Something to read in-between watching sports you’ve never watched before but now suddenly love…
1) What difference does being a Christian make at the Olympics? – American divers David Boudia and Steele Johnson won Olympic silver this week in the men’s synchronized 10-meter platform, and yet their interview with a national TV channel was like none I’d seen before. Amazing example of what it means to live out your identity in Christ.
2) The Echo Chamber of Idolatry – My former theological college principal, Mike Ovey, on really good form: “I can start to analyse what God will look like for someone when I understand who and what they think they are. There is a predictive power in looking at what someone thinks of him or herself for envisaging what his or her god will look like. The two questions ‘Who do you worship?’ and ‘Who/what do you think you are?’ are related.”
3) 2011 riots: How one night changed my life – Fascinating piece looking back at the London riots during the summer of 2011, as well as their ‘personal legacy’.
4) Being in Ministry Saved My Marriage – Given how many stories there are of full-time ministry leading to marital disaster, it’s refreshing to hear someone giving thanks for all the blessings it can bring to a marriage too.
5) Britain’s real hate crime scandal – Interesting article looking at the rise of the use of ‘hate crime’ as a criminal offence.
6) Free Talks Online from the 2016 Evangelical Ministry Assembly EMA – The Proclamation Trust have just made available all the talks (video & audio) from this year’s EMA, which looked at the theme of ‘Leaders Who Last’ and by many accounts was a corker. There’s the some gold dust from Don Carson on a theology of perseverance, as well as a stirring pen portrait of John Newton from Vaughan Roberts. Have a look and fill up the iPod.
7) The Toddler Who Didn’t Fancy Demoing the Car Seat – Finally, spare a thought for little Noah. When your Mum is a TV producer and she ropes you in to demonstrate a car seat live on air, but it’s just not quite your style…
On the blog last week:
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Hello, my name is Robin. Welcome to That Happy Certainty, where I write and collate on Christianity, culture, and ministry. I’m based in Barrow-in-Furness in South Cumbria, England, where I serve a church family called 
