By the grace of our God, the generosity of our congregation has marvellously supplied the needs of Barneys and the partners that we support. As a result, total giving is ahead of target, which is a huge answer to prayer. That said, we are going to make some changes to the collection of giving on Sundays. [...]
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The Mars Hill crash & me
The last 12 months have been devastating for Mars Hill Church in Seattle and their globally recognised teaching pastor, Mark Driscoll. Numerous former and present pastors, elders and members have described the church culture as abusive and manipulative, and criticised a process of concentration of extraordinary power among very few hands, including the power to [...]
Prayer and mission
Col 4:2 Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. Col 4:3 And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. 4 Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. Nowhere else in [...]
Why women should not be silent in the churches
Last week, I wrote a short post called 'Where do I stand on the issue of women preachers?'. The post wasn't intended to mount an argument for one position or another. Rather, it was written in response to questions I have been asked from inside and outside the church that I pastor, St Barnabas Broadway. The [...]
PART 3: The conversation that church plants and established churches need to have
You could be forgiven for thinking that this series of posts is fundamentally about cash. Actually, it has almost nothing to do with money. Money works as an example of the two points I've made (slowly) so far: Churches make commitments that are not as flexible as the size of their membership. When members leave, [...]
PART 2: The conversation that church plants and established churches need to have
Last week I made the boring but necessary point that some church costs can scale with size, whereas others do not. Today, I want to tell a fable, and then ask a question. New Church Suppose a church plant - let's call it 'New Church' - reaches a stage in their life together when they [...]
Where do I stand on the issue of women preachers?
In recent days, a number of people have asked me where I stand in the issue of women preaching in church. This is a question that matters to me. It matters because I'm the senior minister of one of the most recognisable Anglican churches in the country. It matters because my church, St Barnabas Broadway, [...]
Why my wife is not the most amazing wife in the world
My wife is not the most amazing wife in the world. Some of you - especially those who actually know my wife, Fiona - will be appalled at what I have written. You will note that when I first came on staff at my church, members of the congregation found it hard to believe we [...]
PART 1: The conversation that church plants and established churches need to have
There is a conversation that church plants and established churches need to have. It isn't happening. And this is a problem. Over three posts, I'm going to unpack some uncomfortable truths about the relationship between old and new churches, about effective resourcing of mission and about the dark side of the minister's heart. Another conversation Many Christians [...]
Why I love the parish church
You might think, from the state of the current conversation around mission and church planting, that parish churches have had their day. That they are a quaint, nostalgic and ineffective legacy of comfy Christendom. But parish churches have never been more important. It is true that a great deal of evangelism naturally proceeds along lines that largely [...]
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