Seven up…

1) Christianity in the UK – Church trends in the 21st century – Statistician Peter Brierley with a very helpful summary picture of the UK church scene.

2) How to Prepare for the Metaverse – Some of us might read the word ‘metaverse’ and think, ‘well, that’s not for me’. This article begs to differ: “If we begin the hard work of discipleship today, we might find resilient disciples of Jesus faithfully leading on the edge of a new frontier, working for the flourishing of everyone—physically and virtually—with confident humility in the face of monumental change.”

3) Dissecting the new Two Ways to Live with Philip Jensen & Tony Payne – 2 Ways to Live, or 2W2L, is one of the most popular ‘gospel outlines’ out there. The creators have just ‘refreshed’ – this is an interesting and thoughtful interview examining why.

4) Evening Meetings & Fretting – Do pastors have too many evening meetings. Probably. Maybe we could do them a little different and make them a lot healthier. Here’s how…

5) Overwhelm – Some helpful and practical steps for responding when despair overwhelms your mind.

6) Kate Forbes: The rising political star on glorifying God and aiming for excellence – Really enjoyed this profile piece of Kate Forbes, 31, MSP and Scottish secretary for finance and the economy.

7) A Tanker & a Maze of Companies: How Illitcit Oil Reaches North Korea – For something a bit different, this is a fascinating piece of investigative journalism by the NY Times.

And with less than a month ’til Advent begins, if you’re looking for a devotional resource to share or give-away to your church or small group, I’d be thrilled if you checked it out. You can take a sneak peak using the images in the tweet below. The UK site to purchase is here.

Seven up…

1) Jesus is Good News – Daily Lectionary Guide – If you follow the C of E Common Worship Daily Lectionary (Morning Prayer), then this Twitter account will become your friend. Concise, exegetical, Jesus-centred devotional commentary. Check it out!

2) In which direction is Leicester leading the Church of England? – Important post from Ian Paul reflecting on what many diocese in the Church of England are facing at present.

3) How to Take a Better Break – What do you do for a work break?

4) A Thread on Original Sin – ‘Original Sin’ was a hot topic on social media this week after Katharine Birbalsingh, a self-identifying non-Christian headteacher from London, tweeted that it was ‘a thing’. Cue all sorts of debate and outrage, including this Telegraph article.

5) Podcast: Dr Nancy Pearcey with John Mark Comer on Loving Your Body, Human Rights and Secularism’s Low View of Sexuality & Gender – I haven’t got to JMC’s new book Live No Lies, but this podcast trailing some of the key themes and influences is good value. I especially commend this hour long interview with Nancy Pearcey who has been described as “America’s preeminent evangelical Protestant female intellectual.” A weighty conversation, but an important one.

6) Why “Being Yourself” is not such a good idea after all – Convinced this is going to be one of the key apologetic and pastoral (same thing right) approaches/needs for the Christian church over the next decade. Graham Tomlin’s new book is all about this, but wonderfully he condensed it into a Credo article for Saturday’s The Times.

7) All Hallow’s Eve; a sonnet of reclamation – For something not that different, but quite delightful all the same, I appreciated the beauty of Malcolm Guite’s poetry – and especially appreciate the encapsulation of the Christian hope in this piece for this weekend.

Seven up…

1) What Kills Leaders – If you’re in set-aside pastoral ministry – or know or care for those who are – this is worth spending half an hour watching – especially over half-term. Marcus Honeysett is the director of Living Leadership which provides soul care for church leaders in the UK and beyond.

2) Gentle and Lowly Song – After the immense popularity of Dane Ortlund’s book, Gentle & Lowly, the UK outfit Joyful Noise have created this song to celebrate “the heart of Christ for sinners and sufferers like us”.

3) What is Good Work? – I appreciated this reflection by Alan Jacobs who contrasts two recent articles on work and productivity.

4) Empty Pews Are an American Public Health Crisis – Fascinating… being part of a church is good for your health!

5) Assisted Dying Bill Speeches – Grateful for those who spoke against the Assisted Dying Bill this week, including the Archbishop of Canterbury who gave the excellent speech above. Let’s not mention this speech by Lord Vinson that claimed Christ’s death was ‘assisted’ – although the looks by the Bishops and Lords around him as we makes his claim are good value.

6) Squid Game – Lots of people are talking about this relatively new Netflix show depicting violent versions of childhood games. This article from Premier Christianity is a helpful introduction, but David Robertson’s article is well worth a read too: “Squid Game is a morality tale but one that offers no answers… how can we deal with the virus of evil that runs through the middle of every human heart?”

7) The Interstellar remake I never knew I wanted – For something a bit different, it’s amazing what you can do with a drone….