educated elite, sought refuge in the West and they took with them valuable manuscripts.
The spark that ignited the Reformation
For the first time there was significant interaction between Western scholars educated in Latin and Eastern scholars educated in Greek. Direct access to classical Greek works and the Greek New Testament was now possible. There was a keen interest in classical literature, art, drama and philosophy.
When my daughter Ruby was small, she was permanently attached to a small toy dinosaur that we christened Derek. Derek was born in Ikea, but with Ruby he travelled the globe.
He went with her to the toilet. He went with her to Sainsbury’s. And he went with her to visit Granny and Grandad in Belfast. We all loved Derek, but Ruby’s love for him bordered on obsession. This was fine when we had him with us - it was not fine when we realised we’d left him behind.
Here’s some good news: this month, for one month only, conversation about the incarnation of Jesus is socially acceptable with pretty much anyone!
Of course it’s not quite that simple, but it’s a huge opportunity that throughout December it’s normal to talk about Christmas. Let me offer two questions and one story that might help those conversations go a little deeper.
There are as many kinds of Jews as there are people. Some are religious and some are not, but like all other people Jews will bring assumptions to the reading of Scripture, to the concept of God and to the claims of Yeshua, Jesus.
For a Jewish person, religious or not, these assumptions are likely influenced, directly or indirectly, by the Tanakh, the Jewish Hebrew Bible. These are also the assumptions that Jesus Himself, along with His followers, held.
Comment
Prioritising the gospel in our wills
I have a friend who pastored in the North West coast of the United States for many years called Randall. He recently told me the story of an older man in his congregation who left a sum of money in his will to the church.
It was a sum that would equate to a low six figure amount in today’s economy. My friend was naturally ecstatic and deeply grateful for the man’s gospel heart.
Assisted suicide? Justin Welby? It’s all about God
There have been two questions I’ve been asked more than any others in the last few weeks. First, what do you think about assisted suicide? And second, what do you think about Justin Welby? There’s plenty that could be said in answer to both. But at heart, the answer I want to give is the same: It’s all about God.
Of course we want to talk about the ethics of medicine, the sanctity of life, the devaluing of the weak, the protection of the vulnerable, the application of justice to the wicked, the goodness of marriage, the sinfulness of sexual immorality, and many more things beside. But they are, in a sense, derivative; for all of God’s laws flow from God Himself. When terrible ethical failures happen, it is because there is first a failure to know and love the one true God.
Do you let suffering become a competition?
'It’s not a competition!' This is a common phrase for me, especially when surrounded by competitive men.
When I ran camps, 'competitiveness' was often an issue with male leaders - often to the point of having to write this into my risk assessment. The desire to win a game often clouded out the need to keep children, and themselves, safe from injury! The risk assessment then became a competition - the win being to be named as a risk in it.
Why is everyone crying after watching Wicked?
What do you do when a friendship goes wrong? Do you call them up and explain how you were hurt - or do you stop replying to messages and remove them from your life entirely?
If you are a part of Gen Z, you might do the latter. Sociologist Jenny van Hooff recently published a paper exploring how our culture views ‘toxic friendships’[1] and found ‘dispiriting’ results. Toxic behaviour was described as anything ‘unsympathetic or simply negative’ and ending a friendship like this was seen as a ‘desirable… even courageous’[2].
Assisted suicide: how would Ebenezer Scrooge have voted?
Near the start of A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens describes Scrooge as ‘a tight-fisted hand at the grindstone’. When a pair of portly philanthropists assail Scrooge on Christmas Eve, looking for a charitable donation, he says something that proves the description accurate. On being told some would rather die than go to the workhouse, Scrooge says, ‘they had better do it, and decrease the surplus population’.
It is a moment of heart-stopping heartlessness. In the peerless Muppet adaptation, Beaker and Doctor Bunsen Honeydew shake their heads in disbelief and consternation. This moment has signalled Scrooge’s unmistakeable depravity to generations of readers, staking out just how far his inhumanity goes — and therefore just how drastic his redemption will need to be.
Didn’t we have a lovely euthanasia debate…
There were several things about the recent debate in the House of Commons on euthanasia which were revelatory of where our society is at. They are lessons we need to learn.
I’m not talking about the obsession with autonomy – something which the elites of our society are desperate to believe in. They are used to getting things their way and cannot see why they should not be able to choose the time and place of their own death. Don’t fall for the line that this was all about preventing insufferable pain – the Leadbetter bill is not restricted to those who have unbearable pain. As has been amply demonstrated in other countries with euthanasia laws, the slippery slope into involuntary euthanasia is all too real. But my concern in this article is with three other issues.
The 'leadership vacuum' in the wake of Welby
After Justin Welby completes his official duties as Archbishop of Canterbury on January 6, there’s a lot more to put in place than a new Archbishop.
Welby's departure leaves more than a vacancy, it testifies to a multi-faceted crisis of leadership in the Church of England. Many have commented on his legacy, but I wish merely to observe that during his tenure, and especially at his resignation, a few long-festering narratives converged.
Seven reasons not to despair about the assisted suicide bill
How do we respond to Parliament’s decision to progress a bill to legalise assisted suicide? We don’t despair.
God has heard our prayers, He is sovereign, and we approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need (Heb. 4:16).
'What do you mean?': The most important question in mission
When sharing the gospel, we seek to contextualise without compromising, so that people can better understand concepts of sin, salvation and Messiah without being waylaid in unfamiliar ‘Christianese’. But we also remember that it is God who works through these interactions, and only He can save.
People bring their own attitudes into gospel interactions, ranging from hostile to friendly, and while their response is beyond our control, our commitment to godliness remains unwavering as we strive to make Jesus known. In fact, when people get mad with us it means something in their heart is moving.
The apex of worship: experiencing Handel's Messiah
Each year, during the festivities, I like to take in a performance of Handel’s Messiah. This year was no exception, made even more special under candlelight in the magnificent venue of Llandaff Cathedral.
The Messiah was composed in 1741 by George Frideric Handel, whom Ludwig van Beethoven declared as 'the greatest composer that ever lived.' I adore Handel's epic oratorio, but my love for this annual event is entirely theological. Each year I am presented with a taste of Heaven, an image of the new humanity whom God gave His Son to redeem.
Two lessons from the assisted suicide debate
Like many Christians and indeed others across the nation, I was saddened to hear the news that the UK parliament voted in favour of legalising assisted suicide.
As Christians, we are not opposed to the withdrawal of life-extending care, but we are against the active murder of anyone. Fundamentally, we believe that every life is sacred and unconditionally valuable - human dignity is not something we assign to ourselves and can then take it away when faced with illness, poverty, or disability.
Where are our missional youth leaders?
When my youth leader invited me on a trip to Taizé, I had never heard of the place. But, it was France. It would be my first time abroad, and I was excited, thinking I would see the Eiffel Tower.
The one dampener was that we were going by coach and ferry (for £35, an amazing price even then!), but the unfortunate Zeebrugge ferry disaster had taken place months earlier, causing ferry travel to experience heightened public scrutiny. But I and other young people went with the youth leader, other church leaders from the area, and some of their young people.
Why reputation is prioritised over protecting victims
In the four years of writing for Evangelicals Now, the published responses to my articles have been few and far between. The responses sent by post to me (c/o Beacon Church Camberley) have been even rarer.
That’s why the letter I received in response to my last article (How do Christian legal principles help us navigate scandals?) caught my attention.
The death of the liberal story
Actor Ralph Fiennes has apparently said recently that he attributed Trump’s win in the United States presidential election to having a better story.
It seems he thinks that Make America Great Again (MAGA) was able to capture people’s spirit and imaginations in a way that liberal progressivism wasn’t.
What treasures are you really chasing?
Life as 'foreigners and exiles' may involve oppression from our surrounding culture — it may also involve temptation, as our hearts are drawn to the treasures of this passing age.
In some contexts it can be easy to rail against the moral collapse in our nation rather than the love of mammon that ensnares the hearts of many Christians in good, Bible-believing churches.
Discovering the generous imagination of God
I had been meaning to go to the Natural History Museum since my baby was born. I had visions of wafting around a floor before a quick feed on a bench and popping home to conjure a healthy nutritious meal for my family. For those with - or memories of - newborns… laugh, my friends. Laugh heartily.
Anyway, a friend gave me a ticket to a baby sensory class in the marine animals room at the museum and it was the excuse I needed for a scramble over to South Kensington. When we finished up, we were encouraged to explore the rest of the establishment at leisure and, after dragging myself past a piece of pumpkin and butterscotch cake that had its eye on me, I followed my nose and ended up in - a collection of meteorites.
Are seminaries failing in the teaching of New Testament Greek?
In 1453, Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire, fell to the Ottoman Turks. This was a disaster for the Greeks but it became a blessing for Western Europe. It was inevitable that those who had the means, that is, the educated elite, sought refuge in the West and they took with them valuable manuscripts.
The spark that ignited the Reformation
For the first time there was significant interaction between Western scholars educated in Latin and Eastern scholars educated in Greek. Direct access to classical Greek works and the Greek New Testament was now possible. There was a keen interest in classical literature, art, drama and philosophy.
'That’s not my God'
When my daughter Ruby was small, she was permanently attached to a small toy dinosaur that we christened Derek. Derek was born in Ikea, but with Ruby he travelled the globe.
He went with her to the toilet. He went with her to Sainsbury’s. And he went with her to visit Granny and Grandad in Belfast. We all loved Derek, but Ruby’s love for him bordered on obsession. This was fine when we had him with us - it was not fine when we realised we’d left him behind.
How to get to the heart of Christmas in conversation
Here’s some good news: this month, for one month only, conversation about the incarnation of Jesus is socially acceptable with pretty much anyone!
Of course it’s not quite that simple, but it’s a huge opportunity that throughout December it’s normal to talk about Christmas. Let me offer two questions and one story that might help those conversations go a little deeper.
Do we need to become conversant in Judaism?
There are as many kinds of Jews as there are people. Some are religious and some are not, but like all other people Jews will bring assumptions to the reading of Scripture, to the concept of God and to the claims of Yeshua, Jesus.
For a Jewish person, religious or not, these assumptions are likely influenced, directly or indirectly, by the Tanakh, the Jewish Hebrew Bible. These are also the assumptions that Jesus Himself, along with His followers, held.