J John
I had a dream
I had a dream last night. In it I found myself ushered into Number 10 Downing Street, surprisingly as the new Prime Minister.
The 2024 election part 1: Where are we?
While the last British general election was just four and a half years ago, it seems to belong in another historical epoch.
On your feet
Feet are vital â over an average lifetime we walk between 75,000 and 100,000 miles â and any problem with them seriously affects our life. It's hardly surprising, then, that the Bible makes 162 references to feet in the Old Testament, and 75 in the New Testament
Living in a world that's lost its reason
I was talking to a friend about the challenges that we Christians face today when he said, 'We are swimming against the current â the world has lost its reason.' The phrase struck me and I've been pondering it.
Thriving in times of turbulence
Beyond the noisy buffeting and chilling winds of our day, there are many encouragements. Let me offer you four.
What Christmas means to me
When I sit in an armchair on Christmas Eve and spend time with family and friends, I am aware that having found the meaning of Christmas, I need to guard it.
A farewell to David Pytches
With his passing to glory, the church has lost a great man.
The Great Escape - and the greatest of escapes
Why, though, for all its achievements, has The Great Escape, which barely mentions Christmas, become such a seasonal favourite?
The state of the nation: figures, faith and futures
There can be no disguising the fact that there is a fundamental problem in British Christianity.
Tim Keller: a tribute
Tim had many roles â pastor, theologian, writer â but perhaps the most important was that of evangelist. So here, as an evangelist, I want to comment on a few notable aspects of Tim's remarkable life and ministry in proclaiming the gospel.
George Verwer: a hero of the faith
George Verwer died on Friday 14th April at the age of eighty-four. With his passing the church has lost a man who had an astonishing global influence on the way the church carries out its vital task of sharing the good news of Jesus.
This week at General Synod
Not everything that is planted deserves to come to fruition, and it is precisely the responsibility of bishops, and even archbishops, to do their best to ensure that the fields of the Lord produce a good crop for him.
On Lent and 'being' Lent
This Lent you can focus on saying particular prayers, which is commendable, or on skipping chocolate, abstaining from social media or alcohol. But can I encourage you to prayerfully ponder, remembering that all we are and all we have has been lent to us and that we remain accountable to God?
After the 2021 census, the Church needs a more positive and dynamic strategy
Amid the gloomy complacency, these census figures should be a bellowing alarm, says J John.
In memory of Barry Kissell: a balanced man
The passing of a fellow Christian worker, particularly after long years of service, brings mixed feelings. There is the inevitable sadness but also a curious sense of fulfilment: the awareness of a life lived; a race well run; of 'mission accomplished'.
The tragedy of Halloween
Halloween raises big questions but only gives lies as answers.