Amy Orr-Ewing on forgiveness: ‘The old message in today’s moment’
Lydia Houghton
Date posted: 26 Feb 2026
en journalist Lydia Houghton interviews Christian author, speaker and theologian Amy Orr-Ewing, ahead of the release of her new book Forgiveness: Reclaiming Its Power in a Culture of Outrage and Fear.
FWS conference: 'The God who doesn't give up'
James Rollin
Date posted: 24 Feb 2026
Evangelical organisation Church Society's annual Fellowship of Word and Spirit (FWS) Conference is an event with plenty of time for genuine fellowship, friendship, spiritual encouragement, reflection and prayer.
Alongside engaging seminars, talks and Q&A sessions with speakers, there is space for resting from the frantic pace of ministry and time to enthusiastically worship God together in music and song.
The enduring power of conferences in a digital age
Lydia Houghton
Date posted: 23 Feb 2026
“I was watching footage of a music festival last night which was filmed back in 1995,” writes Phil Topham. “It was easily dated by the outfits people were wearing, but it was also clear what was missing – smartphones.”
It’s 2026. We live with digital abundance: YouTube sermons, theological podcasts, worship playlists, and more. With all the helpful, edifying, Christ-exalting content out there, why bother meeting together? Physically, I mean.
Learning from John Newton 300 years on
Adrian Warnock
Date posted: 18 Feb 2026
The headlines of the story are well-known.
A rebellious youth. Pressganged into the Royal Navy. Whipped after an attempted desertion. Swapped onto a ship on its way to pick up slaves. Enslaved, himself, in Africa. Rescued by a captain friend of his father’s only to almost die in a storm on the way home. So far from God that his fellow sailors thought that he, like Jonah, had brought the wrath of God down on them.
Pastor, you are not an island
Dan Steel
Date posted: 16 Feb 2026
The joke goes that Jesus' greatest miracle was being a man in His 30s with 12 (or possibly 11) close friends!
We live in a country where, famously, in 2018 a "loneliness" minister was appointed by the government as it recognised the danger of isolation in our world of "connections" but not real friendships.
imperfect parenting
Family meals – our most underrated weapon?
Katie Holloway
Date posted: 15 Feb 2026
As our eldest hits double figures, we’re tentatively considering secondary schools, which is why you’ll now find me on the school run quizzing all the parents I know with older kids about their school experiences. One such conversation led to me chatting with a Christian mum about the way faith issues are presented.
It was around the time of Charlie Kirk’s murder and this mum told me her daughter had come home saying they’d discussed his death in the classroom. That a teacher had presented Kirk as somebody who stood for something “not very nice”, but apparently hadn’t gone into details. Having not heard of him before, this teenage girl asked her parents about him. They explained that actually the man was a Christian, and much of what he stood for was Biblical.
culture watch
Waiting for the Out
Rebecca Chapman
Date posted: 13 Feb 2026
The start of 2026 has brought some cracking television already. With glossy big-hitters like The Traitors and The Night Manager returning to our screens, or the cultural phenomenon that was the finale of the sinister paranormal horror/coming-of-age series Stranger Things, it would be easier to miss some of the more genuinely unusual gems on television.
Waiting for the Out is one of these. The language at points might be strong, but it will make you laugh, make you cry, and certainly make you think. Waiting for the Out is a six-part BBC series (available on iPlayer) based on the memoir The Life Inside by Andy West, about his experience going from academia to teaching philosophy to prisoners, while the men in his own family had spent time behind bars.
subtle idols
Society is obsessed with control. Are you?
Graeme Shanks
Date posted: 12 Feb 2026
British writer Norman Douglas once famously observed that you can tell the ideals of a nation by its advertisements.
There’s a lot of truth in that when you think about it. Take Adidas' slogan, for example: "You Got This!"
Memorising Scripture as a tool for enjoyment
Jonty Allcock
Date posted: 12 Feb 2026
The Bank of England has deep underground vaults. They store gold bars that have an estimated worth of £200 billion. Squirrels store nuts. Humans store gold.
These are much the same. We stockpile what we consider to be of greatest value and discard what we consider to be worthless.
Are you suffering for 'doing good'? Read Peter's words
Tim Vasby-Burnie
Date posted: 10 Feb 2026
A calling from God is a noble, exciting, and gracious privilege.
Peter tells people who once lived in ignorance, who were led by evil desires, that they are called to be holy, like God (1 Peter 1v15-16). He builds up the church by telling them they have the honour of being called out of darkness into God’s wonderful light (2v9).
pastoral care
Helping believers in conspiracy theories
Helen Thorne-Allenson
Date posted: 9 Feb 2026
Conspiracy theories have always been part of human life (since the Fall at least). These false narratives, often claiming special insight into some event or the way life works, are repeated with passion despite flying in the face of truth. And with the growth of social media, internet celebrities now have a limitless platform to share what’s “really going on”.
Proponents use power to lead people astray. Sometimes with the odd Bible verse thrown in to provide an air of legitimacy, they suck congregation members into their misguided thinking and claim special knowledge of God. “This is who is really controlling the government…”; “This is what really happened behind that news article…”; “This is what is really being slipped into our food…”; “The truth is only to be found here”. It’s dangerous. It’s divisive. But for some in our churches, it’s alluring.
evangelicals & catholics
Mary, quite contrary ...
Leonardo De Chirico
Date posted: 8 Feb 2026
This is the final instalment of five articles in which I have been looking at Dan Strange’s five magnetic points – the five fundamentals that all human beings are looking for and to which they are magnetically drawn, and which can be seen in the lives of Catholics.
The fifth magnetic point is the reality of a higher power: a way to measure up to the supernatural. From a Biblical viewpoint, we must remember what Jesus said: “I am the light of the world. Anyone who follows me will never walk in the darkness but will have the light of life” (John 8v12). He is the Highest Power who became a human being we can know and love personally. He is also the only mediator between God and us (1 Tim. 2v5). He is the only one who died, rose from the dead and can intercede for us.
a Jewish Christian perspective
'Jewish evangelism is crucial to world evangelisation'
Joseph Steinberg
Date posted: 8 Feb 2026
Romans 11 confronts us with one of Scripture’s great paradoxes: God brings life out of death. Israel’s stumbling became salvation for the nations, and one day Israel’s restoration will mean “life from the dead” for the whole world. This mystery is not a theological puzzle – it is a mission challenge to the church.
Paul writes that God allowed Israel to experience a “spirit of stupor”, and many ask why. Why would the people chosen to be a light to the nations be blinded to the Messiah? Paul gives the answer: “Because of their transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles – to make Israel envious.” Israel’s loss became our gain. Out of their rejection came reconciliation. Out of death came life. It is the pattern of the cross itself.
everyday theology
A melting heart
Michael Reeves
Date posted: 7 Feb 2026
Today, many rightly bemoan the lovelessness, superficiality, and spiritual hollowness they see spread all too widely across the church. Yet in our longing for a cure, we must not be seduced into thinking that superficial, pragmatic answers are the solution. A moral campaign for better Christian behaviour will not touch the roots of the problem.
The church today is surely in great need of reformation, but reformation of lives happens from the inside out as the Spirit heals hearts with the balm of the gospel. The gospel of Christ’s redemption and the Spirit’s regeneration is not just a message for outsiders: it is our only hope if we are to see the renewal and reformation of the church in our day.
everyday evangelism
It’s almost Life ’26!
Gavin Matthews
Date posted: 7 Feb 2026
With the countdown in full swing to this nationwide gospel outreach (see more via en article here), Gavin Matthews spoke to Nick McQuaker from A Passion for Life about what to expect and how to get involved.
What are AI 'deathbots' and how should we respond?
Andrew Drury
Date posted: 6 Feb 2026
It is natural for people to grieve for loved ones who have died. One of the ways that people have tried to cope is through artificial intelligence (AI), with the creation of "deathbots" (also known as "griefbots").
The process of developing deathbots includes inputting all the words that the deceased person would use into the computer programme by using personal material such as e-mails, texts, voice notes, and social media posts. One limitation is the inability to portray the nuances made in communication (such as stress or tone), so the resultant speech can be monotone. Nevertheless, while the interaction may lack authenticity, the emotion for the bereaved person will be undoubtedly real for there will be a psychological buy-in.
What do you think of when ‘mission’ is mentioned?
Lydia Houghton
Date posted: 6 Feb 2026
Growing up in the UK church, when the word “mission” was mentioned, I’d instinctively picture overseas work. The phrase “mission field” conjured up images of far-away countries with people I perceived as different from myself. Was I correct in my definition?
David Baldwin, CEO of 2:19 Teach to Reach – which exists to help local churches share the gospel cross-culturally – maintains that there is a difference between evangelism and mission: “Whereas evangelism means sharing the gospel with those in our usual circles, mission always involves movement across some kind of boundary; geographical, cultural, ethnic or other.”
scattering seeds of hope
Colleges: 'I've never been as encouraged as I am now'
Claire Povey
Date posted: 5 Feb 2026
I have had the tremendous privilege of seeing God at work in colleges and sixth forms up and down the UK for the last 17 years.
The organisation I work for, Festive, supports 16-18 year olds in further education as they seek to live for Jesus and share Him where they study. In all my time with Festive, I have never been as encouraged as I am now.
