Seven up…

1) Celebrating the life of Brother Andrew (1928-2022) – Brother Andrew, best known as ‘God’s Smuggler’, also the name of his incredible biography, has died aged 94. He founded Open Doors and they testify to God’s work in his amazing life here.

2) ‘Who Am I?’ Faith in Kids material – “Our confused culture is asking children to create their own answers to that question. This pressure to decide everything for themselves robs them of the secure identity that God has given them.” The YouTube teaser looks fab, but the material itself is immense. This 7-week suite of resources helps open up positive conversations with families – study notes, all age talks, activities, visuals, questions and parents handouts to help church communities take on their kids’ biggest questions.

3) BeReal: Authenticity in the Social Media Age – Liam Thatcher reflects on the significance of this popular new photo app offering the chance to ‘BeReal’.

4) Living for Jesus at work – This collection of advice, wisdom & guidance looks like a really helpful resource from Evangelical Alliance, seeking to equip people to live out their Christian faith in their workplaces.

5) Managing Complex Change – I don’t know where this has come from this, but this shows the power of a good diagram to communicate. What is needed to manage complex change – and what happens when one element of the process is missing?

6) Top 5 Heresies Among American Evangelicals – The State of Theology report by Ligonier Ministries has some fascinating findings from a US audience. The write-up from Christianity Today above notes some of the most significant data.

7) Superman Cyclist – For something a bit different, Italian cyclist Michael Guerra’s application of physics and aerodynamics is pretty nuts…

Seven up…

1) Queen Elizabeth II – Lord Michael Farmer writes about remembering her as ‘Elizabeth the Faithful’. Stephen McAlpine reflects on Elizabeth’s funeral calling it ‘One Last Magnificent Porous Day’. Bishop Graham Tomlin reflects on what the nation’s response to her death might mean, arguing it reveals a ‘latent spirituality in the UK’. Peter Stanford reflects in The Guardian on our approach to grief.

2) Pray for Iran – In light of the protests and violence in Iran after the death of Zhina Mahsa Amini, Christians around the world are looking for ways to pray for Iran. This prayer was shared by Elam Ministries, who are serving the Church in Iran. It was written by Asrin, an Iranian Christian leader who, like Zhina Mahsa Amini, is Kurdish and so understands the repression that both Kurds and women have faced in Iran over many decades. You can read the original prayer and learn more about Elam’s work here.

3) How Much Time and Energy Do We Waste Toggling Between Applications? – Interesting tech perspective on how much we ‘toggle’…

4) Divine comedy: the standup double act who turned to the priesthood – This is a fascinating account of Christian conversion, more so because it’s in a UK national newspaper. This paragraph especially stood out: “Recently Jack has started picturing his life as a great house comprised of many rooms. There are rooms for your friendships, your love life, your career, rooms that you put signs outside declaring: I do not want this changed by my religion. Gradually, though, God starts knocking on the doors of more rooms, asking to join you in there, too. “And it’s difficult and painful and annoying,” he told me. But God’s presence also changes your experience of the rooms. You realise this was how they were supposed to look all along. You realise they have become brighter.”

5) Otherness with Jen Wilkin – Fascinating discussion on this podcast about family discipleship on the ‘otherness’ we experience in all seasons of life.

6) 9 lessons from the most watched sermon ever – I got the chance to reflect on Archbishop Justin Welby’s sermon from Monday’s funeral. Here are nine lessons I wanted to take away.

7) How to keep the seat next to you empty – For something a bit different, this seems to work on buses, trains and planes… but what about church?!

It is with huge sadness that we have all learned of the death of Her Majesty The Queen Elizabeth II. In this moment the nation – and indeed most of the world – has been gripped by a surreal sense of significance, loss, and privilege at having lived with Her Majesty as our Queen. Elizabeth the Great, Elizabeth the Humble, Elizabeth the Queen who knew her Saviour.

It is a unique time. Beyond a once-in-a-lifetime moment. A time that therefore brings unique opportunities, pressures and rhythms.

I thought it might be helpful to try and compile a set of links that capture some of the most useful resources at this time…

1) Go Chatter Video – ‘In Remembrance of Her Majesty’ – Thanks to the Go Chatter team for putting together this family-friendly video to play in church or share on social media. Available to purchase for a small cost to support their valuable ministry.

2) Leading the Church in Reflection on Elizabeth II – Credit to the team at FIEC for putting together this helpful half hour video conversation about navigating such a unique time, pastorally, missionally, and personally.

3) Thoughts for Preachers After the Death of The Queen – This is a helpful set of punchy reminders from LICC for those of us writing and rewriting sermons for this weekend.

4) Helping Parents Help Children Navigate The Queen’s Death – This ‘cribsheet’ is a helpful starter for parents pondering difficult questions or conversations with their children.

5) Tim Farron’s Tribute to The Queen’s Faith in the House of Commons – As Tim said, “Let us not forget, the bedrock of her life was her faith in Jesus Christ. Hers was not a perfunctory, ceremonial faith. It was a living and active faith in a living Saviour.”

6) Three ways to help children thank God for the life of the Queen – Faith in Kids have got you sorted with your kids’ slot in Sunday’s service.

7) Prayers & Reflections on the death of Her Majesty – My friend Mark Walley collated a series of readings and quotations from The Queen’s Christmas speeches, and I’ve put these together into a booklet for churches here. You can add a church logo on the front. The idea is you might have this available in a church building over the weekend.

8) Thank You, Your Majesty – Written by a Brit for a mostly American audience, I appreciated this reflection from Carl Laferton of The Good Book Company.

9) Perhaps my favourite anecdote about The Queen – Loved this anecdote, delightfully told by former Royal Protection Officer, Richard Griffin, during the Jubilee Celebrations earlier this year…

10) Clips of the Queen’s Speeches on her Christian Faith – Thank you to Neil Robbie who put this together!

11) Obituary: Queen Elizabeth II, Beacon of Grace – A stunning piece from Mark Greene.

12) The Kingdom is Not in Our Hands: On the Death of Queen Elizabeth II – This is such a winsome and perceptive long-form piece of cultural apologetics. Worth your time.

13) Tears & Celebration – Christian charities LICC and Bible Society have released ‘Tears and Celebration’, a new hymn featuring world-renowned mezzo-soprano Katherine Jenkins, written by Andy Flannagan with Sam Hargreaves. It looks perfect for churches to use in Sunday services. You can stream it from this YouTube link, or download scores, guitar chords and a backing track from the Jubilate website.

14) All Souls Tribute to Queen Elizabeth II – This is a lovely montage of Her Majesty’s own words put together by All Souls Church, including her coronation vows and the words said to her at coronation.

God Save The King.