A few years ago, I visited a church to preach. I vividly remember the small talk with somebody before the service. “I assume you are married with kids,” they said. “No. I’m single actually,” I replied. They were somewhat surprised. “Oh! Have you never found anybody you liked?” And then an altogether different suggestion struck them. “Or have you never found anybody who likes you?”

In this extended conversation, Simon and Ruth discuss the theme of emotional dependency, where friendship turns into an unhealthy obsession with the other person. They share candidly from their own experiences of such relationships and how they found their way through the pitfalls to redeem what was good in the friendships.

As I pondered the brief for this article, a wry smile came over my face as I reflected on the title. Simply by removing one word, this article would be widely celebrated in today’s woke culture. 

Growing up, I lived opposite an incredibly house-proud lady. We could regularly see her, rain or shine, sprucing up the front of her home. She would clean the windows, ensure no weeds were growing, and even go out onto the pavement with a hard scrubbing brush to remove all the dirt from the concrete flagstones. I’m not going to criticise anyone for maintaining high standards of cleanliness, but it used to amuse us that the fastidiousness of her home didn’t match that of the homes surrounding it.

in this article Jon helpfully considers software for accountability purposes

Who sets our agenda, God or our smartphone? This is the challenging and timely question that Justin Whitmel Earley asks in his book, ‘The Common Rule’ tagged as a program of habits designed to form us in the love of God and neighbour. Earley writes the book as a response to the endless business of modern life and to fight back against the dominance of technology that seems to be all-encompassing in this day and age.

One of the best things I ever did to nurture my relationship with God was to attend a four-day silent retreat. Let me explain.

Simon reflects on using online groups and our walk with Jesus

What was the legacy of Covid-19 for you? Did you get yourself a dog to keep you company in the absence of human contact? Did you find other things to do on a Sunday morning and find it difficult to get back into the routine of in-person services? Did your mental health take a knock and leave you anxious meeting people face-to-face?