ALMOST ENOUGH TO MAKE ME A ROYALIST

Well, I thought yesterday was wonderful. I'm a sucker for mass participation events and love days when everyone is out on the streets together having fun; so the best of British pageantry of the wedding was great, and my local street party was awesome – 2,500 of us at the wonderful Ashley Cross.  

In terms of the wedding itself there were the obvious odd points that could be commented on (Dave & Elton there but no Blair; Posh & Becks there but no Brown), but I’ll restrict myself to a few socio-theological observations…

1. It was a great shame that Will decided not to wear a ring. This left something of a hollow moment in the ceremony – “By the giving of this ring” just doesn’t have the same resonance as “By the giving and exchanging of rings.” A wedding ring is a very powerful and important symbol of marriage. It was a mistake to make it a one handed experience.

2. Kate’s decision to not say “obey” was exposed as hollow by everything else that is concomitant with getting married. It was a mistake for Will not to take a ring, but it would have been inconceivable for Kate not to. Once married, Kate was announced as, “Princess William Wales.” How so? Because by definition, the institution of marriage requires the husband to assume headship. Lots of people don’t like this, which is why so many refuse to get married and just cohabit, but it is an unavoidable aspect of marriage. Simply by marrying Kate has committed to obeying, whether or not she said it.

3. The marriage ceremony is a powerful apologetic for the purpose of sex. The archaic language disguised this somewhat, but for those who have ears to hear it was very clear: Sex is for marriage, to make babies, as a way of expressing faithful love, and as a sacrificial way of serving one another and the wider community. William & Catherine may have been living together for most of the past decade, but the marriage vows make very clear how they should have been living, and should live now. I pray that they stay faithful to those vows.

4. Modesty is commendable. I like a wedding dress that doesn’t leave a women looking half undressed. I liked the fact that the wedding bouquet was just a small handful of lily of the valley. I like the way they are honeymooning in the UK, and after a week Will will be back at work. Sure, the whole shindig cost far more than most of us will see over the course of an entire lifetime, but the fact that it was modest where it could be was to me very impressive.

Overall, Will & Kate are easy to like, and that can only be good for the Royal Family. In 1649 I would have been on the Republican side of the block, but I wish this future King & Queen a long and happy life. Yesterday was fantastic: may there be many more days in the future when the Royals give us an excuse to throw a party.

THE WEDDING

Melvyn Bragg sums it up perfectly for me:

Westminster Abbey is one of the great fulcrums of the world in terms of its composite character.  A place of monarchy.  A place of worship.  A place of reverence for the great dead, from those who believed in God to those who did not believe in God.  A place of great choral Evensongs.  A place of chapels and the Jerusalem Chamber and nooks and crannies.  Nothing like the crepuscular magnificence of Notre Dame or the extraordinary glory of Chartres, or the cornucopia of cathedrals of the Vatican and St Paul’s, nor does it have the tawny splendour of Wells or the total, perfect magnificence of Durham, but Westminster Abbey is something different.  It is where the nation binds itself together on national occasions, it seems to me, and even non-monarchists (I may be wrong, there may be some non-monarchists reading this) must surely feel that here is the symbol of much of our history, for better and for worse, for the rich and for the poor alike.  And it will all happen tomorrow, when the fairytale prince, son of the fairytale princess, marries the fairytale girl who, a couple of generations ago, came from humble stock to become a figure on the London scene, snapped up by the prince and – I can’t help laughing as I’m dictating this – they will be coupled in the place where Harold Godwinson was declared king in 1066 in the English language, and it took 333 years before the next king was declared king in the English language.  Eventually – do I say God willing? – William will be king there too and … well, enough of that.  Good luck to both of them.  We all feel that, don’t we?  Well, I hope we do.  If we don’t, we’re a pretty poor lot.

BOOK REVIEW: EDWARD VI

Edward VI: The Lost King of England, by Chris Skidmore

I bought this when it was first published in 2007, and it has been sitting on the shelf, looking resentfully at me, these past four years. Finally, it made it to the front of the books waiting to be read queue, and it was well worth the wait.

This is a well written biography by a brilliant young scholar (annoyingly, only 26 when this was published) and now Member of Parliament, about a brilliant young king caught up in the turbulent politics of Tudor England. Edward was the longed for son of Henry VIII, and only nine years old when his father died. Edward himself died at the age of 15, when he was on the cusp of taking the full reigns of power.

Death is a recurring theme of this biography, and for a modern reader it is a sobering reminder of how different our world is from that of previous generations. Edward’s mother (Jane Seymour) died soon after he was born of blood poisoning caused by poor hygiene. Edward probably died of TB.

I am grateful for modern medicine.

Edward led a gilded yet very constrained childhood, with little contact with his father. Educated from birth to be king he was unusually gifted, showing an intellectual flair that was extraordinary. He was also committed to the Reformation cause, with a conviction that intensified as he grew older. Reading this biography, one of the most striking things is the role that religion played in public and private life in the Tudor age. Everyone was a believer – and what they believed really mattered. Faith was at the centre of all life and activity in a way that is almost incomprehensible now. Following Henry’s partial Reformation, the extent to which England would become truly Reformed, or slip back into Catholicism was the most crucial issue of the day, and Edward held all the promise of being “a new Josiah” who would lead his nation into a glorious new age.

As religion was so central to every aspect of life, the change from Catholicism to Protestantism had an impact on day to day life that is very hard for the modern mind to grasp. Reformation really did make everything different – the whole cycle of life and established pattern of being was turned on its head. And not everyone was happy with this change. It was also a time of economic change and turmoil, as wealthy landowners enclosed common land to turn it over to sheep production, leading to popular uprisings and great discontent.

This was also a far more brutal age than ours. Critics of Calvinism often lambast Calvin for his part in the execution of the heretic Servetus, but Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury and founder of the Church of England took a far more hands on role in the burning at the stake of the Anabaptist Joan Bucher. Perhaps this is forgotten because of the fluffiness that developed within Anglicanism, and because Cranmer was himself later burned as a martyr.

In this religious and economic maelstrom Edward’s council sought to hold the nation together, and jockey for power. Much of this story is the rivalry between the Dukes of Somerset and Northumberland. In the end, both were destroyed by their ambition, and lost their heads at the block.

The last Machiavellian twist of Edward’s reign was a ‘devise’ to disinherit his half sisters Mary and Elizabeth, and redirect the succession to the resolutely Protestant Lady Jane Grey. Jane was Queen for only nine days, before the council and the nation switched allegiance to Mary.

In this is one of those unanswerable theological questions about the providence of God. On Edwards death Calvin wrote that England had ‘been deprived of an incomparable treasure of which it was unworthy. By the death of one youth, the whole nation has been bereaved of the best of fathers.’ Mary’s rise to power meant the crushing of the Reformation, and the remorseless persecution of those who favoured it. What the course of history may have been had Edward enjoyed a long reign is a matter of fascinating conjecture.

DEMOLITION DAY

One of the more interesting things about visiting Chicago last week was that I was staying in a neighbourhood previously known as Cabrini-Green. This was the real wild side of Chicago. The Wikipedia entry for the area (it’s worth reading the whole article) notes that, “Though Chicago has had a number of notorious public housing projects…Cabrini–Green's name and its problems were the most publicized, especially beyond Chicago. Cabrini–Green often gained press coverage for its chaotic New Year's Eve celebrations when gang members fired guns into the air causing police to block off nearby streets every year.”

Over the past few years the old “projects” have been demolished, making way for what is now a desirable location for urban professionals. While I was there, demolition of the last high-rise was underway, and I found it extremely poignant to walk around the cleared lots, with their piles of ground up rubble. Looking into the shattered remains of that last high-rise, I tried to imagine the kind of human misery that those graffiti covered walls had witnessed.

Now it is an area reborn. You don’t have to worry about getting shot anymore. And it is a great place to live – just a few blocks from downtown, an easy walk, or a quick ride on the El to the Sears Tower.

Most of the people who used to live in Cabrini-Green – the pimps, the prostitutes, the dealers, the addicts, the gang bangers, the victims – simply got moved out to other areas of Chicago, taking their problems with them. The neighbourhood has been born again, but the wreckage of individual lives continues.

This is how it is with human solutions. As that other Chicago resident, Bill Hybels, puts it, human agencies “can only move the markers on the playing field of life; they can’t get to the heart of the problem.”

Today, Good Friday, as we consider the cross of Christ, our hope is for something better than this. In Christ we look not merely for the demolition and relocation of our problems, but for the crucifying of our sin. At the cross, all the wreckage of human experience was carried and killed in the body of Christ. The best hope for us all – the crack addict and the city slicker – is found on Calvary’s tree. It is because of the cross that all things can truly be made new.

SUNSHINE

It's a lot warmer in Dorset than it was in Chicago.

I took the day off yesterday and went to the fabulous Dancing Ledge with my family, and some friends who were down from London.

The sun was very warm, but the water was cold.

GOSPEL MEATING

I had been warned that O’Hare was a bit of a dive, but this really is pretty unbelievable. A major international airport, in the second city of the richest nation on earth, and there is probably less diversion to be found here than at Harare International.

O well, just a couple of hours to kill before boarding; and I did have the most stupendous steak for lunch before getting here, so its not like I need to eat anything. Ever again.

I was asked some more questions about the Gospel Coalition, so may as well try to answer them while I’m sitting here, waiting, and digesting…

In terms of a UK equivalent, I would guess New Word Alive is the closest we have, although as I haven’t been to that event it’s hard for me to be definitive. They were both running on the same dates this year, but that doesn’t mean much. However, they do feature an overlap of speakers, with the ubiquitous Don Carson prominent in both. (The ever interesting Carl Trueman offers an interesting take on NWA here.)

In one of the panel discussions at #TGC11 there was a certain amount of joshing over whether the event should be called a gospel coalition, rather than the Gospel Coalition. It was said in jest, but I think it’s a good question.

We most definitely need a gospel coalition, but the reason the Gospel Coalition has been able to form is because it gathers a group of people who agree on what the gospel is. In the UK we have the advantage of being less polarized than our American cousins – it is easier for us to take the good from a number of sources – but we are also afflicted with a lot of ‘evangelicalism’ that is either fluffy or crass; and unclear about the gospel.

In the USA the scale of things means it is easier to gather a crowd from across denominations who  share a common commitment to the gospel than it would be in the UK. But even in the vast US, this conference gathered about 5,500 people – a big conference, yes, but not huge. There are plenty of churches in Chicago that have congregations bigger than that. In the UK we would be looking at something smaller still.

One of the challenges of coalitions is that there is always a tendency to go to the lowest common denominator in some important area. At #TGC11 there was no compromise in the forthright proclamation of broadly Reformed preaching, but to me the worship felt lowest common denominator. This is the great challenge for evangelicalism generally. It is why so many trans-denominational activities often feel hard work – whether it is a Christian Union meeting, or Christianity magazine. In a desire to be acceptable to everyone, evangelical events and publications run the risk of becoming tedious to most.

An interesting development in the UK, paralleling things in the US, has been the way in which those with what we might characterize a conservative approach to the gospel are finding one another. For example, thirty years ago those of us in the ‘new churches’ might not have expected to find ourselves working alongside conservative Anglicans so much as we now do.

I think one of the big challenges for us though is holding onto what is genuinely charismatic, while avoiding what is just looney. It is all too easy to claim to be charismatic, but in practice to simply be running meetings that use contemporary music and styling. At the same time there is the constant intrusion of whacky Pentecostalism – another guru who suddenly appears, gathers a crowd, and then – almost inevitably – just as quickly crashes and burns.

Getting the balance right on this one is difficult.

Most of all then, the key thing (both in the USA and UK) has got to be to build robust, gospel preaching, Jesus loving, Holy Spirit enjoying, local churches.

Too much of evangelicalism – and too many churches – feel like O’Hare airport. What we need is more churches that are more like that amazing steak I enjoyed at lunch: something with real substance.

FINDING THE BLUE NOTE

I spent this evening at a blues bar. (It would be almost sinful to come to Chicago and not visit a blues bar.) The first act was not quite what I expected – less Buddy Guy than Wal-Mart mom – but man could she play the guitar. The second act looked the part, as well as sounding it.

I love the blues, and I love them more the older I get.

One of the sessions I attended at #TGC11 was by David Powlinson on pastoral counselling. During this session Powlinson alluded to the blues, and to spirituals. Both the blues and spirituals – he observed – grow out of the same earth: the earth that is suffering and sin. However, they dwell under a different sky.

We need the blue note because it tells a truth about the human condition – we have sinned, and we have suffered. And this is why the blues get more meaningful with age – the older we get the more aware we become (or should become) of our sin, and of our suffering. Any worldview that fails to recognize these two poles is way out of whack. Candyfloss pop won’t cut it. It just doesn’t reflect reality. The blues stare the reality of our failure and our pain in the face, and turn it into song. But, in the end, the blues live under a sky of despair. They recognize our problems, but don’t offer a way out.

By contrast, the spirituals live under a sky of hope. As Powlinson quoted it, There is a balm in Gilead, that heals the sin-sick soul… This is the hope of the gospel – and the purpose of pastoral counselling. There is something beyond the blue note. There is a way of redemption from our sin and from our suffering.

I love the blues, and I guess all the other people at the blues bar tonight do too. But the moment when people got up to dance was when the band dropped the blue note and played a reggae number from Jamaica. (I didn’t join them, although if Mrs Hosier had been with me I most certainly would – my brother being a not quite so alluring dancing partner.) And that’s how it should be – the moment when a different note is struck and our gaze is lifted from the bottom of a beer bottle and the crushing reality of our sin and suffering, and our feet find a way to dance.

And that’s what the gospel does.

CONFERENCE CONCLUSIONS

Well that was an interesting experience.

#TGC11 was definitely worth the trip out to Chicago, and I am grateful to Gateway Church for allowing me to do this kind of thing. It ticked a lot of boxes for me – got me inspired about preaching again; made some interesting connections with interesting people; gave me an insight into a somewhat different world from the one I normally live in.

Even at a conference as good as this, with its incredible speaker line-up, there were a couple of slower moments; but I got through the whole thing without dozing off at any point. Yesterday was a long day, starting at 9am and not finishing till after 9pm. Matt Chandler got the last session, and didn’t start until 8.15pm, but his brilliant communication skills and the compelling element of his walking through the experience of having a brain tumour kept my attention.

All the talks are now available at the Gospel Coalition site. More remarkably, they are also all available in translation into French, Spanish and Mandarin Chinese.

This translation service is an indication of the extremely professional organisation of the conference, and coming from the UK this was one of the more noticeable aspects. The UK and USA are different. It’s an obvious thing to say, but we tend to forget it because of the way our cultures overlap. The evangelical world is much larger here, and this was reflected in the number of Christian publishers, seminaries, and other organisations that were present at the conference. And they do things well.

The differences between the UK and USA are also clear in comparing a city like Chicago with a British city. It just is very different – in the way it is organised and operates, and in some negative things like the degree of racial segregation there is. This should also serve as a caution when listening to teaching from an American perspective in a British context – not everything will apply in quite the same way. Tim Keller was brilliant today on the why, what and how of reaching cities, but not everything he said quite mapped with how British cities works.

Despite the weaknesses (noted in the previous post) of this being a coalition event rather than a family one, it also displays some strengths. There was a real diversity of delegate, from the cool and edgy looking Acts 29 guys, to the chino & blazer preppy Presbyterian guys, to the jeans & big bellied reformed Baptist guys. That breadth was quite stimulating.

It will take me a few days to process the last few days – I have sat through a lot of teaching. I’ve got a couple of days to explore Chicago before flying home, and am looking forward to seeing some more of the city, turning over some thoughts in my mind, and beginning to draw some connections together. These are very interesting times. 

TOGETHER FOR THE GOSPEL: DAY 1.5

Lunchtime on the second day of #TGC11 and a few moments to jot down some thoughts so far…

One of my reasons for coming to this conference was to be at something different from the Newfrontiers conferences I more normally attend. And this is different. On the plus side, the level of preaching is phenomenal. We have some pretty good preachers in Newfrontiers, but a conference like this is able to pull in a world class line-up, and is in a different league. So far we’ve had Al Mohler, Tim Keller, Alistair Begg & James MacDonald. I’ve just come from a workshop on pastoral counselling with David Powlinson, and am now half-listening to a round table discussion featuring the likes of Matt Chandler and Kevin DeYoung. Don Carson and John Piper have also featured. Of all these outstanding contributions, the real standout for me has been Keller, who has given me a great idea for a sermon series. This level of quality continues throughout the conference, and is genuinely impressive.

The level of impressiveness is perhaps indicated by the fact that despite feeling somewhat jetlagged I have not yet fallen asleep during a session!

On the more negative side, I am glad I am a charismatic! Keith & Kristyn Getty are leading worship, and their songs (co-authored by Newfrontiers homeboy Stuart Townend) are wonderfully theologically packed. But we are just singing them. This morning loosened up a little, but it feels very odd to me to just sing songs, without any kind of spiritual gift response, and with what feels great passivity. The crowd only stands up when instructed to, and sit down again if a new song is being taught – there is no sense of running to Jesus in worship. What this results in is – ironically – actually a greater focus on the band than would be the case in one of our meetings. Without a charismatic crowd response, there needs to be something to fill the gaps, and in the Getty’s case that means Irish pipes. Irish pipes have their place, but the tunes to these songs are still basically soft Christian rock, and if (like me) you don’t much care for that style of music, the music itself becomes alienating when it is the music that seems to be in focus. I’d rather just sing the great words, and dispense with the pipes… And I’d much rather have some real heart-felt response.

The lack of response is also very evident in what happens at the end of a sermon. James MacDonald did lead into a muted response this morning, but we are hearing the kind of messages that make me want to jump up, punch the air, shout hallelujah, sing, pray and minister.

But that doesn’t happen.

Instead there is a gear crunch, as we are told to sit down, or dismissed from the session.

It just needs some leadership – someone who could get up and say, “Let’s press into God now.”

Also different from what we would experience at one of our Newfrontiers conferences is a lack of togetherness. Now, that is to be expected, because this conference is hosted by a coalition not a family of churches, yet it is still telling. I guess part of the reason why the response to a great sermon would be greater at our Together on a Mission conference would be that there would be a clearer sense of, “This is how we are responding together.”

Conclusions so far then: Learning a lot about preaching; getting inspired by lots of things; having some of our Newfrontiers values reinforced by the obviousness of their absence here.

RUNNING INTO CHICAGO

OK, so I'm in Chicago. First time here. First impressions? Big American city!

I'm here for the Gospel Coalition Conference. This is a great opportunity for me to be at a conference simply as an observer. Normally I am at Newfrontiers conferences, and even if I have no public role in these, I always feel responsible for them, because the family DNA is so strong in me. Here I can just sit back and enjoy, and not worry about anything that is happening! The other advantage of being here is that I get to catch up with my flesh & blood DNA, as my brother and his family live in Chicago.

Staying awake this afternoon may be a challenge though... Marathon on Sunday, long journey yesterday - not a good combination.

The marathon was an amazing experience. Brighton did us proud, and the organisation and buzz of the event was phenomenal. Crowds lined almost the entire route, and the support was incredible. Sadly, I got caught up in the adrenalin rush and buzz of it all and did what I knew I mustn't do and set off at 3hr30 pace, which is faster than I can run. Predictably, having maintained this pace for the first third of the race I then blew up, and the rest of the day became about survival, as relentlessly the 3hr40 pacemaker passed me, then the 3hr50, and finally - dispiritingly - the 4hr pacemaker. Setting off too fast, a very hot day, and having not run quite enough miles in training meant missing my 4 hour target, but I wasn't too disappointed with my performance - it was great just to take part.

04:12:22 was my final time. I might go back next year and have another go at getting under 4 hours...

And many thanks to all those who sponsored me - I smashed through my £750 goal, which was tremendous.

So I'm now at another mass participation event, albeit of a somewhat different nature. I'm looking forward to meeting some new people, maybe bumping into others I already know, and getting freshly inspired by the theme of the conference: Preaching Jesus and the Gospel from the Old Testament. I think it's going to be fun!

TRAINING FOR LIFE

On January 2^nd I started training for the Brighton marathon, in which I am running on Sunday.

Over the past few months I’ve learnt some things about training, which have application beyond just running a marathon. Here are some of them…

Other peoples dogs are annoying

I have nearly been taken out a few times by people who have their dogs on retractable leads – surely a most accursed invention! Here’s a tip for dog owners: Either have your dog off the lead, or on a regular lead – retractable leads just tangle other people up. I was also attacked by a dog, which shredded my running tights – unpleasant and embarrassing. Thankfully it was only my clothing that suffered, rather than my flesh, but it could have been quite nasty.

However, as a dog owner myself, being irritated by other peoples dogs has given me a greater sensitivity to other people who don’t like dogs at all. My own dog has been sworn at enough times by other runners and cyclists when he has suddenly appeared in front of them when we’ve been out running for me to be made freshly aware of the need for dog owners to be responsible in their dog handling.

People are basically selfish

The doctrine of total depravity is true!

This is clear from the way some dog owners behave. It is also clear from cyclists who have super-bright lights, directed at pedestrian head height, in areas where they really do not need such illumination.

But then this simply illustrates the selfishness in my own heart – that if I am out training I don’t want anyone to intrude upon my selfish pursuit. Pots and kettles…

Having a target helps

There have been only one or two occasions in the past 3+ months that I have missed a training session because I couldn’t be bothered to do it. Having the prospect of needing to be able to run 26 miles ahead of me has kept me remarkably disciplined in sticking to the schedule.

This seems something of a metaphor for life: having a clear goal helps keep us motivated and disciplined. (1 Cor 9:24-27)

Simple is ok

One of the delights about running is that it is a very straightforward activity, that does not require lots of expensive kit. However, there is lots of expensive kit out there for the runner to be tempted by, and this can be very alluring. Before starting training I planned to buy a flash sports watch that would track my routes and measure my speed. In the end the budget just wouldn’t allow for it. I’d still be very happy to have such a watch, but a map, a stopwatch, and a bit of arithmetic achieves the same results.

Again, this seems something of a metaphor for life, where we are constantly urged to consume, upgrade and buy, when a lot of the time we really don’t need to. The gadgets are fun, and can be helpful, but are not really necessary.

Begging works

I am running for a charity, and was struggling with my fundraising until I begged for it. Most of us are too proud to beg most of the time, but often it is persistent and unashamed asking that reaps a reward (Luke 18:1-8).

So thank you very much to those of you who responded to my begging (and demonstrated that a lot of people are more generous than selfish!). If you haven’t yet, don’t worry – there’s still time! Just click here.

Discipline in all areas

I am by nature and habit a fairly disciplined man, but I am also prone to selective sluggardliness. The temptation is to work hard in a number of areas, but go soft on others – to be a selective sluggard. The problem is, one area of sluggardliness can undermine the good work of those areas which are disciplined. This was why I wasn’t losing any weight despite doing a lot of training – calories in were still exceeding calories out!

Learning to be disciplined in all areas, and not allow discipline in some things to become an excuse for laziness in another, is an important life lesson.

Setbacks are inevitable

I had a few weeks when my ankles were really bothering me and I couldn’t do all the running I was meant to. Then (cruel irony) having stayed healthy since January, just last week I went down with a cold, which now seems to have segued into hayfever. That meant I missed my last weeks training, and was actually wondering if I would need to drop out of the event altogether.

This is another of those metaphors: It is very unusual for our plans to work out exactly as we plan them! Stuff happens, and we have to adapt and move on, all the time trusting God that things will work out ok in the end.

Now it’s time for all my excuses to be put behind me – to turn up, put one foot in front of another, and see what happens. And that is pretty much how life has to be lived most of the time too.

If you have an iphone and would like to track my progress, download the Brighton Marathon app. My race number is 10588.

PUTTING BELL TO BED

The initial firestorm surrounding Rob Bell's Love Wins has died down now, but there is still plenty of smoke billowing about. A friend asked me recently whether I thought he should read the book. My reply was along the lines of "Why bother?" For all of us, reading time is limited, and there is so much out there that is edifying, why waste time reading something that seems mainly to be an exercise in controversy? Besides, there have been so many reviews and counter-reviews already it hardly seems necessary to read the book itself.

However, the other day I decided to listen to a Bell sermon. I have seen a couple of nooma, and read Velvet Elvis and heard him speak in person once, but I had never actually listened to him preach. So I went in search of what is perhaps Bell's most famous sermon, "The goat has left the building." You can download it here. It left me almost in tears. If I could preach just one sermon that good in my lifetime I would die a happy man! Then, on the back of that, I listened to Tim Challies interviewing Carl Trueman (you can find the link here) which included a section on the Bell controversy. I like Trueman a lot. I like his British spikiness in the face of American cultural mores, and I think he is an insightful commentator. I agree with his perspective that controversy is not something we should shy from. And I agree with his emphasis on us needing a long historical view in order to handle properly the controversies of today.

Both these downloads are worth listening to. They are only 30 minutes each. If you are naturally hostile to Bell, listening to this sermon might just give you an appreciation for some of the things he has done, as well as a prayerful sorrow for the trajectory on which he now seems headed. If you are naturally a defender of Bell, well then perhaps listening to Trueman will help you understand why Love Wins has produced the response it has.

I probably won't bother to read the book myself now - too much else to do - and I probably won't have anything much more to say about it on this blog. However Andrew Wilson and myself did write a response to all the response on the theology forum blog, which you may be interested in if you haven't yet seen it. (Though to be honest, all the heavy lifting on this was Andrew's - I just contributed a couple of sentences.)

And for all of us, on whatever side of the debate we find ourselves, the warning of Paul to the Corinthians is stark, "Let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall." (1 Cor 10:12)

17 YEARS OF GRACE

My 11 year old is upstairs playing Amazing Grace on her keyboard. (Permission for a moments parental boasting: She got a distinction in her Grade 2 this week.) Actually, she’s now segueing it with the Hallelujah Chorus. Anyway, her play list seems appropriate as today is the seventeenth anniversary of the amazing Grace marrying me – hallelujah!

Today the sun is shining out of a hazy sky, but Saturday 2nd April 17 years ago was one of those early spring days when all the seasons get thrown into one – sun, wind, rain and snow all making an appearance at some point. Which is probably a pretty good metaphor for marriage.

The reality is though, that Mrs Hosier herself has been a stream of almost uninterrupted sunshine in my life. When a little rain has fallen, as into every life it must, she has been the one who dries the puddles and burns through the clouds.

Tomorrow is Mothering Sunday and – bravely? foolishly? – I am preaching from 1 Corinthians 11 about head coverings. (That’s the kind of thing that happens when you are committed to expository preaching.) In that difficult passage Paul says, “woman is the glory of man.” When things are ordered as they should be, the best thing about a husband is his wife. That is certainly true in my experience. Grace is my glory, my shining, my crown.

Amazing grace.