April 30, 2019
This last weekend was Easter, again – at least in Orthodox Europe and other Eastern Churches. And the Orthodox really know how to celebrate Easter in grand style. In Romania last week, I happened to be passing the Patriarchal Cathedral in Bucharest after talking through logistics at the Patriarchal Palace where we will hold next […]
April 22, 2019
“The Christian faith is all about death… and resurrection!” That memorable take-away from Philip Jenkins’ excellent book on Europe, God’s Continent, continues to stir my hope for this part of our world which has been most shaped by the story of Jesus–and by its rejection. For the Easter message we have been commemorating this weekend […]
April 15, 2019
So, the Brexit argument is going to drag on for another six months – to Halloween, or Reformers Day, if you like. Will it be trick or treat? Will it lead to a new reformation of Britain? No-one knows right now. But I do wonder how much the Brexit referendum was shaped by the considerable […]
April 8, 2019
A spiritual faultline meandering from the Barents Sea in the north to the Mediterranean in the south has produced a tragic legacy in European history. To understand Europe today requires an awareness of the causes of this faultline and its repeated aggravations through the centuries. To heal this sad rupture is beyond the competence of […]
April 1, 2019
A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance – Eccl. 3:4 It was a time to weep and mourn last Friday in Hagley Park, Christchurch, when the National Remembrance Service was held for the 50 victims of the white supremacy terror attack, which took place […]
March 25, 2019
Have you ever visited Romania? If not, let me warmly invite you to Bucharest this May 9 & 10, to participate in the State of Europe Forum. Every western European should sometime make the effort to visit eastern European countries to better understand our fellow Europeans. If so, then of course you will want to […]
March 18, 2019
The world suddenly shrunk on Friday. Events in a far-away peaceful corner of the world shocked the global community. Distant idyllic New Zealand–‘Godzone’–had been wrenched into a world of violence usually only experienced by Kiwis on their television screens. In a rare moment of international solidarity, both the Eiffel Tower and the Empire State Building […]
March 11, 2019
Europeans cannot get away from the cross. Although through familiarity we have become blind to the cross and the startling message it carries, it can be seen almost everywhere. Take a look around. We see it on many national flags, national sports clothing, as decorations around necks, on bikers’ leather jackets, on buildings, on church […]
March 4, 2019
Romania’s presidency of the Council of the European Union comes at an awkward time. Brexit looms in a matter of weeks. Populist parties threaten to gain seats in European Parliament elections in May. Sharp differences separate east and west on migration policies. Romania’s Justice Minister has drafted an emergency decree to allow politicians to overturn […]
February 25, 2019
The first intake of students for our new Master’s degree in Missional Leadership and European Studies takes place this coming June, in partnership with ForMission College and Newman University in Birmingham. Candidates will attend four study days in Amsterdam each semester for two years, to be briefed for self-study and assignment writing. A third year […]
February 18, 2019
In many European Union member states today, the Good Samaritan of Jesus’ famous parable would risk being arrested as a criminal for offering humanitarian aid and perhaps be imprisoned for human trafficking. Police, immigration officials, border guards and court officials in numerous European countries make a mockery of so-called EU values of solidarity, dignity, equality […]
February 11, 2019
Addressing a gathering of missionaries engaged in Albania last weekend, I was reminded of the enormous changes experienced by that country since the overthrow of communism in 1991. I first visited the nation Paul the Apostle knew as Illyricum (Romans 15:19) in 1992. Few cars drove on the ill-kept roads. Transport was by foot, in […]
