book review
In response to a posting on 18 April (‘the doors’), Stephen Garner commented on some research that points to ‘moralistic therapeutic deism’ (MTD) being the religion of younger Christian people today. I’ve been a bit distracted by this research all year! In a nutshell – this is what is meant by MTD: “Good, kind, nice…
READ MOREThere’s plenty of chat about consumerism today, isn’t there? I have just finished Duncan MacLaren’s Mission Implausible (Paternoster, 2004) and towards the end he identifies various characteristics of a society driven by consumption: (a) The primacy of individual choice(the path to personal freedom – a long, long way from obligation, duty or loyalty)(b) The expectation…
READ MOREI’ve just finished reading another book from within the Emerging Church movement (this time it is Doug Pagitt’s Preaching Re-imagined). I like opening myself up to what they write. I enjoy the challenge of reflecting on things from another angle. I find myself responding in much the same way as I have done in the…
READ MOREAbout Me

the art of unpacking
After a childhood in India, a theological training in the USA and a pastoral ministry in Southland (New Zealand), I spent twenty years in theological education in New Zealand — first at Laidlaw College and then at Carey Baptist College, where I served as principal. In 2009 I began working with Langham Partnership and since 2013 I have been the Programme Director (Langham Preaching). Through it all I've cherished the experience of the 'gracious hand of God upon me' and I've relished the opportunity to 'unpack', or exegete, all that I encounter in my walk through life with Jesus.