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Over the years of writing this blog I have avoided posting links to sermons I’ve preached. It doesn’t suit the genre to which I have been committed – namely, ‘nice chatting’. This blog is about chatting away to myself about things I am ‘unpacking’ around me. I do this for my own benefit, helping to…
READ MOREIt all started with wanting to describe the kind of preacher we wanted to produce, under God’s gracious hand, through Langham Preaching’s ministry. We settled on five descriptions: (a) confident in conviction; (b) faithful to the text; (c) clear in presentation; (d) relevant to the audience; (e) Christlike in character. Then we moved across to…
READ MORE“Imagine the biblical writer sitting in the front row as you preach your sermon from their text. Which way is the head nodding? How would you describe the look on the face?” This is such a useful approach to take in the training of preachers. It always has an impact. A few years ago I…
READ MOREChurch as it is meant to be. That is what I remember from my first visit to Spreydon. Struggling as a pastor of a little church ‘on the south side of the tracks’ in distant Invercargill I, like dozens of other pastors around New Zealand, made my pilgrimage to Spreydon and came away with my…
READ MOREFrom my childhood these words of Jesus remain with me. They come from the very first chapter of his ministry. The words of the older translations still roll easily off the tongue. “Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” And yet last week, on the lips of my Nigerian colleague (Femi)…
READ MOREIt has been a conspiracy. This week Dr Seuss and my grandchildren, Micah and Amaliya, have gathered forces to remind me once again of my affection for the letter V. Many years ago I did a series of mission-themed talks over a weekend. On the Saturday morning, over a breakfast, I thought I’d be a…
READ MOREIt had been a long trip. Two overnight flights, including one in United’s impossible economy class. I did arrive, finally, at Bogota’s flash airport at 5am, to be greeted by my friend and colleague, Jorge. It was a quick trip to his home – and a bed – only to be greeted by this confronting…
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I am a bit of a mountain man. Not because I am rough and hairy, or even strong and silent (because I am none of these things) – but because I grew up at 8000′ (2300m) in the foothills of the greatest mountain range on earth, the Himalayas. I love the mountains. There is something…
READ MOREAs 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 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.