Blog
READ OUR BLOG
Each week we ask a different Freedom Church Partner to write a Blog. We simply ask them to write what is on their heart, with the aim of encouraging and challenging, inspiring and instructing. You can read the blog over breakfast, get to know some of our partners or share a great blog with your friends. Enjoy!
There is a Better Story
(Taken from the teaching series ‘Blurred Lines’ looking at what is Godly sexuality in a Confusing World) Our present culture o en confuses our sexuality and our identity, that sex is seen by many as only a physical act, a transaction or a passing interaction that has...
Who is writing your story?
Sometime ago I use to really enjoy browsing through one particular book on my parent’s bookshelf. It was a biography of notable people throughout history. It gave a short summary of their background and history and on what events happened in their lifetime. I found it...
It’s my first day!
“It's my first day" was an excuse I used for not knowing what I was doing for the first year of my last job! The excuse seemed to work indefinitely for Homer Simpson, but my ex-colleagues certainly clocked on quickly and the excuse didn't wash with them much beyond my...
God’s Watermarks
In my last blog article I talked about 'hidden treasures' in the Bible, interesting scriptures that have more to them than meets the eye and I gave an example of a lovely one in John 18. This time I want to share another type of Biblical 'hidden treasure', one that we...
Results Day
As I write, this week sees my last ever Results Day. Have my students passed? Have they failed? Have they got what they deserved? As a teacher I have seen every response from tears of joy to utter despair. One student told me, through her sobs, “This is the worst day...
The Thinking Chair
Do you ever stop and think? I mean, properly think for more than just a few minutes? Our world is busier than ever. Information can be downloaded at the push of the button and we are consuming it as fast as possible. We don't just have daily newspapers now, we have...
Reflections From The Highlands
I've just returned from a wonderful week in the Highlands of Scotland. Wow! What beauty. Really, the beauty in that part of the world is breathtaking. It was a real time of reflection as I spent many hours walking on my own when I wasn’t hanging out with friends. I...
Succession isn’t failure
It can be hard to admit sometimes that we’re not the man or woman for the job! Perhaps we’ve done all we can do, reached the limit of our influence, skill set or energy in a particular role or position. Perhaps we just aren’t operating within our natural strengths, or...
What Gorgeous Weather!
The other evening I sat with our Connect Group in the garden as the sun was going down over the fields. We were chatting through the issues raised by the message given on Sunday at Freedom Church, and it dawned on what a great time we were having, enhanced by tasty...
Being a Follower
I have a confession… I don’t like football. Whilst the rest of country are enjoying the crazy heights of the World Cup, I remain baffled and at worse, bored at the prospect of yet another football game. Now don’t me wrong I’ve read the statistics, I watched the news...
Jubilación!
In two weeks time I retire from a job that I have been doing for the past 30 or more years. I have loved teaching and most mornings I really look forward to what the day will bring. I felt God telling me it was time to move on and do new and different things but I...
Leadership Matters
Recently, I attended a 2-day, leadership course as part of my role as a middle leader in my job as a teacher. It was challenging, humbling, enlightening and completely exhausting. There were many things I took away to work on and develop but one quote really stuck...
Can you spare a pound for the Donkey Sanctuary?
I often receive well intended but unwanted post asking me to give to various charities. I also, periodically, get stopped on the street by someone in a tabard with a clipboard asking me to set up a new direct debit for a charity I've never heard of. And whilst I've...
Do you speak English?
‘The stranger who resides with you shall be to you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt; I am the LORD your God.’ Leviticus 19:4 It’s been a long while since I found myself in a country where I don’t...
Hidden Treasures
I love studying the Bible and for some reason I am especially drawn to those scriptures that we tend to find challenging and difficult to understand. I am intrigued by passages which have significant variations in translation among the Bible versions and also those...
What Are You Worshipping?
“We are saved to worship God. All that Christ has done in the past and all that He is doing now leads to this one end.” A.W.Tozer We are presently going through a series at Freedom Church entitled Greater, looking at worship - the Person we worship, the Purpose of...
The Mid-Faith Crisis
It is almost traditional for men in their middle-age to reflect on their lives with a level of disappointment. What have I actually achieved? What has been the point of my life? What happened to all those dreams I used to have? Is that it? Might as well buy a Porsche…...
Solace in a Greater Power
Last weekend saw the first bank holiday of the summer. A surprisingly glorious, sunshine filled day giving us the first glimpse of the long-awaited summer. Like many around the country I spent the weekend soaking up as much of the wonderful weather as possible whilst...
Who are you cheering on?
Some of you will know that I volunteer for our CAP Debt Centre. I try my best to support an amazing team and also help to run our new Life Skills course. It's the thing that gives me life. I absolutely love it. On Sunday 22nd of April, 15 or so of our Church family...
What’s new with you?
My life currently revolves around a nine-month-old baby. I spend inordinate amounts of my time feeding, cleaning, and entertaining a fabulous little bundle of joy who never fails to keep me on my toes. She’s ever changing, always growing, and each day she seems to...
Take Me To The Alley
Last week I had the privilege of seeing the critically acclaimed jazz singer-songwriter Gregory Porter performing in concert. Listening to his easy-on-the-ear creamy baritone was a moment to treasure. Gregory Porter was raised in California, and taught to sing gospel...
Ageing
With my 70th birthday only a few years away it seemed appropriate to reflect on the three score and ten years allotted to man, as Psalm 90 tells us, or by occasion of strength, four score. At this point I rejoice in the inheritance of my dad’s genes who made it to 102...
Press Pause!
Recently there were a few days of heavy snowfall and as a result everything seemed to stop and go into slow motion! I had two 'snow days' off school and other appointments cancelled and suddenly I was left with lots of extra time on my hands. At first the...
True Freedom
As this is my first Blog article for 'Freedom' Church, I wanted to look at what Biblical freedom really means. A great scripture about Biblical freedom is the first verse of the chapter we have just been studying in the 'Fruit of the Spirit' series - Galatians 5. The...
ALL HIS PROMISES ARE YES AND AMEN!
So often we may think to ourselves ‘Where will I be a year from now?’ This was me a year ago. There I was, sat in a rainy classroom studying for my A levels dreaming of where to go for my Gap Year. I dreamt of surfing in the sun, making new friends and planning the...
Let it go
Who doesn’t love a cheesy Christian catch phrase? Are any of these your favourites? It’s hard to stumble when you’re on your knees Don’t give up. Moses was once a basket case PUSH! Pray Until Something Happens Don’t tell God how big your problem is. Tell your problem...
Sorry seems to be the hardest word
I have been thinking about forgiveness after being inspired by Jo Ibbott’s challenge in her talk yesterday to Freedom Church as part of our You Are What You Grow series that ‘if we want to pursue faithfulness in our relationships then forgiveness will be required.’...
Post Conference Thoughts!
When we announced earlier this year that we were going to host our first ever church conference, I had a number of people say to me “Why?” or “What is the point of a conference?” or “Do we really need to spend all weekend at church?” After the conference finished last...
WILL YOU JOIN ME?
Back in the day was a TV series called Merlin which was shown on BBC1…I wonder if you have ever watched it. It is your classic Goodie vs Baddie story with all the complications along the way, and only recently have I caught a glimpse of why people loved it. Whilst...
Why Wait?
There is something about waiting that cries frustration. Yesterday I was on my way home from fetching some dinner and I got stuck behind 2 classic Steam Cars…it was painful. As I sat there traveling at 10mph for 15minutes when I could have been driving on average...
Conferenced Out?
I’ve just returned from two Church Leadership Conferences back to back - I'm worried I might be in danger of inspiration overload! We all know it is good to get away from our day to day job situation, but surely with readily available Leadership Podcasts on iTunes,...
And now the Good News . . .
It’s been a month since I got the phone call to say our sparkly new premises that we had just moved into, housing our Freedom Church offices, Romsey Foodbank and CAP Debt Centre, would have to be vacated within 28...
Dealing with Disappointment
Last week was disappointing. To be honest I’m understating what happened. It was annoying, head spinning, time wasting, emotionally exhausting all consuming, extremely frustrating! Why do we understate our reality? Is it because of a “British stiff upper lip”...
Let your song out
I'm no expert but I reckon there is creativity in all of us. Whether we apply it within the workplace or in more expressive ways, it is definitely there. It's the spark of a small idea or a thought that falls outside the box. We all get it and we all go through a...
Are You Living Generously?
A few weeks ago I spoke on Simple Generosity as part of our Simple Church teaching series. We may have moved onto a new teaching series but this topic has continued to be featuring regularly at the 'inside my head conversations that only I can hear'. Generosity is at...
Mind of a Millennial
Recently I spoke at the Ground Level National Leaders Forum about the millennial generation which created some interest and so thought I would add it to the blog - enjoy! In April 2016, watched by 45 million people, Millennial TV Journalist Alexis Bloomer ranted on...
Overcoming adversity.
In 2011, two members of the church I was part of in Southampton were going through the unthinkable, possibly a parents worst nightmare. They had received a call that their son Dave, who was a Captain in the British Army had been blown up by a roadside IED and had lost...
No ‘Rubbernecking’ Allowed.
I am sure we have all had that experience. The traffic on your side of the motorway slows down to a walking pace. As you creep along you realise there has been an accident on the other side of the motorway. Emergency Services are in attendance with blue lights...
Do you REALLY want to flourish? If so, read on . . .
The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; planted in the house of the Lord, they will flourish in the courts of our God. Psalm 92:13 (NIV) I know I am biased - I am a Church Leader, but I am passionate about the local...
Better Together.
Recently I received a phone call from the local paper congratulating the Romsey Foodbank on receiving the status of “Charity of the Year” from the local Chamber of Commerce. The journalist started by asking for a quote for the article he was writing, he said ‘You must...
Intergenerational Church
I have been shocked in recent days at some of the comments that have been made by young people in our nation about the older generation after the result of the recent EU referendum. Some young people have suggested that old people shouldn't have been allowed a vote as...
‘One For All’ Spring Harvest 2017
For those of you unfamiliar with Spring Harvest, this is a Christian festival that has been running every Easter, since 1979 at various Butlin's Holiday Camps attracting thousands of people each year from across every christian denomination. Lottie and I have always...
Who do you think you are?
'Who do you think you are?' said the well-known group of theologians in the 1990s known as The Spice Girls! One of the biggest challenges of life is discovering your identity. Recently I was in a meeting of people I had not met before, so I asked the question “Who are...
In or Out?
It seems every social gathering I have been at over the last few months, has always included a conversation which inevitably starts with the question “So, are you in or out?”. Before 2016 this question would more likely to be about the status of your belly button...
Who wants to go to Big Church Day Out?
As a family we have attended BigChurchDayOut since it started in 2009 and watched it grow and grow each year with thousands of christians from far and wide gathering together at Wiston House in West Sussex to celebrate the name of Jesus! Well, this year it is all...
Old Jokes, New Name
Question “How many Church Members does it take to change a lightbulb?” Answer “Change? Change! We don’t do change!” Churches are notoriously known as organisations that resist change. When it comes to keeping up with the times the Church are often seen as the last...
What’s in a name?
Names are really important. They define you as a person. When we were children we gave one another ‘nicknames’ that at the time we probably thought was humorous, but as an adult we realise it might have cruel and unkind. Many adults still shudder when they...
Foodbanks. Great idea but not for my town?
For the last seven or eight years Andover has been running a Foodbank providing food for the hungry of Test Valley. They have done an incredible job with hundreds of volunteers, sorting out thousands of tons of food over those years. They have promoted the need,...