Seven up…

1) Tom Holland accepts AC Grayling’s challenge: “Name ONE thing Christianity did for us” – Love this snippet from a debate between author Tom Holland, who recently published ‘Dominion’ on the history of Christianity in the West and atheist AC Grayling.

2) Greta Thunberg – Person of the Year 2019 – A brilliant piece helping us engage theologically with Greta!

3) What Difference Will Prayer Make? – Why would I bother praying if God has already planned what will happen? A heartening piece that will encourage your prayer life.

4) Simon Sinek on Intensity vs Consistency – Three minutes of Sinek’s talk on organisational culture accompanied by a very clever and witty animation from Jocie Juritz.

5) Harvard Just Discovered that PowerPoint is Worse Than Useless – So if this is true, what does it mean for our sermons?

6) English Anglican evangelicals: five areas of disagreement – For those in or out of the Church of England, this is a very helpful piece to understand the situation for many of us who describe ourselves in the above terms.

7) Grandma arrives at Airport in T-Rex costume – For something a bit different, what would you do if you heard your grandkids were going to meet you off your flight dressed in their dinosaur costumes?

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Seven up…

1) Some encouragements for 2020 – Jeremy Marshall takes stock of gospel ministry in the UK at the turn of the decade, and offers some encouraging reflections from his sense of ‘how things are going’.

2) #Megxit – We’ll probably have differing reactions to the announcement from Prince Harry and Meghan this week about them ‘stepping back’ from their royal roles. Rachel Jones looks at what these different responses might tell us. Nick Baines points out that at one level Harry & Meghan are just doing everything our culture tells us all that we can do. Krish K says we should give them some space and asks whether the questions facing the Royal Family could also be asked of the Church.

3) Andrew Peterson interview on creativity, loneliness, ambition & originality – I occasionally listen in to Jonathan Rogers’ fascinating podcast on writing, The Habit. In the opening episode from the current second season he interviews Andrew Peterson and, given the rave reviews of Peterson’s recently published book on creativity as a Christian, I’m looking forward to listening in.

4) Your Ministry Will Take a Lifetime – Ray Ortlund always has so much wisdom, and this piece flows out of a lifetime of ministry. If you’re in the early years of ministry, then this is well worth a read. Actually just read it, however long you’ve been in set-aside pastoral ministry!

5) Dark, SAD and cold: how can I survive the bleak midwinter? – Maybe you’re feeling the January blues? Here’s a helpful brief reflection from Georgie Hosier reflecting on suffering from seasonal affective disorder (SAD).

6) Switch off to Switch on – Did you begin new year with hopes to be less attached to your phone? How’s that going? I appreciated this honest account from Olly Knight on his own struggles and the way he’s trying to be less dependent from his phone and more connected with God and other people.

7) A Beautiful Recognition – For something a bit different, hard not to be touched by this video of a woman with dementia recognising that the carer she’s spending the day with is actually her daughter…

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Welcome back!

Here’s ‘seven up’ to get you started in 2020…

1) Reading the Bible in 2020 – Few things could be more transformative for any of us than reading the Bible each day this year. How can you make that a reality? The Gospel Coalition are launching a daily subscription email and podcast to help you read the Bible using the M’Cheyne reading plan. Or why not get a subscription to the Explore Bible-reading notes? Another way of getting the Bible open each day is to subscribe to Word @ Work, which I know a lot of people enjoy using: a free Bible reading, reflection, application and prayer sent to your inbox each day. And if you need inspiration for what it might look like and where, then watch this little video.

2) Free Audiobook: Competing Spectacles by Tony Reinke – This month’s free audiobook at Christian Audio is highly recommended, especially given many of us will probably have a new year’s resolution about how much time we spend ‘on our phones’. Reinke’s book ‘offers practical steps to redirect our gaze away from the addictive eye candy of the world and onto the Ultimate Spectacle-leading to the joy and rest our souls crave.’ Create a free Christian Audio account, download the app, and follow the link to add this free book for January.

3) A Pastoral Exhortation for 2020 – You could do a lot worse than making sure you seek to follow this simple advice for every Christian…

4) Resolutions of a Small-Town Pastor – If you’re involved in ministry in a ‘small place’, then these six resolutions would be well worth considering and praying through as you begin 2020.

5) 10 Questions for a New Year – If you don’t have time to try the 2020 Life Audit, then answering these 10 questions from Don Whitney would be a great investment for the year ahead.

6) New decade, renewed conviction – Really appreciated this article from Danny Webster over at the Evangelical Alliance: “…let us reflect whether those looking at us would consider our faith to be serious and cogent, to be genuinely held and affecting a substantial aspect of life. Is our faith seen to be more than an opinion or view point anchored only in what we currently know, or rooted in the sure and eternal hope of Christ who triumphed over death?”

7) Learning Limits – Amidst all the resolutions, hopes and dreams, this is a helpful piece reflecting on limitations and why we shouldn’t follow Elsa’s advice in 2020.

And for something a bit different, if all that feels a bit full-on and you’re bamboozled at the prospect of change in 2020, then let Anna, Olaf & Sven remind you that ‘some things never change‘ (after all, ‘Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever’, right! – Hebrews 13:8)…

So, ‘Happy New Year’ from us!

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