In the Bleak Mid-Winter

Every season of the year can bring its own characteristic blessing. The far-off summer holds warm memories and hopeful expectations of riverside picnics, days at the beach, and lazy naps in the sun. Autumn has that first tang of wood smoke in the air, the trees in glorious gold and the promise of hot soups […]

Read More

In Living Colour

There used to be a cinema by the bridge in Windsor called the ABC Playhouse. It’s long gone now, but it was a special place to me. As a boy I saw Mary Poppins there, the first feature length film I had seen that incorporated cartoon animation with live actors. Penguins for waiters – what […]

Read More

How to Make Zero Progress this Year

With the dawning of a new year comes a deluge of resolutions, reminders, and exhortations. They all follow similar how-to themes—how to increase your efficiency, how to make every moment count, how to lose weight, how to invest your time wisely and productively. Well, just for fun, I’d like to take the opposite tack. I’m […]

Read More

Hidden Truths about Persecution

Many people these days believe themselves persecuted. Unfortunately, actual persecution often gets lumped in with perceived offences, overly sensitive personalities, and simple disagreements. In the process, the meaning of persecution has been diminished and the hardship of those persecuted undercut. A more precise definition of persecution will help the term retain its power, while helping […]

Read More

God at Work on the Inside

Men and women who have lost their way in life have found hope and a fresh perspective through the prison ministry of Insight for Living. God is up to something exceptional in the hearts and lives of people in prison. Interest in spiritual things has been on the rise in our prisons, and Insight for […]

Read More

From Victory unto Victory

Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win – Sun Tzu This quote comes from China at about the time when Babylon had already crushed Jerusalem and led the best and brightest of Israel into captivity. The Chinese were far beyond the […]

Read More

Four Commandments for Graduates

You—or someone you know—may soon be graduating. The time has finally come for the ol’ cap-and-gown routine. I extend my congratulations! You may not have set new academic records or had perfect attendance . . . but you finished. You got it done. You saw it through. I commend you. Your course was lengthy, at […]

Read More

Follow Me

The tension has been building for many years. The rhetoric has gradually been increasing after each of the last several local and national elections. But at the start of 2016, we began to hear from our elected MPs on what they believed was best for Great Britain as a referendum vote was called for by […]

Read More

Finishing the Race

Ask me what my favourite Olympic memory is, and I could tell you in an instant…the men’s 400 metres semi-final in Barcelona, 1992. British athlete, Derek Redmond, was in good form, had posted the quickest time in all the heats, and was one of the favourites for a medal. He left the blocks well, but […]

Read More

Fast Results

There’s an old proverb that says “it takes a box of salt to make a friend” – you have to share some meals together before you really get to know someone. During my time at Dallas Seminary, I had the privilege of leading several student small groups as a Leadership Fellow. Whenever my groups met, […]

Read More