The Resignation of David Laws From the British Government

The Chief Secretary to the Treasury  has resigned. Why? He bent the expenses rules by claiming rent for a room in his partners house. He did this to conceal the fact that he is gay and he was living with his partner. He has apologized and is paying back the 40,000 pounds he received over the years.

To have even hinted that he would be able to keep his job was simply foolish. The fact that he has resigned so promptly is a good thing. There was no option. A Coalition Government, trying to establish themselves as a viable government to be trusted could under no circumstances have David Laws as a minister.

Books Read In May – updated

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This is a wonderful biography of Churchill. It is well written, full of information and brings out Churchill the man and Politian very well. At only 160 pages it is a great way to get into this giant of a man.

This is a great little book. At only 85 pages this should take you an hour to read – but it will be a profitable hour. Despite it’s size, this packs a heavy punch theologically, giving the reader a straight forward, and yet in-depth, biblical understanding, of death, what happens when we die, what happens at the resurrection, what happens at the final judgement and what happens in heaven.

This book should be bought in bulk by pastors so that they can always have a copy handy to give to parishioners who are facing illness, or have family facing illness. We need to be confronted with a biblical theology of death and this does it. Highly Recommended.

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Very basic, biblical theology encased with stories and illustrations. Maybe too simple for some.

A must read and a great asset for teaching doctrine. This is also a wonderful gift for the lay person in Church who wants to have a substantial understanding of the major doctrines of Christianity. Highly Recommended.

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Packer and Parrett argue for the benefits of using a catechism. Having layed out the Bible foundations for catechism they go on to describe the why’s and the benefits of catechism, as well as resources for churches. I did not think the book lived up to the expectation.

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Reflections on the church and ministry by a true patriarch of the Church. With 60 or so years of faithful service to Christ and ministry within the Church of England, we should really be listening to what John Stott says.

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For me this book throws down a challenge to the scientific and academic world. The challenge is – “Please – engage with New Atheism, and it’s claims vigorously. Make Dawkin, Harris and Hitchin’s defend their position. Compare it with scientists who accept intelligent design as well as the claims and teachings of Christianity and then make your mind up. Please, let’s have an open, fair, deep and impartial examination.”

As the authors suggest, if this were to happen, this will mean that for the first time new atheists will have to defend their position rather than merely taking skeptical shots at christianity.

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This book is a wonderful resource on Spiritual Formation and should be used by Pastors and Church Leaders as a foundation for building their own theology of Spiritual Formation and then as a launch pad for teaching their congregations to do likewise.

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A challenge to the church to start thinking about unity, especially on a personal and local level.

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The work of the Church is not possible with JUST a resurrected Christ – the Church, we, NEED the Ascended Christ to minister, for without the ascended Christ we would not have the Spirit. His unpacking of this is excellent.

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This is more than a biography of Lewis – it analysis his work in relation to his life. If you are Lewis fan, of course it is a must read.

The Resurrection of Ministry: Serving In The Hope of The Risen Lord by Andrew Purves

John Piper wrote almost 30 years ago, “What I have learned from about twenty-years of serious reading is this. It is sentences that change my life, not books. What changes my life is some new glimpse of truth, some powerful challenge, some resolution to a long-standing dilemma, and these usually come concentrated in a sentence or two. I do not remember 99% of what I read, but if the 1% of each book or article I do remember is a life-changing insight, then I don’t begrudge the 99%.”

I can relate Piper’s quote to this book. I confess that I found it hard to get into this book. But when I did his main point was powerful; we need to move from ministering in Holy Saturday, to Ministering in Easter Morning and the Ascension. In other words, ministry and the Christian life has to be done in the power of the Resurrected AND Ascended Christ. His emphasis on the Ascension was eye opening, challenging and exciting. The work of the Church is not possible with JUST a resurrected Christ – the Church, we, NEED the Ascended Christ to minister, for without the ascended Christ we would not have the Spirit. His unpacking of this is excellent. Too many of us are ministering in Holy Saturday, without the power of the Spirit, relying on our own ability. For this reason the book is worth reading, especially by Pastors and other Ministers.