family
Barby and I have enjoyed five weeks with Micah and Amaliya, our little grandchildren, filling our Bangalorean lives with joy. The fact that our Lovely Lys and her hubbie, Tim, came with the package deal only makes the visit that much sweeter. Tonight I say good-bye to all of them as I head to London…
READ MOREAbout this time yesterday there was a tear in the eye. Barby and I were returning home after a 40 hour visit to Vizakhapatnam – or Vizag, for short. In expressing my gratitude to the couple who had welcomed us into their home, I became a bit misty. Here we were – so very different…
READ MOREIt was fun for Barby and I to go back ‘home’ to North India – and to introduce it to our friends of many years, Jan & Bill Dewar and Stephen & Bonnie Bond, whom we first met almost 30 years ago when we started in pastoral ministry in Invercargill. We find that there is…
READ MOREI am a Dilly-wallah – or, a person from Delhi. [NB: ‘Dilly’ is the way the name sounds in Hindi]. Delhi was my home from the age of 10 right through until I was 17 – first over in Old Delhi (near Kashmere Gate) and then in New Delhi (in Jangpura Extension). I love the city.…
READ MOREOur first two children, Stephen and Alyssa (1987) Our first two grandchildren, Micah and Amaliya (2014) good looking Paul
READ MOREThis book is a horror show. How is it possible that so few years can contain so much horror? Let’s name a few of the ones which Philip Jenkins discusses in The Great and Holy War (OUP, 2014). Horror #1 Not just the Great War, World War 1 was a holy war. Christendom reigned…
READ MOREI am 55 today. In Hindi, 55 is the catchy little alliterative, puchpun (पचपन). My mum enjoys ticking off her children as they pass through this age and stage. Just one more to go, Mum. I have moved past the expectation of real presents on my birthdays (although my son Joseph did send me a much-appreciated…
READ MOREI am sitting here in Wycliffe Hall (Oxford). Wikipedia tells me that before I sat here, such assorted luminaries as JC Ryle, Nicky Gumbell, JI Packer, NT Wright, Alister McGrath and Lord Coggan sat here as well. As I’ve been sitting, I’ve been thinking and feeling. Today it is one year since Barby and I…
READ MOREI’d love to be a really good listener. In fact three longings cluster together for me. I’d love to be more humble, to be more holy – and to be a really good listener. Why? As far as I can observe, this is the combo that God delights in using and I really want to be…
READ MOREA wedding. A visa. A birth. Barby and I are back in New Zealand for three purposes. My niece’s wedding was last Saturday in Matakana and I had the privilege of taking the service. Then on the next day we sneaked a visit to one of the celebrated beaches in New Zealand which I had…
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.