Random Stuff (Page 26)
You never marry the ‘right’ person
Great article here on Justin Buzzard’s blog concerning Tim Keller’s book on marriage.
Coping With Terminal Illness
This is an extremely emotive topic and anybody who has been in ministry for a length of time will have faced this particularly painful scenario. I have dealt with several sudden deaths in Niddrie, from overdoses to accidents, young and old. It is a brutal reminder of our mortality and the preciousness of life. Families are left, often bereft, with many questions and the…
Are You a Porn Addict?
by Andy Constable We live in a highly sexualised culture with a multi billion pound sex industry. In the USA, 3000 dollars per second is spent on pornography. Sadly, this is a problem that many Christian men struggle with. They try to escape the reality of their lives through sexual fantasising. They give in to their lusts and seek fulfillment through sexual…
What’s the Difference Between a Social Worker & a Rottweiler?
So went the (so-called) joke when I was growing up in a sink estate in Yorkshire in the late 80’s. The answer? ‘At least you get a part of your kid back from a Rottweiler’. The point? In Housing schemes, Social Workers are viewed as the gestapo, with the power to turn up at any…
Rediscovering The Lost Gospel
I have been studying several books on the gospel in recent weeks as I research a chapter for an upcoming book. I have to confess at the outset that whilst I have heard of Darrell Bock, I have never read any of his writings. I honestly wasn’t sure what to expect as I opened it but I have to say that for its 136 pages it is real value for money. Bock felt the need to…
It Takes a Church to Raise a Child!
On Sunday evening I have been teaching a parenting class for a group of about 15 people crammed into my front room. One of the dangers of parenting courses is that people think they are only applicable for those with children. Singles think they have no need to know, older couples think they have done it all, those struggling with having children find it difficult and…
The Marks of ‘real’ Manhood
Yesterday, my Pastoral Assistant, Andy Constable, posted on the issue of men and laziness. This begs the question of what constitutes real manhood in our feminised society which has blurred the distinctions between men and women, often not for the better. The ‘Mark Driscoll’ response to this has been to call for men to beat their chests, grab a keg of beer and…
From Selling Heroin in the Car Park to Proclaiming Christ in the Community
When I came to Niddrie over 4 years ago there was a young woman involved in selling Heroin outside our doors in the car park. Most of the members were oblivious but I spotted it after about 2.1 seconds! Her name was Charlene and she had two young children. Before long she had heard the gospel of…
Lord Carey v Lords Spiritual: FIGHT!
I have had an overwhelming response to an article I wrote this week on the government’s proposed benefit caps. As I stated in the article the initial proposal was defeated in the Lords thanks in no small part to the vocal opposition of a group of Bishops led by the Bishops of Ripon & Leeds, the Right Reverend John Packer. This, in turn, has sparked a mini debate…
Are Benefits Caps Evil?
It’s fair. It’s popular. It’s moral to ensure that families in which people are unemployed but able to work should not get more in benefits than the average family can earn. Or It’s arbitrary. It takes no account of the differences in rents and standards of living in different parts of the country. It’s immoral to force vulnerable families…