The Afterword

Tag: christianity

  • Not What I Expected: On Spirituality, Surprise, and the Shape of Faith

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    by

    Peter
    in

    Spirituality is very important in my life. That probably sounds predictable—I’m a minister, after all, and have spent my entire adult life in one form of ministry or another. You’d expect spirituality to be central to me. But the truth is, I didn’t grow up in a particularly spiritual household. Ours was a solid, reliable,…

  • Unsettling Gifts: Three Books That Shifted My Ground

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    by

    Peter
    in

    Some books entertain. Others inform. And then there are the ones that rearrange the furniture of your mind. These three books didn’t just give me new ideas; they unsettled me in the best possible way—disrupting old assumptions and making space for a truer way to see the world and live within it. 1. The Grapes…

  • Clean – Leviticus 12–15

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    by

    Peter
    in

    We don’t preach these chapters.Rashes, discharges, childbirth blood—who puts that in a sermon series?It’s gross.It’s weird.It feels irrelevant—until BBQ Man got sick. He just wanted a snag with friends.Went to the movies,BBQs Galore,the butcher—and then the city shut its doors.Unclean, they said.If you’ve been where he’s been,stay home.Don’t touch.Don’t come near. And suddenly, Leviticus makes…

  • Compelling

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    by

    Peter
    in

    I wouldn’t say I’m religious—at least not in the way people usually mean it. If someone asks, “Do you practice religion?” my answer is yes and no. Yes, because I’m a Christian.No, because I’m not drawn to religious routine or ceremony for its own sake. I go to church every week—not because I’m especially fond…

  • Strange Fire – Leviticus 10:1–3

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    by

    Peter
    in

    Some jobs are really importantbut not very dangerous—teachers with whiteboard pens.Some are dangerous,but don’t seem to matter much—sword-swallowers in shows no one remembers. But then, some are both:like those who run toward burning buildings,those who take a bulletto protect another’s life. And priests.Ancient priests.Their job:Vital.Holy.Dangerous. Set apart—washed with water,dressed in garments too sacredfor an ordinary…

  • There Is Freedom and Then There Is Freedom

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    by

    Peter
    in

    In a world that worships the self, Augustine’s Confessions reads like a heresy. Where our age insists, “Be true to yourself,” Augustine responds, “But what if I don’t know who that is?” We often link freedom with the power to choose—what we eat, where we live, how we present ourselves to the world. Desire becomes…

  • Something to Do, Someone to Love, Something to Look Forward To

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    by

    Peter
    in

    Purpose is the why behind what we do—our deeper motivation. Direction is the how—the path we take to express that purpose in action. Without purpose, our steps may be aimless. Without direction, even purposeful intent can wander. Together, they form a compass and a road. For me, direction in life flows from a conviction that…

  • Not Too Late

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    Peter
    in

    Sometimes, people confuse caution with fear. They mistake deliberation for delay, and they brand those who think deeply as those who move too slowly. I’ve heard the criticisms before—some thrown at public figures, others thrown at me. But I have learned to wear patience not as a weakness, but as armour. For when the time…

  • What I Didn’t Plan

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    by

    Peter
    in

    I’ve always been a learner—curious, studious, and passionate by temperament. At times, it has felt more like an obsession than a strength. The rhythm of learning, the unravelling of new ideas, the delight in fresh perspectives—it energises me. But looking back, I realise that one particular decision set in motion a pattern that has shaped…

  • One Brave Yes

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    Peter
    in

    Thirty years ago, I said yes to something that made my knees knock. Not a yes to danger or fame or anything that would impress my teenage self. Not a bungee jump or skydiving. No. This was far more terrifying: Creative writing. Even saying it still feels strange in my mouth, like speaking a second…

  • This Book Reads Me

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    by

    Peter
    in

    Well—not a book, exactly. A library. A sprawling, ancient, living library. The Bible. It’s the one I return to daily, not because I’ve mastered it, but because I haven’t. Not even close. You can’t really read it like other books. Not from start to finish, as though it were a novel or a textbook. Genesis…

  • Staying Soft

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    by

    Peter
    in

    When I was a teenager, I heard someone say something that stayed with me: that he was lucky because he got paid to do what he would gladly do for nothing. He was a minister—an evangelist, to be precise—and his job was to tell people what he knew about God. And people paid him to…