media
It seems that someone has clicked ‘refresh’ on colonialism. As I walked down Nathan Rd in Kowloon (Hong Kong) I lifted my eyes to the billboards (‘where does my help come from?’, I am tempted to add) filling the horizon and reckoned that 19 out of 20 were adorned with white and western images of…
READ MOREDon’t ever tell me that the power of words has diminished. Don’t ever tell me that the age in which monologue is effective has ceased. Don’t ever tell me that words which sound nice together cannot be compelling. Don’t ever tell me that phrase-crafting and word-smithing and picture-painting is not worth the effort. Have a…
READ MOREThose of you familiar with the biographies of John Stott will remember that he once had a Kiwi curate at All Souls’ named Ted. Ted had the gall one day to criticise Stott about his preaching being beautifully biblical, but unconnected with the wider world. As the story goes, it was this interchange that became…
READ MOREThe Hebrew word hebel has intrigued me for years. It is the word identified most closely with Ecclesiastes. I grew up on the KJV’s ‘vanity’ and gradually shifted across to the NIV’s ‘meaningless’. In between there was time for the GNB’s ‘useless’, the NEB’s ’empty’, the Living Bible’s ‘futile’, and now the CEV’s ‘nonsense’. [Hint…
READ MOREWill there ever be a long weekend like it again? On the Friday we had the once-in-a-generation wedding of a royal couple. It was held in an abbey in a city and watched by millions all around the world. Lots of pomp. Lots of celebrities. Lots of photos. Then on the Monday we had the…
READ MOREPaul Holmes has grown on me over the years. I much prefer him in his current role as a weekly correspondent in the NZ Herald over the role from which he gained his fame and fortune – fronting a nightly current events TV show for decades (it seemed). His columns are powerful. Often laced with…
READ MOREEvery year the controversy swirling around the Halberg Sports awards seems to be increasingly cyclonic. Goodness me, we’ve even had a judge spit the dummy and resign because the ‘supreme’ award went to the wrong person/team… I am numbered among those sports fans who are disaffected by it all. So, here is the approach I…
READ MOREI’ve been spending some time reflecting on the similarities between the contemporary advertisement and the ancient parable as part of my DMin thesis. [Some reflections on the similarity of the political cartoon and the parable can be found here.] May I introduce you to one of my companions? It is Mario Pricken. While he has…
READ MOREOne of the definitive Indian experiences is to travel through the dirty and chaotic city of Agra, turn a corner, and be stunned so suddenly by the marble magnificence of the Taj Mahal. This juxtaposition of rubbish and beauty captures so much of India. You see it on any visit to any bazaar. Noise and…
READ MOREI’ve been spending my early mornings in Bangalore reflecting on the similarities between the political cartoon and the parable (and have even produced 6000 words for my supervisor to show for it!) May I introduce you to two of my companions? 1. The first is Herbert Block – known simply as ‘Herblock’. Triple Pulitzer Prize…
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.