I cannot grow plants.
It's true that I'm not very good at gardening, or even at caring for house plants. But that's not what I mean. Even if I do remember to water them, put them in the right place, prune them, leave them alone when they need it - I can't make them grow. I cannot turn my care of the plant into cellulose and chlorophyll.
Which is also one of the most humbling, frustrating and relieving aspects of pastoral ministry.
Yesterday, the PHP group announced the first stable release of PHP 5.5. This is great news. I shall compile it very shortly so that it can optionally be used on this server. That will allow me to test my various Drupal sites against PHP 5.5, to see if there are any issues.
However the arrival of PHP 5.5 signals the imminent end of PHP 5.3. Back in December 2012, PHP announced that
Two of the people from Has Bean Coffee have produced a free e-book on how to brew espresso, and how to tune that process until you are getting the exact drink you want.
When this was first written, it was only available to those who had an iOS device - which was not me.
However they've just turned it into a 23-page PDF document, which means the rest of us can now read it too.
So go read their book called Espresso Training.
I've known Sam Allberry for about 15 years now. I've long appreciated his clarity as a teacher, preacher and writer. I now admire his courage and honesty as well.
Sam has a new book coming out shortly, entitled "Is God Anti-Gay?" That's a good question. Many people assume that the answer is no, by which they mean that God has no objections to someone fully embracing a gay lifestyle. Alternatively, once one says God does have objections to this, you are saying that God is anti-gay.
Sam sets out to steer the reader through this particular minefield. It is his deep conviction that a gay lifestyle and identity is not something that God is content for a person to embrace. And yet Sam also wants to affirm, equally passionately, that this does not make God anti-gay. The Christian gospel is good news, and it is good news for everyone - including those who experience same-sex attraction. Sam has had to think these things through from the perspective of his first-hand experience.