Strong Foundations
let's work together to change our world
by Paul Hazelden

Introduction

This page provides another way to access some of the Strong Foundations documents as they become available. To find out about Strong Foundations, please visit the (possibly temporary) web site.

• Strong Foundations

Documents

Index (3 pages) A PDF version of this page.

Overview

1. Manifesto (4 pages) A short summary of the key issues I feel we need to explore. (8 April 2019)
2. Introducing the Kingdom (6 pages) Introducing the central theme of Jesus' ministry. (8 April 2019)
3. The Jesus Plan (8 pages) It is clear from the Gospel accounts that Jesus had a plan. We need to understand the plan so that we can be a part of it. (10 July 2020)
4. The Task (4 pages) An approach to the question: what are we actually supposed to do? (8 April 2019)
5. 'Movement Day' Reflections (2 pages) God is doing a new thing, and we have to leave our old life to join Him. (1 May 2019)

Personal Reflections

6. Living for Jesus (2 pages) A short personal summary of what it means to follow Jesus. (1 August 2018)
7. God Says: I Love You (2 pages) First and foremost, He wants you to accept that you are loved. (3 October 2019)
8. Building a Life (2 pages) How do you build a life? In essence, it's very simple: your life is shaped by the person you want to become. (13 October 2019)
9. Personal Growth (2 pages) Some brief notes on how I can grow as a Christian. (23 April 2019)
10. If This Were A Marriage (3 pages) The parable of the cocktail party and the Kingdom of God. (12 July 2019)
11. What We Already Know (3 pages) We need to listen to what God is saying to us – but we already know quite a lot about what God is saying. (21 July 2019)
12. God is Good (2 pages) We are happy to say that God is good, but how do we understand it? (10 September 2019)
13. Dare to Dream (3 pages) How can we live authentic Christian lives in a world which appears to have no place for compassion or faith? (14 November 2019)
14. Thoughts on Communion (2 pages) Twelve short observations about what we do when we celebrate communion. (19 July 2020)

Personal Application

15. Forget Discipleship (make disciples) (7 pages) We want to set up programmes to teach and train people - but Jesus did not tell us to set up a Discipleship Programme: He told us to make disciples. (9 July 2019)
16. Love is a Three-Legged Stool (4 pages) A suggestion about how we can take the traditional understanding of the centrality of love and make it relevant and practical. (8 April 2019)
17. Caring for Vulnerable People (4 pages) Some basic principles, summarising key points from the 'Helping Vulnerable People' course. (16 April 2019)
18. Some Thoughts on Prayer (2 pages) Some implications of daring to talk to God, written in partnership with Paul Bristow. (26 August 2019)
19. Prayer and Perspiration (3 pages) How do I set about making a difference? A suggested four step plan. (7 May 2019)
20. Kingdom Living, Part One (6 pages) Living in a way that helps to build God's Kingdom. (16 April 2019)
21. Kingdom Living, Part Two (8 pages) Looking briefly at the areas of politics, religion and sex. (29 July 2019)
22. Time (8 pages) The past, present and future all matter, and the way we think about them affects our lives. (26 May 2019)
23. Time - Extra (3 pages) Responding to an article about the scientific understanding of time, and another suggestion about the relationship between God and time. (25 September 2019)
24. The Things Not Seen (2 pages) We are told to fix our eyes on the things not seen, but find it much easier to set our heart on fixing the things we can see. (5 September 2019)
25. You Will Be Hated (4 pages) Jesus warns that the world will hate us, but we need to understand why – and be sure it's for the right reason. (10 September 2019)

The Good News

26. The Good News (6 pages) A way of presenting the Christian gospel message which is faithful to the Biblical message and does not assume the listener already understands key theological concepts. (1 August 2018)
27. The Less Good News (8 pages) Explaining the reason why the message of The Good News differs from the traditional gospel message we are familiar with. (1 August 2018)
28. Describing the Good News (2 pages) A brief description of fourteen key aspects of the Christian Gospel. (7 January 2020)
29. Salvation (16 pages) Presenting an understanding of salvation which does not portray God as harsh and unloving towards anyone. (1 August 2018)

Theology for the Church

30. Faith and Spirituality (16 pages) How to express faith appropriately in the context of a faith based social action project. (4 May 2019)
31. Church Growth (4 pages) For a church to grow, and not just get more people, all the Biblical strands of leadership need to work together. (22 April 2019)
32. Why the Cross? (4 pages) Why do Christians celebrate the fact that our leader, our Lord and our God was executed in public? (14 May 2019)
33. Eternal Torment or Eternal Destruction? (2 pages) Two passages from 'Jesus and the Other Place'. (18 September 2018)
34. Universalism (4 pages) Examining the arguments commonly employed for and against universalism. (12 May 2020)
35. The Greek Word for Church (5 pages) Helping to overcome some of the challenges we face when we read the Bible with the aim of allowing God to speak. (24 August 2019)
36. Pastoral Care (6 pages) Pastoral care is one of the most fundamental activities undertaken by the Church, but we need a better model: both the giving and receiving of pastoral care needs to be within a framework which enables everyone to be cared for and grow. (27 October 2020)

Training Courses

37. Share Your Faith (4 pages) Three interactive seminars to help you talk about the things that matter most to you. (October 2019)
38. Encountering the Good News (1 page) Three sessions to help Christians discover afresh the life-changing and world-changing message of Jesus and the early Church. (12 April 2019)

Local Friends

39. Introduction (2 pages)
40. Boundaries (8 pages)
41. Safeguarding (5 pages)

Miscellaneous Reflections

42. Drug Safety (2 pages) What we can do to keep children safe from drugs. (5 September 2019)
43. Living With Yourself (2 pages) We cannot outsource our ethics, but we can be helped to think clearly about our ethical choices and how to implement them. (20 October 2019)
44. The EU Referendum (2 pages) Some ground rules for Christians, for the referendum and other votes. (8 November 2019)
45. Voluntary Sector Essentials (4 pages) How do you run a successful voluntary sector project or organisation? There are seven key principles. (26 October 2020)

Support