November 5, 2007
Last week I had my chance to find out why churches in England have taken seriously the challenge of our spiritual age in ways not yet obvious elsewhere in Europe. A few weeks ago I shared how puzzled I was that churches on the continent seemed to lag far behind their British counterparts when it […]
October 29, 2007
Question: If you and I had lived during the centuries of the African slave trade, would we have been among the minority of Christians who tried to do something to stop the inhumane and cruel trafficking of humans? Or would we have found some pious reason to maintain the status quo and ‘submit to God’s […]
October 21, 2007
A Thugz Church?! Not in their wildest dreams had Youth for Christ workers in Rotterdam thought of a fellowship for ex-criminals when they set out to create a safe place for urban youth a few years ago. But last week in Greece, Setkin Sies and Daniel de Wolf were presented a Hope Award on behalf […]
October 8, 2007
We’re coming up to our annual puzzle event. This will be the third year we hold an event to help equip the church for the spiritual age in which we live. It’s the Evangelism in a New Age consultation, in Basel, Switzerland, Oct 28-Nov 1. The puzzling bit is why the church in Britain has […]
October 1, 2007
Think for a moment of how many types of prayer initiatives there have been in recent years. Right now, for example, we are in the middle of the Ramadan prayer season for the Muslim world. Has there ever been a time in history where so many followers of Jesus have prayed for the world’s Muslims? […]
September 24, 2007
Posters pasted around Dutch cities this month invite non-Muslims to join muslim families for the Iftar (evening) meal during Ramadan, after the sun has set. Today that is at 19.39 in Holland. The daily fast is slowly broken with a simple snack of bread, cheese and fruit. With hunger from a day’s fasting temporarily at […]
September 17, 2007
My wife and I joined the crowds thronging towards the Olympic Stadium in Amsterdam on Saturday evening to celebrate 100 years of the pentecostal movement in The Netherlands. We looked forward to an inspiring concert by Sydney-based Hillsong United and recognition of one of the most significant developments of the twentieth century. From high in […]
September 10, 2007
Weekly Word resumes again after a summer break, during which I was involved in YWAM leadership events in Korea and India. Travel in that most populated region of the world offered perspectives on Europe I plan to share over the following weeks. Back in 1968, the Beatles’ much publicised trip to India to learn Transcendental […]
July 30, 2007
Strains of harp music wafted into my waking consciousness early this morning. Through half-opened eyes, I became aware of lush green fields and trees, and mountains enveloped in clouds. Perhaps I was in Heaven already? But no. This was the same bed we had been sleeping in for the past two weeks. Admittedly, I had […]
July 23, 2007
Seen from our outdoor classroom, the summer snow on the Bernese Alps sparkled against the cloudless azure sky. A vintage paddle steamer plied the pale blue waters of Lake Thun through a fleet of bobbing white sails. Faint sounds of Swiss cowbells in the distance added to the idyllic ambience of roses and lavender, archways […]
July 16, 2007
‘Now I understand why the French didn’t want to acknowledge God in the EU constitution!’ said Corrie as we emerged from the Reformation Museum in Geneva. ‘All those terrible religious wars!’ Corrie and her fellow travellers had been studying the exhibition in the museum about the eight bloody wars fought between Catholics and Protestants over […]
July 9, 2007
One of the biggest surprise discoveries so far on this year’s Heritage trip-and there have been several-was that of the vital and diverse Francke Foundations in the Eastern German city of Halle. I had taught about Halle for decades-as a centre of Pietism that had breathed new life into the Lutheran movement after the religious […]
