I have a confession to make. I am screwed up. I have bad habits which I’m ashamed of. I’ve made mistakes and still do. I can get annoyed at little things. I’ve been in a broken home and lost a parent young. I’ve seen alcoholism at first hand. I lack confidence and occasionally self-esteem. I can be lazy, make excuses and procrastinate.

In other words, I’m a mess.

I don’t have it all together.

My life isn’t perfect.

I don’t have all the answers.

However, I get encouragement from others about the kind of person they see. A wise, intelligent, insightful person with (more…)

Last weekend I blogged about how we need to feel the absence of God in order to have intimacy with God. It’s a major part of my journey right now – and today I want to take this discussion further.

I’ve been going through a season of doubt in my faith. Asking questions which have taken me to the very heart of my faith. But in many ways I felt closer to God then than I have done when things were good. When faith was certain.

It’s strange, but in the moment of doubt and despair I’ve actually felt an intimacy with God I don’t feel in the good times.

I have always suspected doubt is good for our relationship with God. Now, I’m even more certain.

To have an intimate relationship with the divine, we need doubt. We can’t live (more…)

Today is Holy Saturday. This day, in the Easter story, is a day when Jesus is dead. Gone. Absent. If people are sick, there’s no one to heal them. If people want words of wisdom or insight, He’s not there.

He’s dead. In the tomb.

Yesterday and today I’ve read a lot of tweets and Facebook updates, talking about how difficult Good Friday was…

…but we must remember Sunday.

How it’s all going to be okay because Jesus rises again.

We don’t have to get depressed about His death, because we know it’s all okay in the end.

Now there might be some truth in this. Jesus does rise again. Which is awesome.

But can we wait till tomorrow to remember it?

All this triumphalism disappoints me. It hurts. Because the truth is, things don’t always (more…)

Hi there. I’ve not written to you much. We normally do this verbally. But anyway, I have some thoughts to share with you.

I know I’ve not been the perfect disciple. My whole life I’ve attended church, so much so I don’t know a life without it. But both of us know I’m nowhere near perfect. You see my bad habits, the bitter, under-my-breath prayers cursing you, even saying I hate you.

Sometimes I wonder how authentic my faith in you is. I wonder how much I believe in you because simply I’m afraid of the alternative – rather than simply because you’re true.

You see, I can’t bear the thought of a world without you. This place is so dark and messed up. I live in a system which lives to make money, to sell products I don’t need. And I am so much as part of this, almost to the degree where there is no difference.

Is this the radical faith you spoke about?

Is this the counter-cultural life you call me to?

It certainly doesn’t seem like it.

But a world without you? You not being real? I can’t imagine.

What would it be like?

There would still be (more…)

In the last week or so  I’ve shared the 6 lessons I learned from 2012, and moved into why we need to set values not goals for 2013. Today I want to look at learning to trust God with the outcome.

As I’ve looked back over the past 12 months I am amazed at what has transpired. In some ways it happened because I was intentional – yet none of it happened the way I imagined and the results were nothing like I would have predicted.

Such is the nature of life.

We can scheme and plot all we like. We can be as intentional as it’s possible to be.

But if we want to grow, we must also learn to surrender the outcome.

Much of the stress of our lives comes when we try to control the (more…)

I have an admission to make. I’m a hypocrite.

You know the old saying ‘Christians are hypocrites’? It’s absolutely true. (tweet that here)

This fact doesn’t make the truth of Christianity any less true or important. The way and values of Jesus are still true, no matter how badly His followers embody them.

But the fact is a lot, in fact, the majority of Christians are hypocrites. Including me.

Here’s some proof:  (more…)

Ever heard the phrase ‘God-shaped hole’? You ever been told you have a ‘God shaped hole’ in your life which only God can fill, and which you fill with other things?

Of course that sounds great doesn’t it? It sounds comforting and logical.

But it’s a lie.

We don’t have a God-shaped hole.(Tweet that here)

First off, the term implies there are other parts of us that either are already complete in God – or worse, don’t need God.

How much of what we believe is simply about lacking something and trying to fill that lack? (more…)

A lot has happened to me in my 35 years. If I were to go into too much depth it would be pages and pages of writing.

A mother who lost her short-term memory when I was 8, bullied at school, my Mum becoming depressed and alcoholic and constantly fighting with my Dad before they eventually they broke up. Losing Mum at the age of 23 and then seeing my Dad suffer with Parkinson’s and a second broken marriage.

It’s been painful. Ironically though it was all of this that pushed me closer to the God I was brought up to know, and who I have given my life to.

My pain has made me who I am. (Tweet that here)

Have you ever found that?

What experiences have shaped you (more…)

I’ve heard many people talk about ‘calling’, ‘mission’ and ‘purpose’. It’s becoming almost part of our DNA as Christians now to have a ‘calling’.

One of the standard questions Christians eventually ask when they get to know one another is what that person feels ‘called’ to do. Come on, we’ve all heard it haven’t we – we’ve probably asked it ourselves, perfectly legitimately.

But calling has been undersold. It’s much more – and different – than we have been led to believe.

Calling is not just supernatural. It’s an evolutionary process, which goes on through our entire lives.(Tweet this here)

Last year (more…)

Hi all, welcome to my second posts on the ‘best of the blog’ (so far) which I’m publishing whilst taking a sabbatical from posting new material. Here I’ll be sharing some of my most read posts and some of the ones which mean the most to me.

Just before we get to that, I’d to put in another quick mention of my upcoming newsletter.

One thing that’s important to me is to connect with my readers – you. So in the very near future I plan to be sending out a monthly newsletter.

This will not only keep you up to date with what I’m doing and what’s happening here in a much more accessible way, but will have the bonus of containing some exclusive content only for subscribers.

I’d really love to connect more with you all and have some exciting, exclusive material I really want to share with you – so I’d love to invite you to subscribe here (it’s free by the way!).

Now back to the best of the blog. Today we’re focussing more on posts on issues concerning social media and faith. As ever, there’s a little except (more…)