400 years on, how the Mayflower Pilgrims can still inspire us...
Martyn Whittock
Date posted: 1 Dec 2020
In 1620, 102 ill-prepared settlers landed two months later than planned, in the wrong place on the eastern coast of North America.
They were a mixture of ‘saints’ (asylum-seeking members of separatist Puritan congregations) and ‘strangers’ (economic migrants necessary for the financial success of the venture). By the next summer, half of them were dead. Yet, from this inauspicious beginning, the impact of the Mayflower settlement still resonates 400 years later.
Church life
The Great Commission and the local church
Joanthan Leeman
Date posted: 1 Sep 2020
Are you a goer or a sender?
I trust you’ve heard a preacher or a missionary ask that question. Their point: the Great Commission calls some people to leave kith and kin for the foreign fields of unreached peoples. And it calls other people to send missionaries with prayer, finances, and support broadly.
evangelicals & catholics
Packer’s papal mistake?
Leonardo De Chirico
Date posted: 1 Oct 2020
The global church owes a debt of gratitude to James I. Packer (1926–2020). During the second half of the 20th century he has embodied Evangelical theology at its best, especially on issues like the authority of Scripture, penal substitutionary atonement, and the interplay between theology and spirituality. This is to say that, if I dare critique one minor – albeit significant – instance of his theological involvement, I do so out of immense respect.
It is no secret that in Packer’s theological biography his involvement with the ‘Evangelicals and Catholics Together’ (ECT) initiative has puzzled many of his admirers. How such a solid theologian could be prone to sign theologically-blurred documents and encourage confusing ecumenical activities has been a standing question in many people’s minds.
Genocide: the plight of Muslim and Christian Uighurs
A missionary, writing under the pseudonym Peter Morrison, issues a wake-up call
Genocide. The Armenians. The Jews. Rwanda. And more recently the Bosnian Muslims of Srebrenica and the Muslim Rohingya of Burma. And now many fear… the Muslim Uighurs of China – more than 1 million of whom have been imprisoned in ‘re-education’ camps.
the ENd word
This is the vision your church needs now
Jeremy McQuoid
Date posted: 1 Oct 2020
How is your church doing as it hits the autumn? How are your services at the moment?
The question I am hearing in every webinar from church leaders is: are we ready post-lockdown? How will the impact of the prolonged absence of physical services affect our congregations?
Keswick: inside the Convention’s ‘Tardis-style’ new centre
EN
Date posted: 1 Sep 2020
It might sound like a cliché, but on this occasion it happens to be true.
Stepping inside the Keswick Convention’s Derwent Project really is like entering Doctor Who’s Tardis. Not only does it appear to be much bigger on the inside than it looks from the outside, but it is big – in fact, enormous. Indeed, the space seems to go on and on and on… To paraphrase the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, if you thought it was a long way to the local shops, think again…
Jim Packer – a personal memoir: from Puritanism to Winnie-the-Pooh
Tony Baker
Date posted: 1 Sep 2020
Tony Baker reflects on several decades of friendship with J.I. Packer
The first time I heard Dr Jim Packer must have been at midweek talks he gave to the CU in Oxford (OICCU) in the 1950s.
earth watch
Nature in lockdown!
Simon Marsh
Date posted: 1 Sep 2020
How has
lockdown been
for you? The
coronavirus pandemic has affected virtually
every aspect of our lives. Christians have
rightly spent much time discussing when
and how we will be able to meet face-to-face
again for worship.
While most of us were stuck at home
though, many
people
had
a
renewed
appreciation of the nature all around us.
In the absence of traffic noise, we noticed
how loud the birdsong is. Our local parks
and green spaces took on a new importance
for our daily exercise. At the end of every
working day my wife and I would walk
through
the meadows near our house,
enjoying the beauty of creation in a way that
perhaps we didn’t before.
Ever felt like an impostor?
Sam Hodgins discusses feeling like a fraud and her new identity in Christ
Seventy percent of people are reported to have experienced ‘impostor syndrome’ at least one time in their life. It’s that feeling you have when everyone around you seems to know what they’re doing, but you have no clue. Or when you’ve been asked to take on some responsibility, but you feel like a fraud and wonder when you’ll be found out.
evangelicals & catholics
The unsettled legacy of Pope John Paul II
Leonardo De Chirico
Date posted: 1 Aug 2020
Karol Wojtyła (1920–2005), since 1978 better known as Pope John Paul II, has been one of the most influential men of the 20th century.
The centenary of his birth is a useful opportunity to reflect on his legacy. His life was at the centre of the major affairs of the 20th century: the tragedy of Nazism and the trauma of the Second World War, the apex and fall of Communism, the Second Vatican Council and its debated implementation, the apparent triumph of Western democracy and the oppressive costs of globalisation for the Majority world, the fracture of ideologies and the rise of secular hedonism. Supporters have acclaimed his achievements in terms of navigating, surviving and overcoming the dangerous streams of our post-something world. Critics have pointed out the double-faced, contradictory trajectory of his life and his very backward-looking Catholic outlook.
pastoral care
The newly vulnerable
Helen Thorne-Allenson
Date posted: 1 Aug 2020
We’ve mastered a lot of ‘new’ in recent months. Whether that’s new ways of providing services, new ways of engaging in mission, or making the most of new opportunities to train furloughed workers for gospel service, it’s been a steep learning curve for many in the local church.
Quite a few of us might be hoping that there’s not too much more ‘new’ ahead. A return to something more familiar is the longing in many a heart. But let me pose four pastorally-orientated questions and suggest there might still need to be a little more ‘new’.
The Red Carpet
A tale of two trees?
Alex Duke
Date posted: 1 Apr 2020
1917 begins and ends at a tree. In the middle is war and death and hell; in the middle is also heroism and sacrifice and courage. Which wins? The latter one, the victorious one, the one that speaks of hope and a future.
But as one character says near the end: ‘Hope is a dangerous thing.’
Helen Cadbury (1877–1969): no chocolate soldier
Janice Pibworth
Date posted: 1 Apr 2020
Janice Pibworth tells the story of Christian campaigner Helen Cadbury
Helen Cadbury was the sixth child of Richard Barrow Cadbury of the famous Cadbury’s chocolate business.
Paschal lambs or curate’s eggs?
Gary Clayton
Date posted: 1 Apr 2020
Gary Clayton wonders why Easter in the West appears to have so little to do with the season celebrated by Jesus
Many years ago, shortly after I became a Christian, I took part in an evangelistic sketch showing the difference between various religions. One actor quoted from Mohammad, another from Buddha, Confucius and so on. Finally, it was my turn.
history
A passion for purple
Michael Haykin
Date posted: 1 Apr 2020
In 1856, English chemistry student William
Henry Perkin (1838–1907) was looking for
a cure for malaria – he stumbled upon a way
to make a synthetic purple dye from coal tar.
In so doing, he
literally changed history,
for his discovery led to advances in medicine,
photography, perfumery, food production, and
revolutionised the fashion industry.
Bible By The Beach special
From the Bible By The Beach Chair of Trustees, David Bourne...
It was with much sadness, but recognising the fast pace of events, that the Trustees took the inevitable and necessary decision to cancel this year’s Bible By The Beach conference which was due to take place at the Congress Theatre, Eastbourne from 1 – 4 May.
We find ourselves in confusing and troubling times, and yet we remain confident in our good and sovereign Lord and in His good purposes.
A dazzling theatre for God’s glory
Sharon James
Date posted: 1 May 2020
Sharon James looks at the role of Christianity in the public square
In 1793 a poor cobbler from an obscure village in Northamptonshire arrived in Calcutta. Driven by the conviction that God should be glorified in all nations, William Carey (1761–1834) is remembered as the father of the modern mission movement and as a great educationalist and social reformer.
Unsung Heroes
Dorothea Clapp 1901–1990
Brian Maiden
Date posted: 1 Mar 2020
Have you ever heard of Dorothea Clapp or her son, Daniel? Probably not.
Before I tell you about them, let me tell you about George Verwer, who you probably have heard of. George, now 81 years of age and still preaching around the world, is the founder of Operation Mobilisation (OM).
The lonely aftertaste of Secret Cinema
Johnny Lawes
Date posted: 1 Apr 2020
First Madagascar, then Venice. We stopped by MI5, picked up some drinks and headed to the casino. But suddenly a fight broke out, gunmen appeared, and we all dropped to the floor. Not my average Friday evening.
I recently became one of 120,000 to experience Secret Cinema’s Casino Royale. It was a thrilling evening: a secret location, black tie and special missions, culminating in an immersive showing of the film, complete with live actors and pyrotechnics. It’s a format that has soared in recent years, perhaps because it consciously offers something not digital. Phones are sealed away and people have to interact. Instead of immediate and constant information, it offers secrets. And instead of a ‘purely digital experience’ it offers ‘touch’.
politics & policy
Let’s talk about robots...
James Mildred
Date posted: 1 Apr 2020
A few weeks ago, I attended a round table with a panel of experts, exploring a Christian response to artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics.
My primary mission there was to observe and to learn. It was fascinating listening to attendees discuss their fears and hopes for the future. Robotics and AI is a massive subject and it is complicated, too. I suspect the daunting nature of the issue puts many people off. But what is clear is that robots and AI are set to play an increasingly prominent role in our lives. In turn, this will prompt huge questions about the value of work and what it means to be human.
A Big Gospel in Small Places
Stephen Witmer
Date posted: 1 Feb 2020
An extract from Stephen Witmer’s new book
In one sense, love itself is not very strategic. Anyone who’s ever been a parent understands this.
defending our faith
Platforms for hate speech?
Chris Sinkinson
Date posted: 1 Mar 2020
In a very disturbing recent development, major British conference venues have cancelled bookings for a tour by the son of Billy Graham. The May 2020 mission has been planned to give Franklin Graham an opportunity to follow in his late father’s footsteps and preach the gospel in various UK cities.
It is true that Franklin Graham has been controversial in some church circles. His salary from the Samaritan’s Purse has been under scrutiny. His vocal support for Donald Trump has alienated some evangelicals. His style of evangelism may not always fit well with British churches. But it is important to remember that these issues are not the point.
Mission field of the workplace
William Taylor
Date posted: 1 Sep 2018
Wes Illingsworth asks William Taylor about the new ‘Questions for Life’ mission
In March 2018, ‘Gospel at Work’ Lunchtime Talks networks made a special effort to take Christ’s answers to life’s biggest questions into their workplaces.
