Ian Rees's Blog, page 7

The leaders we really need

Apparently some 48% of Christians asked in a recent poll said they would attend Adam Smallbone's church, while another 15% would attend with 'some reservations.' I, however, was among the 22% who said they would not attend. I don't have anything personal against Adam or his wife. I'd love to have them round for dinner. But in church leadership? No, thanks.

This third series of the popular TV comedy “Rev.” has left me rather non-plussed, and my wife feeling cheated. It started out in its first...

A Christian Nation? Wrong Question.

In the last week David Cameron has got himself into trouble for his assertion that Britain is a Christian country and that we should be a lot more “evangelical” about it. A letter refuting this was sent to The Telegraph by more than 50 prominent public figures saying it is both inaccurate to maintain this and divisive to insist that one religion in particular should be advanced before others. Supporters of David Cameron's position have leapt to his defence, pointing out that the country's his...

The Ultimate Disaster Movie

Dressed in 21st century ideas, Noah is a confused and guilt-ridden eco-warrior, sin is exploiting the environment and destroying it (“having dominion over it” as the arch eco-baddie Tubal-Cain says, quoting Scripture out of context), meat-eating is bad, and God is the distant Creator who communicates in riddles that are notoriously hard to understand. Add in a few fallen angels who earn their redemption by finally doing the right thing, a dangerous feud in Noah's family over whether humans ar...

Disagreeing agreeably

 “I think when you arrive in hell it is going to take you less than one minute to change your mind … You are an heretic....what is worse you are a FOOL!”

That is the horrible tone of a large number of tweets sent to Vicky Beeching for her public support for same-sex marriage last week-end, and her attempts to argue for it from a biblical perspective. Another one featured an image of a woman with her face and mouth taped over and a quote from 1 Timothy 2. She quite rightly protested at th...

Preparing for the Big Day

There is no doubt that tomorrow, March 29, 2014, is a big day: the first day that gay and lesbian couples will be able to marry in Britain, rather than just go for a civil partnership. To use the term championed by its advocates, “equal marriage” is now enshrined in law, the latest in a series of sweeping changes to UK law in recent years. Tomorrow's marriage ceremonies will be an occasion for flag-flying in Whitehall, a big equal marriage event on the South Bank, and probably a focus for the...

Standing firm

  “If you think you are standing firm” says Paul in his first letter to the church in Corinth, “Be careful that you don't fall!” That is a reminder that probably one of the most dangerous positions to be in is to think you are completely secure. It's a warning that chimed with the four turbulent chapters of Judges I read this morning that concern the life and leadership of Samson. His story reads like a train wreck in slow motion. You read of his divine calling as a leader and judge of...

How deep do your roots go?

Giant California redwoods are not as strong as you might think, but are in fact vulnerable to being blown over because their roots are relatively shallow. The danger to them is so real that public access to them is often restricted to prevent people clambering over the roots and loosening the soil around the base of their massive trunks. You wouldn't think that was possible, but apparently too many visitors may weaken the root system and the next gale may bring them down. It is an interesting...

What spills out when you are knocked over?

In a slightly random, out-of-the-box, lateral thinking way I have been reflecting this Valentine's Day on the Rwandan Genocide. Like I said, random. In April it will be twenty years since the shooting down of the President's plane unleashed violence on an almost apocalyptic scale across this small central African state. One million people slaughtered in just 100 days and the whole region destabilised. You can read analyses of what happened across the web, but I just want to concentrate on one...

Facebook or Face-to-Face?

Humour me for a moment. Try to imagine what the apostle Paul's Facebook page would have looked like. His status would be regularly updating – all that travel around the Mediterranean and meeting lots of people. His profile picture would not be anything to write home about, but he would have had a wide choice for a great panorama on his cover photo: the temple at Jerusalem or the seven hills of Rome, for instance. There would be lots of 'Likes' for churches such as the ones at Philippi or Thes...

No room for cynics

They say you know you are middle-aged when your broad mind and your narrow waistline swap places. I once went to preach at a church where the minister had been in place for a good number of years. The congregation was an average-sized UK number, about 50 or 60 people, its facilities were good and its programme quite active. Nothing remarkable, really, except that the minister in private was unable to restrain his cynicism about the spiritual state of significant numbers of his congregation. H...