Peter Lynas

20/06/2023

Reflecting on Psalm 19 and the wonders of creation amid the chaos of our culture. Day after day creation pours forth speech - declaring the glory of God. So have a good look around - wherever you are.

04/11/2021

If you want to understand more about the government's recent proposal on Conversion Therapy then check out this video and our initial summary. While we have had positive engagement with government, we do have concerns about the lack of clarity in the proposals.

Next week we will be putting out more information on how to respond.

Be blessed,

Peter

A summary of the government's consultation on conversion therapy from our UK director Peter Lynas.

29/10/2021

Conversion Therapy Consultation
The government has today released a consultation in which it appears the government are going to honour their two commitments - firstly to ban coercive and abusive behaviours and secondly to safeguard spiritual support.
However, we have significant concerns as some campaigners have made clear their desire to see every day Christian practices such as prayer and pastoral care being banned. The consultation says it will not include ‘private prayer’ but this is generally understood to mean individual prayer which offers very little protection.
The government has recognised the importance of religious freedom, personal choice and basic human rights but has not done enough to expressly protect them.
The consultation confirms that conversion therapy involving physical violence is already illegal. We support the tougher sentencing proposed in relation to this.
The proposals on talking conversion therapy are much less clear. We need tight definitions otherwise parents, teachers, ministers and frankly anyone could find themselves on the wrong side of the law simply for talking about sexuality or gender.
We will be encouraging our members to respond to ensure an end to coercive and abusive behaviours while ensuring everyone is free to choose the help they want including prayer and pastoral care.
Be blessed,
Peter

15/10/2021

Hey friends,
If you go to church, used to go to church, are a church leader or just have a pulse - we would love you to take part in our Changing Church survey. We are collecting stats and stories to help churches as they re-gather. The more responses, the more useful it will be for everyone.

How is the church responding to the changing landscape, needs and opportunities?

06/10/2021

“Apologetics today is more about explaining to the church what is going on in the world than explaining to the world what the church teaches.”

This quote comes from author, theologian and historian Carl Trueman. We got to interview him for the Being Human podcast discussing his latest book 'The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self' (2020).

We peel back some of the underlying ideologies of the day, and ask Carl how the church can navigate the opportunities and challenges of this ‘cultural climate change’ in which we are immersed.

Check out this episode and all our podcasts here -

In season 1, we joined Jo Frost and Peter Lynas for a conversation asking what does it mean to be human

30/06/2021

Hancock’s Affair - Do bishops care?

Paul Bayes, currently the Church of England's bishop in Liverpool, has made his clearest call yet for the Church to change its understanding of marriage and sexuality, in his address to the MoSAIC group (I assume in his diocese). He does not disguise the reasons for his views, where he thinks the Ch...

21/04/2021

I totally agree with ⁦‪Malcolm Duncan‬⁩ on this. To call for the pulling down of Stormont over abortion only accentuates the very problem that got us here in the first place - it would be totally counterproductive. On the issue of abortion itself it would simply give the Secretary of State even more power, as well as having other hugely damaging ramifications. While I respect the right of others to follow a different strategy, I see no upside to this.

I was recently sent a letter by a pro-life lobby group which I was asked to sign. I did not feel that I could sign it and I want to set out the reasons why here. You can find the letter here. I am …

30/09/2020

Have you taken our Changing Church: autumn survey? We are asking for 10 mins of your time to help us help the church. There is an option for individuals and one for someone answering on behalf of a church.

Thanks to those who have already filled it in - and please do share!

Be blessed.

We need your help to understand how the church is responding to this changing world.

29/09/2020

Today we are opening our second Changing Church survey, as the UK church continues to undergo the biggest season of change seen in a generation. We need your help to better understand how the church is responding to this changing landscape: how the church is helping, where the church needs support, and, ultimately, what God is doing through this crisis. This time we are asking for input from both church leaders and individuals. Please give us 10 minutes of your time to help the church in the UK. We will be sharing all the results to help as many people as we can.

It would be great if you could share this as widely as possible.

Thanks,

Peter

We need your help to understand how the church is responding to this changing world.

29/09/2020

- today we look at what it is to be an image bearer, being careful about being an image sharer and the call to be image carers - calling people into a new humanity.

24/09/2020

Everything is contested. Living in a secular age has plenty of challenges, but at this moment there are also lots of opportunities. Everybody’s beliefs are contested, so let’s humbly and hopefully offer the God story to those around us

18/09/2020

Today we look at margin - creating space for God in our lives. In our fractious world, it doesn’t take much to set things off and so we must be a non-anxious presence centred on Jesus.