Tag Archives: Culture

Book reviews, Church and ministry, Culture, Discipleship, Kingdom of God, Knowledge of God, Knowledge of ourselves, Leadership, The call of God, The Christian Life, The church, Understanding Ourselves, Work, Worship

The father’s heart for authentic living

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A review of Unravelled by Jon Peterson

Unravelled is the fourth book in my Recommended Reading ahead of Thrive Scotland conference in September 2020…and it is the most hard hitting so far. This book is part manifesto for a renewed vision for a 21st century way of being church, and part guidebook to experiencing unshakable spiritual security in the Father’s love.

This book came to mind as I was doing some amateur stone dyking in my garden. I wanted to jump straight to rebuilding the wall and filling in the gaps…but before I could do this I had to do the hard, boring, dirty work of removing soil, weeds and small stones from the collapsed section.

In exactly the same way Jon expertly deconstructs our false thinking about leadership, authority and spirituality in western church culture. As a master surgeon he splits our skin with his scalpel in order to extract the tumour. And some of it is close to the bone as a result – this is a deep examination of our motives and hidden drivers for how and why we do ministry.

If we would see churches and workplaces transformed by the power of the gospel some deep surgery may be required. We all know churches have individual characteristics that express the gifts and flaws of their family makeup…are we ready to put ourselves on the operating table in order to become more like Christ together?

One of the key questions I have found this book making me ask myself is how do shift from “attending” to “belonging”?

The first authentic step I found fairly painful was to examine my own heart and realise that I was putting the vision of what I thought God was calling me to do before the people I was doing it with. This vision-first dynamic creates dividing lines and weakens the family bonds.

The second step was realising I needed to deliberately put myself in a place of weakness and vulnerability to hear what God was saying to me through others. This Stumbling Edge, as Ken Janke (one of our Thrive speakers) calls it is the place of faith, failure and growth. Eventually, we can even come to enjoy our feet not being able to touch the bottom as we learn to live beyond the illusion of control.

There are many more lessons within these pages for those with the courage to walk this path with Jon. It was a blessing to meet him and Ken Janke in March 2019 – and then read some of Ken’s story in this book. My prayer is that God uses this book to help us become more humble, more real & more secure in the Father’s heart. Enjoy!

This book review series is in anticipation of the Thrive Scotland conference coming in September.

Book reviews, Culture, Discipleship, Kingdom of God, Knowledge of God, Knowledge of ourselves, Leadership, Prayer, Preaching, The call of God, The Christian Life, The church, Work, Work life balance, Worship

Embedding whole life discipleship into your church’s DNA

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A review of Scattered & Gathered by Neil Hudson

This is my third book review on our Thrive Scotland reading list. If the first book (Thank God it’s Monday) helped us understand our work as a joyous calling to kingdom living, and our second book (Every Great Endeavour) helped deepen our biblical basis for whole life discipleship, then this book is our manual for embedding these truths in our churches.

Neil writes with warmth, sensitivity and empathy, learnt no doubt through years of helping church leaders wrestle with these meaty topics. He uses his experience to gently unpack our established expectations of church – what it means to be a gathered community.

Throughout this is a book of encouragement and exhortation for church leaders, who Neil wants to spur on rather than drag down. This is not a book selling a new formula for quick fix discipleship, or a list of new initiatives to do on top of our current activities.

Instead it is a realigning of what we are already doing across a broader canvas and with our frontlines in sharper focus

Each chapter starts with a reframing of testimonies from biblical characters – shedding fresh light on some familiar stories. After delving into key topics such as worship, preaching, small groups and fellowship from a whole-life perspective, he then identifies helpful examples of how it might look in practice, alongside advice on making a start on incorporating a wider kingdom perspective into our church rhythms.

This is a timely and practical book for church leaders keen to equip their church for life on the frontline. For those who have sought to create a church culture more supportive of our scattered lives, but seen it remain a fringe issue, this book provides the blueprint to moving from gesture to posture, for…

“Gestures are fine and are appreciated when offered, but a posture is permanent“

This series is in anticipation of the Thrive Scotland conference coming in September.

Apologetics, Book reviews, Church and ministry, Culture, Discipleship, Faith, Kingdom of God, Knowledge of God, Knowledge of ourselves, Leadership, Spiritual Discipline, The call of God, The Christian Life, Work, Work life balance, Worship

Essential reading for the Christian at work

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A review of Every Good Endeavour by Tim Keller

It is a rare jewel of a book that effortlessly articulates and unpacks the complex struggles and dilemmas that those of us seeking to serve God in the workplace wrestle with, yet this book cracks the code of our unspoken questioning.

If you have ever wondered if your work is important to God; if God has a greater purpose in putting you in an organisation; or if your work can be meaningful in the midst of the mundane then read on.

Some of us are struggling just to survive in our jobs let alone thrive. How can I do what I do every day in a way that is more connected to God’s purpose of extending His kingdom? Throughout the book Keller explains the wrong thinking that has shaped our assumptions – like why society values certain types of roles over others and why work is so tough, even when you’re in the right role.

He meticulously unpicks our sloppy thinking around our subconscious spiritual hierarchy, and society’s beloved idols that unwittingly shape our thinking.

I found it a book of immense helpfulness in aligning my own job to how I can then serve others, serve society, model competence and witness to Christ – a formidable calling!

If you have all that sorted then feel free to skip this book, for the rest of us it is Induction Course 101 in essential frontline living – every Christian entering the workplace should digest its rich teaching before picking up your new lanyard and photo ID.

This series is in anticipation of the Thrive Scotland conference coming to in September.

Culture, Discipleship, Faith, The call of God, Work, Work life balance, Worship

A new perspective to start your week

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A review of Thank God it’s Monday by Mark Greene

Have you ever found yourself lying in bed on Monday morning wishing that you had one more day of lockdown before heading back into the office? Wishing that you didn’t have to face the world of half asleep, mask wearing commuters on their way to another dull day in the office or factory?

Not many of us bounce out of bed on a Monday pumped full of delight at a new week at work. For the Christian this can present a dilemma – we know that we should be thankful for, and serve God, in everything, but why is it so hard to be satisfied in our efforts to serve God at our workplace? How can we flourish in the workplace?

This book from Mark Greene is the metaphorical light switch to help illuminate our thinking. If you want to see your work from God’s perspective and how we can thrive at work you will love this book.

Central to the book is establishing a new context for our service, using real life stories told with Mark’s irrepressible wit and charm. It’s a funny, compelling, warm-hearted exhortation to see the kingdom of God as it touches every aspect of life.

Can we see with new eyes what God wants to do through us?…through you…with that difficult to deal with boss, or dismissive colleague? Or lonely neighbour. This easy to read book is littered with real examples to connect what we think with how we act.

Mark’s aim is to not to give us a new To Do list everyday, but a fresh way of approaching our everyday lives. One of the key questions it raises is: Who are our hero’s? This book is jam packed with real heros from the Frontline, people who won’t have their biographies on Christian bookshelves, but who have their deeds etched in heaven’s annals.

If we are willing to see it, God is inviting us to bring His peace, His Shalom, to our broken world, and this not through perfect people but through the frail and faltering steps of His children who really do thank God it’s Monday, and Tuesday, and Wednesday…

This book review series is in anticipation of the Thrive Scotland conference in September.

Reviews of this book from other Christians in the workplace can be found here

Discipleship, Kingdom of God, Leadership, The call of God, Work, Work life balance, Worship

A refreshed vision

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For the last few years a small group of us have been sowing into the Aberdeen business community, with a heart to bless the city. We are refreshing our vision for 2020, you can read more below:

The Business Connection 2020 – Refreshing Our Vision

The Business Connection (http://thebusinessconnection.org/) exists to equip, encourage and empower people in the corporate sector in Aberdeen city and shire. We are a not-for-profit charity (SC045163) run by four trustees from within the business community for the benefit of the business community. All Trustees are volunteers, sourcing their income from professional employment or leading their own business or social enterprise. The charity is self-funded and relies on the donations of supporters to fund our activities. The charity’s activities have progressed over the last seven years:

– Since 2013 we have been hosting fortnightly breakfasts for workers to make friends, share stories and build relationships.

– Since 2016 we have also been hosting monthly talks on the last Friday of the month aimed at supporting the business community with helpful, thoughtful presentations on local and national issues across a range of topics.

– In 2019 we hosted the first Thrive Aberdeen conference along with 12 other Christian organisations (including Evangelical Alliance, LICC; Transform Work UK and many others) aimed at calling, gathering and celebrating those of a Christian faith in the workplace.

As we begin a new decade, we are relaunching the charity with two new Trustees – individuals of deep faith who bring significant experience across the public and private sector in Aberdeenshire.

Together we have sought to discern what the needs of the city and shire are at this moment in time. We believe that now is the time to sharpen our focus on the specific challenges facing our historic city. In order to ensure we invest the right resources in our vision we are stopping the fortnightly breakfasts for the foreseeable future.

We see that the forces that have shaped Aberdeen to be the city it has become are shifting and the city has entered a period of reinventing its identity. This change in direction has a knock-on impact on those of us employed in the city. We are asking ourselves: “How can those who care about the health and well-being of the Aberdeen business community help them influence the future direction of the city and shire?”

Alongside this focus on providing an intentional platform for influencing executive decision making, we also want to support the business community in having a more direct impact on helping organisations seeking to bless the neediest in the city and shire. So, we are also asking ourselves: “How can those of us who have benefitted from the prosperity of the region bless those who have not?”

We believe this dual pronged approach enables those in business to be a force for good – helping connect the decision makers to the workforce; and helping connect some of the most fortunate in society with some of the least fortunate. We are proposing a two-pronged approach in 2020, with a series of thought-provoking sessions from key organisations both within and outside the Aberdeenshire region on these two themes.

We invite those of you within our 280 strong network to come along and engage with our guests. We invite the key decision makers and culture shapers in Aberdeenshire to come and share thoughts on how the workforce in this region can help contribute to a better future for everyone.

We very much look forward to the year to come.

The Business Connection Trustees: Barry McAllister; Jim Grimmer; Martyn Link; Smart Masoni

Faith, Work, Work life balance, Worship

Welcome to work!

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If you work for a large corporate company you will have probably started work with an induction session on your first day. You sit there getting told lots of things that you will forget a few hours later. Where the company is headquartered, who the CEO is, how the company grew to its current size…lots of great information but much of it of little use to your daily work. You sit there as a group of strangers wondering who among you will be still here in 5 years, who will leave first, and who will be promoted.

For many of us our first day marks the start of our sink or swim aquathon – our daily challenge to keep our head above water while we swim against the tide of work. Some of us find that swim easier than we expected as we discover that work can be interesting and fulfilling. For many of us however the current of repetitive mundane work threatens to emotionally drown us.

At what feels like annual intervals the busyness of work pauses momentarily and we ask ourselves some deep probing questions: is there a deeper purpose to my work? Am I a meaningless cog in a giant monolithic machine? Should I quit my city job in order to do something more meaningful?

If you have found yourself asking these deeper questions about life, the universe and the mysteries of excel macros then we would love you to join us as we unpack God’s big picture for our workplace. The Thrive Conference is designed to help you explore these issues through a reinvigorating training session containing great teaching, personal reflection and the encouragement of fellow swimmers. We look forward to having you join the Thrive swim lane!

For more details head to your favourite platform:

Web: https://thebusinessconnection.org/thrive/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheBusinessConnection.org/

Twitter: @TBCAberdeen

Linkedin: The Business Connection Aberdeen

Idolatry, Money, The call of God, Work, Work life balance

Discover The Business Connection

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Business has changed.bad-interview

We all know that business is built on relationships and relationships at work come with expectations. Our relationships with our customers, our colleagues and our contacts all bring expectations of what we will do, by when and how we will do it.

A firm handshake and an exchange of business cards has been exchanged for a new Twitter follower and LinkedIn invitation. We don’t read reports, we scan an infographic.

Instead of hanging out at the Rotary club we publish our own blog post. Career progression is determined more by our online networking skills than our childhood school.

We have digitised our business exchanges. This has dramatically increased what we can do in a day, we can literally communicate with thousands of people electronically that we could never reach face to face. Mobile communications and a global industry mean we now work faster for longer.

And it doesn’t stop in the office, we check our tablet before we check out for the night. Instead of the paper it is the early morning emails that greet us long before we have arrived at our desk. On the train, in the coffee shop, restaurant and airport we are catching up and checking in.

Don’t get me wrong, much of this is good and has improved our standard of living. But if this is price for life in the fast lane, what is the cost?

The cost comes in the fragmentation of our personal lives. With everyone wanting a piece of us, what is left for those who set no expectations for delivery? Family life is squeezed and social time disappears. Marriages suffer, kids withdraw, hobbies get neglected, health deteriorates.

The cost comes in our isolation. We become islands of activity, a vortex of velocity spinning endlessly. Work life balance slides into fire fighting perpetual emergencies or dispensing quality time to our kids like a Las Vegas slot machine.

The cost comes in our superficiality. Much easier to click Like or Accept, than arrange a Saturday evening BBQ. We have 500 acquaintances on Linked in, 1000 Twitter followers, but only 2 real friends ‐ that we see once a year. We skate across the surface of life, only pausing to sharpen our blade every summer holiday.

The Business Connection is a charity for such a time as this. It meets you where you are at, seeks to understand what you are dealing with, and lifts you back on your feet. Run by people in the business community we know how easy it is to become caught up and cut off. We are Christians working at the heart of Aberdeen’s business community, with the community in our heart. Coming along to our range of events in Aberdeen to find out more.

In the business community, a life connection…The Business Connection.

Apologetics, Persecution, The church

We are not ashamed

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Losing my religion and finding my faith. Part 3: Fear and shame

In my first post I explored UK society has changed and how it’s view of the church has changed over recent years. In my last post I considered ways in which Christians can and should be a positive influence in society. The key question we must ask now is “How do we respond to a world that doesn’t want to hear about the light?”  Today Christians up and down our country are being pressurised to be silent about their beliefs, relegating them to the private sphere. We do not live in an open and respectful environment. So many are afraid of causing offence that we live in fear and silent compliance with society’s beliefs and values. In this post I have some ideas for how to stay undetected and not cause anyone to be uncomfortable…

1. How to protect society from the offence of the gospel:
Believe what you want but keep it to yourself
Pretend that what you have is not that important
Pretend that everybody is fine as they are
Pretend that every lifestyle choice is equally valid and equally meaningless
Never break the pretence of all of the above
Be totally committed to Jesus in your house and church building, but keep your mouth shut outside of those two places

2. How to protect our kids from the offence of the gospel:
Pass on your embarrassment of your faith to them so that they become automatically self-conscious whenever it is ever mentioned
Make sure they blend in to the background and fit in the social groups
Tell them about the love of God but never about the consequences of rejecting God
Don’t teach them a Christian worldview, especially avoid creation, sexuality & materialism
Apologise to their teachers whenever they bring up their faith at school
Leave them to make up their own minds about what they believe when they are old enough
Avoid any hint of indoctrination by never discussing spiritual truths
Never let your faith cost you anything – they might see that and realise it is a dangerous thing to believe
Always put their needs and desires above those of God, making sure that their every whim is met, while bathing them in the aroma of the God of Comfort

3. How to protect the church from the offence of the gospel:
Be self-apologetic: “We are nice people really if you get to know us”
Avoid talking about those parts of the NT that speak about judgement. Definitely avoid preaching on the OT law
Explain how we are much more refined now than those primitive times
Focus only on Jesus’ words, but only those words of his that are comforting & affirming
Never discuss the rejection passages or examples of spiritual darkness

4. How to protect God from the offence of the gospel:
Don’t mention his behaviour in the Old Testament and if it comes up by accident be apologetic and diffident
Explain that he is much more refined now and people back then were naive and ignorant
Explain that he didn’t really mean what he said about hell, human sexuality, judgement, punishment, sin, eternity…
Always present him in a positive light. Emphasise his grace, love, compassion, mercy, patience (it’s a long list of positive traits after all), but never his discipline, anger, wrath, punishment, judgement or justice.
Never teach, mention, preach about or discuss any of these latter points and they will die out from neglect, thus removing them from our vocabulary
Be apologetic before and after reading out any passages highlighting the latter characteristics
Teach that in order to be good,  God must mirror our values, or we won’t recognise his goodness

stand-out-from-the-crowdObviously the suggestions above are intentionally sarcastic. What people forget is that the more they tell us to be silent, the more they pressure us to conform, the more they stoke our fire of passion for real truth. Yes, many may comply, but the few who stand will stand taller, brighter, stronger, for longer. Brothers and sisters, we need to remember that we don’t need to deny a truth for it to die out, we just need to neglect to proclaim it for a generation and that will be enough. Let us proclaim the full counsel of God with love, mercy, compassion and tears, but just let it be the full counsel.

“When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him.” Isaiah 59.19

“Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels” Luke 9.26

Lord, give us the ability to love people enough that we are prepared to be unpopular; ready and willing to be depised and rejected. Your heart was full of love for people Lord Jesus, you always chose honest love over comfortable compliance. Help us to stand strong alongside you until that final day. Amen

Apologetics, Culture, John Wesley, The church

So then how shoud we live?…Connected and Compassionate

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Losing my religion and finding my faith, Part 2. Connected and Compassionate

So how do we respond to this decay in our Christian heritage (see Part 1)? I suggest there are five things we must do. In a world where good and bad have lost their absolute reference points and become synonymous with helpful and unhelpful, we must give people a living portrait of what absolute goodness means.

1. Strive to do good – in a land of exile it is not enough to only tell people about the truth, it is not enough to only argue at the theoretical or logical level. We must demonstrate our love in real ways to a lost world. We must find ways of touching needy people, of restoring broken lives, of healing bruised bodies. Only by living amongst people and loving them in practical ways will we ever create a hunger for ultimate truth. Society is too sceptical, cynical and secular to be convinced by rhetoric alone.

  • Are our words and actions balanced?
  • Do we spend as much time in practical service as we do in gaining knowledge?
  • What are we doing, what is your church doing, to tangibly serve its community?
  • Are we making a difference to the community we live in?
  • Would they noticed if you moved your church to another location?

2. Strive to be good – if our ghettoisation is the main cause for our ineffectiveness amongst society, then our lack of godliness is our Achilles’ heal once we make contact. Unfortunately our in-fighting and apathy, our self-seeking and pride fuel anti-Christian sentiment in anyone unfortunate enough to get close. We cannot continue to make excuses and expect people to be drawn to Christ. If we proclaim that Jesus has changed our lives, and show such weak evidence of change, are we surprised people are not hungry? Our compassion should be our hallmark, as much as our orthodoxy.

  • Are we top heavy with our passion for truth vs our mercy for sinners who oppose that truth?
  • Where do we make excuses for our lack of godliness?
  • What do we need to repent of and put to death?
  • Where do we need forgiveness and healing?

3. Affirm what is good – if you listen to what we communicate about society, all too often it is overwhelmingly negative. We disagree with this, we are horrified by that, we lobby about the other. I’m not saying that we shouldn’t do all this preservative activity. Our saltiness should seek to prevent decay in society. My question is, is there anything positive we can say about society? Is there anything we can affirm as good? What can we celebrate in modern culture? Can we complement our pronouncements with some encouraging, affirming messages?

  • What can we say about our culture’s approach to creativity, innovation, equality, the poor, the workplace? Is there anything beautiful in all of this that we can endorse?
  • What can you think of that you really appreciate about culture & society? What can you privately and publicly celebrate about our culture?
  • What can you do to encourage your politician, social media network or friends about the good things in our society?

4. Love unconditionally – we have become so familiar with God’s unconditional love for us that it sometimes loses it’s shock value. To love someone unconditionally leaves you wide open to abuse, being taken advantage of, being used as a door mat. We love conditionally because it protects us from damage. Unconditional love requires no reciprocation, it does not say “I will love you if…”. It just loves. We have been shown this greater way. A love of no holds barred, no safety net, no damage limitation love. My prayer is that we Christians would realise that this is what God is calling us to do, not just for each other, but for our neighbours, colleagues, friends and family who don’t know Christ. In the past I have been guilty of seeing them as projects to be saved and won for God. I still long for everyone to come to know him, but now my end goal is love. To love them without any conditions, not so that they could become something, but because they already are something. Loved by God and precious to him. This is how God viewed us before we were saved. He came to save us while we were his enemies.

  • Are we prepared to love with no thought for hitting targets?
  • Who in society needs unconditional love the most?
  • Who else in this world could love the unlovable?

5. Sacrifice pre-emptively. Nevertheless, even if we strive to do good, and be good, and love unconditionally, there will be those who will reject our love. We should love despite our motives being questioned, we should love whether that love is returned or not, we should continue to offer the hand of fellowship, even if that hand is struck down. The response of the beloved will not determine the actions of the lover. At some point the cost of continuing down this path will escalate. We do not get to choose the cost of our devotion, only how much we are prepared to sacrifice to be obedient. Let us not wait until we are in the crucible to set our priorities.

  • Are we prepared to be unpopular, to be social rejects?
  • Are we prepared for our compassion to cost us our legal status as charities? What about losing our jobs?
  • Are we prepared to lose everything we have been blessed with, if doing so is the only way to remain faithful?
  • Have we rejected the god of popularity or are we still seeking to serve two masters?

f378ebca96aec2f12bc40fbd1e73f6b0As John Wesley said many years ago…

We must regain this wholistic view of life if we are to translate our compassion for people into a deep connectedness. Many individuals and churches are taking up the challenge, may God grant that we would all see our part.

Apologetics, Culture, Faith

Losing my religion and finding my faith (#1 Decay and Decline)

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Losing my religion and finding my faith: Part 1

Decay and decline

boar-war-memorialAs I walked around Melbourne last night I came across a memorial to those Australians who lost their lives during the Boer war. Inscribed on the plaque were these words: “Fighting for the unity of the Empire, which is our strength and common heritage“. It struck me that the reason Australia sent its men and women to a foreign country to fight and die was to protect the unity of the British Empire. The Empire was considered worth fighting for, for it was the foundation they stood upon and common bond they had inherited.

How different the world is now. The Empire has dissolved and many are glad it is so. The idea that the British Empire was  a source of help and support in difficult times is anathema to many, all they see is the failings and corruption of power. The world has found a new strength, not in mutual dependence and sacrificial duty between countries, but in individual freedom of expression and unrelenting pursuit of self-interest.

The parallels to the decline of Western Christianity are obvious. In our generation we are living through the decay and decline of a Christian heritage that shaped our society so profoundly in earlier centuries. If we have eyes to see it, the planks of Christian values are being removed one by one. Many would say this is for the better given the scandals and abuse of power of the past.

Yes there was a day when the church wielded a measure of power, when the state allowed the church influence over state affairs. However, it should not be overlooked that much good was done in these times, with the spread of education, commerce and common law. Often it was churches and missionaries that started the first schools and taught people how to read. But the good has been airbrushed out by modern sceptics and cynics, to leave only the bad. Yes, we made mistakes, yes, there were abuses of power and corruption, yes, we look back now in horror at much of what done in the name of Jesus of Nazareth. But are we accountable for the sins of our fathers? Are we to hang our heads in shame and hold our tongues in silence when malicious powers are seeking to destroy the genuine good Christianity brings every society it encounters? No! This guilt by association is what insidiously saps our confidence to speak out today.

We are shackled by the real and perceived failures of past generations when they were given the opportunity to rule. We need a new humility to recognise and repent for things done in the past that we can see from the hindsight of history were not right. But we also need a new resolve to not be ashamed of who we are and what we believe. In the midst of a decaying religious tradition we must allow God to rebirth us through his cleansing fire.

Losing my religionWhat does that Christian jargon mean in practice? It means we must be ready to lose our religion in order to find our faith. We need to reassess our lives in every part in the light of the fact that we are now in exile. We may not have moved country, but our country has moved. The introspection and doubt of earlier times has been replaced with a brash confidence. Back in 1991 REM may have said “That’s me in the corner, That’s me in the spotlight, Losing my religion, Trying to keep up with you, And I don’t know if I can do it, Oh no, I’ve said too much, I haven’t said enough”, but modern secular humanists have no such insecurity.

We are in a foreign land that is not just neutral, but increasingly hostile to our faith. We must start with our personal life, setting our foundations of personal holiness and complete abandonment to Christ. We must raise our children with the ability to survive as aliens and outcasts in their schools and universities. We must review our church activities to remove any barrier that prevents us from forming meaningful connections with the communities we live in. We must seek to reintegrate ourselves back into society. The church is no longer the centre of the community, we must find out where the new centres are, and how we can get involved. We must be ready to sacrifice, if need be, some of our comfortable fellowship with each other, if this is what is preventing us from being immersed in people’s lives outside the church’s walls.

The vestiges of our tradition are crumbling from constant attack. Christian values are being excluded from the public square. However, the irony is that nobody can stop us from being immersed in grass-roots public square discussions. Society will be changed one conversation at a time, if it is ever to be changed. Are we in a Christian ghetto, quivering from the angry world outside or are we picking each other up and sending each other out with fresh energy? Only when we have the conviction that our greatest ministry calling, after our own family, is to the people and places we visit everyday, will we make a meaningful and lasting impact.

It is a truism of every age that each one perceives its own wisdom, but not it’s faults just as accurately as it sees the faults but not the wisdom of the preceding ages. We have lost the British Empire and we are losing our national religion. Do we recognise what wisdom is being lost in this process? As Christians we know that the knowledge of God is the beginning of true wisdom, and only an intimate understanding of him can help us to rescue the good and hold back the bad in a confused and anchor-less nation.

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding (Proverbs 9.10)