February 2012
3 posts
4 tags
“When we understand what it is to be truly missional—incarnated deeply within a...”
– The Road to Missional - Michael Frost
1 tag
January 2012
1 post
11 tags
Beyond Band of Brothers
Over the Christmas break I watched the Band of Brothers miniseries for the first time. So many people have recommended it over the years but I’ve only just got my hands on it. I can now see why so many people rate it so highly. I can honestly say I’ve never watched anything so powerful.
I was hugely impacted by the brutality of war and the sacrifice given by an entire...
December 2011
5 posts
4 tags
6 tags
Living with the Amish
Rhona recently stumbled across a programme on Channel 4 (Thursday evenings) called Living with the Amish. I watched one episode with her and we loved it so much that we went back and caught up on the whole series so far.
It’s a documentary about 6 British teenagers (late teens) who head off to the USA to live with different Amish communities for a few days or so.
...
6 tags
“I think a lot of us are not on a path; we’re in a rut. We have confused...”
– Wide Awake - Erwin McManus
4 tags
Proud Humility
Had a chat with God earlier when I caught myself being prideful and judging someone else. Went something like this…
“God, don’t let me get so proud that you need to step in and humble me. I don’t want you to humble me because that would hurt and probably be embarrassing.”
So basically I was telling God that I want to be in control of my own humility, that I can...
November 2011
3 posts
5 tags
“Whilst two fifths of the population live in areas that are in the best of 20% in...”
– York Fairness Commission Interim Report - 2011 (link here)
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“To become like Christ, this ordeal must be faced. You can be filled with joy...”
– Uprising - Erwin McManus
October 2011
4 posts
3 tags
“A God-inspired dream isn’t just an opportunity; it is a calling.”
– Wide Awake - Erwin McManus
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“You see, when you’re middle class, you have to live with the fact that...”
– Douglas Coupland - Generation X, 1991
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“Our audacious faith is not built on the fault line of feelings or the flood...”
– Sun Stand Still - Steven Furtick
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“And I wonder why would I wait till I die to come alive? I’m ready now. I’m not...”
– Afterlife - Switchfoot
September 2011
7 posts
2 tags
“To dare is to lose one’s footing momentarily. To not dare is to lose...”
– Soren Kierkegaard
4 tags
4 tags
“Martin Luther once said that what forges a minister is prayer, meditation, and...”
– Kevin A. Miller - Leadership Journal - 2011
8 tags
Getting ahead of yourself
A few weeks ago I preached at the six:thirty, our evening service here at Gateway. My talk was about having faith in God, and I used/borrowed/stole some ideas from a Rob Bell talk where he identifies 3 things the Israelites were taught by God in their Exodus from Egypt. The three things were…
1 - they had to trust God for food/provision for one day and one day only.
2 - God would only give...
4 tags
5 tags
August 2011
8 posts
1 tag
1 tag
Sweet tooth.
Kid in Morrisons (approx age 3/4): Mum, how many teeth am I having out tomorrow?
Mum: Five
Kid: Cool
6 tags
Photosynths from Lanzarote
Just got back from a holiday with some friends in Puerto del Carmen, Lanzarte. Took a couple of photosynths.
First is the beach at Puerto at about 10.30am.
Second is looking down over the city from a pass that we cycled through some volcanoes.
This one isn’t quite a full 360 but the view behind wasn’t amazing!
1 tag
5 tags
BBC breaking news tweeted this today…
1,600 arrested so far and 796 appeared before courts in connection to #riots; 17% are under 18 - Ministry of Justice bbc.in/tjNf0
I figure Patrick Regan was right (see earlier post). Interesting that most news outlets were using the term “youths rioting” when 4 out of 5 appear to have been adults!
9 tags
What's wrong with the kids?
The recent riots have made me think a lot about what on earth has happened to our nation that something so ugly can happen in the blink of an eye.
I’ve tried to get my head round it, but not sure I’ve come to any great conclusions. However, I have come across some opinions that resound with me.
First, Patrick Regan, a legend who works with gangs in London. I went first to see what...
5 tags
2 tags
WatchVideo I made about upcoming youth work in 2011-2012. Made using Sony Vegas Pro 9.0. Song is God of Our Salvation by Phil Wickham.
July 2011
9 posts
3 tags
Playing with Photosynth in the Minster Gardens
Photosynth is possibly my favourite free app for iPhone. You just point the camera and and it stitches together a complete 360 degree panorama.
Not a bad place to live is York.
Also took one a while ago from the roof of the Gateway Centre in Acomb.
2 tags
“This is day when the lost are found.
This the day for a new beginning
Amazing...”
– Phil Wickham - This Is The Day - Response (2011)
1 tag
5 tags
A very little man was he...
“Zacchaeus was a very little man
And a very little man was he
He climbed into a sycamore tree
For the Saviour he wanted to see
And when the Saviour passed that way
He looked into the tree
And said “Now, Zacchaeus, you come down
For I’m coming to your house for tea”
…A catchy little song many of us learnt in Sunday School as children.
Just why was Zacchaeus up the tree in...
1 tag
“All disciples of Jesus (not just a select few) are called to an ongoing, risky,...”
– Frost & Hirsch - The Faith of Leap
1 tag
7 tags
Location. Location. Location.
So I can’t sleep… which in itself is a little odd as I’m a great lover of sleep and I usually enter said state around 15-20 seconds after my head hits the pillow! Anyway, been thinking about a few things. One thing you often hear Christians ask is “God, what is your plan for my life?” And in my experience when we ask this type of question we’re expecting an...
6 tags
Running from Conflict
If you’ve been a part of Gateway for a while you will probably have heard John talk about being a peace breaker, peace faker or a peace maker.
Those that know me well will know that I have a tendency towards being a peace faker. I dislike conflict so much it’s unreal!
Take the other day for example. After being woken up the day before at 4.30am by some teenagers in the tent next to...
5 tags
June 2011
6 posts
1 tag
3 tags
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Hello tumblr
Seems tumblr is the way forward (great for posting from iPhone etc) so blog has now been moved to here.
4 tags
It's Easy to Destroy
We had some work done on our church building a few months back. On the night before the scaffolding was due to come down, with the work completed, we were targeted by thieves who ripped lead from our clock tower and presumably sold it on as scrap metal. Just this week we’ve had the lead replaced (and the builders have done a great job) at a cost of around £6000. Seems a lot for some lead...
6 tags
Worship Service MOT
I went to a different church last week to attend the baptism of a child of some good friends of ours. The style was an older tradition to what I’m used to, with guys in suits and women in skirts. Going along to a different church always makes me think about the way we do things. I’m always challenged because it’s so easy to get into the way of thinking that we do everything...
May 2011
3 posts
3 tags
I Love Boxes
I realised this a long time ago: I love putting people in boxes. Give me a survey that puts me in a box and gives me a label and I’ll do it. Off the top of my head I can tell you that I’m an ESTJ/Guardian (Myers Briggs), an implementer/shaper (Belbin), my motivational gifts are service/leadership, my Strengthsfinder dominant themes are...
6 tags
Buy a Hamster.
I was on a training course on Friday that was all about the mental health of children and adolescents. At one point we talked about risk factors that could affect a child’s state of mind. Bereavement was mentioned as one issue that could negatively affect the mental health of a child. The guy running the course explained one great way of helping a child to prepare for bereavement… buy...
6 tags
The Man Who Cycled the World
I recently finished the book, The Man Who Cycled The World, by Mark Beaumont. It’s one of the longest books I’ve read in a while (I’m used to ladybird books) but for some reason it had me gripped far more than any book I’ve read in the last few years. I’ve yet to put my finger on just why it had me so gripped. It wasn’t even particularly well written (sorry...
April 2011
3 posts
6 tags
The Perfect Example
As followers of Jesus we obviously want to become more like him. We want to speak, act, think and be like the Perfect Example that he was and is. But how do we do this? It’s a question that we seem to wrestle with a lot! Most sermons usually revolve around this question. Most discussions in our small groups are about working out what we should do/be like in certain situations. Our Bible...