one of the best albums of 2010

imho, of course

hear it here.

the best book i've read in 2011

OK, I started to read it in 2010 so maybe I can't quite claim to have read it in 2011...but this is a great read - for pastors, elders and anyone interested in its vital subject:

Generation Ex-Christian: Why Young Adults Are Leaving the Faith... and How to Bring Them Back

things new

New Year's Day is a good time for new things - like a new (different) Bible reading scheme and a new (different) Bible translation in which to read it.

So I'm having a go with Every Day In The Word, which goes through the whole Bible in one year, covering the Psalms twice. And I'm setting-off reading the NRSV.

We'll see how it goes.

dot-to-dot

There were fourteen generations recorded from Abraham to David, fourteen more from David to the exile and another fourteen from the exile to Jesus (Matthew 1:1-17). So, forty-two generations in all.

Revelation 13:5 speaks of the beast being given authority for 42 months. Which is, of course, three and a half years - and you might choose to write that as "time, times and half a time" (Rev. 12:14; Dan. 12:7). It might not then surprise you to find reference to three and a half days, somewhere along the line (Rev. 12:9,11).

Just saying, that's all.

into the new year

I've often found Matt Perman's blog to be a thoughtful resource. This piece is no different - I especially appreciated his comments on defining priorities for the new year, focussing on 3-5 primary things that you want to accomplish this next year. It's good to take time to reflect on larger-than-usual tasks.

Lessons from recent history

Gill Corkindale writes that, in the past year, she hasn't needed to "explain how globalization drives change and that leaders must adapt to a fast-changing world" because the lessons have been driven-home by the crisis of the past years. Those lessons she identifies as "to develop new competencies: self-awareness, being able to deal with ambiguity, manage continual change, devolve leadership, and coach their people...[these] are critical to their survival."


How many of those are also applicable to the life of the church and the work of the ministry?

Redefining Greatness

I found this article over at HBR an interesting and helpful read, with insights for both leadership and pastoral care/spiritual formation.

helpful articles on depression

You'll find a couple of helpful articles on depression here and here.

the new leadership

Seth Godin is always worth reading. Often, his musings get me thinking about church life in a new way. Try the following, with that in mind:

When you follow a right path, then, the people following you are happy to bring others along. When you open doors for people (instead of closing them), your followers are more likely to open doors for others. When you are inclusive (instead of excluding), then others seek to include their peers.
For far too long, leadership has been about management and management has been about control. We push those that follow us to fit in, to do as they are told. We decide who is good enough, who is obedient enough, who is acceptable. Many institutions have been built by strong-willed men who think they have the right answer, and aren’t afraid to be bullies if it helps them achieve their goals.
But now, people have a choice. More options in how they spend their day, their money and their passion. And over and over, we see people voting with their feet. Sure, there are the frightened (and angry) that are willing to act out at a rally or carry signs that they don’t actually endorse. But this is the not the behavior of a thriving movement, it’s a desperate reaction from a dying anachronism.

Analog Rituals

Over at 99%, Scott Belsky makes some interesting points about what he terms 'analog rituals' and the value of repetitive actions - what he terms "the granularity of prioritization".

It strikes me that there's a lot of (unintended) biblical wisdom in the article, in particular the creational nature of 'analog' experiences: we were made not simply as able to see & think but also to touch & taste. Whilst the digital lifestyle offers much, it also has the capacity to remove, by making redundant aspects of sensory perception.

The 3 Best Books I've Read This Year

There were other very worthy contenders, but here's my pick of what I've perused during the year:

Tim Keller, Counterfeit Gods

Peter Steinke's A Door Set Open (seemingly only available on Kindle)

The Best Kept Secret Of Christian Mission by John Dickson

Learning from 'Ten Timeless Persuasive Writing Techniques'

It makes for an interesting article on its own - but maybe more so if you ask yourself the question, How do those suggestions apply to the task of preaching?

How to preach badly

I know - I don't need much help on that score! But this is good.

Doing the main thing

"Given the contents of the New Testament, one might expect local congregations of Christians to be entirely devoted to the spiritual formation of those in attendance. What we actually find in most cases is constant distraction from this as the central task: By the demands of the organization; and by the requirements of our 'faith and practice'—our traditions. Often there is the recognition that what we wind up 'having to do' is not what we really feel it should all be about."

Dallas Willard, quoted by John Ortberg

Pamela Stephenson: reflecting on Strictly, life and work

From an article in today's Guardian, a couple of paragraphs worth pondering by those engaged in ministry:

My experience on Strictly has highlighted two difficult truths in my life: first, that, although it is an important developmental task for my age group, I am not finding it easy to face my own mortality, and dancing gave me brief respite from that painful, inevitable process. Second, over the years, the job I do has taken its toll on me – as it has on many of my colleagues. Mental health professionals are on the frontline of the war against human anguish, angst and antisocial behaviour. However well trained and capable we are, it is impossible to be a receptacle for the shadow side of humanity with absolute impunity. I have been surprised to receive many positive messages from colleagues. I had thought they would ignore my flight into fantasy, but rather, they have let me know that dropping my professional demeanour and giggling like a seven year old in public has actually found their favour. In a strange way, I may even have acted out some of their own fantasies of escape and soothing. Anyway, it's healthy to get fit, to laugh, to do something you enjoy, to dance.

Dancing is the physical expression of our emotional selves, and personally I have found it to be a life-affirming path to a new-found style of happiness. I have only one regret from the entire experience – I never got to dance my Argentine tango (which would have been in the final round). But I believe it's good to have one dream left unrealised; it keeps hope alive, and the longing can remain poignant, omnipresent and painfully bright.

Logos 4 & Customer Service

For years I've had a number of great resources in Logos format (Libronix) - Word Biblical Commentary (60 vols); IVP Reference Library; Theological Journal Library and more. Trying to load them onto my Windows 7 PC was proving to be hard - well, impossible, truth be told.

An email to Logos Customer Services has resulted in all being sorted - and sorted very quickly - so I now have access to all those great resources once more and in the hugely-impressive format of the new Logos 4 (see below).

What can I say but: kudos, Logos!

The use of 'Christ' in Peter's first letter

Peter refers several times in his first letter to ‘Christ’. Almost universally those references are focussed upon the sufferings of the Messiah, the exception being 5:14.

Is Peter simply specifying that Jesus suffered (which of course is true) or is his language intentionally incorporative? That is to say, is he using 'Christ'as shorthand for ‘the Messiah and his people’?

with head bowed

I'm taking a few moments just to bow my head and give thanks for my Dad, who passed away 5 years ago today. I sat with him whilst he took his final breath - nothing could have been more painful, yet strangely privileged too, commending him to God's care.


He was flawed, but warm and loving and always wanting to make others smile.

I miss him lots.

managing the creativity of ministry

This article by Cal Newport is not ministry focussed but has some helpful principles for managing the creative demands of regular ministry

The Moon in Lleyn (R S Thomas)

The last quarter of the moon
of Jesus gives way
to the dark; the serpent
digests the egg. Here
on my knees in this stone
church, that is full only
of the silent congregation
of shadows and the sea's
sound, it is easy to believe
Yeats was right. Just as though
choirs had not sung, shells
have swallowed them; the tide laps
at the Bible; the bell fetches
no people to the brittle miracle
of bread. The sand is waiting
for the running back of the grains
in the wall into its blond
glass. Religion is over, and
what will emerge from the body
of the new moon, no one
can say.
            But a voice sounds
in my ear. Why so fast,
mortal? These very seas
are baptised. The parish
has a saint's name time cannot
unfrock. In cities that
have outgrown their promise people
are becoming pilgrims
again, if not to this place,
then to the recreation of it
in their own spirits. You must remain
kneeling. Even as this moon
making its way through the earth's
cumbersome shadow, prayer, too,
has its phases.