Chalmers' Blog

Saturday Snippets (September 12)

As well as reading a lot of books, I also read a ton of articles every week. Here are some of the articles that I’ve read recently and have found interesting, helpful, challenging and encouraging. I hope that they will be the same for you, my dear readers…

The Chair That Remains Empty

In 2017 I went on an intensive 3 day suicide intervention course. I thought it would be a great tool for ministry in the future. What I didn’t anticipate was that not even a full month would go by before I had to put that training into practice. I walked into a room with 20 other ‘clergy’ and lay members of church. Upon arrival we had to anonymously fill out a form explaining our own history with mental illness and suicide. 18/20 in the room Continue reading “The Chair That Remains Empty”

DoubtLess: Because Faith Is Hard

One of the things I really enjoy about my job is that I get to spend a lot of my time in 1-1s with people. I spend hours reading the Bible with, praying with and discussing some of the difficult questions people have about the Christian faith. Too often I’ve seen Christians worry that their questions will be thought of as doubts and a lack of faith. This is a great book touching on that very topic…

Saturday Snippets (September 5)

A Problem With ‘Quiet-Times’

If you’ve spent any time in Christian circles you’ve probably heard all the lingo. Quiet-times, spending time, personal devotions and so on, they all describe the same thing; personal time spent in God’s Word and prayer. Everyone will have different practices, use different materials and do it at different times of the day. But I think that there is a problem with our training on quiet-times, whether that’s intentional training or not.

Stop Taking Sides

I received a free copy of this book from Crossway in exchange for an honest review. This has not clouded my judgment 🙂

There are some things in the Bible that make us scratch our heads. Sometimes things can seem to be opposites, for examples love and wrath, and yet when we search Scripture we find that they aren’t opposites. Instead, they are two things, two truths that we must hold in tension. How is it possible for Christians to hold the tension between theological truths? Let me introduce you to a book…

Saturday Snippets (August 29)

Endorsements, do we really need them?

Over the years of my current reading pattern I’ve realised my approach to books has changed. One of those changes is the role that endorsements play. At the beginning I would first look at who endorses a book before I’d decide to read it. Now I only ever read the endorsements after I’ve finished the book. But why write a whole blog on this very niche topic? Because for buying and readers endorsements can be very important. But I’d like to take a few minutes to point out that they shouldn’t be the deciding factor of whether you read/buy a book. Continue reading “Endorsements, do we really need them?”

Why Is My Teenager Feeling Like This?: A Guide for Helping Teens through Anxiety and Depression

I received a free copy of this book from Crossway in exchange for an honest review. This has not clouded my judgment 🙂

An estimated six million American teens presently have some kind of anxiety disorder. In 2011, 11 percent of teen girls had a major depressive episode int he past year. Let that sink in. But do not think that this problem is confined to the USA. Anxiety and depression amongst teens is on the rise. Parents and pastors need to be equipped to walk with teenagers and help them in any and every way we can. To that end, I’d like to tell you about a super helpful book that can help!