For the last 5 weeks I have been ‘hosting’ a period of silence on my live on facebook page, on a Wednesday at around 7pm, and on most days during the lockdown ive given silent space to do the morning or evening prayer from there Celtic prayer book. A space to be truly still. A space in which the newsfeed stops. Silence is dangerous dont … Continue reading Stillness in the storm
‘At that moment the curtain in the sanctuary of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom, The earth shook, rocks split apart, and tombs opened.’ (Matthew 27:51) At that moment the curtain was torn, in two, from top to bottom. For so long the desire for the curtain to be torn open has been from bottom to top. The challenge upwards. But … Continue reading The curtain torn, like never before
Does anyone still use that phrase ; its always the 20% of people in churches that seem to do 80% of all the work? It got banded around for quite a while, though I’ve not heard it recently. It was, at best a passive aggressive way of encouraging people who only sat on pews every week to make more contributions in the life of churches. … Continue reading Should discipleship be ‘action’ first?
Regular readers will know that this is something that i have teased at this quite a a while ago, amongst a variety of other pieces. I just thought it might be good to give it a rethink. I’m realising more and more that the broader church had a habit of wanting to redefine and re- strategise it purpose, often adopting marketing and business methodologies, or … Continue reading Can church be developed and defined from its action?
A few thoughts on the above One of the books that I have loved reading recently has been ‘The Sacred Enneagram’ by Christopher L Heurtz, and whilst I would have been sceptical a few years ago about many of the Myers-briggs/Enneagram type psychological things, reading it, after a few others on the Enneagram, at a time in my life in which I have been open … Continue reading Praying the drama
Have a think about this for a moment…. Where is God speaking to you through your youthwork practice? Might it be easy before, or after, but what about through and in midst of it all? This post will look at how God speaks, Biblically, divine action and then what it might mean for God to speak through our practices of youth ministry. For those who … Continue reading In the Drama of your youth Ministry, does God have a speaking part?
What shall we do with young people when they grow out of messy church? How do we integrate young people into the life of the church? We do really great childrens work, but youths..? These are three of the most common questions that I hear on a regular basis from church leaders and congregations in regard to a church working with young people. I wouldnt … Continue reading Should churches view young people as ministers?
A few weeks ago I penned a piece that began with Peter Oulds assertion that ‘Evangelicals need a better story’ in regard to how situations of LGBT are dealt with, and the piece ended with my own story of growing up evangelical, and the predominant silence on the issue, a silence which meant that as a young person I had no way of assessing the … Continue reading LGBT and the Christian Story (Part 2) – Might drama make for a better evangelical story?
You wont read this post. I guarantee you, no one will read this post. Even with a sneaky reference to an Olivia Newton John lyric in the title, you wont read this, because its got Theology in the title as well. I should have put sex, or masturbation, or something witty, clever or clickbaity, but no, in the spirit of honesty this piece is what … Continue reading Lets get Theological! On making Theology, not models & strategies first in Youth Ministry
Why is it that young people are often involved in committees at schools, as young as primary school, given responsibility in ‘anti-bullying’ campaigns, tasked with being peer mentors, and encouraged to have their view on school councils within school – and yet in churches they’re often just given a picture to colour in and an activity to do? Thats a statement I say alot. And … Continue reading Is our concept of participation, in youth ministry, too small?
