What can I pray for my Pastor’s preaching?
Colin Adams at Unashamed Workman shares ten helpful guidelines for prayers for those who labour in preaching.
A Conversation with Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali
On Friday, Al Mohler’s radio programme featured an interview with Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali. Both have been speaking at the Mere Anglicanism Conference in Charleston, South Carolina.
The segment begins 5’14” into this mp3 file (direct link) and runs for 33 minutes.
h/t Anglican Mainstream. (Photo: Joy Gwaltney, GAFCON.)
Why Join a Small Church?
If you don’t already attend a small church, what would you say if someone you didn’t know admonished you that you ought to attend a small church? Would you seriously entertain the thought? …
– Reviewer Mark Tubbs recommends John Benton’s Why Join a Small Church? at Discerning Reader.
(The book is available through Moore Books.)
Inauguration Prayer Service plans
“Today, as part of an Inauguration for all Americans, the 2009 Presidential Inaugural Committee announced the spiritual leaders from the diverse array of our nation’s religious traditions who will participate in the National Prayer Service on Wednesday, January 21st. …”
– from The Presidential Inaugural Committee.
The definitive D. A. Carson sermon resource
“The Gospel Coalition is now the home of 443 sermons by Don Carson, all available for download free of charge. The search tools at the Coalition site are better than most. …
We have to thank Andy Naselli, Ben Peays and Ryan James for collecting, tagging and uploading all this Carson goodness.”
– Todd Shaffer at Faith by Hearing.
See the entire collection at The Gospel Coalition.
Most US Christians define own theology
American individualism has made its imprint on Christianity.
A sizable majority of the country’s faithful no longer hew closely to orthodox teachings, and look more to themselves than to churches or denominations to define their religious convictions, according to two recent surveys. More than half of all Christians also believe that some non-Christians can get into heaven. …
– Read the full article by Jane Lampman in The Christian Science Monitor.
(Illustration CS Monitor.)
Primates to address international concerns
“The primates and moderators of the Anglican Communion will be hosted by the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East for a February 1-5 meeting in Alexandria, Egypt… Meeting behind closed doors at the Helnan Palestine Hotel, the primates will discuss international concerns such as the proposed Anglican covenant, the situation in Zimbabwe, global warming, and Christian responses to the global financial crisis. …
The Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori will attend the meeting in her capacity as presiding bishop and primate of the Episcopal Church. …
Archbishop Phillip Aspinall, primate of the Anglican Church of Australia, will act as spokesperson for the meeting.”
– Report from Episcopal Life Online.
(Photo taken at last November’s JSC meeting: ACNS Rosenthal.)
Ugandan-born named Rwanda Bishop
The Rev. Nathan Kamusiime Gasatura was on Sunday consecrated Bishop of Butare Anglican Diocese in Rwanda.
The consecration service was held in Butare Stadium and was attended by thousands of Christians from the dioceses of Rwanda, Burundi, DR Congo and Uganda. …
– Report from The New Vision, Uganda. (Photo: New Vision.)
CMS NSW 2008 Annual Dinner talk
CMS NSW has posted online the video of Steve Etherington’s talk given at last year’s Annual Dinner. He spoke about ‘the Intervention that matters’. Very challenging.
Australia Day Convention 2009
This year’s Australia Day Convention at St. Andrew’s Cathedral in Sydney is focussing on Paul’s letter to the Colossians.
It’s on Monday January 26 (obviously) – and details are available at www.australiadayconvention.com
Gene Robinson on his prayer
President-elect Barack Obama has asked Bishop Gene Robinson… to deliver the invocation at a kickoff inaugural event on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, two days before the inauguration itself. …
In recent years, and especially during the inaugurations of President George W. Bush, ministers gave explicitly Christian prayers. Bishop Robinson said he had been rereading inaugural prayers through history and was “horrified” at how “specifically and aggressively Christian they were.”
Bishop Robinson said, “I am very clear that this will not be a Christian prayer, and I won’t be quoting Scripture or anything like that. The texts that I hold as sacred are not sacred texts for all Americans, and I want all people to feel that this is their prayer.”
He said he might address the prayer to “the God of our many understandings,” language he said he learned from the 12-step program he has attended for his alcohol addiction.
– read the full report from The New York Times. And there’s an audio interview from NPR.
(Photo: Episcopal News Service/Mike Collins)
The open Bible in England — F.F. Bruce
“When William Tyndale, as John Foxe tells us, uttered his dying prayer at the stake at Vilvorde on 6 October 1536, ‘Lord, open the king of England’s eyes’, he could not have known that his prayer was already beginning to be fulfilled.
Twelve months earlier, a complete English Bible had been printed on the Continent (probably at Cologne, the setting of the first and abortive attempt to print Tyndale’s New Testament ten years before). This English Bible, the work of Tyndale’s associate Miles Coverdale, was largely dependent on Tyndale’s translation of the New Testament, the Pentateuch and Jonah …”
– Church Society has republished this 1988 Churchman article by F.F. Bruce (PDF file direct link).
New Diocese attempts to join lawsuit
[January 8 2009] In an expected, but disappointing decision, the newly forming Episcopal Church diocese in southwestern Pennsylvania announced today that it intends to move forward with legal action against The Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh (Anglican) by attempting to claim all diocesan property.
“The document filed today in the Calvary litigation by Calvary and the new diocese created after the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh withdrew from The Episcopal Church is both procedurally and substantively improper. Moreover, it is regrettable that these groups have chosen to pursue more litigation rather than agree to equitable division of the assets.” said the Rev. Peter Frank, diocesan spokesman.
– Press release from the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh.
Gene Robinson to kick off Obama inaugural weekend
Following the row that erupted after pro-marriage and pro-life Saddleback pastor Rick Warren was picked to preside over the main inauguration event, Obama has selected the Episcopal Church’s only openly homosexual bishop to give the main invocation at a Sunday event celebrating Obama’s inauguration, to be held two days later. …
– Report from Life Site News. (Photo: TEC.)
Atheists play their hand — Probability
The news first broke last year, when atheists in Great Britain announced the intention to put their message on London’s famous city buses. Atheist celebrities including Richard Dawkins and A. C. Grayling joined the campaign and enjoyed the publicity. Now, the atheists are taking their advertising campaign throughout Britain, with 800 buses carrying their message. …
In some sense, this campaign almost looks like a joke on atheists planned and performed by believers in God.
– Al Mohler is not convinced.
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…