Mission in your own back yard?

Four Sydney churches say ‘yes’ in this 9 minute mini-documentary from CMS NSW.

(Download it and use it in church! – Sign up to Vimeo and then find the download link on the bottom right of this page.)

Expose and banish darkness

Anglican TV has posted online video of Archbishop Akinola’s welcome to the GSE4 in Singapore yesterday.

“This, sadly, is the eighth year since we have not all been in communion with one another, globally, in the same Anglican Church. It appears that some of our leaders value the ageing structures of the communion much more than anything else, hence, the illusion that with more meetings, organisations and networks the crises will disappear. How wrong.”

Church, mission, evangelism and programs

“… what has become known as the Knox-Robinson doctrine of the church, or the Sydney doctrine of the church, was never just an idiosyncratic expression of Australian anti-authoritarianism. It arose out of the revival of evangelical biblical scholarship following World War II — Alan Stibbs produced some of his material for Tyndale House conferences in Cambridge and Donald Robinson wrote the article on church for the IVF’s landmark New Bible Dictionary.

Nor was it ever exclusively based on a limited word study of the Greek word for ‘church’ in the New Testament, ekklesia (a jibe still thrown about today)…

The current level of confusion, even among some who consider themselves sympathetic to the basic outlines of this exposition of the doctrine, suggests that there is a need for a fresh restatement of it.”

– ACL President Mark Thompson, at Theological Theology, sees many benefits from taking a closer look at the doctrine of the church.

Providence

“If we are uncomfortable with the idea of providence why is that? One reason is because we are influenced by a scientific worldview which can be presented as supporting a mechanistic understanding of the world…”

– David Phillips writes on the importance of a Christian understanding of Providence, in Cross†Way. (PDF file.)

‘The Gospel of Jesus Christ’ — Abp Okoh at GSE4

This evening Archbishop Nicholas Okoh, the new Primate of Nigeria, gave the opening thematic address of GSE4 at Singapore’s St Andrew’s Cathedral. He was preceded by welcomes from the Conference host, Archbishop John Chew and Chairman, Archbishop Peter Akinola.

– Read them on the Global South website.

(Photo: Church of Nigeria.)

GSE4 in Singapore begins today

“Most of the 130 primates, bishops, clergy, senior lay leaders, associates and observers have arrived in for the 5-day Encounter which starts today, Monday 19th April. …

A few have been stranded or delayed due to last week’s global “ash-ed Wednesday”. One key Primate who has been delayed is Abp Henry Orombi, along with some other UK participants…”

– from the Global South Anglican website.

Together for the Gospel 2010

Audio and video files from last week’s Together for the Gospel Conference 2010 have been made available on their website.

John MacArthur on ‘The Theology of Sleep!’ is particularly helpful for all who care about evangelism and church growth.

Save our Scripture

The Australian Christian Lobby has launched a campaign called “Save our Scripture” and is working with churches (including the Presbyterians) to answer the threat from the NSW ‘Ethics’ trial in schools.

The website includes background and contact information and suggestions for how churches can helpfully respond. ‘Action packs’ for churches are also available. From the website:

“In brief:

  • NSW Government trialling ‘Ethics’ classes in primary schools in competition with Scripture classes.
  • Because they are being pitched to all parents, not just conscientious objectors, this could lead to the demise of special religious education (SRE) in schools.
  • Ethics classes should be rescheduled so they are available to all students, regardless of religion, leaving the SRE classes in place.”

Read more at MakeAStand.org.au and see what you can do. Also on Facebook.

New sponsorship opportunity

“The Anglican Church of Canada is pleased to announce that for the first time in its 117 year history, General Synod is offering religious based organizations and affiliates the opportunity to support its triennial national convention through a variety of unique sponsorship initiatives.

‘We hope that inviting the support of corporate sponsors for General Synod will have a positive impact on the Church’s ability to ensure the sustainability of this gathering for years to come’ explains Archbishop Fred Hiltz, Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada…”

– Press release from the Anglican Church of Canada.

A Conversation with Bishop Don Harvey

Kevin Kallsen of Anglican TV spoke this week with Bishop Don Harvey of the Anglican Church in North America. He’s posted the interview here.

CMS Global Vision

CMS is sending copies of the Autumn 2010 Global Vision to churches, but if you would like to read it online, you can find it here – cms.org.au/globalvision.

Global Vision is all about ‘encouraging and equipping churches to be globally minded’.

Welcome to Bishop of Wollongong

SydneyAnglicans.net reports there will be a local welcome to Wollongong for newly-consecrated Bishop Peter Hayward at St Michael’s Cathedral Wollongong tomorrow (Saturday 17th April) at 10:00am.

(Photo: Sydneyanglicans.net and St. Michael’s.)

New bishop for Anglican Church in Auckland

“The Anglican church welcomes a new Bishop of Auckland tomorrow when the Very Reverend Ross Bay is ordained at the Cathedral of Holy Trinity in Parnell…”

– from Stuff.co.nz.

Using God’s name as a comma

“Praying in public is hard. Praying in public week after week is very hard. Praying in public week after week in a fresh and edifying way is almost impossible. Ask any pastor. Preaching is easy, in comparison. Here are some things I’ve found helpful…”

– David Murray, at Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary in Grand Rapids, offers some tips. (David and Tim Challies have just started a weekly blog.)

Dealing with disappointment in the church

At his Gospel Coalition blog, Kevin DeYoung has been writing about ‘Dealing with disappointment in the church’ – both for members and for leaders.

While churches, their sizes and leadership styles vary enormously, there is much that is worth thinking through – Part 1, Part 2, Part 3.

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