All Age Worship is not easy to do well. Frequently it is not really inclusive, not very satisfying, not deeply meaningful, too long, too light, too bizarre, too unimaginative. I have been creating and leading monthly All Age Worship for nearly thirty years and I have been guilty of all ...
Christian leadership can be a draining business, even for the strongest of ‘characters’. It involves a constant self-giving to other people, whether through preaching, counselling, empathising with people as they go through the crises of life, or just through the general ‘wear and tear’ of giving leadership. To survive, Christian ...
A wise old owl lived in an oak, The more he saw the less he spoke The less he spoke the more he heard. Why can't we all be like that wise old bird? (author unknown) “You must all be quick to listen.” (James 1.19) Earlier in 2016, the Baptist ...
A Pastor asked me recently: “In your experience as a hospice doctor, do Christians cope better with dying than non-Christians?” His expectation was that it should be so. It’s impossible to give a straight answer, because there are so many unknowns. Perhaps we should all like our own death to ...
Introduction I was ordained in 2002, and I will face my fortieth birthday in a few months’ time. Yet in many ways I still feel like one of the younger Ministers in the United Reformed Church. Although my hair is rapidly turning silver, I serve as honorary Clerk of our ...
Introduction Pastoral ministry is never short of challenges and tensions. Among the many are those situations where two positive, constructive areas of ministry seem to sit uncomfortably alongside each other. An example of such a pairing is, on the one hand a ministry of healing prayer, and on the other ...
A friend of mine approached me to write a theological reflection on Scottish politics after the independence referendum, and also most recently Brexit. As a Scotsman who was residing in England for both of these significant events, my perspective is somewhat that of an outsider, at least for the Scottish ...
You are reading Issue 68 of Ministry Today, published in July 2016.
Ministry Today aims to provide a supportive resource for all in Christian leadership so that they may survive, grow, develop and become more effective in the ministry to which Christ has called them.
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