Richardl

LATEST ARTICLES ( 623 )

• A Flare-path for Advent

  Those of you who visited this blog on the first Sunday of Advent will have encountered one of my theological heroes - Alfred Delp. This courageous young Jesuit... Read more

  Posted on 14 December 2016 RELIGION, SPIRITUALITY

• #Journey Crests the Last Hill

  Fifty or so years ago, a little boy used to ride often along the lanes in a seat on the back of his father's bicycle. Legs grew longer, the boy learned to ride ... Read more

  Posted on 07 December 2016 RELIGION, SPIRITUALITY

• Lighting the Fuse of Advent

  

  For many years, I have collected nativity sets. I have them from many cultures, in many styles and of many eras. Some are minimalist, like Oliver Fabel's... Read more

  Posted on 27 November 2016 RELIGION, SPIRITUALITY

• Better Than an Autograph

  

  When I launched Littlest Star 'officially' on November 4th, I put together a little 'roadshow kit'. It included a jar of stars, a star-shaped dish, an apple, a... Read more

  Posted on 24 November 2016 RELIGION, SPIRITUALITY

• Beware of the Goat

  Before you watch the video below, you need to bear one thing in mind - it was made by Norwegians. In fact, it was made by The Norwegian Students' and... Read more

  Posted on 20 November 2016 RELIGION, SPIRITUALITY

• “Please Stop Here”

  It has already happened - just over half way through November and I have spotted my first fully decorated house - tinsel swags at the window and fairy lights... Read more

  Posted on 18 November 2016 RELIGION, SPIRITUALITY

• Shall the Post-truth Set You Free?

  

  If Christians believe that 'the truth shall set you free', then what about post-truth, I wonder? At first this young upstart phrase in the Oxford English... Read more

  Posted on 17 November 2016 RELIGION, SPIRITUALITY

• Accidental Theology

  A gentle daytime TV watercolour programme is not the place to which you would naturally turn for theology. However, for many years I have been struck by what th... Read more

  Posted on 11 November 2016 RELIGION, SPIRITUALITY

• Washington DC is Not the World

  Just when you might be forgiven for believing that everything of any consequence is happening in Washington DC comes a reminder from a Norwegian branch of a... Read more

  Posted on 09 November 2016 RELIGION, SPIRITUALITY

• In the Blink of an Eye

  I have commented many times on here about Christmas advertising campaigns. For the most part I find them to be clever, insightful and thought-provoking. The... Read more

  Posted on 08 November 2016 RELIGION, SPIRITUALITY

• Curl up and Get out

  Every good book is a door to somewhere else, don't you think? To open its covers is to open onto a landscape which you have not yet crossed and to feel... Read more

  Posted on 27 October 2016 RELIGION, SPIRITUALITY

• 1795 Days

  

  I have never quite got my head around the concept of 'light years' - although I think it is a way of measuring enormous distances in such a way as to seem... Read more

  Posted on 21 October 2016 RELIGION, SPIRITUALITY

• You Did What to Your Bible?

  

  I was brought up in a household with books. Often to the amazement of my school friends - there were shelves and shelves of them. There were new paperbacks and... Read more

  Posted on 17 October 2016 RELIGION, SPIRITUALITY

• More Than a Rainbow

  There is something inexplicably captivating about rainbows. A couple of days ago I was privileged to see this one arcing majestically across the Vale of the... Read more

  Posted on 11 October 2016 RELIGION, SPIRITUALITY

• Fruit and Nuts

  One of the elements which we have lost form the preaching and storytelling of Jesus is the extent to which they were drawn from his immediate setting in time an... Read more

  Posted on 10 October 2016 RELIGION, SPIRITUALITY

• Out of the Mouths…

  

  Yesterday was my induction service as Senior Minister of Newbury Baptist Church. It was a lovely occasion - joyful, humbling affirming and visionary all in... Read more

  Posted on 02 October 2016 RELIGION, SPIRITUALITY

• To Believe, Serve and Lead

  It is now 11 months since I first began negotiations with Newbury Baptist Church about the prospect of becoming their new minister. In between then and now a... Read more

  Posted on 30 September 2016 RELIGION, SPIRITUALITY

• Hand-stitched Narrative

  In other hands, this book would be a disaster. It would be a gritty and depressing read slipping into the grey mists rolling off the Humber. In the hands of a... Read more

  Posted on 26 September 2016 RELIGION, SPIRITUALITY

• Cleared for Launch

  Exactly one month from today, almost five years after it was first written, Littlest Star launches. Various review copies are already finding their way across... Read more

  Posted on 21 September 2016 RELIGION, SPIRITUALITY

• The Calculus of Prayer

  I have now been in my new role as minister of Newbury Baptist Church for twenty days. There are at least 150 people in the church I need to get to know. There... Read more

  Posted on 20 September 2016 RELIGION, SPIRITUALITY