January 8, 2007
‘Happy’ New Year? How many people have we wished a ‘Happy New Year’ to over the past week? And what exactly were we wishing them? What, after all, makes people happy? Many westerners assume that happiness increases with wealth and dream of winning the national lottery. Yet studies show that there is little corresponding rise […]
December 18, 2006
The Way of Love One thing struck me this week as I sorted through newspapers that had piled up at home during my recent travels. Religion is back! One prize-winning Dutch author, quoted in the secular NRC Handelsblad, suggests we may even be experiencing the re-Christianisation of Holland! Another writer dared to suggest that secularism […]
December 11, 2006
The Road to Terror ‘Jesus this song you wrote, The words are sticking in my throat, Peace on earth Hear it every christmas time, But hope and history won’t rhyme, So what’s it worth, This peace on earth?’ Bono’s words from Peace on Earth stick in my throat too as we approach yet another Christmas […]
December 4, 2006
When an invitation came recently to address an ecumenical gathering in Vienna on how to respond to radical Islam, a huge painting I had seen this summer in the Vatican came to mind. The canvas showed the Polish King Sobieski arriving with his troops in Vienna to rescue the besieged city from the encircling turkish […]
November 27, 2006
Imagine following in Paul’s footsteps, sailing on a mediterranean adventure, evangelising and planting churches in each port of call-but without the riots, floggings and shipwrecks! This dream of Marine Reach-YWAM’s maritime ministry-is now becoming reality. The 42-metre ketch, t/s Elida IV, is being purchased from a Swedish foundation by Marine Reach and YWAM England, and […]
November 20, 2006
A major shift in missions thinking is needed for effective engagement with an unreached people group numbering millions in Europe and other western nations, according to a Lausanne network task force which met last month in Hong Kong. Ole Skjerbaek Madsen and Lars Johansson, two members of this task force, reported this insight to participants […]
November 13, 2006
Can sacred writings over two thousand years old really shed light on the questions many politicians are asking today about Europe’s future? Most definitely, say a group of academics who will address the upcoming Cambridge Winter School, 2-5 January 2007. The Old Testament unfolds God’s pattern for society based on right relationships. It is relevant […]
November 6, 2006
Another Halloween/All Souls Day/Reformers Day has come and gone – and I’m puzzled! A front-page article in our newspaper covered rituals in Amsterdam commemorating the dead, complete with letters to the deceased fluttering from branches in the moonlight. These events of course are not held in the name of organised religion but are expressions of […]
October 30, 2006
October 9, 2006
w e e k l y w o r d ww 9 Oct 2006 ‘Electricity is hope’ Bizarre events continue to unfold in the Caucasus as Russia punishes her southern neighbour of Georgia for arresting Russian officers accused of spying over a week ago. The officers have since been released but Russia continues with drastic […]
October 2, 2006
THE GIRL BEHIND THE DESK SLAPPED A BRIGHT YELLOW ‘HOT’ LABEL ON MY BAG, HANDED ME MY PASSPORT AND WISHED ME A PLEASANT FLIGHT. I watched curiously for a few moments as the bag disappeared down the conveyer belt and before heading off towards the airport lounge to await my flight to the Caucasus. ‘HOT?’ […]
September 25, 2006
Who was the last pop star you heard of who converted to Islam? Cat Stevens? Try ‘googling’ ‘pop star’ and ‘Islam’ and, yes, up come several stories on Yusuf Islam, better known as Cat Stevens. You can even download a video from www.turntoislam.com telling his story reminiscing back forty years. Or maybe you have heard […]
