As expected, this week the General Synod of the Church of England at last agreed to allow the consecration of women as bishops. I say ‘at last’ because for some time it has seemed to be a matter of time and getting the wording right for the legislation to pass, and that has now happened.
Read moreWhat do we need most from God, justice or mercy? The answer is that we need both. We often hear people – and some Christians among them – complaining that life is not fair, and that God himself is not fair. “Where is the God of justice?” they cry. Some will even turn away from
Read moreThere aren’t many songs that focus directly on God speaking to us through his word. One of the best in my view is Keith Getty and Stuart Townend’s Speak, O Lord – a song we often sing at church. Here’s how the second verse begins: “Teach us, Lord, full obedience, holy reverence, true humility; Test
Read moreA couple of weeks ago, while waiting to get my hair cut, I was reading Craig Brown in the Daily Mail. He described how he regretted never asking his father about D-Day. He had landed in Normandy the day after D-Day, but had never talked about it, like so many of his companions. Brown went
Read moreTo my shame, it has taken me almost a year to get round to reading Paul Miller’s book, A Praying Life. It’s really good! It’s so good, I wish I’d read it much sooner – still, better late than never. So, if you haven’t yet discovered this treasure, I hope you will soon. In a
Read moreI believe in sacrifice. After all, right at the centre of my life and faith as a Christian is the glorious truth that “the Son of God … loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20). What could be more natural, then, for me to sacrifice myself for him out of sheer gratitude, and
Read moreDo you know which countries in the world send the most missionaries? I expect few of us would be surprised to learn that the United States sends more missionaries than any other country. But how many of us would be able to name the other big senders? A study by Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary found that
Read moreThe French railway company SNCF has recently taken delivery of 2,000 new trains. There is just one problem: they are too wide to fit into many of the country’s stations. Apparently they were given the wrong platform measurements. As you can imagine, this is a costly mistake (it will cost the equivalent of £12 billion),
Read moreI couldn’t quite believe the headline, yet it turned out to be absolutely genuine. In The Week Douglas Preston gave an hilarious account of the week in 1991 when he hosted the Dalai Lama in Santa Fe, New Mexico. One day the Dalai Lama said he would like to see skiing – and that is
Read moreThe Eurovision Song Contest may be one of those shows watched by more people than will admit to watching it. The runaway winner last weekend was Conchita Wurst, the bearded Austrian drag queen. As she accepted her trophy, she tearfully said, “This is dedicated to everyone who believes in a future of peace and freedom.
Read more