Derek Hughes
Derek Hughes leads LifeChurch Eccles and has coached and led others for over three decades. He writes about spiritual formation and everyday faith at A Little Nudge.
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OpinionThe Church is full of entrepreneurs. But they’re struggling alone
Neary half of all Christians make money from business or a side hustle. They are trusting God and stepping out in faith every day - but the Church is failing to recognise or make space for them, says Derek Hughes
OpinionStarmer says his family are his ‘most important job’. It’s a lesson Christian leaders need to hear
In his resignation speech, the labour party leader made an emotional admission. Those closest to us often pay the highest price for our ‘calling’. It’s a stark warning to those in church ministry, says Derek Hughes
OpinionThe Church has the answer for a generation that fears stillness – but we’ve abandoned it ourselves
When a government trial restricted teenagers’ access to social media, some reported anxiety and a sense of isolation. Derek Hughes argues the findings reveal something deeper than screen addiction: a generation in fear of silence, and a Church that has forgotten how to inhabit it
OpinionAn atheist helped me understand depression. Here’s what the Church is missing
As a loved one battled depression, Derek Hughes found himself wrestling with prayers and Christian explanations that felt incomplete. Then, unexpectedly, an atheist helped him see the fractures beneath despair, how scripture accounts for them, and how the Church can help bring healing through community
OpinionI failed at keeping the Sabbath holy until I stopped trying alone
Burnt out from years of church leadership, Derek Hughes approached rest the same way he approached everything else: as a problem to solve. But when his small group began practising Sabbath together, he realised the answer to exhaustion was not technique, but community
OpinionThe Quiet Revival exposed a quiet jealousy in me that few church leaders talk about
Surrounded by stories of church growth and renewal, Derek Hughes found himself genuinely happy for other churches while quietly wrestling with comparison, envy and the unsettling question: am I doing something wrong? Then an intimate moment in his small group revealed a better measure of success
OpinionThe BBC's Pilgrimage reminded me that place matters - it’s why Jesus came to earth
The physical places visited by the celebrities on BBC’s The Pilgrimage affected them profoundly. A trip to the birthplace of Mozart and the death camp of Dachau had a similar effect on Derek Hughes. We shouldn’t be surprised, he says. The Christian story turns on the claim that God did not send information but came to meet with us in real time and space
OpinionHunger and half-hearted prayers: What a horrible fast taught me about true worship
When Derek Hughes and his small group embarked on a fast that failed to bring the spiritual breakthrough he expected, the result was disappointment. But a fresh reading of a familiar scripture challenged him to consider whether the worship we deem a failure, may in fact be worship in its purest form
OpinionI just about coped with headlines of war — but the church prayer meeting made my anxiety worse
What happens when our prayer meetings start to sound like the news cycle? For Derek Hughes, the answer came after a meeting following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which left him with an anxiety heavier than when he walked in. In moments like these, he asks whether we are bringing our fears to God or just spreading them around
OpinionMost small group discipleship fails. Here’s how we (accidentally) found a better way
After years of well-intentioned programmes that moved hearts but not habits, mid-week groups were fading at Derek Hughes’ church. He explains how a slower, simpler experiment quietly changed everything
Real Life'Our tiny church raised £16,500 - and not a penny of it was for us'
When LifeChurch Eccles launched Together for Eccles, they had no grand plan - just a conviction that their tiny congregation could spark something bigger. The result? A £16,500 community transformation that reminded a forgotten town it hadn’t been overlooked
Opinion3 ways to ensure your carol service is not a waste of time
Christmas is the time of year when people who never usually attend a Sunday service suddenly stream through the doors. But how can we ensure that at least some of them come back again? Derek Hughes offers his top tips
