Global Crossroads - Ancient Paths

Sermon from Christ Church Cathedral Oxford, preached at the Chrism Eucharist on Thursday 2nd April by the Bishop of Oxford.

A sermon preached in Christ Church Cathedral in Oxford on Easter Day. The readings for the Easter Day were Acts 10.34-43; Colossians 3.1-4; and John 20.1-18. The sermon focusses on Peter’s opening words in the passage from Acts, exploring the consequences of the resurrection of Christ for the whole world: “I truly understand that God shows no partiality….”

A presidential address to the Oxford Diocesan Synod on 7th March 2026, looking back in thanksgiving at our Common Vision and looking forward to the future.

This second essay on the vital ministry of Christian formation and preaching in Epiphany draws on the wisdom of St Augustine, a Bishop and Doctor of the Church, in North Africa.

A short reflection on preaching in the season of Epiphany, exploring the Church’s calling to invite others to come and see Christ. Drawing on scripture, tradition, and the rhythms of the Christian year, this address encourages clergy and lay ministers to preach with clarity, generosity, and hope as we journey toward Lent.

Bishop Steven reflects on the unexpected origins of his 2006 novel The Advent Calendar - a chapter-a-day Advent story blending family narrative, biblical imagination, and the rich themes of Isaiah. He shares how a move to Oxford and a creative writing class sparked the idea, why the heroine is named Alice, and how each day’s journey through the olive-wood calendar reveals new guides - Abraham and...

"It’s getting harder for scientists not to believe in God" - The Spectator New discoveries are reshaping the conversation around science and faith. Bishop Steven's presidential address to Diocesan Synod today explores what the latest thinking in physics, biology and cosmology might mean for a generation hungry for meaning. Read online on Bishop Steven's Substack.

Where do we turn for simple, practical help to cope with anxiety, bad days and depression? Bishop Steven reminds us that help can be found in something simple and familiar, the Lord's Prayer.

The final story in our Stories of Conversion series brings us to Caesarea, to Cornelius and Peter - two people transformed by the Holy Spirit in very different ways. Bishop Steven reflects on how Peter’s experience still speaks to us: calling each of us to fresh courage, humility, and joy in sharing the good news of Jesus Christ with every person, without exception. Read on Substack.

From enemy to brother. Lives turned around in just three days. On the road to Damascus, Saul meets the risen Christ — and Ananias is called to do the unthinkable: welcome his persecutor. Bishop Steven reflects on radical grace, courage, and the God who still says to us, “Get up and go.” Subscribe and read via Substack.

An Ethiopian official. A desert road. A chance encounter that changes everything. Bishop Steven reflects on the first of three Acts conversion stories — a reminder that God is already at work in the most unlikely places, calling all kinds of people into joy and belonging. Read online at bishopstevencroft.substack.com

Psalm 23 is one of the most familiar and comforting passages in Scripture - but it is also a profound meditation on leadership. Where does good leadership begin, and what does that mean for us today?

What do you do when leadership is all too much? Where should you turn when all around you is in chaos? Bishop Steven's second reflection on the gift of leadership.

An urgent plea for robust AI safety measures, following an open letter to Sir Demis Hassabis, the Founder and Chief Executive of Google DeepMind.

What can the Bible’s worst career move teach us today? All across the world this September, people are beginning new roles and responsibilities. Every single leader faces a demanding task. What’s the best way to begin?

The Revd Canon David Tyler tells the story of his calling to Bishop Steven Croft. From an introduction to faith through close friends to becoming the next Archdeacon of Dorchester, David shares the passions and challenges of ministry and how looking to the fantastic people around him and the gifts they bring sees him through. oxford.anglican.org/archdeacon-of-dorchester

Episode 5: Distinctive The Church holds in tension two great images: on the one hand, we are a chosen race, God’s own people. On the other, we are aliens and exiles, living against the grain as we wait for God’s kingdom to come in its fulness. As we look forward in anticipation this Advent, the words of 1 Peter set us on the path of living as best we can in these in-between times. Photo: Shutterst...

Episode 4: Chosen Bishop Steven is joined this week by the Rt Revd Mary D. Glasspool, Assistant Bishop in the Episcopal Diocese of New York. As they delve deeper into 1 Peter, Bishop Mary discusses the complexities of being ‘chosen’ without feeling entitled, as she and Bishop Steven contemplate the seeds of hope for a post-pandemic future and the idea of the church as a centre for healing and prot...

Episode 3: Living Stone We have learned during the pandemic how important our church buildings are. But we’ve also learned more deeply than we did before, that the church is not the building. The church is the community which gathers for worship, whether virtually or physically, and is sustained by the presence of the Risen Christ in Word and sacrament. It is we who are the living stones. Church l...

Episode 2: Resilience In a candid conversation with the Bishop of Western Louisiana, the Rt Revd Jacob Wayne Owensby, Bishop Steven delves deeper into the first letter of 1 Peter. Facing the uncomfortable realisation of feeling too content in the world as it is, and the importance of being the light in a world that’s aching for more, Bishops Steven and Jacob explore how to be people of resilience...

  Episode 1: Exiles   We will only navigate the challenges of the coming years if we learn to be a deeper church again. This new series of podcasts explores what God is saying to us as a Church through the first letter of Peter. Join the Bishop of Oxford, the Rt Revd Dr Steven Croft, and some of his fellow bishops from around the world as they rediscover that the medicine Peter offers is good for...

Come and Eat – Draw Near with Faith Come to this table, not because you must but because you may, not because you are strong, but because you are weak. Through small, simple actions, the scattered and dispersed Church is drawn together as one. Bishop Steven concludes our exploration of Holy Communion – the meal through which God will build up his tired and depleted church after the demands of the...

Come and Eat – Prayer and Parties Jesus loves parties. Everyone who reads the gospel knows that. The Eucharist is prayer and parties with a purpose: to fill us with hope and a fresh vision for what this world can become. As we regather as a church around the table of the risen Lord, what are we to draw from this theme of the Eucharist as a meal which looks forward – a sign of hope and of the kingd...

Come and Eat – The Bread of Life “The bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world”. Many of us find ourselves languishing in the wake of the pandemic. It’s good to remind ourselves – and the whole world – that Jesus came to bring life in all its abundance. The bread which Jesus gives, and is, is more than the food we need to stay physically alive. This is the nour...

Come and Eat – The Exhausted Prophet “The Lord, through his angel, simply sees what is needed. The Lord prepares a meal: fresh bread, cool, clear fresh water in a jar. Time to rest and sleep.” Welcome to the first in a short series of podcasts on Holy Communion, the profound, wonderful meal at the heart of our faith. Our starting point is the story of Elijah in 1 Kings 19: the exhausted prophet, r...