sport
This book shifted me. Maybe I should say that in theory, it is shifting me – but whether anything happens in practice, time will tell. Lets start with a few appetizers: “We are oriented by our longings, directed by our desires” (11). “You are what you love because you live toward what you want” (13). “Our…
READ MOREYachting in New Zealand has always turned my mind towards leadership and preaching. Ever since I read that Peter Blake’s secret of success with winning the America’s Cup was ‘spreading leadership throughout the organisation’, and wished that we leaders could adopt this mantra more often. Ever since I listened to Peter Montgomery’s radio and television…
READ MOREMy first twenty-four hours in Yorkshire – ever. Who could have imagined that it would be twenty-four hours after the departure of one of the great French institutions – the Tour de France?! Signs for Le Grand Depart were everywhere in Leeds. Buntings and gold-coloured bikes adorned homes. Even the Black Prince, on horseback in the…
READ MOREI’ve been trying to free the Holy Spirit to loosen the control which the love of sports can have on my heart. Targeting the compulsive aspect. Enjoy it, without being addicted to it. Increasingly I feel the contradiction of following sports with such obscene salaries – and thereby feeling a little bit complicit – in…
READ MOREEvery week I shall add my favourite World Cup headlines from one single newspaper here in India – The Times of India. Nobody does a headline better. Masters of their craft. To add a little Olympian flavour, I shall award a gold medal winner each week. WEEK ONE The gold medal winner in Week One…
READ MOREOne is shorter; the other is longer. One is carefully scripted; the other is more spontaneous. One is nervous (and wooden); the other is nervous (and teary). One is without distracting mannerism; the other has a distracting sniffle. One hints of a riches to rags plotline (not likely!); the other has a rags to riches…
READ MOREBe it cricket, football, golf, tennis, rugby union, or rugby league – no one seems to be too sure about how they started. This just adds to the fun and the intrigue that comes with trying to tell the story. My friend, Jonathan (Robinson) gave me a copy of Jonathan (Rice’s) Start of Play (Prion,…
READ MOREI was looking over the shoulder of my son as he completed a questionnaire the other day. It was for a study on New Zealand attitudes and values. It came from the department of a reputable university. A statement caught my eye. Admittedly, some of the statements have the spark of inflammatory about them –…
READ MORE[Today is the annual Halbergs Award ceremony when excellence in NZ sport is acknowledged. In an Olympic year, things tend to be more straightforward – but overall, the decisions are made in a very subjective manner. I tried to address this in a post a couple of years ago – the Halberg Knot}. But on…
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.