suffering
As a New Zealander, I will continue to remember ANZAC Day (25 April, tomorrow) each year – but as a Christian I have decided to remember the Armenian Genocide (24 April, today) as well. The latter started the night before the former in 1915. The former is about a slaughter of thousands of Aussies and…
READ MOREIt took a little while for me to see it. But one quarter of the way through the 24 hour retreat, it dawned on me. The small gathering included a number of my inspirations down through the years. All in one room. About 15 people in total. A Murray here and a Merrilyn there. Two…
READ MORE“Are you saying that Assad is NOT the biggest problem in Syria?” “Yes, I am.” “WOW.” So I took up her book and read. I’m still thinking about it! The book almost needs to carry a ‘WARNING: READERS’ ADVISORY’. It is not for the weak-minded (or the faint-hearted). I heard Elizabeth Kendal speak at a…
READ MOREThe other day I sat behind an older man clutching his ear with his hand during the singing. I picked what was going on. The music was too loud, but he desperately wanted to remain among the worshipping people of God. He wasn’t making a fuss, and clutching his ear seemed to be his best…
READ MORESixty-two. It was an impressive effort. Once I finished William Dalrymple’s White Mughals I turned to the Glossary and gave Barby the test. A bit of Hindustani here. A bit of Urdu and Persian over there. A lot of Koranic-Mosque terminology everywhere. But out of almost 140 words, she got 62 correct. Very impressive, don’t you…
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It jolted me. It shouldn’t have, but it did. Waking up in Egypt on the first day of our first training seminar in the region and my Bible reading greets me with these words, the very first words I read: Woe to those who go down to Egypt (Isaiah 31.1a). Already a bit burdened with apprehension,…
READ MOREI don’t know my icons – but I am willing to learn from my friends. So when Riad finished his devotion (on living with Habakkuk amidst the Syrian crisis) with an old Coptic/Egyptian icon, I leaned forward in my chair. A painting on wood. From Egypt in the 5th century. Jesus is standing alongside Abbot Menas, the…
READ MOREA gracious little conspiracy has drawn me back to the Psalms… It started with a comment in an email from a friend battling cancer. She testified to the way a line from Peterson’s The Message was strengthening her: ‘I’ve pitched my tent in the land of hope’. Isn’t that beautiful? I tracked it down. It is not in the…
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The first essay I ever wrote at theological college was on Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna (now Izmir). Do you know the story? Born in 69 AD, Polycarp is understood to have been a disciple of the Apostle John himself. It was this same John who ordained him as Bishop of Smyrna. Polycarp is famous for…
READ MORELooking at endless photos of other peoples’ rocks and ruins trends towards total boredom for me. They put me to sleep as quickly as the arrival of the evening hour following a nap-less afternoon. After meetings in Antalya (Turkey), Barby and I were blessed to be able to visit the Seven Churches of Revelation with…
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.