I was listening to a sermon the other day, in which the preacher said, “Christianity is not about morality. It’s not about right and wrong. It’s about a relationship.” It’s not the first time I’ve heard that phrase, or something like it, and I’m sure it won’t be the last. In fact, I’m sure that I’ve used it myself in the past. I know what it’s trying to say. I just can’t help feeling that we’ve got the right argument for the wrong moment in history.
Archives: paul-grimmond
Podcast: Holding onto the gospel: An interview with Grant Retief
Audio
Grant Retief talks to Paul Grimmond about enormous social issues in South Africa, and what it means to hang on to the gospel and serve people there (MP3).
If Ezekiel was preaching today
Life
I’m preaching on Ezekiel 4-24 this week. And I’ve been reading it through. I can’t help wondering, in light of Ezekiel 16 and 23, what the modern equivalent might be. Perhaps it would go something like this: (more…)
Who’s telling the story?
Life
One of the things that I’ve learned over the years is that it’s always a good idea to know who’s telling you the story and why they are telling it. These are particularly important questions to ask when it comes to telling the story of sex in our society. (To see why telling the story of sex is important, see my original post on writing an evangelistic talk about sex.) In God’s kindness, while wandering aimlessly around the net earlier in the year, preparing for a talk on pornography (there’s a theme here!), I stumbled across a fascinating masters thesis on sex in advertising by Ilona Pawlowski at Canterbury University in Christchurch, New Zealand. (more…)
Laying the foundations at Church by the Bridge
Pastoral Ministry
Learning to read the Bible one to one
Everyday Ministry
Russell de Vries has known Jesus all his life. He grew up having been taught the gospel by his parents, and remembers car conversations about the sermon and Bible during the trip home from church each Sunday. The Bible was an integral part of church and home life. Yet in spite of all this, the idea of regularly meeting one to one with someone to read God’s word was a totally foreign concept to Russell. (more…)
Podcast: Laying the foundations at Church by the Bridge
Audio
Paul Grimmond speaks to Paul Dale about his role as pastor of Church by the Bridge and the place of one-to-one ministry in his busy life (MP3).
The power and inadequacy of biological determinism
Thought
Yes, it’s been a while since I last posted. And so you may be forgiven for forgetting where we’re up to. I’m talking about my preparation for an evangelistic talk on sex (see the start of the posts). And last time, I tried to show that biological determinism lies at the heart of the modern story of sex. To put it simply, we’ve evolved in such a way that we’re made to have sex—lots of sex, with multiple partners. And because it’s biologically determined, we have no choice. Today, I want to reflect on the power and inadequacy of this position.
The noughties version of the devil made me do it?
Life
My recent posts have been about my thinking and preparation for an evangelistic talk on the topic ‘Free for sex or living in bondage?’. Obviously the title assumes that if you don’t have a Christian view of humanity and sexuality, you are living in bondage. So is there any argument to be made that the modern secular view of sex is, in fact, bondage of some kind?
Christians and the 1950s
Life
I began a series last Thursday about the process I’ve been through in writing an evangelistic talk on the topic of sex. We started off by thinking a bit about the secular story of sex. But it occurred to me fairly early on that Christians have a problem when it comes to communicating about their moral worldview. Everybody thinks that we just want to live back in the 1950s.
Youth ministry resource
Review
I spent Wednesday lunchtime talking to Kitty Fung, who works for Anglican Youthworks in Sydney, about the (relatively new) youth site fervr. Apparently it means whatever you want it to mean. I know we’re old and fogey-ish over here at Sola Panel, but I thought that there might be some people interested in checking it out and hearing what they’ve got to offer. Finding quality Christian resources for youth work is not always easy.
The story of sex
Life
I was asked recently to come preach evangelistically for a university-aged audience, and I was given the topic ‘Free for sex or living in bondage?’ I’ll tell you straight up that it wasn’t the easiest evangelistic talk I’ve ever had to prepare!
How do you say something sensible about a biblical understanding of sex, and something worthwhile about the grace and kindness of God in the death and resurrection of Jesus, in the same talk while maintaining people’s interest and not speaking for too long?
The gospel is all about morality
Life
I was listening to a sermon the other day, in which the preacher said, “Christianity is not about morality. It’s not about right and wrong. It’s about a relationship.” It’s not the first time I’ve heard that phrase, or something like it, and I’m sure it won’t be the last. I know what it’s trying to say. I just can’t help feeling that we’ve got the right argument for the wrong moment in history.
Square pegs in round holes
Everyday Ministry
These pages have often wrestled with the issue of gospel enculturation—the question of how much we adapt the message we preach to the culture in which we dwell. It’s such a complex question that the wisdom and righteousness (or lack thereof) of our attempts at preaching the gospel in a culturally sensitive way will be displayed finally on that last great day. But my last post on character and hope has lead me to a test that we might apply to our gospel preaching.
Trusting in the dark: Some biblical reflections on depression and anxiety
Life
Ever since my early 20s, I’ve struggled on and off with anxiety and depression. In the last few years, the struggle has become particularly acute. I often wake at 4:30 am and pretend that it’s just the call of my bladder, but I know it isn’t. I know that as soon as I wake, I won’t go to sleep again. My body feels tired—like I’ve been running in my sleep—and my brain whirs away like the hard drive on my computer. I wake up with a thousand questions in my head—none of which seem solvable—and, at times, I’ve been so exhausted, I’ve just curled up in a ball on the floor and cried, wondering if the emptiness will go away soon. I have suffered mainly from anxiety, with periods of very low mood thrown in for good measure. (more…)