Across the last few months many Christian organisations and individual evangelicals are among those who have left social media platform X.
Reaction to this has been varied – do Christians have an obligation to be a light in dark places (there are over 600 million on X)? Or is our presence on the platform implicitly condoning what goes on there?
In 2023, my sister was diagnosed with Stage 1B breast cancer. She immediately underwent four months of initial chemotherapy followed by adjuvant chemotherapy aimed at preventing secondary tumour formation.
Thankfully, last year, after undergoing radiotherapy at the Royal Marsden hospital, she received the ‘all clear’ from her doctor.
Bruce Springsteen is a global phenomenon. His 'Best of' Album, reached No. 1 in the UK and USA album charts at the end of 2024. Last year his tour was No. 5 in the world for gross income. Not bad for a 75-year-old!
Being a lifelong fan (who can’t quite justify live ticket prices nowadays), I have to content myself with recordings, so I especially enjoyed the tour documentary Road Diary on the streaming platform Disney Plus.
How can we help young people become more resilient?
We have all heard some of the statistics, but you only have to think of a person whose child is in their teens or twenties and is ill with anxiety. 100 percent of their heart is broken, and that is the only statistic that really matters.
If you watch as much sport as me, you will surely have long ago come to the same conclusion that I have: sport can be very confusing.
Last month, I wrote about the crucial importance of consistency throughout the hectic schedule during the festive period, and this has been seen again this year; Liverpool have gone through the gears to open up a six-point gap with a game in hand, while challengers Arsenal and Chelsea faltered, and at the other end of the table, teams who have not found form are starting to be cut adrift.
Over the Christmas period our church, like many others, had several evangelistic events. We had the classic Christingle and Nativity services, as well as a youth carol service.
We also had a meal for our youth to invite friends to, as well as a big, immersive theatre event for Year 2 children from local primary schools to attend.
The Joe Rogan Experience is a global phenomenon. The podcast features up to three hour long conversations with diverse and interesting guests, including recently with President-elect Donald Trump.
Encapsulating the zeitgeist of our age
Rogan's laid-back interview technique allows him to explore controversial subjects in ways that mainstream media cannot. The Joe Rogan experience has attracted millions of followers for this reason.
Unspoken expectations in ministry are huge. As Pete the Planter sets out on serving and leading a new planting project, what does his three-year vision look like? Where does it come from? Is it realistic? Why?!
Professional football has developed a New Year ritual based around the transfer window. In January, midway through the season, a two-fold routine emerges.
First, clubs at both ends of the league tables charge around frantically, trying to add players to their squads to bolster the chances of promotion or avoid relegation. Second, managers get sacked if they have lost more than three games in the Christmas period, regardless of their previous reputation or record. This ritual, often a make-or-break period for many clubs, can significantly influence a manager's career trajectory.
As the New Year dawns, words of hope, resolution, passion and endeavour are rife.
Promises of renewed commitment, of resolves to change, redirect, establish healthy patterns of life are the subject of podcasts, magazines, supermarket shelves and blogs.
No, not the 'feeling fragile' that people experience on New Year’s Day when far too much alcohol was consumed on New Year’s Eve. Rather, the sense of fragility that comes from living as 'God’s elect, exiles scattered' (1 Peter 1:1).
It is all too easy for teachers to use Biblical words but for the meaning to be far from Biblical. The apostle Peter longed for all God’s people to think clearly, saying:
'Dear friends, this is now my second letter to you. I have written both of them as remindersto stimulate you to wholesome thinking. I want you to recall the words spoken in the past bythe holy prophets and the command given by our Lord and Saviour through your apostles.' 2 Peter 3:1-2
Antisemitism is on the rise. We all know it; you know it and your Jewish friends certainly know it. In the first half of last year, there were a reported 1,978 antisemitic incidents (compared with 964 in the same period of 2023).
We have just had the festival of Hannukah, a festival which commemorates (amongst other things) the victory of the Jewish Maccabean rebels over the forces of the Seleucid Emperor, Atiochus IV Epiphanes. The revolt was prompted by the antisemitism of this deranged Emperor’s forces and, as Jews across the UK gathered to celebrate God’s provision in those days, conversations would have turned to antisemitism today.
So, here we are… entering 2025. We are roughly a quarter of a way through the 21st century.
This is quite a startling thought if you remember celebrating the dawn of the year 2000. How does the passage of this quarter century feel to you? How have you grown – and struggled – spiritually during this time?
I like the internet. I was a very early user and encouraged others to go online.
It is good to have information available, and commentary and opinion about that information. That’s what libraries do, and a huge, free, easily accessible library is a good thing to have. The problems of quality control mean we need to be discerning about said information; but that’s the case in any library.
The concept of confession isn’t new. In ancient times, sins were openly confessed within the community – as we read in the Law of Moses.
Leviticus 1:4 described how ancient saints pressed their hands onto the head of the sacrificial animal when it was to be offered for their sin. If we compare that with Leviticus 16:21 when the high priest confessed sins as he pressed his hands onto the animal, it is reasonable to assume that this act of confession was included in all such sacrifices.
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].
Comment
Leaving by X-ample?
Across the last few months many Christian organisations and individual evangelicals are among those who have left social media platform X.
Reaction to this has been varied – do Christians have an obligation to be a light in dark places (there are over 600 million on X)? Or is our presence on the platform implicitly condoning what goes on there?
The dangers of over or underdosing the gospel
In 2023, my sister was diagnosed with Stage 1B breast cancer. She immediately underwent four months of initial chemotherapy followed by adjuvant chemotherapy aimed at preventing secondary tumour formation.
Thankfully, last year, after undergoing radiotherapy at the Royal Marsden hospital, she received the ‘all clear’ from her doctor.
Worship, mortality, and hope in Springsteen’s ‘Road Diary’
Bruce Springsteen is a global phenomenon. His 'Best of' Album, reached No. 1 in the UK and USA album charts at the end of 2024. Last year his tour was No. 5 in the world for gross income. Not bad for a 75-year-old!
Being a lifelong fan (who can’t quite justify live ticket prices nowadays), I have to content myself with recordings, so I especially enjoyed the tour documentary Road Diary on the streaming platform Disney Plus.
Countering anxiety in young people with the gospel
How can we help young people become more resilient?
We have all heard some of the statistics, but you only have to think of a person whose child is in their teens or twenties and is ill with anxiety. 100 percent of their heart is broken, and that is the only statistic that really matters.
Sport: Consistently inconsistent
If you watch as much sport as me, you will surely have long ago come to the same conclusion that I have: sport can be very confusing.
Last month, I wrote about the crucial importance of consistency throughout the hectic schedule during the festive period, and this has been seen again this year; Liverpool have gone through the gears to open up a six-point gap with a game in hand, while challengers Arsenal and Chelsea faltered, and at the other end of the table, teams who have not found form are starting to be cut adrift.
Church events: How wide should we cast the net?
Over the Christmas period our church, like many others, had several evangelistic events. We had the classic Christingle and Nativity services, as well as a youth carol service.
We also had a meal for our youth to invite friends to, as well as a big, immersive theatre event for Year 2 children from local primary schools to attend.
The Joe Rogan experience: Evidence for God is not the issue
The Joe Rogan Experience is a global phenomenon. The podcast features up to three hour long conversations with diverse and interesting guests, including recently with President-elect Donald Trump.
Encapsulating the zeitgeist of our age
Rogan's laid-back interview technique allows him to explore controversial subjects in ways that mainstream media cannot. The Joe Rogan experience has attracted millions of followers for this reason.
A call to endure in church planting
Patience is more than a virtue; it’s a necessity.
Unspoken expectations in ministry are huge. As Pete the Planter sets out on serving and leading a new planting project, what does his three-year vision look like? Where does it come from? Is it realistic? Why?!
Wayne Rooney: humility in the face of adversity
Professional football has developed a New Year ritual based around the transfer window. In January, midway through the season, a two-fold routine emerges.
First, clubs at both ends of the league tables charge around frantically, trying to add players to their squads to bolster the chances of promotion or avoid relegation. Second, managers get sacked if they have lost more than three games in the Christmas period, regardless of their previous reputation or record. This ritual, often a make-or-break period for many clubs, can significantly influence a manager's career trajectory.
Should we be more afraid in 2025?
As the New Year dawns, words of hope, resolution, passion and endeavour are rife.
Promises of renewed commitment, of resolves to change, redirect, establish healthy patterns of life are the subject of podcasts, magazines, supermarket shelves and blogs.
Facing 2025 with strength
Did you start 2025 with a sense of fragility?
No, not the 'feeling fragile' that people experience on New Year’s Day when far too much alcohol was consumed on New Year’s Eve. Rather, the sense of fragility that comes from living as 'God’s elect, exiles scattered' (1 Peter 1:1).
King Charles and Christian theology - same words, different meanings?
It is all too easy for teachers to use Biblical words but for the meaning to be far from Biblical. The apostle Peter longed for all God’s people to think clearly, saying:
'Dear friends, this is now my second letter to you. I have written both of them as reminders to stimulate you to wholesome thinking. I want you to recall the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets and the command given by our Lord and Saviour through your apostles.' 2 Peter 3:1-2
Antisemitism is on the rise
Antisemitism is on the rise. We all know it; you know it and your Jewish friends certainly know it. In the first half of last year, there were a reported 1,978 antisemitic incidents (compared with 964 in the same period of 2023).
We have just had the festival of Hannukah, a festival which commemorates (amongst other things) the victory of the Jewish Maccabean rebels over the forces of the Seleucid Emperor, Atiochus IV Epiphanes. The revolt was prompted by the antisemitism of this deranged Emperor’s forces and, as Jews across the UK gathered to celebrate God’s provision in those days, conversations would have turned to antisemitism today.
Slowing down...
So, here we are… entering 2025. We are roughly a quarter of a way through the 21st century.
This is quite a startling thought if you remember celebrating the dawn of the year 2000. How does the passage of this quarter century feel to you? How have you grown – and struggled – spiritually during this time?
Why do Christians keep doomscrolling?
I like the internet. I was a very early user and encouraged others to go online.
It is good to have information available, and commentary and opinion about that information. That’s what libraries do, and a huge, free, easily accessible library is a good thing to have. The problems of quality control mean we need to be discerning about said information; but that’s the case in any library.
Transparency in church: A Biblical call for confession
The concept of confession isn’t new. In ancient times, sins were openly confessed within the community – as we read in the Law of Moses.
Leviticus 1:4 described how ancient saints pressed their hands onto the head of the sacrificial animal when it was to be offered for their sin. If we compare that with Leviticus 16:21 when the high priest confessed sins as he pressed his hands onto the animal, it is reasonable to assume that this act of confession was included in all such sacrifices.
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].