Welcome to the July Sacred & Secular Update
A month of hidden details, deeper questions and discovering God with us
Welcome to the latest Sacred & Secular update.
If you are new here, this is my monthly opportunity to pause, look back over the last few weeks, and share what has been happening in our little corner of the internet.
And what a month it has been.
We have welcomed more than 100 new subscribers, which has been absolutely wonderful. Even more encouraging has been seeing the number of people commenting, sharing their thoughts, and engaging with the reflections. What began as a simple idea to create a space for thoughtful conversations about faith has gradually become a genuinely wonderful community.
Thank you.
If you are enjoying Sacred & Secular and would like to receive daily reflections, you can become a paid subscriber here. Your support helps make this work possible.
This month, we have travelled through both the Old and New Testaments, exploring some of the hidden details in Scripture that we can easily rush past. We have also wrestled with some bigger questions: letting go of inherited ideas about religion that may no longer help us, the barriers that sometimes stand between us and God, and the question at the heart of everything I write:
Who is Jesus really?
If I had to identify one theme that seems to have appeared again and again, it would be this:
God with us.
The more I explore these stories, the more I find myself returning to the same idea. We often imagine that we are searching for God, but the biblical story repeatedly shows something different.
God is already moving towards us.
God draws close through ordinary moments, unexpected people, ancient stories and the questions we carry today.
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A few people have asked me how I manage to write a reflection every day. The honest answer is that I have become much more attentive.
I find myself noticing conversations, moments, questions, experiences and passages of Scripture that seem to connect in unexpected ways. Sometimes an idea arrives and stays with me for a single day. Sometimes it continues to develop over a week or more.
The reflections are not created from a fixed formula or a list of topics waiting to be completed.
They usually begin with a question that I cannot shake off.
What is this passage really saying?
Why did Jesus choose those words?
What might we have missed?
How might this ancient story speak into ordinary life today?
Of course, there are times when the calendar shapes what I write. Christmas, Easter, and other seasons naturally lead us towards particular themes, but most of the time the direction emerges simply through paying attention.
And that has become one of the unexpected gifts of writing.
It has taught me to look more carefully and notice what (and who) is already there.
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As we move into August, I hope to continue in much the same way. Although living in the UK, I would not complain if the weather decided to become slightly less hot!
For those who have recently joined us, here is a quick reminder of how Sacred & Secular works.
Free subscribers receive at least one reflection every week, usually on a Sunday.
Paid subscribers receive a reflection every day and have access to the complete archive, which is now searchable and contains an incredible 265 reflections. I had to check that again; it feels like a milestone in itself.
My hope is that these daily pieces become a small pause in your day, a few moments to think, reflect, and reconnect with God amid all the noise and busyness of modern life.
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I have been genuinely touched by the messages and comments from many of you.
I know that not everyone has time to reply, but if there is a topic you would like me to explore, a question you would like me to consider, or simply a thought about a reflection that connected with you, I would love to hear from you.
One of the great privileges of this journey has been discovering that although we are separated by geography, we are connected by our humanity and the questions we share.
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Finally, I want to say a special thank you for the response to my new book, Sacred & Secular: Finding God in the Ordinary.
After two months of steady sales and some incredibly encouraging feedback, I have felt more confident than ever that this is something worth continuing.
Your encouragement has given me the motivation to begin working on book two, and I hope to publish it this autumn.
For those who would like to explore more of these reflections, the book is available worldwide through Amazon. It brings together some of the most popular essays from this journey so far.
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Thank you for being part of Sacred & Secular.
I know those words are easy to type, but I genuinely mean them.
When I had to step away from full-time ministry, I wondered what the next chapter would look like. Writing has become a new form of ministry, one where the congregation is spread across countries and time zones rather than gathered in one building.
It has given me back a sense of purpose.
It is not always easy, but I love doing it, and your support is what makes it all possible.
I am looking forward to continuing our journey together.
My book: Sacred & Secular: Finding God in the Ordinary is out now! It pulls together nearly 50 of my favourite reflections so far. It would also make a great gift!
Thank you, Paul for all of your hard work and faithfulness.