As Paul and Silas get moved out of Thessalonica, they move on to Berea, some 43 miles away. That’s about a 2-3 day walk.

I can only imagine the conversation between the two of them, and with Timothy who were also with them. They would have discussed theology, life, their plans when they got...

“And they went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia.” Acts 16:6 ESV 

At the end of the book of Matthew, Jesus tells His disciples to go into all the world, the famous Great Commission. I’ve heard so...

With the end of COVID now slightly more in-sight, more churches will be thinking about how to move forward as a church. Multisite was a fast-growing option for many churches in the U.K. pre-COVID, and with churches starting to re-gather again, I think that this is going to become a very...

“If you change something and no-one gets mad, you just changed something that doesn’t matter."

Dan Reiland

I recently saw this quote from Dan which really got me thinking. After all, we often go into change thinking about how we can take people with us. If anything, all of the focus...

A lockdown can bring with it a healthy dose of introspection. With more time at home, there should be more space to think. At least you’re not being interrupted every two seconds with another request, so take the opportunity to not just work in the ministry, but work on it as well.

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I’m a proud child of the City of Gloucester. It’s a small city with a fantastic history. Originally the Roman town of Glevum, we have a king buried in the Cathedral, which was also the filming location for the Harry Potter movies. Home to Robert Raikes, the pioneer of Sunday Schools,...

If you’ve grown up in church (which I have) then soon enough the talk around personal finances comes up. The talk goes a little like this: Spend less than you earn, give your first 10% to God, save your second 10% and the rest is for spending. And it’s great advice, advice I try to...

Excellence is a much-talked about subject in church. There’s two camps we Christians can fall into. On the one-hand, many say excellence is our response to a God who gave his excellence for us, it honours Him to give Him our best, and excellence draws people in. On the other hand,...

Summer is all but gone. And that means that as the leaves turn brown, the days get colder and the nights draw in, the church world turns its gaze to Christmas.

However, this year everything has changed. COVID-19 is still rumbling on and new measures have been put in place by the Government to...

On 27th March 2019, The UK’s Parliament started their now famous ‘Indicative Votes’ – MPs voted on 8 separate issues in order to solve the Brexit conundrum. After unceremoniously rejecting both of then-Prime Minister Teresa May’s Brexit deals, Parliament took control...

I grew up in the era of Pearce Brosnan being James Bond. Goldeneye was the classic, and the Bond Car was peak-Bond - a BMW Z3 fitted with stinger missiles. Who knows where the engine would fit with all of the technology going on, but that’s not the point. The point was,...

When it comes to leadership ability, there are two schools of thought. In the red corner there is the belief in born leaders. You could even go far as saying it’s a God-given gift, and indeed in Romans 12:8, leadership is listed as a divinely-bestowed gift. The thought is that you should be...

Have you ever watched those hoarder TV shows? It’s the ones where there is someone living with so much clutter that they can’t see their sofa, bed or kitchen. They often have very narrow corridors lined with stuff that is piled up to the ceilings. It's particularly sad to watch, no...

An interesting TV show started a few years ago on Channel 4. Married at First Sight took an American TV concept of matchmaking couples using science. Here was the twist, though. The couples only met for the first time at the altar. They would then go on their honeymoon and try to start...

“It started out with a kiss, how did it end up like this?” The immortal words of The Killers were definitely not written about the state of Online Church services, but the sentiment certainly applies. It all feels like the premise to a Romcom. The...

Since the dawn of space travel in the 20^th Century, there has long been a fascination with looking for life on other planets. The thought is that in a universe as expansive as ours, surely we can’t be alone? Surely there is life on other planets?

Whilst we at thinking.church...

‘Church growth’ is a divisive phrase. For some the word is exciting. A church that’s growing has a buzz, more people coming to know Jesus, fuller auditoriums, more leaders. For others, this phrase talks about turning church into a corporation: it’s all about getting...

“Everyone Welcome!” I’ve seen so many of these signs around and you’ve probably got something similar in your church. As a church we want to reach as many people as possible. And that’s a good thing, it means that you’re inclusive and diverse. However, this...

I remember hearing something Bishop T.D. Jakes said once. He said we’re called to be fishers of people, and some churches catch with a rod, others catch with a net. If you catch with a rod you can take more time and care over the person, but the return on your labour is less than...