sport
I don’t tend to buy books according to topic – but by author. And then each year I try to expand my list of favourite authors. 2011 has been the year of Craig Bartholomew. Earlier this year I reviewed his remarkable commentary on Ecclesiastes. On a recent trip to Cambodia I read Living at the…
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The Tour de France is entering its final stages. It makes for such compelling viewing. Not just because of the scenery and the competition, but because there is a ‘tour de leadership’ going on as well. Is there another sport which interfaces with leadership so fully as cycling – particularly this particular race? I doubt…
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 MOREEvery now and then, on a Tuesday morning, I check out the latest golf rankings. It all started in 1992 when those two likeable Maori lads, Michael Campbell and Philip Tataurangi, led New Zealand to the world amateur title (the Eisenhower Trophy). I’ve always enjoyed them and been following their fortunes ever since. It does…
READ MOREWith the opening game of the World Cup happening to my left as I write, I find myself wondering about how well New Zealand will play at the event. New Zealand has been the focus of joke-making all over the footballing world, having reached the finals by beating the likes of Vanuatu and Bahrain –…
READ MORENike has done it again. Another great advertisement (and far better than the Tiger Woods one at the time of the Master’s last month!)… But I suffer from a compulsive behaviour disorder. I love reading cultural texts theologicially. When I do so four observations surface. the indispensable word Amidst the staccato imagery and the throbbing…
READ MOREIn the week that Steve Price retired (from rugby league) and Tiger Woods returned (to golf) … [and the week in which a bride/groom gave me a Black Caps jersey with “P-Dub” written on the back – how cool is that? – thanks so much Jess/Chris – I slept in it last night] … I…
READ MOREYes, it IS as good as they say it is. I liked Andre Agassi’s Open: an autobiography (Harper Collins, 2009)for all sorts of reasons. 1. The story moves from his hatred for his father to his love for Steffi in a journey of self-discovery. It is the old cliche about “you don’t know who you…
READ MOREAs someone who enjoys sports, has played basketball, and lived in Chicago, I do keep an eye on those Chicago Bulls. This week the Chicago Tribune carried an interview with the chairman of the Bulls, Jerry Reinsdorf, in which he states the following: “I absolutely believe that in every sport that I’m familiar with, defense…
READ MORESo last night the rain robbed us of a series win in Australia – ugh! Our weakest cricket team in a generation was a few raindrops a way from knocking off the world champions in their own backyard – double ugh! How frustrating… Maybe a cathartic spleen-venting reflection on other sporting frustrations will help me…
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.