culture
Barby picked up this board from a ‘thrift shop’ recently. Do you recognise it? Yes, it is a (very) old version of Snakes and Ladders. A game we played as kids. With the simple roll of the dice, the game moves forward by seeking to land on the ladders (which lift you upwards) and by…
READ MORE
It is hard to miss him. The airport in Budapest, the gateway to the country, carries his name. Numerous buildings around the city are also named after him—opera houses, museums and music academies… So who could it be? I’ve heard about a few Hungarians in my time—as have you, I’m sure. Houdini (as in Harry),…
READ MORE
Barby and I took a quick trip back to India last week. We watched the new Bollywood movie, Laapataa Ladies—which translates as Lost Ladies. It is as authentic and immersive an experience of India, in just two hours, that you could wish to have. Well, make that four hours because we watched it twice, with…
READ MORE
A curious thing happens in our society today. A person who asserts that death is the end and that there is no heaven can still be heard longing that a loved one be ‘looking down from above’. For those with ears to hear, this kind of thing happens quite a lot. What is going on?…
READ MORE
Today is the day when New Zealanders give special attention to Te Tiriti O Waitangi (the Treaty of Waitangi), the text on which our nation is founded—and signed 184 years ago. But how is it that old texts convey meaning in today’s world? This is a question that is never too far away for interpreters…
READ MORE
I’ve been a big admirer of the Centre for Lifelong Learning at Carey Baptist College for some years. It is not too surprising because the pioneering energy for the Centre was provided by Mike Crudge, who was on the staff at Carey back in my time—and everything he did, he did with excellence. Over the…
READ MORE
In my travels with Langham, it is not that unusual never to leave the venue for the event for which I have come. On this occasion, in Lima, not only did I go nowhere, the venue itself was barely ten minutes from the airport! So, four nights in beautiful Peru and never moving further than…
READ MORE
Like many of you, I am always ready to engage with new insights on leadership. This book draws on “the great wayfinding tradition of the Polynesian navigators” (xiii). Most of you live far from Polynesia, so please stick with me through unfamiliar surroundings! It will be worth it… Drawing near to it There is a…
READ MORE
Ethiopia and its people have such a long history with God. Whether it be all those references to Cush and Nubia in the Old Testament, or the visit of the Queen of Sheba to the court of King Solomon, or that story of Philip with the Ethiopian (a favourite, reminding us that the gospel reached…
READ MORE
There can be no doubt about what is on Vince Bantu’s mind with his book, A Multitude of All Peoples. It is sitting there, blunt and bald, in the opening two sentences of his Introduction: “Christianity is and always has been a global religion. For this reason, it is important never to think of…
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.