Author Archive: Nick
How to speak to your child about WAR
Recent events in Ukraine in the news have made it difficult to shield our children, even the youngest, from thinking about and asking about the sad reality of war. But our job as parents is not to shield them from the bad things in the world, but rather to prepare them appropriately to live […]
Continue ReadingLord’s Supper in Lockdown – an over-reliance on ritual?
This week, once again, I’ll be putting on my clerical collar in preparation to administer the Lord’s Supper. But its going to feel very weird – as it has for the last few times during this Covid-19 pandemic – because I’ll be doing it in front of a camera… by myself. The obvious question is: […]
Continue Reading80 minutes of hope isn’t enough
Siya Kolisi and Makazole Mapimpi are exceptions. While we see them as examples of South Africans from disadvantaged backgrounds who can do anything with enough determination, the sad truth is that there are still millions of people in our country who will never have the opportunities these men had… even to have a job, let […]
Continue ReadingWhy we cannot be united
Xenophobia. Racism. Nationalism. Culture wars. Our children are growing up in a country deeply divided, and we have come to the point of realizing that the politicians can’t save us. Which we should’ve known a long time ago… I’m surprised that anyone expected that they ever could. The truth is that the unity we want […]
Continue ReadingWhy we baptise babies
Recently I’ve had a lot of questions around our denomination’s policy to baptise babies of believers. People ask why, if baptism is a commitment to a relationship with God, can we baptise babies who have not yet made any such public commitment? So I thought I’d write this article to clear up the matter. Firstly, […]
Continue ReadingHow to detect the prosperity gospel
They’re everywhere, with their peroxided smiles and slick white suits. No, I’m not talking about cosmetic surgeons… rather, I’m talking about the spiritual equivalent: prosperity gospel preachers. While they’re not new, they are today more able than ever to spread their message, which both discredits the true Christian gospel with outsiders, and leads many […]
Continue ReadingWhy we should be more like doubting Thomas
‘Doubting’ Thomas gets a bad rap over Easter. Each year, we dredge up his unfortunate nickname and criticize his skepticism in the resurrection. Problem is, when we criticize him, we miss the whole point of his story – and we fail to see how Thomas is in fact presented as an example we should all […]
Continue ReadingThe Real Drought
As talk of the Cape Water Crisis and Day Zero escalates, and many are calling to prayer for God to intervene, we ask: why would God allow this drought in the first place? While we don’t know the mind of God, one reason may be to remind us (in our age of independent self-determination) what […]
Continue ReadingWhy we love Star Wars
Star Wars frenzy has begun again with the release of the latest Star Wars film, Rogue One. While not part of the main saga, this movie is still sure to get people dusting off their Hasbro lightsabers and Darth Vader coffee mugs. But it also gives us an opportunity to ponder the question again: why […]
Continue Reading6 ways you can know the bible is from God
Christianity stands or falls on the single claim that the bible is the word of God. I’m going to be honest – this is not easy to believe. When you consider how just plain weird some parts of the bible are, when you consider the ‘messiness’ of the bible’s presentation: containing (among other things) ancient […]
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