Opinions/reflections - July - December 2019

How I went from patient to chaplain

Baptist minister Ross Dilnot suffered life-changing injuries in 2016. He's now an Air Ambulance Service chaplain

Ezekiel and our postmodern generation

A book written some 550–600 years before Christ has much to say to the postmodern, post-truth times we live in today

Together: Re-imagining, Re-reading HERstory

A reflection by Gale Richards on the recent Baptist International Conference on Theological Education

Women in Ministry: still a sticking point?

Ali Taylor was invited to create a mosaic at the recent Baptist International Conference on Theological Education

Why I'm excited about tax justice

The church can support some of the most vulnerable in society by joining the campaign for tax justice

Bad things in God’s word

What are we, as followers of Jesus, to make of the horrible passages of the Bible? A reflection on Judges 19

Why I welcome the deconstruction process

Is deconstruction back sliding? My faith has been strengthened by questioning the assumptions I grew up with

Is chasing after stuff making you sick?

Faith offers some practical and ancient medications which help to treat the global outbreak of consumeritis

Understanding the teenage mind

Former Christian counsellor and school nurse Mary Weeks Millard focuses on a troubled teenager in her latest novel

'A smouldering wick he will not snuff out'

Jesus is in the business of re-igniting the stuttering candle, not pressing his thumb on it. Are we?

A new year, new possibilities

September is a good time to consider the deeper change God longs for in our churches, writes Trevor Neill

The Parable of the French Teacher

One way a language teacher can serve God is by challenging the underlying consumerist messages in their text books

And Now for Something Completely Different

Retired Baptist minister Joe Story explains why he's set up an alternative publishing house - with several books on baptism

Modern worship and fast food

Why I am cynical about the approach of modern worship, writes Baptist minister Michael Shaw

Why we still know so little about dementia

Stigma has been reduced but the dread surrounding dementia is still high. The biggest hope, and the biggest myth-buster, is having accurate information and acting on it, writes Louise Morse

Captives in the shadows

Social justice and deliverance ministry in the Baptist church. The need is growing, writes Jayne Irlam

The Mirror that Speaks Back

Christians are not immune to the pressure of never being or having enough. How do we re-establish our identity in God’s love?

A Token Man

Text of the address given by Andy Goodliff, the 'token man' at the 5 October event celebrating 100 years of ordaining women to Baptist ministry

Where have all the prophets gone?

On climate change, the church should be the voice calling from the wilderness, writes Michael Shaw. We need to be bolder

You have been weighed

The desire to measure and value everything in monetary terms always tends to dehumanisation. As people of a gracious God surely we know that the most important things in life are free?

Have we lost our dissenting roots?

There were few Baptist voices at Extinction Rebellion. As Baptists, have we lost our non-conformist and dissenting roots, asks Michael Shaw?

Understanding today’s refugee children through the Kindertransport

Rescue brings its own culture and identity challenges, which are explored in a new novel set in post-war Britain

39 victims in Essex - a response

Across the world vulnerability is being exploited - with sometimes devastating consequences, writes Dan Pratt

Postcards from the land of grief

Baptist minister Richard Littledale introduces his series of short, candid thoughts and reflections from his own experience of widowhood

A Modern Day Psalm Of Longing and Lament

Challenged to write a modern day psalm, Jonathan Brewer of South Wales Baptist College employed the language and ideas of a technological generation

“New every morning... one day at a time...”

The passage in the Book of Lamentations that every Christian should know. By Colin Sedgwick

Be baptised, live baptised

A free video course to help prepare people for believers' baptism has been released. This reflection on living baptised for the long haul is taken from the course

A general election for persecuted Christians?

Newly-elected MPs need to arrive at Parliament knowing that their constituents care about people facing persecution, and alerted to the need for action

How to survive the election without losing your mind

Look back, look forward and look around, writes Chris Goswami

Ambassadors for Christ and his kingdom

Even if we disagree on party politics, we find Scripture gives us a way to approach our political life, writes Beth Allison-Glenny

Why the Bible's going to the Chelsea Flower Show

The Psalm 23 Garden is the product of deep thinking about the text, and offers the chance to stop, reflect, and feel refreshed. Mark Woods explains more

Why the best gift this Christmas can be a simple visit

Visiting a person with dementia is an invisible gift that can be life-changing, writes Louise Morse

Advent and the general election

The coming of Christ was political then and it's political today, writes Andy Goodliff

Advent – keeping expectation alive

The present is changed by what the future holds: what does it mean to be a Community of Expectation? By John Rackley

When doing nothing is the right thing to do

As Christmas approaches, let’s picture the pondering Mary, and allow ourselves time and space to stop and reflect on what God is doing in our life

'Providing space for our wider community to question candidates'

Rich Blake-Lobb, pastor of Yiewsley Baptist Church, reflects on the hustings hosted by his church

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