A Word in Favour of Words

A Word in Favour of Words

They say, there are only two sorts of people that are allergic to evangelism: Christians and non-Christians. Yet, the Holy Spirit within us pulsates with a passion to proclaim the good news of Jesus’ death and resurrection and to invite people to repent and believe....
A Word in Favour of Words

Signal and Noise

It was a strange concrete and steel ruin that caught my attention. When I climbed up to look closer, I found it to be the remains of a WW2 gun emplacement, guarding the entrance to the Forth estuary. It encircled a modern communications tower. What really grabbed my...

Speaking Grace

  “Careless talk costs lives.” So said the British propaganda machine during World War two.  So it remains. Acrimonious public debate, online algorithms amplifying polarising views are all contributing to a febrile culture of confrontation between numerous...
Looking for something on TV

Looking for something on TV

I was recently channel-hopping, looking for something to watch on TV, and stumbled across the climate disaster movie, The Day After Tomorrow. It’s not a great movie, but it was better than anything else which was on “council telly” (a Glasgow phrase for terrestrial...
Grow in the grace of giving

Grow in the grace of giving

This is not a begging letter, it is an invitation to grow. A Generous heart is a fundamental feature of Christlikeness and therefore it is central to our discipleship. Learning to give, big-hearted and God-guided is not about what we want to extract from you but what...
When Church Hurts

When Church Hurts

When Church Hurts It’s the issue that triggered the Archbishop of Canterbury’s resignation and will, undoubtedly, be the first item in the new pope’s in-tray. I am talking about spiritual abuse, the exploitation of position and power which damages people,...
Polarisation and peace-making

Polarisation and peace-making

“Polarisation” is a word that is coming to define our age. Social media algorithms, we are told, double down on our prejudices, and ramp up our reactions. Civility, debate and humanity have left us, and outrage anger and aggression appear to have become virtues. Even...

Alpha Course – a testimony by Alan C

For all my adult life I neither believed in God, nor disbelieved. My only experience of church was attending weddings or funerals – and even those occasions were few and far between. Last summer a new woman arrived unexpectedly in my life. She is a wholeheartedly...

In the Belly of the Whale

I am a huge fan of Veggie Tales (the original classic episodes- not the new Netflix series- I hasten to add.)  As well as watching many VHS videos as a family (this will make my kids feel old!), we also enjoyed listening to that classic album, Veggie Rocks, which...

The Culture Crossing Gospel

God stepped into my life when I was an angst-ridden 21 year old student. Suddenly I had joy, peace, purpose, and a new cause to give my life for. Within a few months I started to sense the injustice that when I was going through a spiritual crisis there was a church...