In Depth:  Graham Nicholls

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Two lessons from the assisted suicide debate

Two lessons from the assisted suicide debate

Graham Nicholls
Graham Nicholls

Like many Christians and indeed others across the nation, I was saddened to hear the news that the UK parliament voted in favour of legalising assisted suicide.

As Christians, we are not opposed to the withdrawal of life-extending care, but we are against the active murder of anyone. Fundamentally, we believe that every life is sacred and unconditionally valuable - human dignity is not something we assign to ourselves and can then take it away when faced with illness, poverty, or disability.

Opportunities for the gospel on social media

Opportunities for the gospel on social media

Graham Nicholls
Graham Nicholls

The average person in the UK spends at least five hours per day on the internet in addition to work-related access and a significant part of this is on social media.

Over 86 per cent of the United Kingdom’s total internet user base (regardless of age) uses at least one social media platform, obviously some more active than others.

Unbelievable ?

Unbelievable ?

Graham Nicholls
Graham Nicholls

Book Review THE SURPRISING REBIRTH OF BELIEF IN GOD: Why New Atheism Grew Old and Secular Thinkers Are Considering Christianity Again

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What is evangelical unity? Does it even matter?

What is evangelical unity? Does it even matter?

Graham Nicholls
Graham Nicholls

What is evangelical unity and does it matter? And anyway, who’s to say what an evangelical actually is, and even then, what would visible evangelical unity look like?

That was part of our discussion at the autumn meeting of the Affinity Council – a group of leaders from churches and Christian organisations that help guide Affinity as we set our priorities.

Shaping a movement

Shaping a movement

Graham Nicholls
Graham Nicholls

Book Review TIMOTHY KELLER: His Spiritual And Intellectual Formation

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UK in transition: A significant moment of change

UK in transition: A significant moment of change

Graham Nicholls
Graham Nicholls

And so begins the reign of our new monarch, King Charles III. This comes at a time of economic and political anxiety – worries about the cost of living, constitutional pressures within the devolved nations of the UK, a war in Europe, and a new Prime Minister in post.

Although history normally progresses over time, there are momentous moments of change which encapsulate the change, and this seems like one of those times.

Evangelical Futures: Gospel unity in the face of evangelical tribalism

Evangelical Futures: Gospel unity in the face of evangelical tribalism

Graham Nicholls
Graham Nicholls

When asked to write about ‘some of the issues we currently face as a constituency’ I could have picked a number of issues, like evangelism (we could do better) or discipleship (we could do much better), or the pressures from contemporary culture (massive).

But actually, my initial thought was: who is our constituency? What kind of churches, organisations and people are in it? Am I in it? Where are the boundary lines? If en readers are a constituency, then what unites them? It’s the gospel, right? Isn’t that what unites all Christians?

Affinity discusses 
 Covid lessons

Affinity discusses Covid lessons

Graham Nicholls
Graham Nicholls

The newly-formed Affinity Advisory Council has met in London.

The organisation describes itself as ‘a fellowship of churches, evangelical agencies and Christians’.

Speaking	up	for	Zoe

Speaking up for Zoe

Graham Nicholls
Graham Nicholls

Book Review IF I COULD SPEAK: Letters from the womb

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Post-Christian holiness?
standing together

Post-Christian holiness?

Graham Nicholls
Graham Nicholls

The Affinity Council sounds like a group of bureaucrats discussing obscure points of order of interest to no-one.

In reality it is a lively fellowship network of leaders representing over 1,000 churches and Christian organisations, encouraging one another, talking about issues facing the church today and praying together.

The yawning gap
standing together

The yawning gap

Graham Nicholls
Graham Nicholls

‘Sending missionaries abroad is boring.

‘It belongs to a bygone pioneering age. It’s part of cultural imperialism. It’s no longer necessary. It’s not a priority.’

Post-Christian Christianity
standing together

Post-Christian Christianity

Graham Nicholls
Graham Nicholls

How does the church operate in an increasingly hostile culture which no longer assumes Christianity is essentially good?

That was the topic when around 75 people, mostly church leaders and theological students from across the whole of the UK and from widely different denominational groups came together in March for the biennial Affinity Theological Study Conference.

What Affinity is all about
standing together

What Affinity is all about

Graham Nicholls
Graham Nicholls

Over the coming months I want to explain some of the things happening at Affinity but a good question to start with is ‘Who are Affinity and what do we actually do?’

The British Evangelical Council (BEC, renamed Affinity since 2004) was founded in 1952 by George Collins and Murdoch Macrae from the Free Church of Scotland, and Theodore Bendor-Samuel and Edward Poole-Connor from the Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches. They wanted to express gospel unity across denominational divides, but also to be a defence against movements for unity based on sharing the name Christian, but not necessarily the same core beliefs. In the 1960s Affinity (BEC as it was then) gained the enthusiastic support of Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones and many church groups joined.