June 28, 2004
HERE’S A QUICK TEST: think of a spiritual leader. OK, ready? What occupation does he or she have? Did you think of a pastor, theologian, mission leader, evangelist, church planter or clergyman? Or did you also think of an apostle, prophet or teacher who may be discipling our nations through rock music (Bono?), politics (Paul […]
June 21, 2004
OVER THE NEXT MONTHS, the sixtieth anniversaries of the liberation of Paris (August 25th) and of Brussels (September 4th) will be celebrated, along with commemorations of liberations and battles (Arnhem, September; the Bulge, December/January) up through France, Belgium and Holland, eventually culminating in the fall of Berlin and V-Day in Europe next May. Leon Uris […]
June 14, 2004
THE D-DAY LANDINGS COMMEMORATED LAST WEEK have often been used to illustrate lessons for the church’s task in the world today. Years ago at Heidebeek I first heard theologian Dr Gordon Fee drawing a parallel between the Normandy events and the global advance of God’s Kingdom. Dr Fee explained that it had been the success […]
June 7, 2004
ONE OF THE MOST REMARKABLE missionary careers of the Middle Ages was ended by a brutal act of violence exactly 1250 years this week. On June 5, 754, in the Friesian town of Dokkum, close to Holland’s northern coast, a mob attacked and massacred an English Benedictine monk called Wynfrith and his fifty-plus travelling companions. […]
May 31, 2004
A BRONZE CHARIOT PULLED BY FOUR PRANCING STEEDS and held aloft by the six-pillared Brandenburg Gate guarded the most famous dividing line in the world: the Berlin Wall. Facing towards the eastern sector, the chariot watched over this heavily-guarded checkpoint, one of a handful allowing traffic between East and West Berlin. Then came that November […]
May 24, 2004
For decades, Hoxha was a name associated with the dictator who ruled a hermetically-sealed communist Albania. Actually it is quite a common Albanian name. Last week I was in correspondence with a young Albanian named Sokol Hoxha. Sokol became a believer soon after the country opened up early last decade. He is now the leader […]
May 17, 2004
If Daniel and Joseph – or Nehemiah for that matter – were civil servants in Brussels today, what might they say to us about our responsibility towards the European Union? All three of these men rose to high levels of service under pagan governments. Yet they sought to honour God in all they did. And […]
May 10, 2004
Recent developments in Europe are nothing short of stunning! Never before in history have so many countries united on a voluntary basis. Twenty-five European nations are now linked together in a process of ‘ever-closer union’ and in a commitment to ‘strive for peace, justice and solidarity throughout the world’. The old division of Europe, agreed […]
March 8, 2004
“Imagine a festival in honour of Jesus in which almost every country on earth officially participated; with a worldwide Jesus march welcomed by prime ministers, the media and cheering masses, sponsored to the tune of €1 billion by corporate sponsorship; with ceremonies presided by leading pastors, and hymns and prayers to Jesus sung by Christians, […]
January 26, 2004
(this WW was delayed by server problems…) The third in this series on reasons for hope suggests that observers in the west are slowly awakening to global spiritual realities. Hope, we have said, is not based on present evidence or trends. The grounds and goals of our hope are anchored in the unchanging Triune God. […]
January 19, 2004
HELP! Our email server was down this week, the victim of a spam attack, contributing to a late WW – not a hopeful prospect. I heard recently of an English survey discovering that failure to get online for a whole week produced as much stress for businessmen as a divorce…! I can identify with that, […]
January 12, 2004
Here we go again into new year. And, as always, we wonder what it will bring. Well, I for one see many reasons for hope. (What else did you expect from me?) Ultimately, our hope is not based on present evidence or trends. The grounds and goals of our hope are anchored in the unchanging […]
