In reading J. I. Packer’s A Quest for Godliness some time ago, I came across this moving quotation from Richard Baxter about the need for pastors to attend to their own lives in ministry. Baxter was an interesting figure, best known for his writing of that classic of pastoral practice, The Reformed Pastor. Just a quick …
Jesus is Local and Personal
I've been thinking a lot about Jesus' way of doing ministry recently. A number of years ago, I read Eugene Peterson's outstanding book, Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places. Ever since reading it, I have grappled with what it means to truly minister to people in Jesus' way. In the midst of my reflections, I …
St Augustine on the Nature of the Two Cities, the Earthly and the Heavenly
In The City of God, St. Augustine offers a wide-ranging exploration of the two cities, the heavenly city and the earthly city. This is not merely the difference between heaven and earth, or the church and the wider world, but something more. As I read this the other day, what caught my attention most, perhaps because of the …
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St Augustine on the Word of God
Here is St. Augustine, reflecting on the uniqueness of the Word made flesh in his book, Confessions VII.9: So you made use of a man, one who was bloated with the most outrageous pride, to procure me some of the books of the Platonists, translated from the Greek into Latin. In them I read – not, …
C. S. Lewis: “Joy is the serious business of Heaven”
This from C. S. Lewis in his wonderful book, Letters to Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer: I do not think that the life of Heaven bears any analogy to play or dance in respect of frivolity. I do think that while we are in this ‘valley of tears,’ cursed with labour, hemmed round with necessities, tripped up with frustrations, …
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Matthew Erickson 