langham
Over the years I have had my doubts about whether the Bible really has the sort of priority it needs to have in the life of the so-called “EPC” (evangelical-pentecostal-charismatic) churches of NZ. [NB – it probably says something that these groups have been clumped together like this!] Ironically, it is these EPC churches which…
READ MOREA recent post was about ‘converted, always converting’ and related some of the areas where I have changed my mind in recent years. I want to pick this theme up again, but this time in a more practical area. But first I need to explain something both about my past and my personality. I am…
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I live in NZ and listen to the sobered and scholarly voices on the challenge of the post-Christian West. I work in Asia and listen to the enthusiastic vibrancy of a post-Western Christianity. I live in NZ and listen to the church speaking “mission, mission, mission”. I work in Asia and listen to the church…
READ MOREWhenever I teach narrative preaching I always start with children’s stories. Former students will remember my love for the simplicity of Quack, Quack and the power of Love You Forever – which has induced many a tear from older, and embarassed, Kiwi males. To read them and then to ask “why does this work?” seems…
READ MOREBarby and I are in transit in Hong Kong on the way home after a month away (for me) from New Zealand. Time was spent in Oxford, in Dale (SW Wales), and in Budapest. In Oxford I had the joy of helping coordinate a Consultation for teachers of homiletics from the majority world. This had…
READ MOREI am in South Asia at the moment. Lahore in Pakistan and now Colombo in Sri Lanka. While living in this region can have its frustrations, God gave the clues on how to survive when he placed certain animals here. Camel. Elephant. Buffalo. There is something about the slowish pace, the undistracted persistence, and the…
READ MOREJohn Stott’s 51st – and final – book has been published. Mark Meynell, a current member of the All Soul’s staff and a fine preacher (and blogger!) himself, has written a wonderful review of The Radical Disciple here. [By the way, “Uncle John” is the loving and respectful way in which those who know him…
READ MORELater today I head off for my first ever visit to Papua New Guinea where we will be launching the work of Langham Preaching. More than 100 pastors and leaders will be gathering from around the country… This follows visits to Thailand (2x), Solomon Islands, Pakistan, China, Uganda, India, Singapore, and Cambodia. What a year…
READ MOREIt happened again. Sitting in yet another Majority World church context – this time the Graduation Ceremony of the Phnom Penh Bible School in Cambodia – and I find it staring me in the face from the front wall in huge font. The whole focus is on maturity: “help your people grow in Christ”. This…
READ MOREI am on my way home after a ‘listening’ visit with Langham, as distinct from the usual ‘training’ trip, to East Africa and North India. The idea is to absorb the conversations of key people and then to participate in decisions which can progress the work the next stage. In East Africa, the Langham Preaching…
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.