In Depth:  Stephen Kneale

Stephen Kneale

Back in April, a video of Blur headlining the Coachella music festival in California went viral.

To cut a long story short, Damon Albarn got a bit riled that the crowd failed to join in the chorus of their biggest hit, Girls & Boys, and insisted they would never play again. He later suggested it would be Blur’s last ever gig.

Stephen Kneale

A coroner’s report concerning the head teacher, Ruth Perry, determined that her final Ofsted inspection ‘lacked fairness, respect and sensitivity’, stated that at times the inspection was ‘rude and intimidating’ and ruled that it ‘likely contributed’ to her death. Mrs Perry took her own life whilst waiting for the Ofsted report to be published.

The death of Ruth Perry sparked a public debate about the role of Ofsted and how school inspections work more broadly in the UK. BBC News reported: ‘Ofsted chief inspector Amanda Spielman said last month Mrs Perry’s death had been used to “discredit” the schools watchdog. Referring to these comments, Ms Connor [the senior coroner] said this suggests a lack of learning from this case.’ She stated that there was a marked difference between the evidence of the council and Ofsted, suggesting the council was open and accepting with a clear desire to improve matters.

Stephen Kneale

Just over a week ago (at the time of writing), my friend uploaded a screen grab of her less than impressed response to a request from what those of us in Oldham would refer to as a ‘cheeky beggar’.

What followed was over a week-long saga in which my friend’s response, dripping with sarcasm as it was, found its way into the national news. Every day, I saw a new outlet had picked up the story. It hit all the major national newspapers and media groups, making it a matter of true import when it finally hit the big stage in the Oldham Times. The saga – which as I write is still ongoing – was even dubbed #cakegate and, if I’m being honest, I am partly only mentioning it in these pages so Evangelicals Now doesn’t miss out on the bandwagon.

Stephen Kneale

Fox News has reached a US$787.5m settlement with the voting equipment company Dominion.

The case concerned a dispute over whether the network and its parent company knowingly broadcast false claims that Dominion sought to swing the 2020 American presidential election. Dominion accused Fox of airing claims that their machines were involved in a plot to steal the election away from Donald Trump, alleging that the network knew such claims were false but aired them anyway because they feared losing viewers to rival networks.

Stephen Kneale

It was recently reported that the Duke of Sussex was upset because the Queen has agreed that he should lose his royal patronages and honorary military appointments.

This means he is going to be stripped of his official positions, including Captain General of the Royal Marines, Honorary Air Commandant Royal Air Force Honington, and Commodore-in-Chief, Small Ships and Diving, Royal Naval Command and his two rugby patronages. What exactly prompted this reaction from the Queen? Some while ago, Harry and Meghan decided to resign as working royals. An article in The Times reported: ‘Buckingham Palace has long maintained that it would not be possible for the couple to be both half in and half out of the royal family. A source said: “There was no choice.

Stephen Kneale

We’ve been having trouble with our electrics of late. I am writing this just before Christmas, where the problems have come to light.

We knew, when we moved into this house two years ago, that things were not A1. We didn’t, however, realise quite how bad things really were. To cut a long story short, we had three opinions from different electricians and all of them reached the same conclusion: our electrics were a total mess!

Stephen Kneale

Increasingly, Evangelical Anglicans are finding it difficult to remain within the Church of England.

Now, as a Dissenter, you will hardly be surprised that I think they should all leave. But I don’t think those who are convinced of Anglicanism should necessarily leave their faithful Anglican communions. I may not be convinced of their ecclesiology and praxis, but if you are – and your church holds to the gospel – I wouldn’t expect you to leave. But the Church of England, however, is a different matter. Here are five reasons I think it is untenable for genuine believers to remain.

Stephen Kneale

Talk, they say, is cheap. But it’s not really, is it?

My Dad recently reminded me of a very expensive phone call I apparently placed to America (I have no memory of doing so). I don’t know who I was ringing, but Dad grabbed the receiver to hear the person at the other end of the line tell him he has ‘a very polite little boy’.

Stephen Kneale

In the June 2020 edition of en, I wrote about evangelism as über alles – that is, treating evangelism as the only priority of the church. Of course, nobody says they think that, just as nobody ever thinks they’re a hyper-Calvinist. Nevertheless, apart from the hyper-Calvinists themselves, we all know it when we see it! But I was soon hearing my position – don’t make evangelism the only priority of the church – being (mis)quoted as ‘some people are doing too much evangelism’! Which is interesting, because I didn’t say that, nor do I think it!

Some of those who insist evangelism is the only priority of the church are not necessarily putting others to shame with their extensive output (some are, but not all). What they tend to do is reckon the only task of the church is to share the gospel and make converts, which means the ongoing discipleship of their people and any converts they make is stunted. What happens at their services is typically geared up for unbelievers, not the believers in membership, and any ‘discipleship’ that does take place centres around what is perceived to be the only task of the church: sharing your faith with others.

Stephen Kneale

No Evangelical worth their salt would want to argue that evangelism doesn’t matter. For a movement so closely connected with the evangel that we enshrine it in our nomenclature, it would be a surprise if we said otherwise.

Whilst Evangelicalism has been notoriously difficult to define as a term, you would be hard pressed to find any attempt to do so that doesn’t land on our activist tendency to go and share the gospel.

Stephen Kneale

Evangelical churches are busy places, aren’t they? There is so much to do.

There are, of course, all the usual rotas that one might be on: music, Sunday School, tea and coffee, welcome, etc. Then there are all the opportunities for mission and discipleship. Add to that the endless calls for training on every point of minutiae that ever takes place and, before long, you can find yourself swamped with stuff to do.

Stephen Kneale

Most of us claim to want freedom. We don’t like being constrained. We want to do things our way, according to our pref-erences, how things suit us. We can get behind the concept of personal autonomy.

What we’re less happy about is when the autonomy granted to us is extended to others. Though we perhaps acknowledge the world would be a very boring place if we were all the same, there’s that little part of us that thinks – despite that – we’re basically right, the way we do things is best and so if everyone was a bit more like us the world would be a happier place. We are the arbiters of normal, moderate credible living and others are different shades of weird based on how closely they ape the way we do things.

Stephen Kneale

It can’t have escaped your notice that Extinction Rebellion have been making a nuisance of themselves.

Now, I don’t intend to comment on the value or otherwise of what they are seeking to do – I will leave you to judge for yourselves. All I really want to point to is the means by which they are making their point.

Stephen Kneale

I was faffing around on Twitter (as you do) and made a startling discovery. Somebody has seen fit to give Richard Madeley an ‘agony aunt’ column. I won’t shame the paper that thought this a good idea, but the mind boggles. This is a man so gauche that many believe him to be the inspiration behind Alan Partridge. To give him a col-umn designed to help people with real life problems – albeit a vulgar form of its own – feels, on the face of it, like a hiring misstep.

Of course, the more cynically minded of us feel we know better. The paper is not unaware of Madeley’s inglorious track record. It’s hard to believe they really think he is the man to dole out carefully crafted, helpful advice. But Madeley is a man so prone to gaffes that he draws crowds. But the crowds aren’t keen to hear him dispense his wisdom, they wait expectantly for him to say something so exceptionally insensitive and crass you forget he is not a comic creation, but a real man who seems to believe he is hired for his incisive interview technique. And that only makes the whole thing even funnier.

Stephen Kneale

In my church, there are three elders. Of the three of us, I am the youngest by some considerable way. Both of my fellow elders are excellent men, but both are retired from secular work and one a good while longer than the other.

I’m sure they won’t mind me saying this (and, if they do, I hope this gets to print unedited so it’s too late to retract) but, unless the Lord grants them Methuselaen longevity, we have a problem on our hands. It is a problem they have noted themselves – we need to raise up some other elders.

Stephen Kneale

Let’s be honest – sometimes we are just boring.

The film Sister Act had an interesting quote that has stuck with me. In the film a lounge singer called Deloris, played by Whoopi Goldberg, must join a convent as part of a witness protection programme. 1990s larks ensue as this singer teaches the convent to lighten up a bit while continually butting heads with the conservative Mother Superior, played by Maggie Smith. Having told Deloris to help the tone-deaf choir, the Mother Superior is frequently aghast as unbecoming worldly tactics are employed to jazz up the church service. During one such altercation, Deloris asserts: ‘See, people like going to theatres, and they like going to casinos. But they don’t like coming to church. Why? Because it’s a drag.’ The sad truth is, she has a point.