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Dying for my identity
Many of the people we work with find their faith in Jesus to be a comfort in the face of such intense danger, committing their suffering to God and drawing on promises such as that of 1 Peter 4:14: “If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of…
Olivia Watkinson
God’s kind of church
From a national perspective, secularisation is rapidly sweeping across society and more and more people identify with non-religious values and institutions. Add to this, the church in Scotland, and the rest of the UK for that matter, tends to be defined by what it prohibits rather than the love it…
Ian Gall
Finding the ‘missing generation’
If only I were able to tell you that we all had spent the last couple of decades doing just that. Today, I don’t know where most of my peers are at in their walk with Jesus, but I do know there are only a handful of us still going to church. Zoom out from this snapshot and see a wider panorama…
Phil Knox
Reclaiming the holistic view of human identity in Christ
All I felt was good and to be affirmed. I was content to be Sisyphus pushing the boulder up the proverbial hill of western secularism. When I became a Christian in a pub after a radical love-encounter with God, I did not have the luxury to absent myself from the question of identity. I wasn’t able…
David Bennett
Far above politics
I’ve worked in parliament and politics for long enough to know that we should believe political pundits and experts when they declare that they have no idea what is coming next. Gone are the days of confident predictions and clear trajectories of political movement; we live in an environment with…
Danny Webster
Sri Lanka attacks: grief-stricken but hope-filled
Because we needed rest, we opted for a more leisurely pace, with an extended beach stay, rather than the typical tourist itineraries. Due to seasonal monsoon cycles, we went to the east coast, just north of Batticaloa, where one of eight explosions in Sri Lanka targeted Christians as they attended…
Danny Webster
Mental health: Black, Christian and struggling with mental health
The qualified and accredited psychotherapist explains that while mainstream services repeatedly fail to understand the unique needs and outlook of Christians from African and African-Caribbean backgrounds particularly, black-majority churches can often be superstitious about conditions of the mind…
Naomi Osinnowo
Call to pray for Muslims this Ramadan
Over the years, a growing number of churches around the UK have been welcoming new believers from Muslim backgrounds. A few years back, Dr David Garrison, who has spent much of his life studying the interrelationship of Christianity and Islam, attributed this shift to a combination of factors. He…
Guest writer
Compassion UK supporter: "Togolese mothers, I stand with you"
In Togo, West Africa, one in every 20 babies will die before their first birthday. This is the equivalent of you going to your local toddler group and knowing that one or two of those babies won't be here in the next year. Just think how shocking that would be. Thankfully, in the UK, it isn't every…
Michelle Pannell
A right royal birth
Congratulations came in from Hollywood A-listers, the Obamas and people adorning Union Jack jumpsuits as they lined the streets in a show of support. The birth also prompted Prince William to welcome Harry and Meghan to the 'sleep deprivation society’. As a fellow member of this esteemed society,…
David Smyth
A daily struggle for some
On Tuesday evening I visited a friend who I’ve known since I was around 18 years old – that’s a good 16 years. As I made my way into her flat, I noticed that the lights were off and, despite it being a bright, sunny day, her curtains, except one, were drawn. I told her I thought it was dark, but…
Naomi Osinnowo
Julian Richer – what a Christian public leader
In addition to this, a third of the £9.2m he received for the shares is being given back to the staff (excluding the directors), who will receive £1,000 for every year they have worked for the retailer. The average pay-out will be £8,000 but there are 39 employees with more than 20 years’ service.…
Abi Jarvis
Renewal Christian Centre, Solihull: new leader, renewed mission
This led to a series of encounters, including getting caught on the school’s CCTV praying around the grounds at midnight, witnessing to sports teams in local pubs, and spending all his waking hours reading the Bible. Jonny’s love for people, sport, reading and travel always taught him to enjoy the…
Naomi Osinnowo
Compassion UK: campaigns that change lives
After David Lammy MP lambasted Comic Relief this year for continuously using “tired, unhelpful tropes” in its fundraising for African communities, the London-based politician renewed his plea for fresh imagery that celebrates the progress made within the continent, rather than marketing collateral…
Joanna Sopylo-Firrisa
Could the church end homelessness?
The founder and director of Green Pastures CBS Limited spoke with conviction about the plights of homeless people around the country and what his Christian organisation can do, with the support of the church, to make available much-needed adequate housing for those living in insecure accommodation…
Naomi Osinnowo
