Ambassador: What's Your Name?

Over the last few weeks, there’s been one question repeatedly on my lips. “What’s your name?” We’ve been overwhelmed by the welcome we’ve received since our move to Richhill at the start of June. Thank you for all your kindness to us over the past few weeks.

Thank you also for your patience, when I’ve not just asked “What’s your name?” but “What’s your name, again?” for the twentieth time! As we get to know each other, and as I try to remember all your names, I’m struck by just how important names are.

You might have heard someone say, “I feel like I’m just a number.” That can seem the case when you’re asked for your National Insurance number, your phone number, even your PIN number (but don’t give that one out to anyone!). You might think that maybe God works in the same way. He is saving a vast multitude that no one can number (Rev 7:9) - could we just get lost in the crowd?

Definitely not! In the Old Testament, God says through the prophet Isaiah: ‘Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.’ (Is 43:1) God calls us by name! That same truth is spoken by the Lord Jesus, as he speaks of the shepherd: ‘He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.’ (Jn 10:3) He then goes on to say: ‘I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me.’ (Jn 10:14).

While I might not get your name right first time, the good shepherd knows you by name. He is calling you to follow him, and to receive eternal life.

This article appeared in The Ambassador, the Armagh Diocesan magazine, which was published in August 2017.

On Blogs and Blogging

It's almost nine years since I began to blog - the actual anniversary is this coming Sunday. It's a funny kind of a thing - writing articles, reviewing books, watching and waiting for visitors and comments. Speaking into the air to see if anyone is interested. It seems that the visitors come more readily than the comments, for whatever reason.

Depending on what counter you're using, there are around 51625 (Google Analytics), 73000 (Statcounter) or 102000 (Blogger) pageviews last year. Quite a divergence of numbers but either way, it's good that someone at least is viewing my material - at least 140 pageviews per day by the most conservative measure. But what are they interested in?

According to Google Analytics, nine of the ten most popular pages were all sermons. The top page was the home page, and the next nine, indeed, the next thirty-two top pages were all sermons. So the book reviews are less popular than the sermons. In fact, you have to go to position 69 to find the highest rated book review in last year's visitor figures. Those sermons aren't even necessarily the new ones - rather they're the archived sermons which are attracting the visitors.

If sermons are the feature that brings visitors, who might it be coming to read the sermons? I've previously noted that the weeks where I happen to have a sermon that ties in with the Revised Common Lectionary, my visitor numbers are through the roof. Even on New Year's Eve in the late afternoon there was a visitor who had googled 'What sermon can I preach at a Watchnight Service?' Perhaps the blog should be renamed Desperate Preachers or Last Minute Sermons?

Sermons are an easy way to produce content. The script has already been produced, so it doesn't take much to copy and paste it for the world to view (and possibly use). The book reviews have developed over time. There are still occasional pictures if the camera has been out and about (increasingly rare these days). The chatty posts have all but disappeared, compared to the early days of the blog where it was all about what I'd been doing and what the weekends held. Perhaps now I'm finally finding my niche and my voice - even if that niche is for lazy pastors to find quick and easy content for their own sermons.

The blog has suffered for a while, but maybe in this new year there'll be more regular content. We'll see... but for now, I'm hoping to keep on blogging.

According to Blogger, the posts published in the last year which were viewed the most are:
668 That Monday Morning Feeling
352 Sermon: Ezekiel 37:1-14 The Valley of Dry Bones
342 Sermon: Luke 4:1-13 The Testing of Jesus
260 Sermon: Matthew 25:1-13 The Wise and Foolish Virgins
220 Orange Parades: History Repeating Itself?
212 The Orange Order: Faith Proclaimed or Feet Parading?
212 Book Review: Five English Reformers
159 Sermon: Luke 5:17-26 Our Greatest Need
155 Sermon: John 15:1-17 Connected to Jesus
144 Book Review: Empire State

That Monday Morning Feeling

'Tell me why I don't like Mondays' sang the Boomtown Rats in 1979. It seems that ever since, Mondays have been getting a bad press. The weekend is over, the working week begins again, the opportunity to have a couple of days to yourself is as far away as ever.

Perhaps it's just more prevalent these days with a certain sort of picture that does the rounds on Facebook. You know the sort - Sunday evening, and you see this:


And so it continues, only being surpassed by the Monday morning images:




as well as others that I would prefer not to post...

So why do we not like Mondays? What can we do about it?

Mondays seem to be the day after the weekend before. For many, it's the start of the week, back to responsibilities and work - after all the 'weekend' is over. So we must be starting a new week? Right?

Perhaps if we were to return to what the Bible teaches, that Monday morning feeling wouldn't be just so bad. There we discover that Mondays aren't the first day of the week. The first day of the week is Sunday, the Lord's Day, the first day of creation and the first day of re-creation in the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. So rather than Sunday being the weekend, it's the start of a new week.

How good it is (as far as you're able) to give the first day of your week to the Lord, gathering with his people, hearing his word, to set you up for the rest of the week that's just beginning. Would that transform your mournful Monday into a more joyful experience, with what you've learned and experienced on Sunday being applied on Monday morning?

Besides which, every morning when we awake, even a Monday morning, is a fresh gift of God's good grace to us. The new day starts out only by God's will and pleasure. As we discover the Lord's presence with us, no day need be like those being touted on Facebook.

Happy Monday, and may you know the Lord's presence with you as you continue this week!

Puppy Love

Perhaps it’s just a ‘ruff’ patch, but my family think I’m barking mad.

Picture the scene. I’m visiting my girlfriend’s house, enjoying some time with her, getting to know her parents better, taking things easy. There’s just one problem: the family dog. Susie is a Jack Russell terrier, lively, lots of fun, a lovely dog really. She particularly enjoys jumping up on my knee, at the behest of my wife-to-be. Except I’m terrified of dogs.

I can’t quite remember where my fear started. At one time, I happily went with my granda to take our minister’s dog for a walk (Hector, belonged to the Rector!), without a problem. But at some point, somewhere along the line, dogs became the enemy. Something to be feared.

It was heightened by my most memorable (and most terrifying) pastoral visit ever while at minister school. I was on placement in a rural parish, and was tasked to call at a certain home. My placement minister had warned me about the dog, which made my anxiety levels rise, and my willingness to visit plummet. Week after week I would put it off, until I knew I had to visit this Friday.

I arrived, rang the doorbell, and heard the barking. After postmen, minsters must be a dog’s second favourite snack, and it was ready for me! The man came to the door, and turned to lead me into the room, only the dog wasn’t moving, and wasn’t allowing me inside! I wasn’t going to force myself, so had to wait for the man to realise I wasn’t following him, come back to the door, and hold the straining dog back as I entered.

Could it get much worse? Of course it could. Seated at the kitchen table opposite the husband and wife, I was very conscious of a puddle forming on my knee. I hadn’t wet myself - it was dog drool as it sat guarding its master and making sure I didn’t come too close, ready to attack at any moment.

Thankfully the family realised, and the dog was banished to another room, allowing me to complete my visit and dash off before the dog was released again!

Any wonder I wasn’t fond of dogs. Fast forward from those nights where I was Susie’s adventure playground to last night. Back in the same room, with the same people. Only the dog has changed. Susie went to doggy heaven several years ago, but now there are two dogs running around - the new puppy, Poppy, and our dog, Pippa, both miniature Jack Russells.


Our dog?! Yes! After lots of lobbying, we got Pippa over a year ago. The first few nights were desperate as she howled for her mother and siblings, but she’s quickly settled into our wee house, so that we’re now inseparable. As it turns out, I’m the chief feeder, walker, and poo-picker-upper, and enjoying it immensely. The canine capers are continuing, and we’re having great fun with a dog that never stops running about, always playful, so that even the outside toilet trips in the middle of the coldest nights of winter with snow higher than Pippa’s head seem like fun.

Diamonds may be a girl’s best friend, but girls, you can keep your diamonds; it’s a dog every time for me.

This article was first published in the Fourth edition of the Lawkit Journal, which is now available for download. Why not contribute something yourself for the next issue?

Fully Booked

The prospect of moving house this summer fills me with both excitement and dread. It's not the trials of deciding on delightful decoration, nor groaning at the gigantic garden awaiting me out west. It's all because of my books. Working from home means my house is more than just my castle - it's also my library. Studying The Book requires lots of books, which brings us back to my dread.

Packing. The clock is ticking, and sooner rather than later, all those books will have to be packed into boxes ready for the journey to their new home in Fermanagh. They'll even be reunited with some books that didn't make it out of their boxes when we moved into our current home. Those poor unfortunates have been consigned and confined to an unread existence under the spare bed. Perhaps they'll find some shelf space to make up for their boxed boredom.


Is there an answer in this digital age, with e-books emerging and Kindles turning paper books to kindling? Wouldn't it make more sense to stock up on space-saving resources rather than hauling several dead forests' worth of books to sit on other dead forests of shelves? The logical, rational position would be yes - start the download immediately. Having explored e-readers and considered Kindles, I'm not rushing to push the button just yet.

You see, contained within my shelves are more than just oceans of black ink on white (and yellowing) paper; more than endless bits of information to be read; there are memories and emotions - I may, in fact, be what I read.

Consider the excitement of entering a good secondhand bookshop, the smell of old books concentrating the senses; never knowing what hidden treasures you'll find, the bargains missed by others. That personal mission to find Fly Fishing by JR Hartley an old favourite. Browsing Amazon or iBooks just doesn't compare to the big book safari.


My books bring back memories - not just of the stories I've read, but also of the places I've been when I was reading them. Gazing at Khaled Hosseini's A Thousand Splendid Suns takes me back to the poolside in Lanzarote; The Partner, my first experience of John Grisham, was devoured in the car park while my wee brother played junior football in the rain in Whitehead; and so many books read in airports travelling to and from seeing my beloved fiancee (and now wife) while we were at college in different countries.

Imagine (unthinkable for some, I know, and possibly hypocritical by suggesting it in an e-journal), imagine turning off the computer, getting away from the screen, and interacting with a good old-fashioned book. Taking the time to read something, anything, that someone else has poured hours and hopes and dreams into; turning pages without any slick graphics showing pages turning; always ready to read, never shutting down or breaking down. Your local bookshop needs you - perhaps you need those old books after all?

My books transfer more than knowledge - they've become part of my life. How could I think of getting rid of them now, after years of searching secondhand bookshops the length and breadth of several countries? The dread of moving will be replaced by the joy of organising my new study library and hopefully seeing more of my books on the bigger shelving area. One thing is sure though - I can't justify buying any more volumes before the move: the removals lorry may already be fully booked.

This article was first published in the LAWKIT journal in June 2011. Go and read the far better articles from the rest of the contributors in the third edition!

The most annoying paragraph, ever

The Telegraph reports that researchers at Oxford have compiled a list of the top ten most irritating phrases. It's interesting to see how language can be used in an irritating manner - especially for those who are in word ministry. I'll need to be careful not the use these phrases too often.

Rather than a list, instead, I present to you what must be the most irritating paragraph in the world, ever:

At the end of the day, in a fairly unique report, I personally feel that, at this moment in time, and with all due respect, the researchers are right. Absolutely. It's a nightmare when stock phrases are used in ways that they shouldn't of - we hear them 24/7; I mean, it's not rocket science!

For a similar discussion, check out Abraham Piper's TwentyTwoWords.

CITC Community Review - Senior Student's Column

Over the summer I had the privilege of travelling to Romania for my College Summer Placement. Through the two weeks with the Smiles Foundation, I saw the tremendous growth of the gospel where previously there had been oppression. One of the highlights of the trip was being in Tileagd Community Church, on the edge of a gypsy village. Together, we praised God – a small fulfilling of the vision of John where he saw every tribe, people and language (Rev 7:9). In the time of open prayer, people prayed aloud to God in English, Romanian, the Gypsy language, and even a flurry of Ulster-Scots! My time in Romania enlarged my vision of God, affirming that ‘Our God is a great big God!’ But more than that, it demonstrated the words of Paul to the Colossians – ‘All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood God’s grace in all its truth’ (Col 1:6). We who have been called to preach the gospel can find heart that the gospel of Jesus is powerful and effective, and is still bearing fruit!

A Clean Blog!

I discovered this interesting tool on the Slactivist blog, which I have previously mentioned in relation to the Left Behind blog. The 'movie rating' for blogs is based on the American ratings system, so I'm on a British 'Universal' rating. However, this is even with mentioning 'death' twice and 'pain' once.

Sumer Mudness

While I had forgotten to mention it in the actual posting, the title of the last posting was referring to the fact that there hadn't been very much rain for the first day or so at Summer Madness. However, by last night when the festival was drawing to a close, it was indeed Summer Mudness, especially in the Paddock sub camp, where mats had to be put down to navigate a path through the mud leading into the camp!

So today is a fallow day, for resting up before Streetreach is launched tonight. Tomorrow morning hundreds (or is it thousands) of young people will go into thirty areas of Belfast to demonstrate the grace and love of God in practical ways. But before that happens, we'll recap on some news from the festival!

I've really enjoyed being on the Prayer Ministry Team, and being able to pray with young people seeking to return to God, or to honour him with their lives, or to come to know him for the first time. Last night was really special, as I got to lead a man to Christ! Earlier in the day I also prayed with a wee lad who had made the commitment but hadn't went forward for prayer ministry or a chat with his youth leader.

In all, there were about 100 new Christians over the weekend, which is absolutely brilliant! Please be praying for them now as they begin this new life with Jesus.

The Prayer Ministry Team themselves were great, and a very welcoming and encouraging bunch. It was Robert and my first time on the team, and they were brilliant at helping us in getting involved - a special thank you to Chris and Susan Bennett, who lead the team so well!

Another great aspect of Summer Madness was getting to meet up with people you don't generally see from one year to the next. Sadly, though, one such meeting was called very short as I was called to the prayer room, but hopefully it won't be so long before we meet again!

So the rest of this week for me is shaping up with the Streetreach worship events in the evenings (starting at 9pm in the King's Hall - entrance by the Lisburn Road); and writing sermons for Dundonald and Dromore during the day, as well as proof-reading my book!!! I now have it in my possession and am trying to get it proofed as soon as possible for a September launch. More news will follow in due course...

Declining readership?

Why do we blog? Occasionally I come across this theme when reading other blogs. Is it a form of ego? Is it endless self-promotion? On thinking about the question myself, I find it good to have an outlet to write, and to share insights from the Scriptures. I also enjoy sharing what I've been up to, and showing some of my photos.

They say that confession is good for the soul. Maybe this blog is a form of a confessional for me - that could lead to interesting psychiatry or psychology... Whatever it is, you may have noticed that readership isn't a big concern to me - I think if no one was reading, I would still be blogging away, but it is certainly a bonus that people do read the blog.

I've noticed that over the past week, though, my readership has collapsed (and not from the shock of what I have written!). Normally the blog would get about 20 - 30 page views per day, but over this past week, it has fallen away to virtually nothing - just 3 on Friday and 1 on Saturday. I'm not sure why, but it's slowly climbing again. As I've said above, even should no one be reading, I'll still be here, blogging away!

Exciting news!

Regular readers of my blog may remember me mentioning the History book I was writing when I worked in West Tyrone Voice. There was funding available, and we were publishing it. Well, eventually, we will have the final draft copy for proof-reading by this weekend! I may soon be in print!

I'm not sure if we have an actual title for the work yet, but it's a stroll through Irish history, seeking to understand where we have come from. A main aim of the project is to explode the 'myths' of Irish history - those stories that have been passed down from generation to generation, but which are not accurate!

When the book is published there will be a limited number of copies available, and I'll let you know how to get your hands on one!

The World According to...

Jeremy Clarkson. Love him or hate him, you can't deny he's a good writer. I recently finished reading 'The World According to' by him. It's a collection of his Sunday Times columns - although I didn't realise it at the time I bought the book in a Dublin charity shop.

While I don't always agree with his analysis of the world, he does make some valid points. But more than that, he is a compelling writer - using his skill to round off a short article by linking it back in to the whole. There's normally a sting in the tale. Or a humorous remark at the very end.

How I wish I could write like that! Let's hope that I develop my writing skills as time goes on... maybe some day this blog will be worth reading!

Quoted elsewhere

You never know where your words are going to end up. As you may know, I use Technorati - a site where you can favourite blogs, read their feed, and explore blogs. I noticed there was a new link back to this blog today - and it comes from the Christian Dating News blog.

I'm not quite sure why my posting - on Catholicism and Christianity - was picked up, or what it has to do with dating, but there you go...

All The Scriptures

Just a quick posting to let you know about a new blog I've set up with some friends. It is All The Scriptures, and is going to be a place to share sermons, Bible studies and thoughts from our Bible-reading.

If you would like to help by commenting and giving feedback on the sermons, or by contributing sermons, then let me know...

502 not out!

Yeah, ok, I accept, it's not exactly an over-inspiring title for a posting, but I do like to make note of passing milestones.

Except I didn't notice that I had already written by 500th posting... and my 501st was ranting about Old Testament studies, so didn't think it appropriate to talk about the blog on it. I had known the 500th was coming up, but didn't think I had written enough to actually reach it yet. Sunday's posting was the 500th item logged to the blog.

So this is the 502nd posting on my humble blog. Not bad going, in my humble opinion.

I just hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing...

Why not post a wee comment, telling us how reading this blog has changed your life... or else why you bother to keep coming back!

Here's to the next 500 postings!