November 1, 2010
Yesterday Reformation Day came and went, but few outside of conservative church circles would have spared a thought for the influence of Martin Luther, John Calvin and other reformers on Europe’s cultural and spiritual development. So let’s take a moment to reflect on the role of leadership in shaping our culture and society. The leadership […]
October 25, 2010
Four thousand delegates to the Lausanne III Congress in Cape Town this past week are returning home as you read this Weekly Word, having experienced eight intense and unforgettable days of challenge and encouragement. Big events like this always raise questions about whether or not the effort and expense was worth it all. That depends […]
October 18, 2010
Everyone’s heard of the American Dream, but who’s heard of the European Dream? Did we even know there was one? Ironically, it’s an American who writes about this–and who believes it is quietly eclipsing the American dream. Jeremy Rifkin’s book, The European Dream, is now six years old and has been both praised and criticised […]
October 11, 2010
Yesterday, the tenth day of the tenth month of the tenth year of the new millennium, was a global day to reflect on progress made towards commitments made by all 192 United Nations member states in 2000 to reduce extreme poverty and hunger and improve health standards. These commitments were expressed in the following eight […]
October 3, 2010
Recently my wife and I were invited to attend an evening in an Amsterdam cinema sponsored by a secular consultancy firm. The theme was ‘Religion connects! Religion connects?’ The company, which prides itself on being voted the best firm in Europe to work for, promotes the slogan, Together we build a brighter future! And they […]
A few days ago I found myself addressing a national political party gathering in Switzerland, speaking about the biblical roots of Europe and Switzerland. It was rather bizarre to be telling stories about Swiss history to the Swiss! One of the stories I told was about how Switzerland and Swiss people played a very key […]
September 22, 2010
20 sept 2010 Last week we wrote about how we needed our memories jogged about the roots of western society. Last Friday, it seems the President of the European Council, Dr Herman van Rompuy, set out to jog the memories of Holland’s political establishment at a breakfast in De Wittenburg Castle. The European continent, he […]
13 sept 2010 Now and then we need our memories jogged as to how our western society was formed. Where did our norms and values actually come from? Why we do things the way we do? Why do we have seven days in the week? Why do we keep one day as a day of […]
6 september 2010 We live in a changing world, for better or worse. Muslim neighbours are here to stay in most of our European countries, whatever colour of governments we or others vote in. The world is shrinking due to globalisation, and we simply need to learn how to live in the same space. That […]
30 aug 2010 Most of us would be surprised to learn that the Qur’an speaks of Jesus as ‘the Messiah’, as ‘the Word of God’ and as ‘a Word from God’. Yet ignorance among both Christians and Muslims creates cultural misunderstandings and isolation. Education and understanding from both sides is key to defusing fear and […]
Tom and Libby Little came to Heidebeek in the late 1970’s to attend one of our first Discipleship Training Schools. Since then they spent 32 years in war-torn Afghanistan working in medical programmes. They stayed through the Russian invasion and a civil war. Libby wrote this article shortly before hearing about the murder of her […]
16 aug 2010 Across Europe this month, Muslims are celebrating the annual feast of Ramadan, the Islamic month of fasting from dawn to dusk. Meanwhile, many of us are confused as to how to respond to what is commonly seen as an ‘un-European’ religious celebration. Ramadan this year coincides with the hot debate in America […]
