March 12, 2018
Salons in Paris and coffeehouses in London, Vienna and other cities were the most important places for developing ideas that shaped public life in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. They offered informal space for interaction for people from different backgrounds without regard to rank. Women were usually the leading figures of the Parisian salons. The […]
March 5, 2018
Three months after moving into the heart of Amsterdam, Romkje and I find ourselves repeatedly both surprised and thankful. Surprised by the discovery of new life in unexpected places. Thankful for what some of our YWAM colleagues describe as a change in the spiritual climate of the city. As newcomers on the block, we have […]
February 26, 2018
An early church father’s exhortation to seek the common good comes as a refreshing reminder of our task as Christians today in a Europe unsettled by resurgent nationalism, populism and xenophobia. John Chrysostom–literally ‘the golden-mouthed’, in reference to his eloquent preaching–was the Archbishop of Constantinople at the beginning of the fifth century. Widely popular, he […]
February 19, 2018
Last week in Geneva, I reflected nostalgically with fellow YWAM leaders on the global renewal movement over the past fifty years. In recent weekly words I have written about the ‘profound thankfulness for family, friends and the faithfulness of God’ Romkje and I felt as we sorted and packed our belongings collected over four decades […]
February 12, 2018
Valentine’s name is everywhere again this week. Cash registers are ringing up sales of greeting cards, chocolates, roses, lingerie and perfumes this week all over Europe and beyond. Not a bad business, in both senses of the word. So it is good to be reminded again who this Valentine was. A casanova or loverboy from […]
February 5, 2018
To expect marriages to last till ‘death do us part’ is simply unreasonable – or so I heard recently. Life circumstances, mutual interests, careers and other factors fluctuate and so our expectations concerning marriage should also be flexible, so the argument goes. Sounds reasonable, until you begin thinking of the long-term consequences to society, for […]
January 15, 2018
Dear WW readers, After a month of physical and mental exertion moving into new premises and adjusting to a new urban environment, I will take a break from writing ‘weekly word’ until February 5. Romkje and I are presently in New Zealand visiting with my soon-to-be-95-year-old mother and other family members and friends. We plan […]
January 10, 2018
(The photo with yesterday’s version of this ww was automatically cropped and omitted the chalked message referred to in the text.) Christmas is over for the Western world. The decorations have been put away again for another year. The New Year is now under way, for better or for worse. Life is returning to ‘normal’. […]
January 9, 2018
Christmas is over for the Western world. The decorations have been put away again for another year. The New Year is now under way, for better or for worse. Life is returning to ‘normal’. Epiphany, or Three Kings’ Day, has just been celebrated in more traditional churches. Saturday, January 6, the 12th day of Christmas, marked […]
December 18, 2017
The recent sale of Leonardo da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi (ca. 1500) for $450.3 million made world news as the highest purchase ever for a painting. Who had so much money to pay such a price for a painting that in 1958 was sold for a mere £45? The latest twist in an improbable story is […]
December 11, 2017
The first snow blizzard of the season closed in on the Netherlands on Friday evening as a farewell reception began for Romkje and myself in Centrum ’s Heerenhof, the former laundry building we as YWAM purchased in 1979. At the start of the week, a large moving van had drawn up outside our old home […]
December 4, 2017
Advent signalled a new beginning for the human race. There were signs (the Bethlehem star, for example) and wonders (Mary’s conception) and those who were watching and waiting recognised the moment (like Simeon and Anna in the temple). Yet no-one really understood what God was up to. That would take another thirty-three years to unfold. […]
