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A few years ago, there was a period drama on TV called ‘Belgravia’.  The central character of the story was a young man called Charles Pope.  Originally given up by his grandparents to be adopted, ashamed that he was (so it was thought) born out of wedlock, it turns out that Charles was in fact … Read more

I don’t know if you’ve ever seen the crown jewels at the Tower of London.  It’s a long time since I went, but I still recall the sense of wonder at seeing the breathtaking, dazzling display for the first time as a child.  One of the highlights is the Queen Mother’s Crown.  Worn at her … Read more

It’s always fascinating watching how people eat a plate of food.  You can learn a lot about someone’s personality from how they eat: in particular, when they choose to eat their favourite mouthfuls.  Some can’t wait, and have to munch their favourite things first.  Others like to space them throughout their meal.  When I was … Read more

All human institutions rely on rules to function.  It’s just the way of things.  Even those things that start as dynamic movements end up needing protocols and procedures, strategies and systems. It’s no less true in the Church.  As soon as any community grows to any size, it needs some sort of organisation to keep … Read more

A few years ago I read a superb little book called ‘The 10-Second Rule’ by Clare de Graaf.  The rule, as the writer describes it, is very simple: ‘Within ten seconds, do the next thing you’re reasonably sure Jesus wants you to do, and you could change a life forever.’ The point is that (like … Read more

The spiritual life is often thought to exist ‘in another dimension’.  And sometimes, it does.  Miracles, prophetic words of knowledge, angelic languages – these are not ‘worldly’ things.  But sometimes, we can fall into the trap of believing that unless it’s a bit weird or quite obviously ‘supernatural’, that the Spirit of God isn’t in … Read more

True goodness unsettles people.  It might seem a strange thing to say, but time and again it has been demonstrated in the history of the church.  Jesus himself was of course the perfect example of this: but it didn’t take long for his followers to discover the same reality.  Opposition to the early Christians began … Read more

You knew we’d get there eventually.  Day 29 on our journey through the Spirit in the Bible and, yes, we’ve finally got to the passage that you might have thought we’d cover on Day 1: Pentecost, the pouring out of the Spirit in a new and glorious way: on all people, for all time. There’s … Read more

In 1995, a man left his well-paid job in New York, moved to Seattle, and began a business operating out of the garage in his new rented home.  He started by selling books in the newly emerging online market.  The first book he sold was ‘Fluid Concepts and Creative Analogies: Computer Models of the Fundamental … Read more

During the covid pandemic a few years ago, it sometimes became quite hard to remember what ‘mass gatherings’ used to look like, but one of the more unusual mass gatherings of people in the last couple of generations has been the popularity of re-enacting major battles.  I remember watching one about 30 years ago in … Read more