family
I’ve always loved my Uncle Jack. While, inadvertently, the world knew him as the one who invented the name ‘kiwifruit’ (NB: the fruit is called ‘kiwifruit’, not kiwi, because the ‘kiwi’ is a seriously unappetizing, inedible bird!), I knew him in a far more personal way. When I entered university, Uncle Jack gave me a…
READ MOREIt is good to be home again in New Zealand. I enjoy being able to pop across to my mother’s home on Sunday evenings and watch the BBC’s Songs of Praise with her. But not today, as we are in covidian lockdown – again! With Songs of Praise I am not so keen on the choirs, the organs and…
READ MOREI love being ‘Gwennie’s boy’. In fact, as a product of Western culture, I am a bit unusual. I love discovering who I am by reflecting on whose I am. None of this autonomous individualism for me. Be it Gwennie’s boy, or Barby’s husband, or Diane’s brother, or Micah’s grandpa, or Bethany’s father, or Michael’s…
READ MOREBoarding School?! “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” As a child, it didn’t feel like it could get much worse than saying goodbye to Mum & Dad at the Old Delhi Bus Station, with the prospect of the forthcoming semester at Woodstock School doing its best to simulate an…
READ MOREThe ‘search’ function on this blog is amazing. Within seconds, I can find lost thoughts. Within minutes, I can gather material for a talk. It is like my own ‘illustration file’ which I make available to others who pass by. I love it like that. Another feature of this blog is taking opportunities to bear…
READ MORENot sure I’ve ever felt so torn. The burden of so much suffering, so much death around the world, in the knowledge that the virus is yet to ‘hit’ many of the most vulnerable people. It takes me back to that 2004 tsunami. And yet as I listen to people, one-by-one, so often I hear…
READ MOREThe name ‘E. Stanley Jones’ will not mean much to most of the people reading this post. But hang in with me here, OK?! You’ll enjoy this one, I promise. E. Stanley Jones was a key figure in the church in India in the early twentieth century. My father’s own heart was drawn to giving his…
READ MOREWith a seminar to take in Delhi last Saturday, I decided on a (very) early Friday morning flight so that the afternoon could open up for a wander through Old Delhi. After dropping off my bag in Chhatarpur in the far south, I headed for the incomparable Yellow Line on the Metro and made my way…
READ MOREIsn’t it great when a vision comes together? For a few weeks I’ve had my eye on framing these two photos and then keeping them near each other. On Sunday, the deed was done. I am a happy chappy. May I tell you about them? Like the stereotypical preacher, I’ll use a few few words…
READ MOREWhile not as complex as the celebrations ten years ago, my children still orchestrated something for my 60th that will be with me for forever. Plus it was more accommodating of my advancing years! It was all about a trip and a suitcase. A trip With my love of mountains, rivers, lakes, beaches and maps (which…
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.