There is just one flesh we can wound

I am discouraged that it seems necessary to say "don't kill Palestinians" or "don't kill Christians in Iraq" or that there is outcry over the plight of the Yazidi. How about "Don't kill people"? It isn't the Palestinian identity, the Christian faith, the Yazidi culture that makes it important not to kill people: it is their humanity. I struggle to understand why this isn't obvious, but apparently...

Jesus loves Tories too

So, it transpires that David Cameron has been going on about how much he loves Christianity (or what he thinks of as Christianity) and saying ill-thought-out, embarrassing things. From what I can gather online he's claiming that Jesus invented the Big Society and David Cameron is, er, trying to follow in his footsteps. It doesn't take a lot to dismantle the first claim. Care for the widow, the...

Why I came back: factors in church membership

This is the third in a series of posts examining my own experiences of leaving church and later returning to Christian faith and practice as a sort of case study, to see what can be learned about why people leave churches and why they come back. I’ve been thinking about this for a while, but some of it is triggered by recent comments about church growth. The previous post is about what kept me...

What kept me away: Factors in church membership

This is the second in a series of posts examining my own experiences of leaving church and later returning to Christian faith and practice as a sort of case study, to see what can be learned about why people leave churches and why they come back. I've been thinking about this for a while, but some of it is triggered by recent comments about church growth. The previous post is about why I left...

Why I Left Church: Factors in church membership

This is the first in a series of posts examining my own experiences of leaving church and later returning to Christian faith and practice as a sort of case study, to see what can be learned about why people leave churches and why they come back. I've been stewing over this idea for a while, but it has been triggered by comments about church growth earlier this week. We are told people are leaving...

Reality Check

"The reality is that where you have a good vicar, you will find growing churches." --@ABCJustin earlier Today. All other factors being equal, this may be true. A "good" vicar or minister in a situation where a growth in church membership is possible is probably more likely, on the whole, to see that growth happen than a "bad" or mediocre one. Assuming growth in church membership is a good thing...

Sing Alleluia, and keep on walking

Thanks to @DrBattyTowers for the title of this post. I know she's used it, too; I just couldn't think of a better one for what I'm going to say later. Image from Miss Music Nerd. Holy Week has been and gone; Christ is risen, and walking amongst us. Yesterday -- Easter Day -- was a varied one for me. I woke early, having been up late enough to notice that yes, my various devices moved over to...

Recession and Evangelism

This morning a Twitter friend linked to a Telegraph article about the incoming Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, on a visit to Trent Vineyard church. I haven't watched the video of the interview with Caroline and Justin Welby, as it's private at the moment. I'm aware that the Telegraph may have presented a certain viewpoint, which may lead readers to a slightly different impression of what...

General advice during General Synod, part II

Well, that's a bit embarrassing. For the measure on women in the episcopate to pass, it needed a 67% majority in all of three houses: bishops, clergy and laity. It got 94% in the House of Bishops (Yes 44; No 3; Absentions 2), 77% in the House of Clergy (Yes 148; No 45) , 64% in the House of Laity (Yes 132; No 74). So it lost by a whisker, really. Six votes -- or fewer than that and a few...

More on the same Measure

Background update: voting on the amended Measure for the consecration of women as bishops was adjourned until November in light of opposition to Clause 5.1.c (the second amendment by the House of Bishops, which I discussed in a previous post). The House of Bishops will meet in September to discuss what to do next. Rev Peter Ould, who I follow on Twitter, said this: The main objection to Clause...