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The Baptist Union > The Baptist Times > Archive > Opinions / Reflections > Opinions/Reflections - July - December 2016
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Opinions/reflections July - December 2016 

Racism only sleeps - it never dies
Amid the increased racism unleashed by the EU referendum, Baptists are called to be truly multicultural and radically hospitable
Reflections on #100Somme 
'May every word we speak bring peace into being and may every action take us further from the Somme'
Referendum challenges and opportunities
Political preaching, befriending a Baptist church in Europe - suggestions for how churches could face the challenges of the Referendum
Meditation on Global Violence and Terror 
In just one full month from mid-June to mid-July many major violent and terror related episodes have devastated our world.
You will always have the poor with you
Jesus tells his disciples to be among the poor, yet 2,000 years later all too often we are not. Some lateral thinking may help
Because he was not “one of us”? 
Wherever we look in our world today we may find men and women of good will – we should thank God for them, and pray for them
What about you... who do you say I am?
Those in the refugee camps of Greece and elsewhere are made in the image of God: we are all one in Christ, called to give and receive
Living with faith - and doubt 
How much “agnosticism” should a Christian be happy to live with?
BWA Annual Gathering - a reflection
Church planting in Nigeria and challenged by climate change – General Secretary Lynn Green reports from the BWA Annual Gathering
'Advocacy must be a part of our DNA'
The refugee crisis requires greater advocacy on the part of Baptists Together to ensure the protection of the refugees
Midlife – Crisis or Chrysalis?   
Is God calling you to something new?
The children stranded in Calais
There are 750 unaccompanied children in the Calais Jungle. Surely more can be done to help these most vulnerable of people
Ruth + Naomi: a modern re-telling? 
The story of Naomi and Ruth is being lived by many women today – but with an uncertain ending
Learning from the Olympics  
How the qualities on show in the Games relate to our church life
Should we pray for trivial things?   
Yes, but there is a but, writes Colin Sedgwick. In fact, there are three of them
Location, Location, Location
How do you go about finding "the" church when moving to a new area, city or village?
A different approach to youth ministry
Andrew Ginn realised that age shouldn’t be the most important factor when it comes to structuring youth ministry
The crucial role of pastoral friendship 
It's not something reserved for professional specialists; we can all play our part in offering welcome to children and young people, writes Lynn Green
“You just don’t know how weird church is” 
We really shouldn’t underestimate the pressures the children and young people in our churches face
The importance of family time 
Spending time talking and especially listening to our family is rarely easy, but it’s a vital investment for the future, says Rob Parsons
The Day God Saved My Life 
In April this year Baptist minister Ross Dilnot was involved in an accident that would shatter part of his body. He describes its impact
'Living on the estate continues to teach us'
Mike Pears, director of Urban Life, reflects on being a faithful presence on the Knowle West Estate in Bristol with others
The growth of online church 
How a Baptist church in Australia created an online congregation around the world
Our identity in a post denominational age
Reflections on Baptist identity were offered on each day of the 2016 annual council of the European Baptist Federation
Procrastination: a habit worth breaking 
Do you put off until tomorrow the things you should do today? Well, the Bible has something to say about that
The call to open your doors
Does Jesus want us to help those who are destitute – or something more?
So is this taboo... or to do?
Is Christianity complementary with yoga, martial arts, Hallowe'en, mindfulness and other alternative practices? A new book seeks to explore
Christians and mental ill health
How should Christians respond to the growing epidemic of mental ill health?
The 3 ideas to change your faith 
Reading this could seriously enrich your faith
The path between life and death
How author KA Hitchins faced a life threatening condition - just as she was writing a novel about one
Is your church a turn-off? 
It’s always helpful to review what we do: it matters how we come across to the outsider
Worrying about the news...
What are Christians called to do in the face of so much bad news?
After the election day eruption: what now? 
This campaign season has been a buildup of pressure, resulting in an upheaval of hostility. So what do we do now?
Build a wall, he said. So they did...
A Baptist minister's reflection on Donald Trump's US presidential victory
God and our turbulent times
What do I as a Christian make of this year's great political upheavals?
He Broke Every Rule in the Book 
Unqualified, unlikely and unholy - but we need to give Donald Trump a clean slate.
The Dawning of a Dark Age    
We are living through turbulent times - and I fear the next few years will be darker still, writes Roy Searle
Dealing with post election anger
Don't tell me as a Christian I can't be angry, and just to pray. I can do both
Calais, and why planning matters
The chaos when the Calais camp was dismantled is down to a lack of planning on the part of both British and French governments
'May God help us to be beacons of hope'
Scriptures for reflection and prayer from the Fellowship of Baptists in Britain and Ireland in light of the challenging global situation
The importance of patience
As we walk through Advent, don’t let ourselves be robbed of its enormous value by viewing it simply as ‘getting ready for Christmas’
World Aids Day: 1 December 2016 
The way some people treat me has made me more determined to talk about being HIV positive, writes a Baptist minister
Remembering the real Santa Claus  
The real Saint Nick was a wonderful man who loved Jesus and served him faithfully and bravely: we can and should redeem him
What am I doing with my gifts?
The whole business of gifts and talents can seem grossly unfair - but every Christian has received a gift from God. What are we doing with it?
Christmas 2016, post-Brexit/Trump
Joy to the world? A reflection on making sense of this year's shocks
Education... and Baptist churches  
Why I belong to the Baptist Education Group - and why churches can engage with their local schools
6 lessons and 1 verse from 2016   
Jo Cox, Brexit, Donald Trump, church decline - drawing lessons from an eventful year
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