David Sims

@Adrian_Hilton @liambeadle I'm just a lowly Vicar- but I will happily and publicly say that Jesus is Lord. There is no other way to God the Father than through God the Son- Jesus Christ. He is the way, the truth and the life. There is no other name by which we can be saved.

I don't entirely agree with Nick Timothy on banning Islamic prayer in Trafalgar Square, and have explained why. But what I find interesting about the intervention of Church of England bishops is the immediate push-back they give, once again, to the political right while the left is given a perpetual free pass. The Bishop of Kirkstall believes the essential Christian mission to be “to seek the common good and to live at peace with our neighbour”; the Bishop of Willesden that “our diversity is not a problem to be solved, but a resource to be cherished”. What neither addresses is the gospel response to the public proclamation: ‘I bear witness that there is no god but Allah. I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.’ The Bishops seem to have no problem at all with Mohammed being named in Westminster Abbey in the succession of prophets “from Adam, Noah and Abraham to Moses, Jesus and Mohammed Mustafa”, yet if he was a prophet, Jesus is not the Son of God. Nick Timothy has stated the orthodox position that Mohammed was a false prophet, but which bishops have done so? Ah, but their mission is the common good, the pursuit of diversity, and living peacably with our neighbour. Does that gospel save? Is their soteriological understanding that salvation is universal? When did it become ‘right wing’ to express that Jesus alone saves, or that Christianity is and should remain preeminent in the Constitution? It seems to me that what Nick has done is to initiate a debate, but instead of engaging with the social theology of his concerns, the political left and the Bishops (if they are not the same thing) seek to shut it down or to make such thinking unutterable. “Sack him!” they cry, instead of addressing his argument. What exactly is wrong with a debate about the public expression of the Islamic faith and how, with demographic change and the rise of Islam in society, that increasingly impinges upon the continuing freedom of Christians to express their faith, and of Jews to live in safety and security?

I just received 4 coffees from @heidz on @buymeacoffee! buymeacoffee.com/Tiktokvicar/c/…

@2D0XPS And those atheists that believe in both! 🤣

I've questions for the 6% of Evangelicals who do believe in Hell but don't believe in Heaven

@StevenBartlett I've sent out nearly 3000 Bibles since May last year on TikTok! If you'd like one, do dm me :)

Bible sales in the United States just hit a 21 year high... So why are more people turning back to religion? To help answer that question, today I’m joined by Christian apologist Wesley Huff. Wesley is a historian who studies the historical reliability of the Bible and the evidence surrounding the life of Jesus. Much of his work focuses on ancient manuscripts and the historical case for Christianity. He spends his time debating sceptics and asking a simple question - what does the historical record actually say? I wanted to speak to Wesley because these are questions I’ve personally wrestled with for years. I grew up in a Christian household. When I was about eighteen, I was pulled into the new atheist movement after reading people like Richard Dawkins and Sam Harris. Since then, I’ve found myself in a different place. Curious and still asking a lot of questions.

@WATCH_ACT I'm sorry that All Souls makes you so upset. I find that it blesses me when I rejoice in other people's ministries- even those I disagree with. I have good friends who don't agree with my theology- but we enjoy coffee & celebrate what God is doing in their churches.

No. All Souls Langham Place goes against the teaching of the Bible and Gospel on justice and no group lording it over others - by the sin of proof texting, which has been responsible for bad theology - from the time of Arius to the justification of obeying Hitler.

@ItsTheDumbAges @charliebelllive Hi :) They're a CofE church, so they uphold the CofE teaching on marriage. I know of LGBTQI+ people for whom that is their church.

@charliebelllive OK, thanks. Perhaps I need to look more into this. Is there something I can read?

I went to a different church today. All Saints in Langham Place. It was billed as evangelical Anglican and I was curious. I wasn't expecting to, but I enjoyed it immensely. It was heaving with people for a start, which made a huge difference to the atmosphere. It was also a diverse crowd in terms of ethnicity and I can't exactly explain why but that brought me joy. I guess I thought "this is what a London church SHOULD be like". Hymns were modern mostly and they had a choir and a small band playing. I loved singing them and even though I wasn't familiar with them, the African woman behind me was belting them out and I just followed her and lead. I think I'm going to go back next week.

@charliebelllive @ItsTheDumbAges I know that there are gay people who go there, are part of the family, and are loved.

@ItsTheDumbAges It’s great, if you don’t like gay people.

Jesus our Judge and our Saviour!

@SamCoatesSky -Disability Rights UK -Royal College of Psychiatrists -Royal College of General Practitioners -Palliative Care Practitioners -Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson -Gordon Brown amongst many others But swipe at religious people because it's a free hit. Fact is: it's a bad bill.

@Rgt71Robert @churchofengland @ClergySupportUK @ArchbishopSarah @CottrellStephen Your kind words are appreciated brother! I've often struggled with the significant uplift in expenses, property and salary for bishops. I have no desire to go up the ladder- I love parish stuff and taking Jesus into our community- but I'll be worse off for it in retirement!

Sad that people like David who have wonderful ministries in the ground of @churchofengland rely so heavily on @ClergySupportUK whilst: @ArchbishopSarah : ~£95,630 @CottrellStephen : ~£81,950 Bishop of London: ~£75,120 Diocesan Bishops: ~£51,910 Suffragan Bishops/Deans: ~£42,350 Before we get to scrutinising their expenses too that is…… It is time for deeply Christian change. It is time for a single common stipend. It is time to be more like Jesus Christ.

@Rgt71Robert @ClergySupportUK Since we become ineligible for UC last year, we've lost around 7k per annum in income. Three disabled kids, Mrs S therefore can't work. Clergy Support Trust have been just amazing- holidays, assessments for the children, helping buying a wheelchair accessible car....

Fact that many clergy now apply & receive help from @ClergySupportUK is a good thing. BUT the fact that so many have to do so or rely on it to support their families is a scandal. The mockery of the stipend & the penury of the pension needs to end. Bishops might show more leadership about this if there was one common stipend for all….and one common expense policy…. I am calling on @ArchbishopSarah & @CottrellStephen to live on an incumbents spend & to donate the difference to charity.

Praying that each of these people come to know the Saviour through the word. Come Lord Jesus!

@catherinehwyatt I'm on TikTok as Tiktok_Vicar- sent out loads of Bibles (nearly 3000!) over the last few months. Happily talk to you about my thoughts if you'd like to dm me! :)

Are Gen Z attending church in droves? The truth about the “quiet revival” is a little complicated… bbc.co.uk/news/articles/…

'Joy in the sunshine, joy in the rain- You keep me dancing again and again! Whatever comes tomorrow, I've got joy!'

@Rgt71Robert Hi Robert. Whilst we disagree significantly on our theology of marriage (and maybe many other things too!!) I am sorry for the way people have spoken to you unkindly, bullied you, & generally been vile. It's not OK. I hope you have space this weekend. 🙏

Like Charlie, I have been the recipient today off a torrent of extremely vitriolic homophobia. I have never blocked so many people in my life. But these bigots, these utter bigots are not worth my time of day anymore. They speak from fear not from Christ. But I (imagine also like Charlie) have been the recipient of so many beautiful messages from so many people saying thank you for articulating exactly what we feel. Today is the day that I blocked many but it is the day that I’ve had the most friend requests ever. These are ordinary people up and down the country in ordinary parishes both urban and rural. They don’t say much generally in their own parishes but they have queer members of their families whom they love. Everyone does these days . For that I am deeply thankful. And like Charlie I say to all the bishops and most specifically to @ArchbishopSarah @CottrellStephen both of you go to our civil partnerships both of you go to our civil marriages why won’t you just be honest? Why won’t you just be clear that what you do in private is not the same as you say in public? Sarah you can talk about misogyny as much as you like and indeed it is vile absolutely vile - but for the entirety of my ministry I have stood by women and I don’t think I have ever let them down. Sarah, you let us down, day after the day after day after the day. And you’re letting us down has real consequences it’s the people that come to my door with depression and suicidal ideation that you will do nothing about. It is time to step up. It is time to do the right thing. It is time to live the gospel of Jesus Christ who brings all people into God’s reign of justice and peace. May Jesus have mercy upon us. May Mary mother of God pray for us. May all saints and angels protect us.

@charliebelllive We might not agree on our theology of marriage- but that doesn't mean we should disagree so unkindly. I am really sorry for the hurt in this process for you, & for others, particularly when those of us with an Orthodox/evangelical/traditional view speak with such a lack of love.

Good to see the sheer level of hate here being addressed at me. At least it will have given some other target a moment or two off whilst these rather sad individuals attack a fellow human being that they do not know. And yes, this is the direct result of Christian homophobia.

@TheWomanfredi 😬I wonder what % of bishops had a private education!

I remember being metaphorically patted on the head by someone during the discernment process, by them telling me I didn’t need to do a theology degree because “it wasn’t like I was ever going to be the chaplain of an Oxbridge college.”

@thevicarswife People are dying without knowing Jesus but let's talk flowers...!

Sadly did not get to speak in the flowers debate for churches that don't have flowes at #Synod today. Here's what I was going to say:

@vicgoddard @SENMuminSEast Our youngest son joined our family through adoption when he was 1 and a half. Intense attachment trauma, and then diagnosed with cancer. A year of treatment. Having to home school as he couldn't access school without significant disregulation. LA refused to assess for an ECHNA

@SENMuminSEast Says no one with any first hand knowledge of the system!

"EHCPs are going through the roof... Parents' expectations have changed... they're almost putting their children forward for every assessment known to man." 😒😩

@thevicarswife Once a month Max!

Doing some research for General Synod: Does your church have any volunteer flower arrangers? If you do, please comment about how often you have flower arrangements. We have no flower arrangers, and I suspect that this is an increasing phenomenon.