July 19, 2008

Search the Archive

Archive: November 2001

Avoid a Shrivelled SoulFeature

Issue published November 2001 Author * Unknown author

Are your daily choices enlarging your heart or shrivelling your soul? Paul Borthwick outlines 10 life-enhancing strategies for developing spiritual resilience and vitality.

Christianity Vanquished?Feature

Issue published November 2001 Author * Unknown author

No news, they say, is good news. And good news is, alas, usually no news. But bad news is news. So it was perhaps not surprising that Cardinal Cormac Connor-O’Murphy’s pronouncement that Christianity was “almost vanquished” as a backdrop to public and private life should attract the attention of the media. It sounded as if he was pronouncing the last rites over the Church in Britain. He wasn’t, but the complete text of his speech contained little for the faithful Catholic or Protestant to be joyous about. It had the same resigned but determined tone as Matthew Arnold’s poem Dover Beach back in the 19th century – The Gospel is still the Gospel but all around Connor-O’Murphy hears the “long withdrawing roar” of faith … the sense that the culture is decaying rapidly and has given itself over to the empty pursuit of personal pleasure, of a set of values that no sane human would sign up to but so many seem caught in.

Grace AboundingFeature

Issue published November 2001 Author * Unknown author

Sophia Mwangi visits an international west London Church which majors on teaching its members who they are in Christ.

Healing wounded historyFeature

Issue published November 2001 Author * Unknown author

Russ Parker believes we can help reconcile people break longstanding cycles of hatred and introduce healing into places where dark deeds still stain the soil.

Look before you Leap - researching your community's needsFeature

Issue published November 2001 Author * Unknown author

In the third of his Faithworks series, Steve Chalke takes a look at the importance of honestly assessing the real needs of your local community before engaging your church in social action.

Money making missionariesFeature

Issue published November 2001 Author * Unknown author

A growing number of mission organisations are discovering that Christians trained in business skills can make a great contribution to cross cultural mission. Andy Peck talks to the pioneering organisations promoting this idea and asks; How does business and mission work out in practice?

New FrontiersFeature

Issue published November 2001 Author * Unknown author

New Frontiers International (NFI) is a major New Church stream, perhaps best known as the organisers of the Stoneleigh Bible Weeks. John Buckeridge met Dave Holden, the Team Leader of the European Team of NFI, to find out more about their church planting philosophy and why they closed down Stoneleigh - their highly popular Bible Week.

Political ClimberFeature

Issue published November 2001 Author * Unknown author

Graham Dale is widely considered to a rising star in the Labour party. Hazel Southam went to meet an angry, hardworking and passionate Christian who is busy climbing the greasy pole of politics.

The Invisible Church - part 5Feature

Issue published November 2001 Author * Unknown author

Returning from a meeting on ‘the future of the church’ Nick Page is flung into the future, to the year 2040. He discovers that church buildings are now regarded as museums and the Anglican Church in Britain a pale shadow of its former life, with the recent General Synod held in a back room of the Rose and Crown in Tooting. He finds that bureaucracy, outdated training methods and increasing detachment from community were amongst the reasons for the demise.

Unholy War?Feature

Issue published November 2001 Author * Unknown author

The devastating terrorist attacks on the twin towers of the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon on 11th September have resulted in tears, calls for revenge attacks and the widespread view that things will never be the same again. John Buckeridge asked American futurist Tom Sine to predict what new trends he thinks the tragedy has unleashed and what response to the attacks he considers is appropriate.

Using Tarot in EvangelismFeature

Issue published November 2001 Author * Unknown author

Massive recent cultural changes have led many frontline workers in mission and evangelism to adopt new and sometimes startling methods. It may seem bizarre but Christians are using Tarot cards to share gospel truth with New Age seekers. John Drane explains how, why and addresses the big concern: Can Tarot with its strong occult links – really be used for good or is it not the proverbial wolf in sheep’s clothing?