Time to prepare

“Christians have a tragic ability to fall out with each other. While the Holy Spirit seeks unity in the gospel, we often do the devil’s work for him…”

Showing us the door

image : saamvisual.com

 

In the run-up to the snap General Election, called by Theresa May for 8 June, Rico Tice was interviewed for Radio 4’s Today regarding the issue. If Christians are seen as inherently unfit for public office because of their beliefs, it would effectively mean that we are excluded from the ‘inclusive’ society.

Polarised society

The election of Trump and Brexit are seen as part of a conservative (small c) backlash against multi-culturalism and the moves towards globalism of recent years. ‘The world has changed’, we are told.

Indiana Jones and the chapel of rest

…As they disappear from the library Dr Jones shouts back to the students something that has always stuck with me: ‘If you want to be a good archaeologist you’ve got to get out of the library!’…

It was 50 years ago…

Britain remains an island of lost and lonely people until we rediscover Christ’s gospel. As we start another year, let’s pray afresh for our nation.

Leaving a big church?

These days church planting and revitalisation are, rightly, on the agenda for us…

Wonderful science

…As the facts of science are uncovered the basis for a totally chance universe seems to be getting smaller and smaller by the day. The world in its rebellion is against God, but the evidence is against the atheist and it will continue to accumulate….

Editors commentary: Leading growing churches

It’s a great joy that many churches are growing.

Some are growing rapidly. In our own congregation, starting around a year ago, we have seen substantial blessing and along with folk being saved we have had many applying for baptism and church membership – Soli Deo Gloria!

But when a church grows, as Ray Evans says in his excellent book Ready, Steady, Grow, the culture of the church inevitably begins to change. Communication within the church becomes far more complicated, not least because the number of possible conversations between larger numbers of people increases almost exponentially. There is far more room for misunderstandings, hurt feelings, etc.

With this in mind, questions concerning the management of the church by its leaders rightly come onto the agenda.

Management style

Many images of the church are used in the NT. But when it comes to the management of the church by its leaders… (to read more click here)

This article was first published in the April 2016 issue of Evangelicals Now. For more news, articles or reviews, subscribe to en or visit our website www.e-n.org.uk.

Editors commentary: Robot wars?

A much-reviewed book grabbed me recently.

It is The Rise of the Robots: Technology and the Threat of Mass Unemployment by Martin Ford*, a Silicon Valley software entrepreneur. His well-informed thesis is that any job which involves ‘routine’ can, with the astonishing advance in computer technology, be ‘learned’ by robots. They are set to become as available and as ordinary a sight as a motor car.

The idea that computers can only do what they are programmed to do is of course true at one level, but now computerised robots are programmed to learn. Things have moved on vastly since IBM’s ‘Deep Blue’ beat world champion Gary Kasparov at chess. The computer ‘Watson’ can win quizzes in which the answers are intuitive. ‘Eureqa’ has algorithms which can ‘do science’ – studying data and finding laws and equations. An artificial intelligence programme called ‘The Painting Fool’ can produce ‘original’ works of art.

Loss of jobs and Europe

So a House of Lords report from February 2015 estimated that 35% of UK jobs will fall victim to automation within 20 years. These jobs are not simply those of warehouse workers or those in service industries but the jobs of journalists, project managers, doctors, lawyers and more. Because of burgeoning technology, companies can make vast profits with far fewer staff. Whereas MacDonalds at present employs 1.8 million people worldwide, Google needs only 55,000. Robot factories have become so efficient as to undercut the lowest costs of Third World textile factory workers.

In coming months there will be much agonising over the referendum concerning whether Britain will stay in the European Union. Prime Minister Cameron is trumpeting the (debatable) concessions he has won from Brussels concerning benefits to which migrant workers might be entitled. But actually border controls and quotas might all be beside the point. Via computer technology…(to read more click here)

This article was first published in the March 2016 issue of Evangelicals Now. For more news, articles or reviews, subscribe to en or visit our website www.e-n.org.uk.

Editors commentary: Time for Luther

Does the Reformation matter?

It’s a question which is going to become increasingly crucial for evangelical churches in the coming year or so as the 500th anniversary in 2017 of Luther’s nailing his radical ideas to the Wittenberg church door draws ever closer. The church is under terrific pressure both from militant/political Islam and militant/political secularism and forgetting the Reformation, sinking our differences and standing together with anyone who calls themselves a Christian seems a good option to many.

Who are we?

Separatism simply looks seedy to many ordinary Christians…(to read more click here)

This article was first published in the February 2016 issue of Evangelicals Now. For more news, articles or reviews, subscribe to en or visit our website www.e-n.org.uk.