Home – Part One. There was a time when home was a place of familiarity for me. Then I left that home and spent the next few years appreciating the fact that home was more about key people providing the familiar in the strength of their character and the relational ties we had. Home then […]
Read More Grateful For … (13)Church is family. When I was a child growing up in Wellingborough, my Dad was the deacon of the church we attended. It was a small church. There was the Elder and my Dad the deacon and a few other members besides. As far as my memory serves, the Elder and my Dad had a […]
Read More A Note Of Gratitude For The Family LoveWe were seated in a semi circle enjoying the summer breeze in the evening. The conversation got round to what happens when the children grow up and have lifestyles that go against the values with which they were brought up. It was fascinating listening to the various views on what we do when our hearts […]
Read More A Reflection On The Prodigal Son: Bungee JumpingSee what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 1 John 3:1 Dysfunctional family. The family somewhere to some degree suffers from areas where it […]
Read More Say What You See: Functioning FamiliesGod sets the lonely in families, he leads out the prisoners with singing; but the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land. (Psalm 68:6) Let me state the obvious: There are too many lonely people in the world. Now you can rightly ask, how is that so obvious to me? Well, I’m glad you asked. It’s so obvious to me […]
Read More Say What You See: Lonely BefriendedI have nothing against youth ministries. I know a lot of work goes into engaging with children and young people helping to develop spiritual awareness, personal growth, social skills and even a sense of vocation. What I get a bit concerned about is how youth ministry can tend to emphasise a generational gap. People are […]
Read More Taking Advice From The EldersThe love of God is real. When I am down and feeling low there are good people around me. Now that could be said for anyone, it doesn’t have to be a Christian. The difference with the community of Jesus Followers, though, is how this love is not just about making you feel good. It […]
Read More Thanks For The LoveThanksgiving is a beautiful thing. Truly a beautiful and wonderful thing. Today has been a great example of that. I have had the privilege of working under a particular organisation over the last year or so. These folks have been brilliant. They’ve helped me experience what it is to be kinda self-employed and working as […]
Read More Celebrating God in the Beauty of OthersMinistry is an interesting concept in thought and practice. The model of ‘ministry’ I saw growing up consisted of the main man having to be bi-vocational as there wasn’t enough income to make him a ‘full-time’ minister. So they had the week job, then come church day, they’d have to roll out the main event […]
Read More Family & Community: Ministry MattersChurch at its best is when a group of people who otherwise have no reason to be together, find themselves entangled in each other’s lives as they are now members of the family of God. That family is not just a nominal one. It’s a messy one. It’s one with all sorts of oddballs. It’s […]
Read More Family, Fellowship and Friendship
Life With CD 