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When our kids were little, we didn’t own a car, so all our journeys were by public transport.  With a toddler and a baby, our double buggy was effectively our ‘car’ – the kids sat or slept side by side, and the buggy also functioned as our ‘boot’, holding everything on its handles or in … Read more

What do you think of when you hear the word prophet?  Perhaps a wizened old seer living hermit-like in a remote place.  Perhaps a gold-toothed charlatan with a white suit and flash car.  Perhaps a harmless eccentric stockpiling food and waiting for the end of days. Or perhaps someone just like us.  The remarkable truth … Read more

I’ve always loved football.  Well into my 30s I would play on Wednesday evenings with a group of blokes who were all old enough to know better.  We never agreed teams in advance – we would just separate into two teams on the night, depending on who was there.  Some nights I would look at … Read more

Hope.  It’s a tricky word, isn’t it?  I must confess I used to be suspicious of it.  I found the word too vague, too intangible.  I used to see it as little more than wishful thinking, as do many people. And yet, as I came to see, this is not the view of the New … Read more

I confess to being someone who builds their life around words.  I love to read, to write, to communicate in words.  And we live in a content-rich culture.  Wherever we go, whatever we see, on billboards in the streets or screens in our homes, there are words, words, words. But sometimes there are no words.  Sometimes … Read more

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