Life Issues

How do you lose labels that others put on you, or perhaps even the labels we put on ourselves? Particularly when those labels tell you that you’ll never amount to anything? Rob Parsons OBE looks back on his life’s journey in this week’s Life Issues to share how he overcame discouraging words spoken over him one step at a time.

In the last few years, we’ve seen a real growth in understanding of Neurodiversity. Although for some, function is severely limited, we now seem to recognise not just need but also possibility, contribution and value to society, workplace, communities and churches that comes with a greater openness from the neurotypical to walk alongside rather than disparage, the neurodiverse, to engage rather than distance.
In this week’s Life Issues, Wired Differently: The Strengths of Neurodiversity, Paul is joined by Fiona MacMillan who herself is Neurodivergent and chairs the Church of England’s Neurodiversity working group and Bex Chapman who is Mum to Neurodiverse children and also part of the working group.

You have to feel it, to heal it. We've all experienced it, hurt, sometimes emotional, sometimes physical. What's the prescription Jesus gave to relieve us of the pain? Forgiveness... It can be a hard medication to swallow, but someone once said "unforgiveness and resentment can be like taking poison ourselves expecting the other person to experience the awful effects"... In reality it is us who suffer. Dr Amy Orr Ewing, author of Forgiveness joins Ashley Andrew to delve deeper into the reality of turning the other cheek in this week' s Life Issues - Forgiveness in an Era of Outrage.

Migration is one of the most talked-about topics in the UK right now. Whether the discussion is about refugees, immigration, or small boats, it raises difficult questions. In this episode of Life Issues, we explore how Christians might engage with the conversation. What does a compassionate, thoughtful, and truthful response look like? How can we discuss migration in a way that reflects both concern for people and the challenges facing society? Dr. Krish Kandiah OBE, Founder of the Sanctuary Foundation, and Katie Woo, National Church Hong Kong Communities Enabler, join Paul Hammond to discuss the topic and share their stories.

What’s the difference between a disciple and a follower or church goer?
Jesus said go into all the world & make disciples with the apparent expectation that all who would “follow Him” would also “deny themselves & take up their cross.”
So why, in the modern church do we seem to have a 2-tier system where all disciples are Christians but not all Christians are disciples? Mind you when you look back through history or read Paul’s letters maybe it’s not just a modern phenomenon.
So what can we do? Dave Criddle, Author of The DNA of Healthy Discipleship thinks a game of twister might help? Paul finds out why in this week’s Life Issues Am I a real Christian if I’m not a disciple?