On the top of my noticeboard in the office where others may have an inspirational quote or a cheesy slogan, in purple whiteboard marker pen is one word. It is a very important word – it is the word ‘forward’. It is a reminder to keep facing forward and thinking about the future; a reminder to the part of me that is a business owner spending much of his day facing that whiteboard. It is also a reminder for the rest of life too – the personal, the spiritual, the everyday ordina

A blog written but not published 12 years ago. Hope it helps any end of year reflections 2013 has been a challenging year to say the least for so many people that I know. As I reflect on the year I asked myself what if anything I had learned. So here’s 6 things that I’ve learned or am learning. 1.      Prayer works Although I am not always consistent, I have seen a benefit during the year when I’ve made the effort to spend quiet time in prayer. There have been answers to pray

I found faith at a young age, was an incredibly irritating teenager and studied theology at a Pentecostal theological college. My Christian faith was, and is, very important to me but I was always prepared to think and question. Christianity and churches offer lots of opportunities to think and question even if they don’t always encourage it! Why, for example did the older lady, who told us off for playing pool after church because it was Sunday, ask me to pick up her newspap

‘Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.’ (1 Peter 3:15) The Greek word used for answer is ‘Apologia’ (Apology/Defence) Early Christian literature is full of Apologies – explaining this new faith to the confused Romans. I thought I’d write an ‘apology’ in the original sense as sometimes people ask me if I have a faith and occasionally why I believe the things I do. St Peter adds that it is important to do th

Tom is studying GCSE RS. A significant part of his course involves an in-depth exploration of Christian beliefs and practices. He has to...

A senior manager went out to sow a new initiative. It was a bright sunny morning on the day set aside for the development of the staff....

One Biblical story I’m fond of is a parable that Jesus tells in Matthew 21 (verses 28-31). In it a man asks his two sons to do some work in his vineyard. The first one initially refuses then thinks better of it and goes. The second says he will go but doesn’t. “Which of the two did what his father wanted?” asks Jesus. Obviously, it’s the first son. I connect to this story because – and this may come as a shock – I can be a bit grumpy and slow to respond when volunteers are ne

In this blog, which is based on a talk I’ve given a couple of times recently, I want to challenge the perception that Christians should...

Here's to classroom teachers! The post above received quite a reaction - largely positive I hasten to add. I wasn't intending to blow my...

In the absence of any sensible or deep New Year resolutions, and seeing that a couple of connections online were doing the same, I signed...

(A version of this was published in the TES December 2021) ‘It’s Christmas Day’ said Scrooge to himself, ‘I haven’t missed it.’ I wonder...

The late Mr Loaf famously said he would do anything for love but not that, I was never totally sure what ‘that’ was. My new freelance...

How do we deal with the stresses and strains of teaching? I have written at length about these issues but you’re a teacher and you're...

‘Politics is broken’ claims the online post. It’s not completely wrong and some of the responsibility for that lies with politicians. But...

I believe in the parable of the lost sheep – it is a fantastic message that no one is beyond grace, no one should be written off. A...

It is that time of year when understandably many of us get itchy feet. We have had a couple of weeks downtime and the thought of going...

The philosopher Robert Nozick has a famous thought experiment involving an experience machine or pleasure machine. He asks us to imagine...

Recently there have been lots of discussions online about the relative merits of different boards for RS A level. I thought it would be...

A few people have asked me the above question recently or have shown an interest in how the freelance journey is going 3 years on. When I...

After 2 Covid years we may have forgotten what a real results day feels like. In the midst of students jumping up into the air...