oakleys.org.uk

Since I posted on Henry Scott Holland's poem “Death is Nothing at all”, that blog post has overtaken my sermon on 1 Corinthians 13 as the most visited page on this site. Curiously, both the Scott Holland text and 1 Corinthians 13 are popular passages at funerals.

Back in May, we had some great moments on our CME weekend on preaching, led by Pete Wilcox, Canon Chancellor at Lichfield Cathedral. I have been meaning to blog these thoughts on lectionaries for some time, but somehow never got around to it. Anyway, finally, …

I have huge respect for Christopher Idle. I love the hymns he writes. And he's a godly man with a wise, pastoral heart. I was searching for some of his hymns, when I found something rather different.

Doubtless, many readers of this will be familiar with Henry Scott Holland's poem Death is Nothing at all. For those who don't know it:

Death is nothing at all. It does not count.
I have only slipped away into the next room.
Nothing has happened.
Everything remains exactly as it was.
I am I, and you are you, and the old life

Leithart again:

Historically, a pastoral candidate’s desires often had little to do with the Church’s call to serve in pastoral office. Far from seeking out positions of leadership, the greatest of the church fathers resisted with all their strength.

Neil’s 8 biblical personality types offers a very helpful analysis of the kinds of people we find in the church and in the world at large. I, for one, find his Venn diagram most helpful to see the map at a glance.

He concludes with one of the right questions: “As a minister, the question is, how should God’s word be ministered and applied to each personality type?”

See also my earlier post on William Perkins’ categories of hearer

Having finished reading Reformed is not Enough, I’ve done some reading of those who interact with the material.

What’s going on in the passages (like those in Hebrews) that speak of Christians falling away? An extended quotation because it is so helpful:

“If we love them, our objective will not be to impress them with our learning but to help them with theirs.”

A brief and very helpful reminder from Doug Wilson (quoting and summarising Stott) about the vital necessity of preaching with simplicity and clarity. [Edit: Wilson’s blog post is a paragraph long. The post is, indeed, brief – but not as brief as the sentence I’ve quoted above. Just to make clear!]

Thanks to Neil Robbie for pointing me to this one.

How do you come up with a policy for a church on paedocommunion that allows for:

• difference of opinion on the issue, and

• clarity on how responsibility and government are apportioned between church and family?

Well, Neil pointed me to the policy adopted by Trinity Presbyterian Church in Birming ham, Alabama. Very helpful indeed.