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The Baldy Bishops The Baldy Bishops - they are bald, but they are clean. It is the means of our justification AND our sanctification.

Reach the Isles is a collective effort of Christians committed to reaching the isles with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
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We are informally united by two core principles:
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1) The Gospel is the milk AND the meat of God’s word. We exist to help believers understand this beautiful truth and to equip them to live in light of it.
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2) The Word of God speaks consistently, clearly and powerfully into a wo

rld of broken gospels and worldviews. We exist to help believers understand the Biblical worldview and to equip them to engage this generation with it. Visit www.reachtheisles.com for more information.

In a world of livestreamed services, podcasts, and endless digital connection, it’s easy to wonder: Does gathering with ...
21/08/2025

In a world of livestreamed services, podcasts, and endless digital connection, it’s easy to wonder: Does gathering with God’s people still matter?

Join us as we explore why the church gathers, and why it’s still as life-giving, beautiful, and essential as ever.

Over three episodes, we’ll unpack ten biblical reasons for gathering: who we are, what Christ died for, what God commands, and how coming together blesses, shapes, and prepares us for eternity.

Whether you’re new to church or have been faithfully attending for years, this series will help you see Sunday not as a duty, but as a joyful gift.

Let’s rediscover together why gathering truly matters.

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🎧 Matt and Alan continue their series on praying for one another. They finish up 2 Thessalonians as they explore two sho...
21/07/2025

🎧 Matt and Alan continue their series on praying for one another. They finish up 2 Thessalonians as they explore two short prayers in chapter 3.

🔗 Link in bio!

One day we will shine like the sun! Paul prays, in 2 Thessalonians 1v11-12, that we will live like that's true now!🔗 Lin...
03/07/2025

One day we will shine like the sun! Paul prays, in 2 Thessalonians 1v11-12, that we will live like that's true now!

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Being vulnerable is often a very emotional experience. We’re talking about our struggles in sin and suffering. We’re tal...
23/05/2025

Being vulnerable is often a very emotional experience. We’re talking about our struggles in sin and suffering. We’re talking about the things we find hard. It’s probably going to take a little time to unravel our thoughts and emotions to share the full story of what we’re trying to be vulnerable about.

If someone is constantly interrupting or filling up those quiet moments of thoughts being formed, or the awkward moments of struggling through our emotions, then it can disrupt our flow of thought.

Again, if we’re’ doing most of the talking, we’re not listening.

Speaking from experience I’ve tried to talk to people about my sin and suffering, only for them to keep interrupting me with quips and comments that have made it hard for me to gather my thoughts. I nervously try to keep talking before they interrupt. I rush the process. I don’t feel like I’ve been given the space and time to reflect through what I want to say and to deal with my emotions.

I know I’ve done this. I’ve stopped someone’s train of thought. I’ve got uncomfortable in the quiet moments and filled it with trite comments. I’ve interrupted people. How careless of me.

Who am I more likely to talk to? Someone who will patiently sit with me as I unravel my thoughts and feelings. Someone who will allow the quiet moments to be moments of thinking about how to say what I really want to say. Someone who will give me the time to slowly go a little deeper without them cutting me off. Someone who will ask careful and open questions that allow me to continue reflecting on what I’m sharing with them.

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When someone is being vulnerable with you, it is taking them real courage. It’s never easy to be vulnerable. This is a r...
22/04/2025

When someone is being vulnerable with you, it is taking them real courage. It’s never easy to be vulnerable. This is a remarkably precious moment, and we should treat it that way.

If I am someone who listens poorly, people will probably struggle to be vulnerable with me. If I behave in a distracted way when someone is being vulnerable, I am essentially telling them that I’m not listening.

If I’m picking up my phone, checking my watch, clicking on my laptop, if my eyes are wandering around the room, if I have that glazed over look, if my body language is suggesting that I’m not engaged, if I’m watching TV, the person is not going to feel like I am carefully listening.

If we truly care about the person, we will care about matters to them, and we'll show that by listening well.

I’ve tried to pour out my heart to people before, only for them to pick up their phone and start texting others, while mumbling “mhm…right…yeah…”. I’ve tried to talk to people about hard things, only for them to open their laptop and start clicking away. I’ve begun sharing with someone, only for them to interrupt me to point out something funny or trivial happening around us. I usually find myself clamming up in these moments and becoming more and more reluctant to share.

I know I’ve been distracted. I’ve scrolled on my phone, I’ve let my thoughts wonder, I’ve had a distant expression as I mumble “huh” at what people are telling me. How unloving.

Who am I more likely to talk to? Someone who listens with care. Someone who closes the laptop, puts their phone away, focuses on what I’m telling them and looks like they are actively listening.

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For someone to be vulnerable with you is deeply precious. We must treat their vulnerability with care and respect. If we...
27/03/2025

For someone to be vulnerable with you is deeply precious.

We must treat their vulnerability with care and respect. If we tell others about something that has been entrusted to us we are being untrustworthy and unfaithful. If the person finds out you have told others, they will likely never trust you again, and for good reason.

The Bible really does have a lot to say about gossip and about being a trustworthy, faithful and reliable person.

There have been people in my life I have entrusted with sensitive things about me, only to discover, after a while, that others I haven’t told, know about that area of my life. Naturally, I really struggle to trust those people now.

I’ve gossiped. I’ve taken sensitive information about someone and told it to others. I broke their trust. How unfaithful I have been.

Who am I more likely to talk to? Someone who proves to be trustworthy. Someone who will treat my vulnerability with respect and care.

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1 Thessalonians 5v23 tells us that there is a strong, vital link between peace and holiness. The God of Peace wants to s...
10/03/2025

1 Thessalonians 5v23 tells us that there is a strong, vital link between peace and holiness. The God of Peace wants to sanctify and preserve his people.

Matt Green and Alan Campbell continue the Praying for One Another series and finish up 1 Thessalonians.

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In 1 Thessalonians 3 Paul prays that the believers would grow and overflow with love for one another and for everyone ar...
12/02/2025

In 1 Thessalonians 3 Paul prays that the believers would grow and overflow with love for one another and for everyone around them. He believe that if God answers this prayer it would lead to them living blameless and holy lives until the day Jesus returned.

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Onions have layers. As you peel back on one layer, you get to the next. And so on, until you get to the core. An iceberg...
31/01/2025

Onions have layers. As you peel back on one layer, you get to the next. And so on, until you get to the core. An iceberg has a lot more going on under the surface.

Trust takes time. Vulnerability has layers. Perhaps someone will trust me with one layer and then, over time, be a little more vulnerable. However, if I am careless with the first layer, they likely won’t trust me with a deeper level. The initial layers of trust and vulnerability might seem shallow and trivial, however, the person might want to see how you handle this level of vulnerability before they trust you with the next.

If you respond to someone’s vulnerability with, “you just need to…” or “that’s nothing”, then you are minimising and trivialising.

Recently, I watched a child drop their sweets on the floor. Devastated, they ran to their father for comfort. The dad got on his knees and embraced their child, listened to their anguish and expressed compassion. I remember thinking, that dad really cares about these small things, when the bigger things of life come, that kid will likely keep running to his father. If, however, the father had minimised the moment, and continued to do that, I wonder if the child would keep running to his father when the big things come?

If someone matters to you, then the things that matter to them will matter to you.

I tend to avoid being vulnerable with people who have responded to me with statements like “that’s nothing” or “you’re not the only one going through hard things”.

I know I’ve minimised. I’ve listened to the first layers of someone’s difficulties and thought “that’s nothing” and have expressed those thoughts in how I spoke to them. There was more to them and more to their experience that I never had the privilege of hearing, because I didn’t earn more trust. How shallow of me.

Who am I more likely to talk to? Someone who understands that there are layers to sin and suffering and that there are layers to trust and vulnerability. Someone who will treat me with compassion and understanding. Someone who will treat whatever I share with them as important to them, because they can see it’s important to me.

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When we listen to someone being vulnerable and we respond with something like: “That reminds me of something I experienc...
10/01/2025

When we listen to someone being vulnerable and we respond with something like:

“That reminds me of something I experienced”

And then talk about that for the next ten minutes, we have 'story matched'. We’ve taken their moment of vulnerability and turned it into an opportunity to talk about ourselves. This is a careless thing to do. Sadly, it’s happening in every cafe up the length and breadth of the UK.

Have you ever shared with someone about a hard week, only to be told, “that’s nothing compared to my week”? Have you ever wept in front of someone during deep loss, only for them to talk about themselves? Have you ever shared exciting news, only for your story to be used as a platform to hear their story? In those moments you likely felt like the conversation was hijacked. That’s because it was.

Sometimes we might feel that sharing a part of our story will help the person, because they will see that we have experienced a similar situation to them. This must be done carefully. You may start to overshare and not get back to their story. You may share something that seems even worse than their story, so they feel like their story is nothing compared to yours. You may share and they don’t see the connection. If you’re going to use a part of your story to connect with someone being vulnerable with you, keep checking in with them to see if it’s actually helpful.

We are called to weep with those who are weeping, to rejoice with those who are rejoicing, not to make their story a launching pad for ours.

As I think about sharing both hard and good things in my life with others, it’s hard for me to think about sharing with those who tend towards story matching.

I know I’ve story matched. I’ve heard stories of sorrow, fear, joy, and have responded by telling them all about something in my own life. I can only imagine how unheard they must have felt. How selfish of me.

Who am I more likely to talk to? Someone who will follow up on what I’ve just shared, someone who will weep with me or rejoice with me over my story.

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If you want someone to stop being vulnerable; say something like: I can’t believe you would do something like that.I wou...
03/01/2025

If you want someone to stop being vulnerable; say something like:

I can’t believe you would do something like that.
I wouldn’t expect that from you.
I would never do something like that.

We are all sinners. We are all still struggling against the flesh. We are all failing in different areas. What we unwittingly communicate, when we say something like the above, is geared towards exasperating someone’s sense of guilt and shame. The fact that they have had the courage to be vulnerable with you likely means they have already fought through those feelings.

Again, judging is a bible word and a bible principle. However, there are clear, wise, loving steps to take in how we go about judging. Judging is always meant to be aimed at humbly and lovingly restoring someone.

Think about how the high priest treated fellow sinners according to Hebrews 5:2:

He can deal gently with the ignorant and wayward,
since he himself is beset with weakness.

We are deeply needy people listening to a deeply needy person talk about their neediness. That should always be our posture.

I tend to gravitate away from the people I know would speak to me in judgmental ways when it comes to talking about my sin. I already know it’s wrong. I’m already wrestling with a sense of guilt and shame.

I know I’ve judged. I’ve offered people the shocked expressions and the “I’m surprised/disappointed” remarks before. Jesus already knew these things about them and he loved them and was patiently working in them. Meanwhile I was acting as if I wasn’t a sinner. How hypocritical and unhelpful of me.

Who am I more likely to talk to? Someone who is humble enough to be real about the fact that they are sinners talking to another sinner. Someone who will treat my vulnerability with compassion and point me to the love and grace of God in the gospel. Someone who will pray for me and help me overcome this area of weakness or sin in my life.

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Matt and Alan take a look at the prayer in Colossians 4v12.🔗 Link in comments and story
03/01/2025

Matt and Alan take a look at the prayer in Colossians 4v12.

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