The God of Surprises
How do you get the attention of a world that thinks it knows what Jesus is all about, when it is often only familiar with misconceptions? You do what Jesus did—you tell surprising, beguiling, captivating stories. A piece written for the #BigRead13 Lent event, with former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams.
Jesus Comes to Warrington
What if the famous story of Jesus and the woman at the well happened not in first century Samaria, but in England today? What would it look like? Who would the woman be and what would Jesus say? Perhaps he'd say something like this.
An Easter Parable
Imagine for a moment that you’re a member of an organised crime ring with connections to corrupt city authorities. Imagine that you discover someone who knows your gang’s every deed—every scheme, every secret, every deal, all the money trails. One night you decide to round him up. He has to be silenced.
The Meaning of Life? Here’s a 5th Option
What is the meaning of life? What is the meaning of *my* life? In Part 1 of thise series I outlined four popular answers to the question, as seen in our films, books and stories. Here I offer a fifth option. Because, it is my conviction that God gives our lives meaning in at least
The Sacred Heart of Sacre-Coeur
For me, one of the great tragedies of modern life is that one can visit a cathedral and not be moved. We visit these grand places of worship, marvel at the architecture, admire the artworks and look at the pretty flickering candles but feel little more than admiration. I have experienced this many a time.
The Heavenly Visitor in a Thousand Dreams
Does Jesus ever appear in our dreams? Missionary Ben Staggs describes a unique experience he had when visiting the Boshu people, in Ethiopia’s Me’en territory. “We sat down and spoke a bit,” Ben says, “explaining that we had come to tell them of ‘God’s talk’. I described who God is, what He is like, and
Navigating Your Way Through Guilt
When I was a youth worker, I discovered a great game. You ask a kid to stand up and spin around seven times. Once they stop, and as they try to regain their balance, you say ‘Now, point to the north pole.’ You find hands pointing in every direction! I find that game somewhat analogous
The Shack Interview
William 'Paul' Young's book The Shack has been a publishing phenomenon. Originally written for his kids, the book went viral and has since sold millions. Its tale of Mack losing his daughter Missy and meeting God to discover an answer to suffering has been hailed by many as life-changing. The book has also caused much
Anne Rice: Christianity’s Outsider Once More
As many a good fiction writer knows, there is often a deep, mysterious and symbolic link between an author’s life and the books they create. Only later does a writer realise how much she or he was the real character of the story. Such may be the case for Anne Rice, the queen of dark
The God of ‘The Shack’: William Young Responds
In part 3 of my interview with The Shack author William P Young, Paul and I discuss the need to go back to the place of our pain and grief to find God, why Paul portrayed God as 'Papa', Jesus and 'Sarayu', the misconceptions about God The Shack tries to address, and why God is