#RedeemerRecommends - Andrew Haslam's latest blog
#ReedeemerRecommends a blog from Andrew Haslam, a leader of a fellow Advance church in London.
This blog has featured the talents of many members of the Redeemer family over the last few weeks, for today’s #RedeemerRecommends we travel a little further afield (though only a few miles across London). Andrew Haslam is the leader of Grace Church, London, another church in the Advance group of churches of which we are part. He is a fantastic writer and theologian, and on Good Friday he published a blog highlighting the fear which is gripping society during this time, and how we as Christians look at fear differently to others. We hope you enjoy reading it, and that you continue to stay safe during this time.
Coronavirus, faith, and the fear of death
Many are questioning religious faith right now. I understand this. The shock of watching the death toll rise each day as the world is battered by this invisible enemy is an example of something very evil in this world. And the question of how God can allow evil to exist is, perhaps, the greatest obstacle to faith in the modern age.
But, with all respect to those asking such questions, to pose the problem in this way is to miss the entire point of the Christian faith.
#RedeemerRecommends - Mere Fidelity Podcast
This week #RedeemerRecommends a new podcast to check out on your morning commute!
The results are in. People love podcasts.
Ofcom stats show podcasts are booming in the UK with the number of weekly podcast listeners doubling in five years (from 7% of adults in 2013 to 11%, or 5.9m last year).
I’m a paid-up member of the podcast gang. The UK (and London in particular) provide some of the best continent in the podcast space. We have great stuff from the world of football (try The Totally Football Show), comedy (No Such Thing As A Fish is worth a listen) and film (Kermode and Mayo’s Film Review is pretty essential) to name a few.
What about podcasts from churches? I’ve found there are times that tuning in can be profound, and other times when it doesn’t quite work. A stirring stories can still raise my faith from the other side of the world. At the same time, some sermons are carefully contextualised to cities I don’t live in, and congregations and cultures which mean the applications or topics don’t quite ring true.
If you’ve got an interest in picking up a new podcast, why not try Mere Fidelity - https://mereorthodoxy.com/category/mere-fidelity/
The focus of each episode is a hot topic about theology, the church and the culture, and the four contributors unpack what they’ve thought, studied, experienced and seen with care (and without a big fanfare or controversy).
Why does it stand out?
Well partly the episodes are equipping and formative without being a Sunday sermon recording. Why does that help? Listening to a sermon on a tube can feel difficult to fully engage with and, when the call to respond involves communion or going to speak to someone/get prayer, it can feel false to just move on to the next episode.
Shallow listening and a flimsy attitude to responding to the bible can be dangerous habits which we don’t want to bring with us on Sundays.
A theology-centred discussion between four well-read and well-rounded guys can spark inspiration, give a hunger for deeper study and draw you in to a whole topic you’ve never considered, without any feeling of ‘this is the wrong time and place’.
The other reason it works well is that the topics they pick are timely and, frankly, fascinating! Some relatively recent episodes covered ‘millennials and burnout’, ‘the weirdness of Matthew 27’, ‘ethics and technology’ and one simply called ‘Hillsong’.
It’s always good to hear London mentioned too. For that we can thank one of the four contributors, Andrew Wilson, who is the teaching pastor at Kings Church Catford, part of the Newfrontiers network here in London.
See what you think. Happy listening!
Get thinking. #RedeemerRecommends
In the first of our #RedeemerRecommends series, Rich Smith introduces us to a blog he has found thought provoking and inspiring recently, and excites us about a guest preacher visiting Redeemer at the end of November!
In the first of our #RedeemerRecommends blog posts, Rich Smith introduces to a blog he has been inspired by recently. Look out for more recommendations over the coming months as others from Redeemer let you in on what they’ve been reading. Over to Rich…
Get thinking.
At the end of November we have close friend of the church Matt Hosier returning to speak at our Sunday meeting. Matt and his wife Grace first visited Redeemer a year ago to preach about eldership, and to stand with and pray for our church as we started a new chapter of our story.
Matt is a gifted preacher. Just as he served us so well last November, we’re anticipating he’ll bring a combination of theological clarity and heartfelt encouragement this November!
Those who were at the Advance conference earlier in October will know he’s a wise, measured and phenomenally well read theological thinker, and it’s with that in mind that I wanted to point you in the direction of an excellent website to which he often contributes, Think Theology.
“Think” describes itself as a “collaboration of thinkers and writers who are passionate about the Church, and who enjoy spending time wrestling with deep theological questions and helping others to engage with them.” Matt, Jennie Pollock (another speaker from the recent Advance conference in fact), and Andrew Wilson produce the majority of the content for the site and you’ll find roughly a post per day on a broad range of topics.
Looking back at posts over the last two weeks you’ll see posts covering social media, wisdom in engaging politically, sexual identity, reading well, TV show theology, book reviews and Psalms.
Whether you’re starting to explore theology for the first time or looking to expand your regular reading, posts from Matt and others at Think are worth your time. I find they’re perfect for the commute, and regularly engage the mind, the emotions and stir the spirit. Enjoy.