Is this it? Finding Hope

The 5th most popular podcast on Spotify in 2024 was Steven Bartlett's "Diary of a CEO". The YouTube version has almost 13 million subscribers. One of last week's episodes was entitled "Is Not Believing In God Causing More Harm Than Good?!"

Bartlett starts with the statistic than 9 in 10 young people in the UK believe their life is lacking meaning. "As a result, a lot of people are turning back to religion — there is something going on". The 3+ hour episode goes on to talk about the "meaning crisis", or the "purpose crisis". Bartlett gives the example of a 35-year-old friend in Dubai. This friend was single and worked from home. Six months ago, he told his friends that he couldn't get out of bed anymore. Fast forward to today and he's become a Christian, got baptised and "suddenly his life has purpose and meaning again — he's a completely different person". This is despite, Bartlett says, him being the last person you would ever think would be religious.

Bartlett then gives the example of another friend in her early 30s. Again, with no kids and who works from home. When he asked her what her meaning and purpose was, she replied that she wanted to reach a total of 200 plants that she could water. A week later she told him she was in therapy because she felt lost and stuck in life.

He sums up what motivated him to have the conversation (to which he invited a Christian, an atheist, and a psychiatrist) as follows: "It appears to me that freedom/independence/be your own boss, the decline in people having children — the glamorisation of 'do it your way' — is failing people in some way. And actually the push for independence was in some way some kind of lie". Bartlett himself went through what he calls a "new atheist baptism" at the age of 18. He read all the books and was such a staunch atheist that he was debating dog-walkers on the street about God. "But I now find myself in a position where I'm almost back to being curious again".

Bartlett echoes what many are feeling. People are detecting a "vibe shift". As he himself puts it: "there is something going on". A friend from school, who's currently a pastor in Wales, has seen more than 50 people baptised in the last 18 months in his normal local church. Many of them said that someone told them about Jesus and they really wanted to hear. Or they were invited to church, and they really wanted to come. This is in a "majority atheist" borough.

These trends seem only set to accelerate following the murder of Charlie Kirk. The label of "Conservative activist" doesn't really do justice to his central focus on Jesus Christ. Some are going as far as to call his assassination a Christian martyrdom; certainly, many people have returned to church — or attended for the first time — as the result of his death. People are buying Bibles and beginning to read them for the first time.

New atheism, it seems, has grown old. It can't provide answers to our deepest questions. Indeed, as I wrote about in December 2023, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, one of new atheism's key figures, has herself converted to Christianity. So has Louise Perry, author of "The Case Against the Sexual Revolution: A New Guide to Sex in the 21st Century". Perry recently sat down for a 2+ hour debate with Bonnie Blue on Chris Williamson's YouTube channel (4 million subscribers). She converted to Christianity after coming to believe that Christian morality is best for human flourishing. Perry has moved from believing that Christianity was "sociologically true" — based on social science data — to believing that it is "supernaturally true". In other words, Christianity "works" because it's true.

There is something going on. It's an exciting time to be part of a church and see people coming through the door for the first time. People have a hunger that won't be satisfied with the sort of "Christianity lite" that many churches have served up for the last half century and more — where Christian language is maintained, but the changing values of society are adopted. In our own church we're throwing open the doors next Thursday evening and inviting people in to hear more about this return to "full-fat Christianity".

People are looking for hope, purpose and meaning. We believe that it's possible, as Charlie Kirk put it, to "pursue the eternal" and in doing so "seek true joy".

Published in the Stranraer & Wigtownshire Free Press, 9th October 2025

Don't Be a Stranger to Stranraer

Our family spent the summer living in the southwestern town of Stranraer, Scotland—our intention: to show up and encourage our brothers and sisters in the Reformed Presbyterian Church.

In the summer of 2024, we attended RPIC. After hearing a talk on the current church in Scotland, my husband Josh’s heart was stirred to ask: Could we spend a summer with a Scottish RP church that needed encouragement?   

Josh works remotely and has long wanted to use that privilege for kingdom purposes. To anywhere else in the world, I might have immediately said no, but Scotland has a special place in my heart. The captivating beauty of Scotland includes mountains, rolling hills, and the ocean. The mild weather is a welcome change from Pittsburgh’s summer heat. My answer was yes. We began to make plans to spend the next summer (2025) with Stranraer RP and the Steele family. Our 2 1/2 month stay would be a test to see if we could manage a longer residency.

It was a grand undertaking. I prepared myself for the possibility that it might not happen, but at every roadblock, God made a way. Housing, plane tickets, timing, preparations, and dog sitters were all sorted out. We picked up our eldest from his last day of school and boarded the plane!  

In speaking with Pastor Stephen Steele and his family, one need of the church is for “warm bodies” to attend worship and fellowship. This became clearer once we arrived. The congregation is small, with fewer than 50 people attending regularly, and has no elected deacons. Many members are elderly and or retired. On our first Sunday, we had a fellowship lunch, and the pastor was the one vacuuming and tidying up afterwards! Others helped, but I could see that more was needed. It became our joyful duty to wash dishes, arrange chairs, bring “picky bits” (finger food) to evening service, and teach children’s Sunday school. We attended morning and evening worship and a weekly Bible study.  The kids and I met the families often for library and park outings. We chose not to rent a car during our stay. The town is very walkable. Something I wish were more common in the States!  

Our family has been blessed immensely. The Steeles found a flat for us to rent, and saw to the details, making sure we had a sufficient kitchen, a crib for Em, and toys for our kids. We could feel their love and hospitality before we left the States! The friendships we made are priceless.  

Our children experienced a different culture and now know firsthand that the church is global.  Walking everywhere is great exercise! These are just a few benefits.  

When you attend a new church, you might not know what you're getting into. Even if it belongs to the same denomination. I prepared my heart, knowing that my preferences in worship are not what we show up to glorify. It’s easy to get attached to your church's “style” and compare it. (If  your church has switched to the blue Book of Psalms for Worship from the red book, people  have strong opinions!) I kept my expectations low. I may have (mistakenly) expected too little.  The preaching was faithful. Psalms to different tunes still spoke truth. The fellowship was warm and welcoming. From the first Sunday, I knew the Holy Spirit was at work here.  

If you’re considering attending Stranraer or another church in need of encouragement, some  suggestions: 

• Be brave and sit in the middle, close to the front, for worship. Not because it’s about you, but it makes the sanctuary look fuller and inviting. 

• See needs and meet them. Put books away, pick up trash, vacuum, and wash the dishes in the sink, doing these things with joy as for Christ. 

• Introduce yourself to people you haven’t met, and seek out fellowship, especially with those who might be lonely during the week. 

• Pray before, during, and after that God would grow his church. Pray for the laborers that they would not grow weary of doing good. 

• Ask what the needs are. Some needs require skill. Some only need a humble willingness. Be willing to show up in ordinary ways. 

Remember that God changes hearts. Our job is to be faithful. God works salvation. 

Joyce Giesler 

Theological Foundations for Youth

Last month, Stephen spoke at the TFY Ireland conference in Cullybackey on the subject of Covenant Theology.

Here is how the mission of TFY — aimed at those aged 16-22 — is described on their website:

“We don't want you to blindly accept what you are taught in church. We want you to dig deeper into Scripture, ask questions, and become personally convinced by God's message to his people. In other words, we want you to be firmly rooted in the word of Jesus Christ.

We also want you to be built up so you can serve your saviour in the most wonderful place on Earth - the church of Jesus Christ. The Reformed Presbyterian Church may be just one branch of Christ's church, but we believe it is a branch that is precious to Christ and we want to see you love it, commit to it, and serve King Jesus as part of it.

WHAT?
TFY Ireland is an opportunity to spend a week digging deeper. It is an opportunity to ask WHAT our church believes and also WHY it believes it. 

Think of it as a Theological Boot Camp, to give you an intensive course in the biblical doctrines that are at the heart of the Christian life. Over the course of the week you’ll receive in-depth lectures given by experienced pastors on the kingship of Christ, the doctrine of the Church, Covenant theology, worship, worldview, apologetics, evangelism and Church History. These topics will also give you an opportunity to explore and discuss some of the distinctive principles of the RPCI. There will be a bit of time for relaxing and having fun as well, but the emphasis of the week is very much on teaching. You will spend time in lectures, seminars and discussions, all designed to deepen your love for the Lord Jesus Christ and your commitment to his bride, the church.

Along the way you will have the chance to make new friends and catch up with old ones as you join them in exploring the ramifications of God's word for young people in the 21st century.”

Stephen pictured with two of the other speakers

The handouts that accompanied Stephen’s talks are available below:

"Two Ways of Obtaining Eternal Happiness": An Overview of Covenant Theology

Lecture 1: The Covenant of Works
Lecture 2: The Covenant of Grace

"That's on Me"

Is it just me, or is the phrase "that's on me" becoming more common?

A football manager is interviewed after a defeat and admits that he got his tactics wrong. "Thats on me", he says. In her recently released memoir, Nicola Sturgeon discusses her failure to narrow the attainment gap between rich and poor pupils as she committed to do in 2015. "I did not succeed in all that I set out to do on school education — and that is on me"

It's a way of saying: "I'll take the blame". "You don't need to look for anyone else to criticise — the fault is mine, and mine alone". It’s surely to be applauded as a humble acknowledgement of fault. In a world where people seek to blame almost anyone or anything else for their own failures, it can be refreshing to hear a politician come out and say "it's my fault — that's on me". If you've listened to hundreds of interviews with football managers and heard them blame injuries, referees, weather conditions, fixture pile-ups — even the colour of the kit the players were wearing — it's refreshing to hear one hold his hands up and admit that he got something wrong. When, rather than throwing his players under the bus, he will take the hit and say "that's on me".

Of course, the cynic might argue that it's simply a self-serving way of someone getting ahead of the criticism that they know is coming anyway. Particularly if the manager obviously got his tactics wrong, or the politician ignored advice. Overall though, it's surely a positive trend. There's such a failure to accept fault in our society, that it's just a nice change when someone holds their hands up and says "that's on me".

The phrase also strikes me as a way to explain the Christian gospel to those who are unfamiliar with it. The Bible contains no shortage of people who are keen to shift the blame. In the aftermath of the very first sin — eating the forbidden fruit — Adam blames Eve (and by implication God), and Eve blames Satan. Moses's brother Aaron explains his sin in making a golden calf for the people to worship by saying "I threw [gold] into the fire and out came this calf". Saul, Israel's first king, tries to justify offering an unlawful sacrifice by blaming the prophet Samuel for being late. These key figures in biblical history had the opportunity to hold up their hands and say "that's on me". But they didn't — because it is in our nature to try to shift the blame.

However the Bible also tells us of someone who never had any need to hold his hands up and acknowledge his guilt — because he had none. Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, became man (without ceasing to be God). But whereas everyone who had ever lived up until that point — even the best of men — had given in to temptation many times, he never did. He "knew no sin" (2 Corinthians 5:21). He was "in every way tempted as we are, yet without sin" (Hebrews 4:15).

How did the world react to someone so pure? We put him to death. His brilliant purity showed up our impurity. And yet Jesus' death on the cross wasn't a tragic accident, it was the very reason he came. He came both to live and to die in our place. At the cross he took our sins on himself and effectively said to his Father "that's on me". "Don't hold their sin against them — punish me instead". On the cross he became liable for the guilt of all who would ever put their trust in him.

Many seek to deny their guilt. And it's certainly true that we often suffer at the hands of others. We are sinned against — but according to the Scriptures, we are also sinners: "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). Yet there is hope. The Book of Proverbs warns: "Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy." Some seek to atone for their guilt themselves — through acts of charity, church involvement, etc. But if we could atone for our own sin, Jesus wouldn't have needed to come. Rather, the good news of the gospel is that on the cross Jesus took on himself all our guilt and shame. On the cross, he said of even our worst actions: "That's on me". And he promises that whoever comes to him he will never cast out.

Published in the Stranraer & Wigtownshire Free Press, 11th September 2025

RPCS Day Out in Ayr

Last month, we in Stranraer organised an event for the whole denomination in Ayr. The following report is taken from the RPCS website:

Each year a different church in the Presbytery organises a Presbytery-wide event. This year it was Stranraer’s turn and they planned a lovely day in Ayr on the 2nd August. 55 people from Airdrie, Glasgow, North Edinburgh, Stranraer, and Wishaw attended, and we were blessed with beautiful weather.

The day began with everyone meeting for a picnic lunch on the Ayr Lower Green. After some time chatting and catching up over our sandwiches, it was time for a walk to the old cemetery in Ayr, where Jimmy Fisher (from Airdrie RPC and Tour Guide for our Presbytery ministry, Reformation Tours) gave a talk at the grave of 7 Covenanter martyrs who were all hanged at Ayr. They had been captured at Rullion Green in November 1666, and were part of a group of twelve men brought from Edinburgh to Ayr to stand trial for their part in the Pentland Rising. After the inevitable outcome, all were sentenced to death. Part of the inscription on their grave reads (like so many of the martyr graves in Scotland) that they died “For their adherence to the Word of GOD and Scotland’s Covenanted work of Reformation”. We then sang Psalm 23 and Psalm 133 and James Fraser prayed.

We then walked back to the green where there were all sorts of games and races for young and old alike involving parachutes and hula hoops. Folks continued to chat and spend time getting to know new people from the different congregations and catching up with old friends. It was a lovely day and many thanks to Stranraer RPC for organising it.