'Niddrie Community Church' Tagged Posts (Page 32)
Why My Perfect Family Is Better Than Yours!
Here in the UK there is a (not so) great tradition of sending yearly family newsletters around about Christmas time. I am unsure if it is just a Christian phenomenon or a class thing because I never came across them in my life when I was growing up. However, many of them are unintentionally hilarious. Being a pastor we used to get more than our fair share of these things.…
Youth Groups That Do What They Say On The Tin!
In the UK, there’s a product called Ronseal. It’s a popular varnish/wood stain product available in most hardware stores. Their advertising strap line is really well known: it’s supposed to be simple, straight-forward, and down-to-earth. “Ronseal: It does exactly what it says on the tin.” In…
When Helping Hurts
This is an extremely provocative book and I absolutely loved it. Although written for a North American cultural mindset, it is certainly applicable across much of Europe. The byline is, ‘How to alleviate poverty without hurting the poor..and yourself’. We live in a culture where the concept of a ‘missions trip’ is now almost the ‘done…
Christopher Hitchens v Douglas Wilson: FIGHT!
Entitled, ‘A Collision of Lives’ I have to admit that I found this documentary fascinating, not because of the level of debate (average) but because of the personal, behind the scenes glimpses, of discussion between the two men. There is a lot of ‘to-ing & fro-ing’ in terms of putting forward views, as there should be in these things. I just…
‘Off the shelf’ Christmas assemblies for schools
Being the new chaplain on the scene, it falls to me to deliver this year’s Christmas assembly in the local high school next week. The expectation is for me to deliver a short seasonal message to a large group of teenagers (who don’t really want to be there) to help them think more about Christmas.…
Christian Youth Work : Developing Healthy Partnerships
One of the things that we notice about the young people in Niddrie is that many of them like bikes, both the pedal kind, and the motor kind. So bikes present us with a great opportunity for contact with many young people and also with other organisations working in the area. As a church, we want to…
Should the church help young people into work?
If any professional ever had a claim to the title ‘Jack of all trades’, it would surely be the church Youth Worker. What other profession can boast such diversity in roles as: counsellor, entertainer, artist, cleaner, cinematographer, people manager, taxi driver, web developer, teacher, caretaker,…
Our children in a ‘moral abyss’
A couple of weeks back, I wrote a post about our decision to invest more heavily in the children’s work at NCC. As a ‘youth’ worker, I’ve always been a bit reticent about doing children’s work – I don’t really enjoy it, though I recognise the need for it! Dr Helen Wright, head teacher of St Mary’s Calne, Wiltshire and President of the Girls’ School Association was quoted…
Is There Anybody Out There? Mez’s Updated Autobiography Available Now!
by Mike Stark “This is a compelling, gripping, heart-wrenching, you-can’t-put-it-down story of sin and grace. Read this and thank God that, as Psalm 136 says, ‘His love endures forever.’” (Mark Dever) ~ Senior Pastor of Capitol Hill Baptist Church, Washington, DC The updated…
Please Worship Somewhere Else! (Why our church may not be for you)
Niddrie Community Church sits right in the centre of a housing scheme in the East of Edinburgh. We are too small and not ‘cool’ enough to be student friendly. The odd student type who does come along to our services is usually very focused and dedicated in the Christian faith. We are…