Sex. So often it’s a taboo subject for Christians. I know I’ve never really written on the subject before. As a 30-something single Christian, who has been a Christian and believed in abstinence before marriage my entire life, I don’t exactly have practical experience.

However, recently I read a Gallup survey, done for the prominent Christian magazine ‘Relevant’. It’s results showed 80 per cent – yes, you read it right – of unmarried Christians in the US between the ages of 19-29 are having sex. That despite over 70 per cent saying they thought sex before marriage was wrong.

I have to confess, reading that stat did sadden me. I’ve been a Christian pretty much my entire life and I’ve never seen stats which showed such a large proportion of Christians having pre-marital sex. The statistic alone, for me, demanded a response and a re-examination of the topic.

(more…)

We are now well into the first week of advent. As we approach the second week of advent, having thought about the heart of our lives, the rhythm of our lives, the shalom of God in my previous post now it’s important to go to the root of how we see God. Part of the calling inherent throughout creation is a pattern, a rhythm of death and resurrection, and the time of advent is very much a time of preparation and renewal.

It allows us to examine ourselves again before God and given that Christmas is about Jesus birth and coming in the flesh, it’s important we examine our attitudes toward how we see God. So what I wish to do today is to examine this more fully – maybe not quite in a way you may expect, but with something I believe is fundamentally important to a healthy view of God and His creation.

So let’s begin in scripture. In Genesis 28 Jacob gets sent away by Issac. Whilst he’s away, in the very same chapter, he lays down to sleep, putting his head on a stone to rest it. The lowest of the low it would seem, totally alone and thrown out, having to lay his head on a stone. But during this sleep he has a dream, a dream about God. God says the following to him: (v 13-15) (more…)

Those who have read my blog recently will know I’ve been writing a lot on the theme of faith in the digital realm. I’ve written on how I believe the digital realm and interactions we have there are real, true & meaningful and how the digital realm can help us understand truths about ourselves better, and therefore help us deal with those issues. I’ve also written on how important it is to find a balance between digital and physical interaction. Of course many of you will be followers of mine on Twitter (@JamesPrescott77) and know I love social networking, and discussions on Twitter, Facebook and other social networks – indeed you may have been involved in some of those discussions!

I also love to write, and many of you know that I guest blog from time to time. But now these two parts of my life have come together in more clear way.  (more…)

This weekend is the first of Advent. Can you believe it, still November and it’s advent already? Christmas within touching distance. It’s amazing how time flies isn’t it? Hardly feels that long ago since the start of the year, and advent is here already.

Personally, I love advent, largely because thus far, in its truest meaning, it’s been spared from the corruption of consumerism. As Christians we can still take this time and really focus on the heart of the Christmas message, the coming of Christ. Consumerism has it’s own ‘advent’ I grant you, with advent calendars and present buying, but the actual heart of advent has escaped the consumer trap.

Advent, for me, is a time of both preparation and remembrance.

Preparation, as we prepare for the coming of Jesus, we start to ponder anew the meaning of His coming and our own response to that.

Remembrance, because we begin to remember his coming and it’s implications for us and the world around us, and we begin to look back over the past year and see what God has been doing in our own lives.

Often it’s good at those times it’s good to stop and reflect. So during this advent, I’m hoping to write a few blog posts on some of the themes and issues we encounter at this time of year.

First, I want to look at the the theme of peace – or rather, shalom. (more…)

I have been in big discussions in the last few days – on social networking sites, ironically enough – concerning the truth and reality of relationships established and sustained through social networking. Statistics on the nature of human relationships and communication – saying that most communication is non-verbal, for example, and allegations that these relationships are somehow superficial, have been made in what has been a healthy, friendly discussion.

I have no problem with people disagreeing with me in this issue, healthy discussion can and should involve those who disagree, respecting one another’s opinions whilst engaging fully with the issue. Displaying love for one another in a Christ-like way, yet still confronting the issues head on – and it should be this way with all discussions which take place anywhere – in the digital realm and in the physical realm.

Yet I have also seen in the last week people I respect being involved in discussions on other issues, discussions which I have contributed too, but where the discussion has resulted in people I care about being upset, uncomfortable and hurt. The tone at times has been cruel and hurtful, people caring so much about being right and ‘winning’ the argument, that the core values of love and respect have been forgotten.

I have to say, being honest, seeing people I considered friends upset and offended in this way actually made me pretty angry. Put it this way, I wasn’t feeling too loving or respectful to the people that had treated them that way. (more…)

Realm: a field or domain of activity or interest (Oxford Dictionary)

Realm is a descriptive word usually associated with Kings of Queens, or sometimes Presidents. Those of us that live in the British Commonwealth, formerly the British Empire, are with under the ‘realm’ of the Queen, our head of state. Historically, realms are defined politically – but there is one realm in particular which now exists on a global scale that the majority of people on this planet, almost 100% of the population of the Western world most likely, have access to, is the digital realm. The realm of the internet.

Vicky Beeching posted an excellent blog post today on the issue of how real this realm is, I read it with a twinge of irony, as I’d written this post a few weeks back and had been pondering when to post it – and given Vicky has started this discussion now seemed an appropriate time.

I want to examine the issue of the reality of the digital realm  - but I want to go further, and discuss how we find a healthy balance in our relationships in both the physical and digital realms, without making it an idol and letting it take the place of God – which, we have to acknowledge, is a big temptation, in the age of smartphones, i-pads and laptops, a time where we’re constantly online. (more…)

There’s been a lot of debate and discussion on the role of women on the Twitter/blogosphere recently, most of it healthy. All the time as I have been reading – and there have been excellent posts in the last week by both Vicky Beeching and Anna Blanch on this subject, amongst others, and indeed I myself posted on the Biblical role of women earlier in the week.

But to me there was something missing.

I felt a man’s perspective on gender issues was just not there. You see, I think we should all absolutely be championing women in leadership, and that the Bible is pro-women, and it’s absolutely right that women find their voice. I made that clear in my post earlier this week, with some theological background.

I just know, from my own experience as a man, that one danger of going to far with feminism can be that men no longer know what it is to be a man. They grow up without a clear definition of masculinity. We are told to ‘get in touch with our feminine side’, and then criticised for not being ‘man’ enough, all the time trying to be men and be positive about masculinity, without being anti-women or sexist in any way.

I think this is a serious problem, especially in church where people have different perceptions of the role of both men and women. I’m an egalitarian, I believe the question isn’t gender when it comes to leadership and teaching, it’s about character, gifting and calling. If you have those, then your gender, although part of who you are, is not relevant.

Your gender should never preclude you from any role.  (more…)

There was a long and in depth discussion on Twitter this week concerning the role of women, and whether they should be teaching or leading in church. I did add my contribution to it, but seeing how some women – many of whom I know and are gifted leaders – being treated in a way which I found hurtful, and given the importance of the topic, I felt it important that I put something out there about where I’m coming from and my thoughts and reflections on this topic.

First, the elephant in the room. Yes, I’m a man talking about women. So, my view or experience may be limited in some ways, but I’m going to share what I know.

I am thankful to my pastor Jason who did a great talk on this which has helped me in my preparation, and want to acknowledge that here. But this is an issue which I care about deeply. The attitude of some male leaders out there and how they have talked about and treated women, and the mistreatment of women even in attitude and tone, has upset me I’ll be brutally honest.

One of my biggest passions is seeing all people, men and women, fulfill their divine calling in God, and be free to become the people they were created to be. When women are limited, criticised, put down or stopped from doing this because of what I consider to be bad theology, that upsets me.

So what I’m going to do is outline briefly the main perspectives on this issue, look at a couple of Bible passages relating to this and try to outline them and what their real meaning is, and then offer some thoughts and reflections on this.

(more…)

Earlier this week I posted a short blog post promoting a new book of Advent reflections I’ve contributed to. But even before beginning writing the blog, I felt an inner conflict. A conflict I’m sure many of the creatives reading – and many more of us – have experienced at some point or other.

A conflict between wanting to share something I’d helped create with people, in order to help bless them – because I genuinely believe the book can and will do that in so many ways – and my own pride and ego, which is desperately wanting people to read it and give me great responses to boost my confidence.

It’s a conflict between healthy ambition and selfish ambition.

A conflict between that part of me that wants to honour God with what I create and see it help others in their walk with Him, and my own ego which wants success for selfish reasons.

It’s also about my own insecurities – that I can’t quite believe that I have had even moderate success at something I love doing and might actually have a gift for, because some part of me just won’t accept that I can be successful, or that God might actually have made me for a purpose and that this might a pointer to what that might be.

Promoting something you’re a part of or have helped create feels a bit selfish, and not very Christian – and certainly, it’s very tempting, especially in the self-centered ‘i-culture’ we live in, to simply promote things for those reasons.

We all want to be loved, and something we often do is look for that in people, rather than simply embracing the unconditional love & grace of God, which doesn’t value us according to our achievements, but sees us in all our nakedness, all our fear, doubt and all our sin – as well as our achievement – and loves us anyway.

A love that would love the same if we lived our whole lives and achieved nothing and got it all wrong every single moment.  (more…)

As many of you know, I occasionally guest blog for a few other sites. One of these is Christine Sine’s Godspace, for which I have written several guest posts. Last Advent I wrote a seasonal devotional for the site. This year Christine and a few others decided to compile a book of devotionals for Advent, and mine was selected to be part of this. The book has recently gone to press – you can see the cover in the picture to the left/above – and is now available from their site.

It’s called ‘Waiting for the Light: An Advent Devotional’. Having seen a provisional copy of the book I can tell you it’s packed full of quality devotionals, one for each day in Advent, written by a variety of different – and very good – authors, including Tom Sine and my own pastor Jason Clark.

Believe it or not Advent is only about three weeks away now – time does move so quickly doesn’t it? –  and over the years I’ve come to value it as much as, if not more, than Christmas Day itself. It allows us to prepare ourselves fully for the coming of Jesus, and reflect more fully on His coming and it’s meaning for us. It also allows us time to reflect on what God has been doing in us over the last year, as we prepare for Jesus coming at Christmas, and then the new calendar year ahead.  (more…)