Categories
Quotes

Slow Church and Slow Mission

Our modern Western society values speed and getting things done quickly. In the case of Bible translation, it is often assumed that getting a lot of translations done in a short time is a good thing, but as I have written before (here and here, for example), this may not always be the case. With […]

Categories
Observations

A Tale of Two Blunders

You may have noticed that there is a football competition going on at the moment. Last night, England played against the United States; for me and thousands of others the game was an affair of two big mistakes. Firstly, ITV cut away to adverts and I missed the England goal, then the England goalie made […]

Categories
Observations

Immigration, Asylum and the Tabloids

This article from today’s Guardian is very thought provoking: A few days after the frozen body of an eight-year-old boy had been found in the wheel-arch of a plane arriving at Gatwick airport from Kenya, I had a briefing with an immigration intelligence officer tired of the negative press coverage of asylum. The boy had […]

Categories
Computing/Internet Observations

Did You Know?

This is seriously thought provoking. What does it mean for the future of mission? The video lasts just over four minutes.

Categories
Do Not Use

Some Thoughts About an Oil Spill

A lot has been written over the past few weeks about the dreadful oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. This is one of those events that is really hard to get your head around. The amount of oil involved and the scale of the area polluted is enormous and it could be many years […]

Categories
Observations

Partners? Why Not Friends?

Partner and partnership are ‘buzz’ words in the mission community at the moment. I’ve lost count of how many seminars and workshops that I’ve attended (or even led) on partnership issues. Now, don’t get me wrong; I believe that partnership is incredibly important. John 17:23 tells us that the unity of Christians bears strong witness […]

Categories
Do Not Use

God Doesn’t Need You!

I love this cartoon from ASBO Jesus. It captures a profound truth that lies behind all of our dealings with God. He did not create us because he was somehow incomplete and needed humanity. He created us because he is a loving God and wanted to love and bless us. Likewise, he does not need […]

Categories
Observations

Priorities

Gary has just posted a rather thoughtful little piece. It is very short, so I’ll quote all of it. So pleased.  Visiting-ministering a church yesterday and somebody was busy with money-related matters but then said “we’ve got to do with it, but it’s a shame.  We should be concentrating on the important stuff, like mission […]

Categories
Observations

Between Death and Resurrection: The Disciples’ View

Put yourself in the shoes of one of Jesus’ disciples. Everything is over, finished, done, gone to pot. The man they had pinned their hopes on is dead, executed by the people they thought that he would be replacing. The disciples believed that Jesus was the Messiah, the one who had come to rule the […]

Categories
Observations

Growing Older

Those of you who live in the UK have probably seen this video already on TV, but I’m happy to post it here as I think it is beautiful. When advertising is done this well, it is truly an art form. Other department stores are available!