Rev Geoff Stevenson

Geoffs Reflections

Weeds, Wheat, Forgiveness and Second Chances...

Many of us grew up with stories of superheroes—Batman and Robin, Superman, and the colourful cast of cartoon heroes who filled our childhood imaginations. In those worlds, everything was simple. Good and evil were clearly defined. Heroes were purely good, villains purely evil, and the line between them was bright and unmistakable. The heroes defended goodness through strength and violence, overcoming evil with decisive force. It was a comforting worldview: neat, tidy, and morally uncomplicated.

Extravagant, Reckless, Lavish Love - God's Reign!

The band arrived at the concert hall in the late afternoon, a curious and delightful mix of musicians drawn from different corners of the musical world. They were not celebrities, nor household names, but each was respected in their own field. What brought them together was not fame or ambition but a shared desire to raise funds for a charitable cause close to each of their hearts. Their unity was not in style but in purpose, and that purpose gave the gathering a quiet sense of anticipation.

Jesus: Rest for the Weary, Easing Life's Burdens...

A theologian walked into a coffee shop at the end of COVID lockdown, frustrated by being locked away whilst visiting his wife’s elderly grandmother. He’s bored and starts playing a game trying to work out what the women a few tables over, does for a living.

Christ is Present - In Humble, Vulnerable Love

This week I invite you into a story – actually, into two stories – and through them, into a deeper understanding of what it means to follow Jesus. The first story is one I've told before, about Tony Campolo, sociologist, teacher, and evangelical preacher. One day, he was walking down the main street of his town, dressed in what he called his “establishment gear”—a suit and tie, looking every bit the professional. As he walked along, he noticed, a little way ahead of him, a man who was clearly homeless. The man was wandering along the footpath, holding a cup of coffee, reaching out to people as they passed by and offering them a sip.

The Courageous Way of Love and Justice…

I am in the midst of hanging a painting of Gandhi on my wall – along with one of St Francis of Assisi. I looked at these two small figures but giants of history. They walked to the beat of a different drum, and both were heavily influenced by the life and teaching of Jess of Nazareth

Let Go! Trust, and God be with you!

There are so many ways that I want, even need, to feel in control. Like most of us, I struggle to gain some form of hold on life, to make it somehow predictable, controllable and ordered – at least according to how I think I want or need to experience it. When things happen and I lose this sense of being in control, I feel lost, helpless, impotent and at the whim of other people, or other forces within the universe.