September 12, 2026
What can church and mission leaders learn from British television detective dramas? In a zoom encounter this week with members of the European Disability Network, we noted the positive appearance of people with disabilities on detective programmes being portrayed as competent professionals. Their particular gifts make them indispensable members of the team – instead of […]
September 5, 2026
The name ‘Ukraine’ has often been translated as ‘borderland’ – for many of us Ukraine is still ‘way over there’ on Europe’s geographical frontier – yet much of Ukrainian history tells the opposite story. My trip to Kyiv last week has sharpened my understanding of how increasingly central Ukraine is to Europe’s future. Kyiv has […]
August 29, 2026
This week began with commemorations of 35 years of Ukrainian independence after the collapse of the Soviet Union, with emotions of gratitude, resolve and hope, mixed with frustration, fatigue and pain. I was invited to travel to Kyiv for the National Prayer Breakfast last Sunday, together with visitors from 50 nations. Some 1200 politicians, diplomats, […]
August 22, 2026
After a long, hot summer, fire fighters across Europe still desperately try to control wildfires, as well as blazing Wildberries warehouses in Moscow and burning apartment blocks in Kyiv. Meanwhile, European holidaymakers happily stir the flames of their barbecues or swap stories around campfires. For flickering tongues of fire bring both the fearsome blaze of […]
August 15, 2026
Dig your bare toes into the soil next time you walk in nature. Scoop up a handful of earth and look at it closely. Is it alive and wriggling? Or does it look lifeless and inert? When we touch earth, we are touching something deeply ancient, deeply alive. It may seem solid and lifeless, but […]
August 8, 2026
Take a deep breath. Breathe in that mountain air, that sea air, that forest air, that countryside air… or, if you’re still stuck in the city in this holiday season, that city air. What is it that you breathed in… and out? We do this automatically some 20,000 times a day. Yet how often do […]
August 1, 2026
As you frolic in the water during your summer vacations – or for those perhaps on winter ski breaks in the southern hemisphere – pause to reflect on the amazing phenomenon of H₂O. To us, water seems to be everywhere. Yet, in the context of the cosmos, it is unspeakably rare. Though hydrogen and oxygen […]
July 24, 2026
Recent protests in Ukraine against government decisions affecting key anti-corruption and defence institutions may look like dangerous dissent undermining national unity and the war effort. In actuality, they demonstrate the remarkable strength of the nation’s civil society, in sharp contrast to their Russian neighbours. And they carry lessons for us in Europe and America. […]
July 18, 2026
A dinner discussion last weekend with an old associate reminded me how I first became aware of him when he and three other young people were imprisoned in Morocco. The year was 1982. We had sent out summer teams on evangelistic outreaches from the Heidebeek training community where I was leader, to various locations in […]
July 11, 2026
A Norwegian colleague living on the Arctic Circle alerted me this week to a surprising best-seller about the Bible produced by two atheist socialist parliamentarians. The Bible–they conclude–is far richer and stranger, more radical and compelling, humane and relevant than many secular Europeans have imagined. When two prominent Norwegian politicians from the Rødt (Red) Party […]
July 4, 2026
The 250th anniversary of American independence today is a timely occasion to reflect on the human journey from dependence to independence and to interdependence – among individuals, communities and nations. Many Americans are wondering about the future of their democracy. Ukrainians are fighting for their independence from imperial Russia. Britons are questioning the wisdom of […]
June 27, 2026
A miracle of global fraternity in our fractured, polarised, warring world has been created by one of humanity’s great shared languages: football. Every four years billions of people watch the World Cup together. Families who seldom agree on politics cheer together. Children in remote villages without reliable electricity follow the scores on mobile phones. Nations […]
