Seven up…

1) How God Has Upheld Connie Dever – One woman’s story of how God kept her going through her (on-going) journey with cancer.

2) Are your meetings SMART? – FIEC’s Church Leadership Consultant shares some advice on running effective meetings.

3) Now teaching Christian doctrine at a church school is ‘extremist’. Move over Monty Python – David Robertson responds to the news that a Church of England primary school has banned a Christian educational group from giving assemblies, despite the headteacher denying the group has done anything wrong.

4) Psalms for Weary Souls – Free album – To mark the release of Matt Searles’ new Psalms devotional, he’s giving away his latest album, Tumbling Sky (which inspired the book), as a free download (scroll to the bottom of the linked page to get the album). It’s a brilliant record and showcases how the Psalms are God’s gift to help us engage with him in times of trial, and to find in Jesus Christ rest for our weary souls. Download and you won’t be disappointed.

5) Cooper & Cary Have Words – Enjoying this new podcast from comedy-writer James Cary & presenter/writer Barry Cooper, looking at “culture, theology, the arts, and the weather… well they are British”. The debut episode includes Martin Luther and Game of Thrones…

6) Reaching students in specialist colleges – Part of an excellent blog series by Peter Dray on how student ministry should be shaped by the type of university in view, e.g. red brick/cathedral group/plate glass. Required reading if you’re involved in student ministry.

7) Inside the Pantone color factory – For something a bit different, this is fascinating!

On the Blog this Week:

Why Me Too Has Helped Me To See

1) 10 Things Sexual Assault Victims Want You to Know – In light of the horrific Harvey Weinstein allegations, this article by Karen Swallow Prior from earlier this year is sobering reading. She invited friends to share their own experiences of sexual assault with her on social media and was overwhelmed by the size of the response. Glen Scrivener also observes in this Twitter thread here that our righteous outrage at these allegations might reveal more than we might care to admit about what we think is intrinsic to sex.

2) Gospel films – If you haven’t come across these Lumo films, they’re well worth checking out and considering for church services, perhaps to replace a gospel Bible reading: feature-film versions of the four gospels that use only the biblical text as script.

3) Neil MacGregor: Why Britain stands alone when it comes to Religion – The former director of the British Museum observes the unique way that we in Britain are “trying to live without an agreed narrative of our communal place in the cosmos and in time”.

4) Benny Hinn Is My Uncle, but Prosperity Preaching Isn’t for Me – Fascinating account of someone embroiled in the heart of the ‘prosperity gospel’ movement, but who then turned his back on it.

5) The Decline of ‘Religion’ – Simple observation laced with challenge from Alan Jacobs (via CS Lewis) about why church attendance is declining in the West.

6) How I learnt that every day has a healthy theme – Chris Green encourages us to understand how each of our working days in a week will inevitably be different. The key is understanding the purpose of each day, rather than getting worried that Tuesday is different to Thursday.

7) Spies Like Us: A Conversation With John le Carré and Ben Macintyre – For something a bit different, how about this extensive interview with legendary British spy writer le Carré , on the occasion of his new – and possibly final – release “A Legacy of Spies”.

On the Blog:

God’s Very Good Idea by Trillia Newbell – A Review

Seven up…

1) ‘Life Explored’ A Year On – It’s now just over a year since the evangelistic resource, Life Explored, was first released. To mark the occasion the team behind it have put together this digital feature to give some hints and tips on running the course effectively.

2) Peter Adam on Depression – A personal and honest interview with Australian Bible teacher Peter Adam on the depression he has suffered from for most of the past thirty years.

3) Reformation Resources – Church Society have rounded up of some of the best resources on the Reformation (including kids’ materials, videos & articles), as we mark 500 years this month since Martin Luther kick-started it all.

4) Andrew Heard Leadership Masterclass – These three talks by Kiwi pastor Andrew Heard, from a recent FIEC UK conference, are just brilliant, especially given practical leadership isn’t something we often hear teaching on: Clarity in Leadership; Leading an Organisation; Q&A session.

5) The Pointlessness of Vegas Is Its Point – The horrific and brutal loss of life in Las Vegas has filled our screens this past week. Amidst the endless media coverage there has been an endless guessing over the killer’s motive. In this perceptive and frank article Stephen McAlpine suggests that our secular culture is desperate to find a reason for the killing because it can’t face up to the pointlessness of the life it has ‘created’.

6) Why You Should Keep Taking Your Kids To Church Even When It Feels Pointless – For many people, kids + church = disaster/massive effort/stressful Sunday. But nevertheless, stick at it. Here’s why.

7) The Girl Detectives – Fascinating longform piece about a student group at the University of Pittsburgh dedicated to solving crimes. Now I feel bad about being a paid-up member of Neighbours Soc.