Category Archives: Bible Exposition

Strong Reproofs for a Scandalous Church

My first parish as a young enthusiastic priest was St John’s, Stoke, in Guildford, Surrey. It is situated next door to Guildford College. In my time there as Rector, we held occasional events for students and faculty.  Previously I had spent four years working as a student pastor so when the chaplaincy of the college fell vacant I asked my Bishop whether the two posts could be combined. We heard nothing for months. Eventually when I pressed the Archdeacon, I was told that it was considered inappropriate for an evangelical to be appointed as the chaplain to an academic institution. Then when I proposed undertaking a part-time post graduate degree I was asked by the Director of Training, rather cynically, was I going to buy it from America? That was all the motivation I needed to pursue a Masters from Oxford and then eventually a PhD.

I can therefore relate to how the Apostle Paul must have felt when he was mocked by the Christians in Corinth for his lack of eloquence or oratory skills. Let me read to you from John Stott’s book “Calling Christian Leaders” (IVP)

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Becoming a Person of Extraordinary Influence 

“I was sitting in a barber chair when I became aware that a powerful personality had entered the room. A man had come quietly in upon the same errand as myself to have his hair cut and sat in the chair next to me. Every word the man uttered, though it was not in the least didactic, showed a personal interest in the man who was serving him. And before I got through with what was being done to me I was aware I had attended an evangelistic service, because Mr, D. L. Moody was in that chair. I purposely lingered in the room after he had left and noted the singular affect that his visit had brought upon the barber shop. They talked in undertones. They did not know his name, but they knew something had elevated their thoughts, and I felt that I left that place as I should have left a place of worship.” Who said that? Woodrow Wilson, the former President of the United States.

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How to Avoid Burnout

Unless you benefit from annual winter breaks in the sun, February is not necessarily a month we look forward to here in the UK. The long-range Met Office forecast invariably predicts cold and wet weather. It is still dark when you get up, the days are short and summer seems light-years away.

Add the usual pressures and stresses of a post-Christmas hangover, especially when the credit card bills arrive, and it’s easy at this time of year to run out of emotional energy. 

For most of us, the weather and time of year just makes us feel low, vulnerable to colds or irritable. For some it may become clinical. Whatever you call it … depression, “burnout”, or “the blahs”… it is an inescapable warning light that something is out of balance in our lives. 

Burnout is associated with situations that can hit us ay any time of year in which we feel: 

  • overworked 
  • underappreciated 
  • confused about expectations and priorities 
  • concerned about job security 
  • overcommitted with responsibilities 
  • resentful about duties that are not commensurate with pay 

Burnout can occur when we feel we are unable to meet constant demands, and we become increasingly overwhelmed and depleted of energy. Debilitating sadness, anger or indifference can set in. The modern work-place is notorious for exacerbating the causes of burnout. 

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The Beatitudes: The Christian Manifesto

This is a poignant week for me. The 31st January is the 70th anniversary of the 1953 floods that devastated the coastal communities of East Anglia. A confluence of two weather systems – one in the English Channel and the other in the North Sea, caused a a storm surge. The abnormal rise in sea levels brought death and destruction all along the East coast, the worst floods in living memory. During that raging storm out to sea, the Lowestoft trawler Guava sunk without trace. My uncle Edward Sizer was one of the eleven crew who never returned home. 

Where do you find your security in the storms of life? Where do you find peace of mind in an uncertain world? How can you experience joy in a scary world?  

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