In British culture, it can feel obtrusive, even rude, to expect or ask that of people, but perhaps in order to come alongside people well at the start of their journey, we need to be humble enough to allow others to feel comfortable and to enter their lives.

What is the story by which you are living your life? It might sound a weird question, but our lives are shaped at the core by some purpose or aim, whether you are a follower of Jesus or not.

‘I want to go deeper in my relationship with God. A few harder things have happened in my life in the last two years and it’s causing me to ask big questions about the place of faith in my life.’
The person who said this to me last week is a faithful churchgoer, who tries to read their Bible and pray. On the outside things are absolutely fine, but on the inside there is a gap: if Jesus is who he says he is then there has to be more.
How would you respond if someone said this to you?

In one year, Naomi raised £100K for four great charities, but, more importantly, she taught the joy of giving to those who would one day likely be very wealthy. Naomi began seeing how her mission was tied to the position God had placed her in.

Getting alongside people in complicated or chaotic situations can be really challenging. Maybe, like me, those circumstances make you want to run in the opposite direction, or you find yourself frustrated or feeling hopeless. Some of Jesus’ most memorable interactions in the Bible were with ‘messy people’.

Our friends see us as we are. Familiarity over the years has allowed us to share lives in a relaxed atmosphere where we have been able to laugh, argue and, at times, cry together. Dreams have been disclosed, plans hatched and secrets revealed, as we make ourselves vulnerable and available.

One of the places I show up to work is a local community theatre. It’s volunteer-run and packed-out week to week with local groups putting on shows. Every now and again I’ll be asked to play guitar for a week: which means showing up on time, being prepared, getting on with people and doing the best work I can do. Could this also be a holy place, even when I’m not aware of it?

After the slow pace of summer, September can be a shock to the system. If I had to sum up the autumn term in one word, it would be: busy. It’s easy to get distracted by building new routines, comparing holiday experiences and negotiating birthdays, Halloween and Christmas. As autumn gets underway, I can quickly become overwhelmed.

If you knew you only had 3 years left to live, how would you invest that time? Jesus invested deeply in a few people, who could pass on to the next generation what they learned.

As he did so, he walked alongside his first followers, calling them to see people with his eyes of love, as harassed sheep needing a shepherd, and to see the world through his eyes of faith