Rev Dan

The Church of England knows what grows churches. They commissioned the research. They published the findings. They ran a pilot — and the pilot collapsed.So why are they doing it again?In this podcast, I walk through the 2014 Church Growth Research Programme, the Wigan pilot project, the Chote audit of £176 million of Strategic Development Funding, and the pension correction now driving clergy cuts across the country — from Leicester to Truro to Kingston.This is not commentary. This is the Church's own evidence, against itself.
Links mentioned:From Anecdote to Evidence (2014): https://www.churchofengland.org/about/vision-strategy/funding-strategic-mission-and-ministry/strategic-development-funding/anecdoteThe Chote Review: https://www.churchofengland.org/about/vision-strategy/funding-strategic-mission-and-ministry/strategic-development-funding-0Marcus Walker, The Critic — The Road to Wigan's Tears: https://thecritic.co.uk/issues/november-2023/the-road-to-wigans-tears/Ian Paul, Psephizo — What Has Now Happened With Clergy Pensions: https://www.psephizo.com/life-ministry/what-has-now-happened-with-clergy-pensions/


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The Church of England is not lost. But it is contested. And what happens in the next few months will determine whether the window for biblical faithfulness stays open or closes for a generation.
In this podcast, I walk through what actually happened with the Living in Love and Faith project, why the vote to end it was more complicated than the headlines suggested, and what the upcoming General Synod elections mean for ordinary Christians in ordinary parishes.


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The Church Commissioners have committed £100 million to Project Spire, a reparations fund for historic links to the slave trade. But the history it rests on is being challenged by serious scholars. The legal basis is uncertain. And 81% of Anglicans say this is not what they want their Church to spend money on.
Meanwhile parishes are closing. Vicarages sit empty. Clergy are burning out.
In this video I walk through what Project Spire actually is, what the evidence does and doesn’t show, and what faithful Christians can do when the institution they love loses sight of the people it was built to serve.


This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit monoingles.substack.com/subscribe

This image should make every Christian pause.
Donald Trump posted an AI image of himself as Jesus Christ — healing the sick, clothed in light, surrounded by national power — and in the same moment publicly attacked the Pope.
That combination matters more than people realise.
In this podcast, I walk through what actually happened, the response from his own supporters, and why this isn’t just another online moment you scroll past. There’s a deeper pattern here — and if we miss it, we risk losing clarity about who Jesus is and who He is not.
This isn’t about left or right. It’s about whether the Church can still recognise when the image of Christ is being used rather than honoured.


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More than a thousand people marched through central London as part of the Together Alliance, under the banner of opposing Christian nationalism. But I want to argue that this march will not weaken Christian nationalism — it will push more people towards it.In this video I want to be honest about both sides. I am not a Christian nationalist, and I have spoken about that before on this channel. But I also think the response represented by this march misunderstands the problem, misreads the people it is trying to reach, and repeats the same mistake the Church keeps making — condemning the fruit while watering the root.We need a Church that holds grace and truth together. Not a Church that is captured by the left. Not a Church that is captured by the right. But a Church faithful enough to challenge everyone — including itself.


This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit monoingles.substack.com/subscribe