Single-minded and unhappy? Duke discusses…

Bible Fresh; 6XT’s and the 30th March at the LICC

Ipod fast, not chocolate this Lent?

Tim Kellers Church-planting London lectures all in pdf format

Reasons we’re slack in our bible reading: An EA resource

Consumerism gets us all, but with these testamints you get a whole other league of option!!

A perennial question:- Do pets go to hell!?

Is Twitter, really, a leadership tool?

….. and this genius summary from Dallas Willard:- ” The hope of the world is for Christian people to become disciples of Jesus!”



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How an iPhone app made a life-saving intervention in Haiti!

Wisdom from an older and wiser voice…..

If you could have real virtual church; is this what you’d want it to be?

Death within churches from the top down; Marcus’ great article and challenging questions,….. worth your time.

Incandescence: and God’s call in our lives!

How about sermon length…? What about it!

What church leaders might learn from the Apple genius: Steve Jobs?!

The Happiness Machine, c/o Coca Cola!

and what would pastoral care be like if Jack Baeur was your pastor!! ;-)

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Sorrow, anger and the helplessness that Haiti evokes…. More here…

God bless this…. laptop!? a dose of curious prayers for all occasions?!

A wonderful six-track acoustic worship-central album for free download….

What do you make of Stephen Baldwin in CBB? Devoted bible stuff anyhow!!

Am enjoying a significant dose of Brothers and Sisters, catch-up dvd viewing with my beloved….Engaging, warm, poignant, complex, brilliant!

Pastoral profiling and all that….? This blog is an interesting write: linking the truth that ‘churches put their pastors on a pedestal and this truth is only worsened when their pastors want to be there!’,…. it’s like a challenge between excellence and grace that I’ve been talking over with some new friends.

Bring on some boredom! Over-stimulation is the enemy of imagination – we should give our children the gift of boredom…. go on smash your Wii’s and those DS games!

Here’s an expresso for your soul!

And….. the weekend always includes Jesus, but this weekend, we get to have Jack back too!! For Day 8 of our lives! Arnt’ we allowed to praise God for Jack Baeur?!

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a few challenging moments about want and greed.

a great 22-words question for now and then!

5 places to start in the bible - where do you like most now?

what God will never do! John 6:37 rocks!!

and another tastey favourite of mine (always) at 2 for £2 right now at JSS

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A ‘25 Random Things’ meme has been circulating about and I’ve finally got around to writing my own. Figured I’d post it here and I’ve invited the challenge of friends near and far…… and yes it’s a little unnerving how geeky I really can be!! Anyway, here goes:

1. I usually have about an average of ten windows open on my Mac, and yes there are often multiple tabs on each – just to confirm i’m not an intelligent man, just a scatty-headed one!!
2. One of my favourite memories was having my Granny collect me after half day-school and eating sausages and mash, followed by thick-sweet custard to finish!
3. My mum’s preferred time to talk to me still remains either very early in the morning or very late at night, usually with the volume of BBC Radio Ulster blaring in the background….!
4. I had a scary-gifted woman as my first string teacher: Miss Simpson. I played cello but innocently requested that she taught me my first preference: the drums. I remain a frustrated-non-drummer!
5. I still get strangely concerned about getting my hair attended to!! Even the dentist doesn’t cause me to fidget quite as much!!
6. I have a sweetie jar that is consistently replenished (at present by jelly babies) when it gets too popular with visitors it will get relocated!!
7. I usually split the vote with people. I polarise folks; they either love me or ….. you guessed it!!
8. I’ve kept a journal consistently since 2000; they remain my most favourite personal-inanimate-possesion!
9. I rarely watch tv-live and rarely enjoy feel-good-escapism….! I like bleak-poignant-provocative movies: ‘The Savages’ was part of the weekends serving….
10. I love making homemade soup, accompanied by fresh bread and an unhealthy scrapping of butter; I’m well happy!
11. I love trying to be in the best shape (in every sense)  but sometimes I stop one short on a repetition at the gymn!
12. I much prefer boots to shoes, fountain pens to biros and wet-shaving to electric!
13. I am at a time in my life where my navy cardigan is really comfortable!
14. I once took part in a barber-shop quartet amongst other musical forays.
15. Just like my Dad proved in life, you can never grow bored with the endless variations of a salad.

16. I’m growing more quirky with age: with a pink-sock for my phone case!! ‘Why not,…’ I hear you say!

17. I read books and commentaries more than I do the bible and this is one of my perennial regrets….Its a work in progress!

18. The sound of laughter is one of my favourite sounds in life.

19. Bringing personal-treat supplies into the cinema is the best option in terms of cost and variety!
20. I believe that heroes are the spectacularly ordinary: from family, friends, colleagues and all the undiscovered new folks I’ll yet get to know in my life. I’d love to play serious music again, write material that transforms lives,  and do a project with Kevin McCloud.
21. I love buying books from secondhand book shops for as little money as possible!
22. I like team-shows like CSI, The Mentalist, The Big Bang Theory, Without a Trace, My Name is Earl and other ensemble cast shows. Probably has something to do with a yearning for community and the sense that we are better together than on our own.
23. I consider myself a moderately eclectic evangelical mutt. My church history has included Presbyterian, Charismatic, Reformed, Anglican, Baptistic and Independent.
24. I have never had my wisdom teeth out,….. another evidence of God’s goodness!
25. I am an ENFP on the Myers-Briggs and an Enneagram Seven (the enthusiast), so I am described as “a frisky puppy that likes to have his nose into everything!” My virtue is taking joy in life, and my vice/besetting sin is gluttony; I’m dangerous late at night with bread and sweet jam or just good-old chocolate!! – I want to try everything and don’t want to miss out on anything!

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