B-Banking on prayer - I wrote this poem following a family emergency that almost became a tragedy.
Beating upon the Cloud of Unknowing A personal response to the unique medieval treatise on contemplative prayer (Poem)
Behind the mirror A meditation on the nature of God (poem)
Being Ananias A reflection on a lesser-known character in a well-known New Testament story(Poem)
Best intentions (A short poem about the nature of "Truth")
Bat walk (An enjoyable social experience combined with techology to engage with a hidden world of sound)
Bethany - Ordinary Superstars - the complete script and scores for the musical, "Bethany"
Bible in a Year - tips and encouragement for those who would like to know the Bible better
Bible Reading Record - download page for printing a useful aid for reading the Bible in a Year
Body in the desert - Caught short on a long drive, a motorist discovers a body. That's his first worry.
BOOKS by Derrick Phillips - five published books by the author of this website
Born of a woman - Oh wow! - a review of the book "Born of a Woman" by Bishop John Shelby Spong
Burning bush - a poem based on Moses' story in chapter 3 of the book of Exodus.
Bye bye QT - Prayer is a journey - sometimes with testing twist and turns along the way. I wrote this poem when it all seemed to be going wrong.

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C- Calling God by a new name - Childhood experiences and negative associations sometimes spoil the very best in life. LM solved the problem by changing the associations.
Casting bread - comments on the strange text in Ecclesiastes ("cast thy bread upon the waters")
Captain of controversy - a review of a biography of Oliver Cromwell.
Challenges The key thing about facing challenges is how we respond (Poems)
Chiefs and Indians - an insightful story about leadership, written by Alan Halden.
Choosing Again Following Jesus is not just a one-time choice (a poem inspired by John 6:66-68)
Contemplation A brief reflection on the nature of a classic spiritual excercise(Poem)
Christian mysticism A correspondent asked me to comment on an entry in Microsoft's "Encarta" encyclopedia on the subject of "Christian Mysticism" and this was my reply
Chronicles conundrum (Blog) - Why are the books of Chronicles included in the Bible?
Churching in a green age - The Holy Spirit planted the seed of spiritual life in us and he can maintain it. This plea for 'green' Christianity was first published in "Insights" magazine.
Clear Ahead - Grace is free, but that doesn't mean we sign up for an easy life when we commit to faith.
Code talkers - The Navaho contribution to the Second World War remained secret for almost 25 years, but a fast food restaurant lets the secret out.
Comradeship Agenda (Blog) - People talk about battling in prayer, but who are they fighting?
Coy about death (Blog) - "X has passed on", "N is no longer with us", "Z has passed away" - WHY SUCH LANGUAGE?
Creative evolution - Evolution is OK, but it implies an uncaused cause. Is that scientific?
Creativity Creativity is all one with Prayer (Poem)
Crop circles on my lawn - An unusual view of a familiar creature.
Cyber abduction - Abducted by aliens without ever leaving his own room, Tim discovers something special about Chinese food!
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D-Danger of Truth (The) - This was a reply I sent to a Pakistani army officer with Islamic fundamentalist sympathies who wrote expressing a concern for truth.
Dark encounter - A summer evening walk on the South Downs turns into a wildlife encounter in the dark.
Deliver us from Evil - What does this phrase of the Lord's Prayer really mean?
Delusional faith Call it a delusion, but faith is my strength (Poem)
Death - a reason to fear? - Death may seem a dangerous subject to write about! This article arose from correspondence circulating between members of ACWG.
Diamond Dust (Poem) - Reflections on an extraordinary natural phenomenon that I've been privileged to witness twice
Did Jesus found the Church? (Blog) - Isn't it obvious?
Divine sculptor (The) - The expert sculptor knows his material intimately and forms it out of that knowledge. But who is the Sculptor? And who is the stone? (Poem)
Don't speak to me again - The prophet's dilemma as experienced by Elijah, Jeremiah & Jonah. (Poem)
Don't stop praying A poem - also featured in my book "Still Digging" - Scratching the surface and plumbing the depths of prayer"
Doubt (Blog) - Uncertainty - and how it can be helpful
Doubting and believing (Blog) - Should we be ashamed of doubts?
Dreams with meaning - Dreams feature strongly in the Bible and they can still speak today. (PDF file)
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E- Elijah's moan (Blog) - Learn about prayer from a failed superstar
End Times (To many people Judgement seems like a worrying doctrine and a fearful prospect, but what about those who are waiting for justice?) (POEM) (PDF)
Encounter of the fourth kind - A wildlife enthusiast finds himself involved in a close encounter that beats all his preconceptions.
Evangelical Blood (written in response to a lady who asked, "Isn't it out-of-date and 'yucky' for Christians to use expressions like 'washed in the blood'?")

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F- Faith is... A reflection on Hebrews 11:1 and 6 (Poem)
Fanciful reflections on God and a butterfly - God is like a butterfly? This reflective article borrows ideas from chaos theory to speculate on what God is like.
Fit to Fight? (Blog) - Preparation for spiritual warfare
Five questions about the Transfiguration - a commentary on one of the strangest stories in the New Testament
Footprints - It's OK to leave footprints that people may choose to follow, but it's not OK to leave holes that people will feel obliged to fill
Fox on the Fosse - A moment of rural delight during a walk near the source of the River Thames.
Fundamental relief - An introduction to Derrick Phillips' book, "SOS - Stumbling Over Scripture"
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G- Generational evils (Blog) - Truthful debate about injustice
Gentlemen please! (Blog) - "They said I'm gentle", complained a student, "but that doesn't sound very manly"
Glimpses of truth - Truth is not a fact, but an experience, a personal expression, a life. (a book, written by Maurice Smith) (PDF file)
Glory to Glory (Blog) - "I'm rubbish! But am I?"
God in a box - Religious people keep trying to confine God to special places... but he always breaks out! (written by Alan Halden)
God's Church The vital truth of the Church is not who belongs to it, but who it belongs to. (A Poem)
Gospel Truth (Blog) - Can we trust the four Gospels?
Grace to melt your heart - review of a book by Maurice Smith.
Greetings! (Blog) - What do we really mean when we say "Hello"?
Growing up Challenging reflections about my image of God... (This poem appears in my book SOS (Stumbling Over Scripture): a journey from fundamentalism to faith)
Guilt Complex (The) - a series of lively exchanges between members of "Adullum's Cave Writers' Group" (PDF file)
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H- Haikus - a selection of poems in Haiku format PDF FILE
Happy Holy Habits (Blog) - What's the point of "Holy Habits"?
Head hunt - A businessman's journey ends in a frightening kidnap (True story) (pdf file)
Hearing God (Blog) - Can we really tune in to the Almighty?
Heartfelt Prayer - The way we'd like our prayer to be
Highest Mountain (The) - This 1984 book (revised 2000) explores the reasons why church unity has not been attained, restates the ideal, and says why it still matters. PDF file
(A) Hell of a question - How fundamental to Christian doctrine is the teaching about Hell?
Heroes of Doubt - An encouraging perspective on doubt
How Temptation Works - We're less vulnerable to temptation when we understand how it works
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I-Identity Crisis - a heart cry from a man who was trying to find himself. (POEM) (PDF)
I didn't see that coming - Often we find that the peak we are aiming for isn't really the summit (Poem)
If I can't be a tree (Blog) - Hope inspired by a fallen tree
Inspirational Anna (Book Review) - A rerview of the moving story "Mister God this is Anna"
Intelligent life - On the first discovery of intelligent beings on another planet the landing party finds their preconceptions shattered. (pdf file)
Intercessors Wanted (Blog) - How would you respond to the call?
It all depends how you see it - Four people go stargazing and get caught up in a remarkable encounter, reported differently based on their beliefs.
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J-{J}
Jesus exhausted (Blog) - It IS Jesus, but shown in a different light than is usually noticed
Job for comfort and challenge (Blog) - The oldest answer to the question of suffering
Joseph and Nicodemus Imagining the thoughts of the two men who buried Jesus. (Poem - PDF file)
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K-{K}
Kerith and Carmel Consider how these contrasting experiences worked together in Ejijah's journey of faith. (Poem - PDF file)
Kingfisher - This bird is a fisher, but is it really a king?. (Poem - PDF file)
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L- Last watch - The inspiration for this fictional story will be obvious to anyone who has visited the pretty Devon seaside town of Lynmouth.
Let it all out - A comment on Psalm 55:22, "Cast your cares on the Lord..." (Poem)
Life after meetings - Meetings do not define the Christian life. Maurice Smith urges believers to ensure that their 'light' is internal.
Life Lines - tales of hope from Capernaum - Four delightful stories that build biographies for familiar New Testament characters. (by Don Gee)
Life on a Pinhead (Blog) - Are you prepared for life's unexpected changes?
Listen and Speak - A word of advice for those who have a prophetic gift. (Poem)
Live a miracle - Christians can bemoan the divided state of the church - or they can do something about it.
Look before you lead - A look at varying models of leadership.
Luther's deliberate mistranslation (Blog) - How this famous leader dealt with an uncomfortable text

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M- Making Shemayin (Blog) - Fantasy - Fiction - Facts - Faith in "Shemayin", the novella
Maths and prayer - If you find prayer difficult - so what? (Poem)
Melchizedek - small clue, big story (Blog) - Big truths from a small incident
Metamorphosis - A meditation on the Christian hope of resurrection. (Poem)
Meteor Strike - Paul and Ruth were prepared for the normal risks of a country walk, but not for the emergency they witnessed from their downland vantage point.
Moor lonely - Mike's mood reflected the dismal weather as he lay in a hole waiting for rescue.
More thoughts on the Transfiguration (Blog) - Based on Matthew 17:1-9 - Mark 9:1-10 - Luke 9:27-36
Mother Tongue - Review of the book by Bill Bryson
Mystic risks - Christianity, has often been wary about prophets and mystics - but the risks are worth taking.
Mystics for pleasure - A Protestant Evangelical discovers the Mystics.
Murmuration - One of nature's greatest visual displays is created by one of our most common birds (Poem)
My Goodness! (Blog|) - Reasonable Holiness (backgound to the book)

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N- Naboth's Vineyard (Blog) - based on the story in 1 Kings chapter 21
Nebulous Church (The) - a widely circulated article about being church
Night hike - A true story about a hike that turned into a farce.
No Beginning - A poem exploring thoughts about Creation and the Big Bang. (PDF FILE)
No Objective - Writing this sorrowful poem helped me get some bad feelings out of my system.
No strings - A true re-enactment of the eternal battle between hoarders and tidiers.

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