Where do you live and go to church?

I live at Roseville and attend St Andrew’s Anglican Church Roseville.

What was the first book of the Bible you ever read?

It was probably a Children’s Lion Bible with Bible Stories as a very young lad. Apart from Bible knowledge it helped my reading as a young ‘un. The first actual Bible book would have been Mark’s Gospel.

Name a Bible character you resonate with and why.

It’s got to be Thomas. I reckon he had every right to think the other disciples must have been smokin’ something when they told him they had seen the Risen Lord (John 20:25). His doubting was completely understandable and his response when he met the Risen Lord – “my Lord and my God” (John 20:27) – was equally compelling.

What’s one thing from the Bible that’s stuck in your brain at the moment?

2 Kings 5 where it reminds us that Naaman, the captain of the army of Syria, a leper and an unbeliever, “was a great man with his master and honourable, because by him Yahweh had given victory to Syria”. God works, or can work, through believers and unbelievers alike.

Name one part of the Bible you keep coming back to again and again and why.

It’s got to be The Psalms. They are songs of praise and, in addition, songs of lament and complaint! Psalm 13 my short version: “Not doing too well at the moment God. In cave, son outside wants to kill me. By the way, where are You?!!”

Describe one of your Bible reading failures and what you learnt.

Given that I prefer the morning, as much as possible, avoid early morning appointments! Even then, when you are rushing for the door, slow down and read. For a moment. It transforms your perspective.

What advice would you give someone struggling to read the Bible each day?

As above: when you don’t feel like it or feel rushed or other things are crowding it out, “just do it”! But don’t feel guilty about it when you miss!

And just for fun, if you were a monster what would be your defining feature?

I reckon I could make a good zombie with a good dead(pan) look!!