Making Bricks for Evangelical Pharaohs

Posted on February 25, 2019 
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“I worry that an awful lot of modern day ministry is about making bricks for evangelical pharaohs.  Whether those pharaohs are actual people, or whether they are systems and philosophies of ministry that have been put in place, doesn’t matter all that much; making bricks is the paradigm of much modern ministry.  And it’s leaving a trail of exhausted people in its wake. …”

– Stephen McAlpine’s observations may resonate with many in ministry.

Practical tips for sharing the gospel with a stranger

Posted on February 25, 2019 
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“How are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?… Faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” (Rom 10:14, 17)

How often do we consider the urgency of Paul’s words here? In 2017 McCrindle Research did a nation-wide study of faith and belief in Australia. It found that at least 1.5 million people don’t know a Christian. In fact, 1 in 29 people have never heard of Jesus. But the survey also found that 10 percent of Australians – that’s 2.4 million people – are interested in having a conversation about Jesus.

I once had no Christian friends or family, and I first heard the gospel from a stranger…”

– ACL Council member Mike Taylor shares encouragement and a challenge. At the Australian Church Record.

More on Ephesians

Posted on February 25, 2019 
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ACL Council member, Dr Lionel Windsor, is continuing to post insightful and encouraging reflections on Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians.

See them at Forget the Channel. (Scroll down to Recent blog posts.)

Chaplains to be banned in ACT public schools

Posted on February 24, 2019 
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“Chaplains will be banned from Canberra’s public schools from the end of the year in a move that goes beyond federal Labor policy to allow a choice of religious or secular workers. …”

– Report from ABC News.

Reform resources now available through Church Society

Posted on February 22, 2019 
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Following the recent merger of Reform with Church Society, many Reform resources are now available on Church Society’s website for free download – with much more to come.

“Over the past 25 years, Reform published many excellent papers and booklets, which we are now delighted to host here on the Church Society website. The collection includes papers from Jonathan Fletcher, Susie Leafe, David Banting, David Holloway, Mike Ovey and John Richardson among many others. Subjects include complementarian ministry, sexuality, mission and ministry, and specific issues to do with the Church of England and Anglicanism more generally.”

See the Reform Archive here.

A Tender Lion: The Life, Ministry, and Message of J.C. Ryle

Posted on February 21, 2019 
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ACL website readers might be interested in this book about J. C. Ryle. Commended by Phillip Jensen, it’s currently on special at Reformers bookshop in Stanmore.

“J. C. Ryle is to Anglican evangelicals as C. H. Spurgeon is to Baptist evangelicals. The lives of great servants of God deserve our careful study to understand the trajectory from which we have come, to remove the cultural blinders of living in the present, and to find exemplars of gospel ministry, that we may imitate their faith. Bennett Rogers has done us all a great favour by writing this book on J. C. Ryle with detailed scholarship and eminently readable prose.” – Phillip Jensen.

Also other items on special of possible interest –

Letters of John Calvin (reduced to $24.99) and Geerhardus Vos: Reformed Biblical Theologian, Confessional Presbyterian (now $35).

(The ACL does not have any business relationship with Reformers Bookshop. We just thought you might be interested.)

One Among Our Cloud of Witness

Posted on February 21, 2019 
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“We are fortunate in this diocese that, although a relative new comer in the history of Christianity, God has granted us so many examples of faithful obedience to his word. One servant who was called home on 7 September 2018, was the former Archbishop of Sydney, Donald Robinson. His impact on Anglicanism in Australia and wider evangelicalism was profound. …”

– Dr. Ed Loane shares the latest on the publication of Donald Robinson’s Selected Works.

The two new volumes will be launched at Moore College on Saturday 16th March 2019.

Details here.

 

Lambeth 2020 Descends into Confusion

Posted on February 20, 2019 
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“When the boundary markers of biblical and apostolic faith are set aside, confusion enters the Church.  …

The Archbishop of Canterbury has changed the long-established convention that spouses are invited to Lambeth Conferences and contradicted the blanket statement he made in a recent video when he affirmed “of course, bishops’ spouses will be invited as well as bishops”.

The reason for this change in policy follows from another, which was to include for the first time at Lambeth 2020 same-sex partnered bishops in contrast to the policy of his predecessor, Archbishop Rowan Williams, who did not invite Bishop Gene Robinson and his same-sex partner to Lambeth 2008…”

– The latest from GAFCON on the latest Lambeth confusion.

Screenshot above from this video produced to promote the Lambeth Conference (cued to the statement about bishops’ spouses):

30 Days of Prayer 2019

Posted on February 19, 2019 
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The 2019 Australian edition of the 30 Days of Prayer for the Muslim World booklet is now available for order from OM Australia.

“Ramadan [May 6 – June 4, 2019], a key month of religious observation on the Islamic calendar, gives us, the Body of Christ, a prayer focus for compassion, understanding and respect for our Muslim neighbours, in the hope that they will be touched by God.

30 Days of Prayer for the Muslim World booklet is a great practical guide to help Christians engage. The booklet is a collection of articles, photos and prayer points from around the world. It will help you pray for Muslim families and learn more about them as you pray.”

– Details here.

Gospel Flourishing in a Time of Confusion — new book from Church Society

Posted on February 19, 2019 
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At Church Society’s website, there’s news of a new book to help evangelicals in the midst of a very confused Church of England.

Creating a culture of doctrinal literacy

Posted on February 18, 2019 
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“My favourite book on Christian doctrine is Peter Jensen’s At the Heart of the Universe.

It’s short, sharp, soaked in Scripture, and came about as a result of research for presenting the material orally. Best of all, it begins with eschatology – something that sets it apart, in a good way, from most (if not all) other approaches to Christian doctrine.

But whenever I pick up a book on Christian doctrine, I expect to hear some sort of apologetic for its very existence, and Dr Jensen’s work is no exception. In the introduction he writes …”

– Ben Pakula shares some ideas at The Australian Church Record.

Stephen Noll and Lambeth 2020 — Anglican Unscripted 489

Posted on February 17, 2019 
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On the latest Anglican Unscripted, Kevin Kallsen speaks with Dr. Stephen Noll about Lambeth 2020 and the current state of play.

(Dr. Noll also writes at Contending Anglican.)

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