Update: Welcome Week at Wycliffe

October 1, 2023

My (unofficial) first day.

Although I don't start till January, this week I’m in Oxford for the college’s “Welcome Week”. This is when new students begin to get their bearings on college life, how to use the library, where to go for lectures, which fellowship group they’re in and so on. They meet with their tutors and start to find their way into their new student lives. Some come to Wycliffe Hall from other college degrees, some from full-time Christian ministry and many (possibly most?) from various other workplaces and industries. It can be quite an adjustment!

Today was the college community event and welcome with a BBQ in the gardens, concluding with a short service of worship together. The chapel of Wycliffe Hall has to be my favourite place on the campus and hearing and seeing everyone worshiping God together is really special. The Principal, Revd Dr Michael Lloyd, gave a short but meaningful talk which sets the community up well for the year ahead: that we are all made in God’s image (cf. Genesis 1). Whoever we’re talking to or encountering, whether we like them or not, agree with them or not, each and every person reflects something unique about God. We are all reflections of God. The same is true when we read a book and hear someone’s thoughts and arguments. Do get distracted by what irritates us about the person? Or do we listen and look for God’s image in that person?

What a great way to start life in a new community. When I was at college (both times) people would ask what I liked or disliked about the experience. The answer for both questions was the same: community. It was the people that made it so special. But it was also the people that tested my patience and brought to the surface some of my character defects.

But also: what a great way to start studying theology. To learn well means to engage generously and openly with the views of others. By no means do we have to agree with everything we read, but to be open to God’s truth and ready to receive what He might want to reveal to us starts with our willingness to see the image of God in the other person. Every time you pick up a book you’re picking up something written by someone who was made in the image of God. What a prospect! What a gift to be curious and open rather than judgemental and close-minded.

In the church we can be quite comfortable saying God is the author of all truth. Jesus said as much when he said “I am the way, the truth and the life” (John 14:6)! But we’re often less comfortable saying that means we’re NOT the authors of all truth. If it’s God’s domain, then my views are probably a very mixed bag of good and bad. Truth and falsehood. And I think that we’re perhaps only really ready to learn well when we’ve come to terms with that and willing to acknowledge that even some of our strongest held opinions might be wildly misplaced.

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And lastly: today was a great encouragement to see how God is calling people into service in his church and beyond. There are many ordinands training to be clergy and many independent students furthering their vocation in the mission of God. I heard stories of people coming from all kinds of different backgrounds and areas of the country and many who sense God calling them onwards to under-resourced areas who are in need of renewed energy and life for the gospel. Please do pray for all the new students, the continuing ones and those preparing for curacy!

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Asking Better Questions: Podcast with Wayne Watson

By Suse McBay • April 14, 2026

A few weeks ago, I got to sit down via the wonders of the internet and have a catch-up with my friend and former colleague, Wayne Watson. We talked God, life, and the universe. And Winnie the Pooh! In Wayne's own words " What begins as lighthearted conversation between old friends quickly unfolds into a thoughtful and wide-ranging exploration of culture and the pursuit of God's truth. " It was fun. If you fancy a listen, check out the podcast (and the entire series) by clicking here ! ******

The Risk of Playing It Safe: Why the Bible We Don’t Preach Matters

By Suse McBay • April 8, 2026

***** I’ve long noticed that the Bible that gets preached from the Sunday pulpit can be, well, a bit picky. Some bits are kept in and preached. Others are studiously ignored. The result? Different churches can give quite a different sense of what the Bible's message is than if you actually read it through cover to cover. Now I don't mean to accuse any one wing of the church: whether your tradition uses the lectionary (usually a three-year cycle of curated readings) or jumps around the canon to whichever biblical book or theme is of interest, certain parts of the Scriptures are often ignored. Some passages are cut off halfway through; others are omitted entirely. I remember preaching on Independence Day in the US (the irony of doing so as a Brit was not lost on me). The reading for the day began in Deuteronomy 10:17: “For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who is not partial and takes no bribe, who executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and who loves the stranger, providing them food and clothing…” Sounds lovely, right? Well, yes—but Deuteronomy 10:17 starts in the middle of a paragraph. In the middle of divine instruction that God gives through Moses. We can see this in how it begins: for the LORD your God.. . It could also be translated because the LORD your God … This passage is the explanation for something. It is a why to a biblical command, not a standalone theological statement. So what’s the actual command? What’s the main message God wants the people to hear? The verse before (v.16) says this: “Circumcise, then, the foreskin of your heart, and do not be stubborn any longer.” The purpose of this speech? To call God’s people to repentance. To change. The ‘heart’ in biblical texts usually refers to one’s innermost self. The seat of who you are in the deepest places of your will and desire. God has said he wants their obedience (v.12), he has reminded them of his extraordinary generosity in choosing them as his people (vv.13–15), but here God lands a punch: The centremost part of who you are, God says, needs to be clipped. Reading vv.17–22 feels quite different in light of the whole text. It’s not a statement of a good God whom we should simply ‘fear’ and ‘hold fast to’ (v.20). It’s far more rooted and real than that. In reading through all ten verses, we get a sense of a people who have become too big for their boots. Who have forgotten that it’s not because they have anything to offer that God chose them, but rather because of the graciousness of God. And we get a clear call from God that such people need to, in essence, sort themselves out. Be humbled. Circumcise their hearts. I don’t believe the Sunday lectionary was formed with a conspiratorial agenda to omit the hard stuff (the whole thing would largely be read through in the daily lectionary for the Daily Office). But I do believe it’s spiritually dangerous for us to ignore the material that is left on the cutting room floor in our preaching. The people of God are called to grow into the fullness of the gospel—to become mature Christians. If we only ever swim in the protected waters of the lectionary, we will not be confronted by the reality of a God who regularly and reliably calls his people to humble themselves, care for those in need, and live lives of sacrificial love. Who makes space within their communities for the vulnerable. Who looks out for the marginalised among us. Who deals with the darkest and ugliest of human evil. Who redeems out of family lines and dynasties most of us would give up on. In recent years, there has been increasing focus on the importance of the gut–brain connection. How what you eat shapes who you are, and how you function mentally, emotionally, and physically. What we fuel ourselves with matters. The same is true spiritually. The Bible is the spiritual equivalent of a Whole30. Or a wholemeal, organic, seed-infused sourdough loaf. It’s nutritious and gritty. It requires some chewing. It’s not always easy to digest. But it provides the minerals and nutrients we need. It may take some adjustment, but it may also be just what the doctor ordered. Not for our physical sicknesses, but rather our more pernicious spiritual malaise. ******