How to speak in “tongues”: lessons from 1st century Corinth and the Chinese diaspora church

When translators of the Chinese Union Mandarin Version of the Bible first published the New Testament in 1907, they chose 方言 (fāngyán) to render the word γλῶσσα (glōssa) throughout 1 Corinthians 12-14. What does the word mean exactly? How can we encourage each other to “speak in tongues” more fruitfully, particularly in bilingual and multilingual …

Thoughts on preaching Ruth from the Hebrew text

The book of Ruth is a perennial favourite in women’s bible studies, retreats and devotional material. Much of it unfortunately preaches a gospel of prosperity though – “go find your Boaz” and other similar summaries abound. Is Ruth really about a harvest-time romance? Or is there more going on in this ancient tale? Our immigrant …

Thoughts on preaching the book of 1 Corinthians

In some Christian circles, it’s popular to look up the advice of “experts” and “consultants” for help with church planting, worship, preaching and strategy. Yet imagine if you could overhear a conversation between a young church plant in a strategic city, and the pastor and preacher who helped found their church. How helpful would that …

Three wayfinders for the Christian this Matariki

It dawned on me, as the tohunga whakairo (Maori carver) led a group of excited schoolchildren and parents in a karakia (prayer), that this was not an ordinary school holiday activity. Before we got to design and make our model waka, we were asked to listen in as he gave thanks to each of the …