I have lived in Streatham, south London for almost 20 years. Over this time, I have spent many hundreds of hours on Streatham Common: playing with my kids, running a football club, volunteering on Love Streatham fun days, walking my dog and talking with friends. I even held my 40th birthday there which included a… Continue reading The freedom of commitment
Jesus and guns: faith, politics & polarisation
It would be hard to find a more succinct summary of the polarisation of religion and politics than the campaign bus of Kandiss Taylor who is running for Governor in Georgia. Three starred bullet-points tells you all you need to know about her core commitments: Jesus. Guns. Babies. When I first saw this picture, I… Continue reading Jesus and guns: faith, politics & polarisation
The critical difference: between good judgement & being judgemental
Photo by fauxels on Pexels.com However challenging the work, often the most stressful thing in any job are difficulties in relationships with colleagues. It has certainly been the challenges of managing people that has most kept me awake at night over the last 25 years of my working life. There are many good tips and… Continue reading The critical difference: between good judgement & being judgemental
Homelessness: are we really helping?
A few years ago I was invited to speak at a conference in a church in the North East of England with the title: Homelessness: are we really helping? The organisers had read a paper I had written for a Housing Justice forum titled The practice of grace and truth with homeless people and wanted… Continue reading Homelessness: are we really helping?
Mary Whitehouse, Stacey Dooley and sexual freedom
Due to catching covid recently, I have spent a lot of time watching TV programmes. One was the BBC documentary Banned! The Mary Whitehouse Story. It was an insightful and balanced programme about the campaigner who shot to fame in the 1960s for her protests against declining moral standards on TV and pornography. Conviction… Continue reading Mary Whitehouse, Stacey Dooley and sexual freedom
‘A ship in harbour is safe. But that is not what ships are for’
The church services over Easter are my favourite of the year. The contemplation of Maundy Thursday, the grit of Good Friday, the waiting on Saturday and the joyful hope of Easter Sunday. But for me, the best thing about church this Easter weekend was deep conversations and prayers that I shared with three local people… Continue reading ‘A ship in harbour is safe. But that is not what ships are for’
Is church just for the middle class?
Excerpts from the new book: Invisible Divides: Class, Culture & Barriers to Belonging by Natalie Williams & Paul Brown (SPCK, 2022) Paul: I remember the culture shock I experienced when I first walked into a church as a 25 year old bricklayer. I'd only gone because my girlfriend persuaded me. I felt completely out of my… Continue reading Is church just for the middle class?
Charity Detox: the difference between the crisis & the chronic
Two months ago, I read US activist Robert Lupton’s book Toxic Charity: how churches and charities harm those they help. I have just finished his follow up book Charity Detox: What charity would look like if we cared about results. Lupton acknowledges the controversy stirred by his previous book but his views are forged by… Continue reading Charity Detox: the difference between the crisis & the chronic
The holiness of existence
A review and reflection on the novel Light Perpetual by Francis Spufford Francis Spufford is a great writer. His book Unapologetic is the one of the most original books about Christianity I have read and his debut novel Golden Hill won numerous awards. Light Perpetual is his second work of fiction. (Fascinatingly, Spufford has also… Continue reading The holiness of existence
The divine circuit breaker
A few years ago I was accused by someone of serious malpractice and discriminatory behaviour. I believed the accusations were cynical and baseless and contested the claims, but it led to a legal action which involved a whole week in court. In the end, I was completely exonerated but the whole process involved a considerable… Continue reading The divine circuit breaker
Grace + Truth 