I guess many of us will have been looking with a mix of interest, curiosity, hope, bewilderment and maybe amusement at the events taking place in a conference centre in Lakeland, Florida, USA. For a few of weeks now, nightly “Revival” meetings have been taking place there, led by Todd Bentley. A google or youtube search on “Florida Outpouring” will give you a flavour of what's been happening. There are now reports of a “Dudley Outpouring” as well as others around the globe as leaders who have seen what’s been happening (normally on godtv.com or the God Channel on satellite) go to Florida and bring back what they have “caught”, and impart it to the folks at home. So, what to make of this? I’ve been asked for my reflections by a few folks, possibly because when the Toronto Blessing movement was at its height in the UK I was involved with a ministry (that I deeply appreciate and love) that sought to introduce people to what God might have been doing in that time. As I reflect on those...
I’m someone who likes to thrash ideas out in a conversation. It’s in the cut and thrust of a good challenging discussion that I best formulate ideas and opinions. I like to test aloud how something sounds, hold an idea in the midst of the debate and examine it from many angles. The writer of Proverbs says, as iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another. So, blogging can be an unusual way to express opinions for folks like me. Yes, sometimes it can lead to a good conversation in the comments section, but often it hangs in the ether, like a written statement, instead of an invitation to conversation. With those thoughts in mind, I want to share some of my thinking around the current debate regarding marriage for same-sex couples, and how the church could respond. My first comment is that I don’t think it is the role of the state to dictate to communities of faith the meaning of a sacrament. We would be rightfully outraged if the government sought to dictate to the Church h...
What Value Life? Last week I had the most unexpected but insightful exchange of viewpoints with Robin Ince (comedian, writer, columnist and broadcaster), the new patron of Dignity in Dying. You can read that exchange in the post immediately before this one. After a few days Robin posted a well written, longer reasoning behind his decision to become patron of that group ( you can read it here ). There are some things he’s written that I’d heartily agree with, some that because of our very different starting places we’d understandably come to different outcomes, and some things I just profoundly disagree with. He very kindly pointed readers of his blog to the post that detailed our exchange, and there was at least the hint of an idea that we might converse again at some point. I wish I had half his skill with pen, word and wit, and I fear my much longer response might be less exciting. Nevertheless, here it is. So here I want to lay out some of my own reflec...
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For me, Gungor were the musical highlight of Greenbelt this year.