Over the years of this column, I have tried to write about simple practical ideas which will help church-based youth ministry run a little better.
I’m sure there has been a bit of repetition but I’ve never written anything about virtue. It came to me from Romans 16. Writing about Phoebe, Paul says: ‘I ask you to receive her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints...’ (Romans 16.2).
The whole chapter is loaded with personal greetings to those who have worked hard and helped Paul in his ministry. Even the city’s director of public works is acknowledged (16.24). It is amazing that, at the end of such a weighty doctrinal treatise, Paul should highlight his friends and partners in the gospel.