Categories
Reviews

Books I Have Read: The Ministry of a Messy House

I’m not sure how to describe this book. At one level it is easy to describe it; it’s an excellent book, well written and genuinely easy to read. I don’t have the slightest hesitation in recommending that you read it. My difficulty, is that I’m not sure how to classify it. It is part guide […]

Categories
Bible & Mission

A New Reformation?

Church historians sometimes downplay one of the key planks of the Protestant Reformation; the use of indigenous languages in Bible study, worship and disciple making. A great deal is made of the theological influence of Luther, Calvin et al, but language gets much less attention. However, the Reformation both encouraged and depended on the use of […]

Categories
Observations

Grace in a Messy House

… so if I’m living in a mess which prevents rest in God and damages relationships, I have fallen short of his standards: I have sinned. And when we have sinned, we know what to do: ‘if we confess our sins, he is faithful  and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us […]

Categories
Do Not Use

John Risbridger on Bible Translation

http://wycliffe.org.uk/downloads/fp2013-johnrisbridger-lr.mp4 John Risbridger is one of the ministers at Above Bar Church, which has supported Sue and I since we first joined Wycliffe in 1985. This video was prepared as one of the resources for Frontline Prayer Live; an opportunity to pray for the work of Bible translation across the world. Why not take a […]

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Bible & Mission

I Believe in The Scriptures

I had the privilege of seeing David Bowden perform a couple of his poems recently; he really is quite impressive. If you received this blog post by email and can’t see the video, you can find it online here.

Categories
Short-Term Mission

Community Rather than Clichés

One of the best blogs on the block at the moment is Djibouti Jones: life at the crossroads of faith and culture by Rachel Pieh Jones. Don’t take my word for it; head over there and sign up the her updates. In her latest post, Rachel talks about how she has helped Amina; a young […]

Categories
Computing/Internet

Missionary Committees and Social Media

If you have a role in a Church supporting missionaries; then you must have a Facebook account! Most people have recognised that we have moved from an age of print communication to digital, on-line communication. In the missionary world, the old printed newsletters (our first ones were done on a manual typewriter) have been largely […]

Categories
Observations

Missionaries as Listeners?

Last night I was speaking at the Wycliffe Live event in Northern Ireland. My theme was the way in which the growth of the Church around the world coupled with a slow decline in the influence of Christianity in the West poses a particular challenge for mission agencies such as Wycliffe. This reminded me of […]

Categories
Reviews

Books I Have Read: Spillover

I don’t think I’ve ever met a virus I didn’t like. Let me clarify that; I don’t actually like being infected by viruses and I’m very aware of the devastation they can wreak, but they are absolutely fascinating. If you don’t think viruses are extraordinary; you haven’t studied them! If you would like to know […]

Categories
Observations

The Bible Is the Greatest Missionary

This is another in my very occasional series examining famous missionary sayings. This time I want to turn my attention to some words of William Cameron Townsend who said: “The greatest missionary is the Bible in the mother tongue. It needs no furlough and is never considered a foreigner.”  I must admit, I’ve had a few […]