Faith, Hope & Love

Jem and I were invited by Peter Brierley, of Brierley Consultancy and Christian Research, to a conference that he facilitates called ‘New Leaders of Large Churches.’ In many ways it is perfect timing, coming just the week after we officially finished at PBC, because it will help transition our minds and thoughts between the change [...]

How do you ‘leave’ a church that you’ve loved, laughed with, grieved with, walked with and experienced many of life’s profound events together? It’s so much more than just leaving a job; we’re leaving home and friends and a deeply fulfilling role. PBC was the church where I met Jem, the place where our children [...]

I’m really looking forward to teaching this series, even though it will be with many mixed emotions. “You are not where you once were. You are not where you’re going to be. You are in a confusing zone. Welcome to The Land Between.” – Jeff Manion. In this coming five-week series we will learn to [...]

Waiting. We spend a lot of our lives waiting. Waiting for results. Waiting for growth. Waiting for someone to arrive. Waiting in queues. Waiting for important days. Waiting for answers. Waiting in airports. Waiting for the bathroom to be free. My daughter asked when her next birthday was about a day after her last birthday [...]

I’m praying a lot at the moment about what I’m going to be teaching at the two services on my ‘preach with a view’ Sunday at Tonbridge Baptist Church. Having never ‘preached with a view’ before it’s a little unusual to climb into teaching preparation for two messages where an unusual amount of attention will [...]

You’ve got to get out of the boat. Whenever following Jesus has become boring and predictable, we should ask ourselves whether we’re stepping out enough into new and sometimes scary places where we’re giving Jesus the opportunity to remind us of his reality. It takes trust in God and it develops our trust in God [...]

I’m not sure about ‘Rev‘ yet as I’ve only seen half an episode. It had some funny lines and Tom Hollander who plays the ‘Rev’ is a good actor who I’ve enjoyed in other roles. Yet it struck me as slightly odd that this is the subject of a sitcom, particularly as Father Ted – which [...]

The power of a good product. I stood in line today for 40 minutes to get my due upgrade at the end of my existing contract (good timing) to the latest Iphone 4. ‘Think different’? It’s a brilliant axiom for design and innovation, whether it’s technology, business or church, but the irony about the power [...]

I’ve just returned from eleven days in a stunning home in the South West of France. Brilliant time with my family, wonderful time reading, particularly the first in Simon Walker’s ‘Undefended Leaders‘ series, and Ian Stackhouse’s ‘The Day Is Yours‘, and lots of time to think and pray. It was a gift from God through [...]

Capello is a proven manager at club level, but I hope he’s not so confident in his own track record that he won’t listen to those who have managed a squad at an international tournament. Capello needs to dig deep in his man management and tactical acumen to bring about some real change on Wednesday. There’s [...]

Once you’re a parent you have a whole new paradigm through which to see your own parents. I’m blessed to be able to say that being a parent has only increased my respect for how much my Mum and Dad sacrificed and loved my brother and I. I know that this Father’s Day I’ll have [...]

I love this video; it reminds us of the power of words. It’s one reason I love teaching. I love crafting words, stories, tone and humour to move hearts and minds with the story of Jesus and I’m pretty much obsessed at getting better. But I heard a great reminder this week that good speeches don’t raise [...]

For the last four days I’ve been at the mandatory conference for Newly Accredited Ministers (Nam’s) in Hothorpe Hall, Market Harborough. The highlights of the conference have included lots of laughs with Simon Cragg and David McClaughlin and making new friends like Mark Greer, who leads Oasis Salford. Mark and I were an enthusiastic, if [...]

It was my first time at the New Wine Leaders conference, but a good way to start the sabbatical. I travelled with Rich Thomas and Ali FG in convoy with the rest of the St. Matthew’s High Brooms staff team. Spending time with the St. Matt’s team over those few days was as refreshing and [...]