Biblical/Pastoral Counselling (Page 3)
Are You Sure You Want Converts From Inner City Housing Schemes?
BY ANDY CONSTABLE There is a lot of talk these days about living ‘missionally’ as the answer to the problems of the local church in housing schemes/council estates. People say that if we live like they did in Acts where everybody shared their possessions and spent more intentional time together…
Effective Discipleship For a Non Reading Generation
Great little post here on community-shaped discipleship in youth work by Josh Cousineau. He sets up 2 models of discipleship we might employ in our youth work; 1) giving them a chapter of a good book to read and discussing it together the next week, or 2) living life together in community, allowing…
Redeeming Tiredness
by A Constable Work on schemes is tiring. The people we deal with everyday have some sort of drug or alcohol dependency and/or one or more mental issues. When you are building a relationship with someone from that kind of background you aren’t going to be asked very often how you’re doing? The relationship, at least to begin with, is very one sided as you sew into their…
Children need time, not stuff
According to the BBC, British children are among the least happy in the developed world. This is the breaking news that we’re living in a materialistic world where parents are working longer hours to make more money, and as a result are spending less time with their children, which, according to the Unicef research, is the thing the children crave most.…
Communion – it’s meant for sinners!
A thought provoking little article here by Luke Stamps on how we should approach the Lord’s Supper.
The trouble of joy (2)
by Andy Constable So we saw last week that Paul was going through some difficult circumstances but that he doesn’t seem upset, or in despair, or angry but quite the opposite. He is a man full of joy. Why is Paul joyful despite the circumstances he faces? To begin with it’s important to note that joy is not the same as happiness. Happiness is an emotion that depends on…
Old & Young Pastors: Seeking the gospel in our conflict
I have been reading a lot about this topic lately (not that I have been having any problems with old pastors). But I think that there is solid wisdom in this great article from Trevin wax, fast becoming a favourite blogger of mine. Read what he has to say here.
Disappointed? Don’t get cynical now!
by Andy Constable The reality of living and working in an estate area is that there lots of disappointments. We pray, we serve, we hold out the gospel and yet some seem to simply turn their back on it all. This work takes graft and perseverance and a lot of the ‘success’ stories are surrounded by brokenness and discouragement. This is often exacerbated by the fact that…
Planned Spontaneity In Our ‘Word Ministry’
When we look at the NT, and the book of Acts in particular, we see that the gospel spread and the church grew through the proclamation and teaching of the ‘Word of God’ (Acts 6:7; 12:24; 19:20).That must be the basis for any and all ministry in our congregations – we must be…
A response to grumpy reformed pastors
Apparently John MacArthur has kicked up a bit of a fuss with a swing at the Young, Reformed & Restless brigade in the USA. Read what he has to say here.One of my fav bloggers has then responded to this, I think very ably and graciously, here.