Search results for ""author adrian plass""

Adrian Plass has been delighting readers with his poetry for over twenty-five years, and this book finally brings it all together in one volume. As he says, 'To have them all, good, not so good, simple, complicated, light-hearted, funny, serious, sensible and silly collected into one volume is more exciting than I can say.' Funny, poignant, challenging and downright hysterical - these poems will delight readers. Some were born from times of incredible personal difficulty. Others have come from his visits to dangerous and poor parts of the world. Others come from his love affair with the Church. All of them reflect the man, his faith, his life and his joy

Read more less

The Shadow Doctor isn't your usual kind of doctor. Sure, you can bring him your problems - but the chances are his solutions will blow your mind. This man can see into your soul, and the cures he prescribes don't come from the pharmacy. If you have fears you just cannot face, wounds you can't even bear to remember - if you've been abused, ignored, damaged by all life throws at you - the Shadow Doctor is here to help.But the Shadow Doctor has shades of his own, and the work of helping others may be the only thing keeping him afloat. Can he stay ahead of the demons that torment him long enough to help those who need him?

Read more less

'I think I need to explain why I decided to call this book STILL CRAZY. Firstly, because I've been at this writing-and-speaking business for quite a while now, and the passion to share my thoughts still hasn't subsided. Secondly, because I am more and more convinced that a healthy dose of the right kind of crazy might be just what we need to cope with the ups and downs of modern life, and of faith.'Join me as we explore some of the strange, funny, puzzlingly pointless little side turnings that, generally speaking, we are too busy to bother with but which might just lead us to the place where we need to be: one place. One thing. One person.'Lots of laughs along the way. A few tears. It can feel a bit crazy. We'll get there.' From the IntroductionFrom the challenges of growing old (un)gracefully to reflections on the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic, this is a wide-ranging collection with lashings of Adrian's trademark humour. Whether considering the paradoxes and contradictions of faith and the church, or the unexpected blessings encountered along the way, this collection is thought-provoking and encouraging in equal measure.There are fresh entries from the Sacred Diary and new insights into the world of the Shadow Doctor, and finally Adrian considers the mystery of love, and ponders its power to help us change our world for good.

Read more less

'I think I need to explain why I decided to call this book STILL CRAZY. Firstly, because I've been at this writing-and-speaking business for quite a while now, and the passion to share my thoughts still hasn't subsided. Secondly, because I am more and more convinced that a healthy dose of the right kind of crazy might be just what we need to cope with the ups and downs of modern life, and of faith.'Join me as we explore some of the strange, funny, puzzlingly pointless little side turnings that, generally speaking, we are too busy to bother with but which might just lead us to the place where we need to be: one place. One thing. One person.'Lots of laughs along the way. A few tears. It can feel a bit crazy. We'll get there.' From the IntroductionFrom the challenges of growing old (un)gracefully to reflections on the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic, this is a wide-ranging collection with lashings of Adrian's trademark humour. Whether considering the paradoxes and contradictions of faith and the church, or the unexpected blessings encountered along the way, this collection is thought-provoking and encouraging in equal measure.There are fresh entries from the Sacred Diary and new insights into the world of the Shadow Doctor, and finally Adrian considers the mystery of love, and ponders its power to help us change our world for good.

Read more less

Mysteries are there to be solved. Aren't they?Jack has been working with the Shadow Doctor for a little while now. He thinks he might just be getting to grips with the Doc's unusual approach to helping with people's deep problems. Then, visiting the highly respected leader of a large Christian organisation, Jack sees his friend go on the attack. However, the encounter reveals secrets about the Doc's past that are beyond anything Jack could have imagined.Perturbed, he makes a list of all his unanswered questions. Where does the Shadow Doctor's unusual name come from? Why is he so stubbornly reluctant to speak about faith in terms that normal churchgoers would understand? Why is Jack not allowed to simply enjoy a moment when God really seems to have spoken through him? And will the Doc finally describe the life-changing experience mentioned by Jack's gran in the letter she wrote to him shortly before her death? Most all, Jack is desperate to pin down just what the Shadow Doctor actually thinks and feels about God.And there is one more issue that Jack feels particularly keenly. How will Doc respond to hearing that, having met a young lady named Aelwen, Jack is deeply in love for the very first time?

Read more less

Adrian Plass gently and humorously challenges the Churchman or woman in us all as we treat the church as if it should be made in our own image. Have you ever wondered how and why the body of Christ is constantly tripping over itself to derail its mission and ward off the world? Or have you ever marvelled at how those less spiritual than yourself can be in positions of leadership? Have you ever had the niggling sense that some other force was at work in that committee meeting? You are not alone. All is revealed in this annual report from Churchmanship Headquarters in Great Malvern, the training ground for all who would carry on the noble tradition of thwarting the work of the gospel among us.

Read more less

Mysteries are there to be solved. Aren't they?Jack has been working with the Shadow Doctor for a little while now. He thinks he might just be getting to grips with the Doc's unusual approach to helping with people's deep problems. Then, visiting the highly respected leader of a large Christian organisation, Jack sees his friend go on the attack. However, the encounter reveals secrets about the Doc's past that are beyond anything Jack could have imagined.Perturbed, he makes a list of all his unanswered questions. Where does the Shadow Doctor's unusual name come from? Why is he so stubbornly reluctant to speak about faith in terms that normal churchgoers would understand? Why is Jack not allowed to simply enjoy a moment when God really seems to have spoken through him? And will the Doc finally describe the life-changing experience mentioned by Jack's gran in the letter she wrote to him shortly before her death? Most all, Jack is desperate to pin down just what the Shadow Doctor actually thinks and feels about God.And there is one more issue that Jack feels particularly keenly. How will Doc respond to hearing that, having met a young lady named Aelwen, Jack is deeply in love for the very first time?

Read more less

Adrian has been trying to keep a low profile at church but his son Gerald is now an Anglican vicar and the two churches are getting together for a joint weekend away. Now Adrian's been volunteered to run it...From the confusion of arrival when Anne is allocated to the top bunk with a schizophrenic recovery group, and Adrian is in a low-ceilinged 'pod' at the top of the tower, to the hugs and tears of departure, this is typical Plass, humorous and heartwarming in equal measure. Adrian has a simple conversation about birdlife that ends with him being accused of harassment, Leonard Thynn and his wife turn up just in time to leave again after falling out with the SatNav lady, and Gerald's wit just keeps getting the better of him.There are as many questions as answers, of course. Will poor Sally, the unwilling nomad of the community, ever find a proper bed to sleep in? What exactly is it about Adrian's twinkle that Minnie Stamp 'lovey-doves' so very much? And how do you cope when your daughter-in-law shares a secret you simply cannot, must not tell? Once again, Adrian Plass gets us laughing just long enough for the truth to slip in by the back door, and for all the mishaps, this new instalment of the Sacred Diary series once again shows just how good God is at caring for this mixed bag of people we call the church.

Read more less

Adrian Plass and Jeff Lucas are renowned for their ability to express the silly side of Christian culture, and to cut through our pretensions and foibles with incisive wit. In this long-awaited sequel to Seriously Funny the pair again join comedic forces to challenge and entertain us with candid, moving, hilarious excerpts from their personal correspondence.

Read more less

A little while ago, concerned that the next time they got together, one of them would be in a coffin, Jeff Lucas and Adrian Plass decided to start exchanging letters and this book is the result. Breathtakingly honest, funny, moving and immensely enjoyable, Seriously Funny is a celebration of 21st century Christianity as well as a no-holds barred expose of its sillier side. And they are equally hard on themselves their most embarrassing moments are a joy to read. Adrian Plass and Jeff Lucas are renowned for their ability to express the silly side of Christian culture, and to cut through our pretensions and foibles with incisive wit. In this candid, moving, hilarious book, they join comedic forces to challenge and entertain us.

Read more less

The whole idea of the SERIOUSLY FUNNY tour was for Adrian Plass and Jeff Lucas to let people in on their conversations about God, life and the universe - and it went pretty well. After all, that's pretty much what they've been doing in their separate writing and speaking careers all these years.All told, people seemed to like the way their trademark styles came together and shed light on even the most difficult subjects, in a way that perhaps made those burdens a little easier to bear.However, as they toured around the country, Adrian and Jeff realised that other people's questions were at least as interesting as their own - possible more so. Eventually they decided they'd better have a go at some answers. This book is the result.They may not have got the answers right, but they have certainly had a good time along the way - and they hope you will, too.

Read more less