Northwest Network, September 2013
Bishop Gary Nelson writes in the latest Northwest Network (September 2013).
Read Gary’s message below, and download the full issue to use in your prayers for the churches and people of the North West (6.6MB PDF file).
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Our God is so amazing and ‘his compassions never fail. They are are new every morning; great is your faithfulness’ (Lam 3:22f).
So why am I continually surprised by God’s mercies? When I feel the weight of financial burdens, the shortage of resources, the unavailability of people to serve in the North-West, then God provides emails with enquiries about ministry in the diocese; or encouraging phone calls – even if they are the wrong number; or generous gifts from people scattered around Australia. God is worthy of all our praise, just as Revelation 4 and 5 remind us. And at the heart of that reminder is the image of the throne, ‘there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it’ (4:2). The One seated is the sovereign Lord – whose reign controls all things. How reassuring this image would have been to John and his first readers! For they all lived under the shadow of another throne – the imperial might of the Roman Caesar with his arbitrary whims of persecution. And how reassuring to us – to know that in the midst of the topsy-turvy nature of our lives God has it all in hand, so we can confidently trust him in the present and for our futures. The never-ending praise of all heaven emphasises why we can leave it to our gracious Lord (4:8):
Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come.
Friends, the work of the diocese is God’s work, who incredibly uses frail servants to accomplish his purposes. Please keep supporting us in prayer so we may bring honour to God as we share the gospel of our Lord Jesus with the many different people of the North-West. Come and visit us – or perhaps, move over to the west and stand with us in gospel ministry.
NORTH WEST CONCERNS
Cathedral ministry: with nearly 40% of Geraldton’s population under 25 the parish council decided to seek a youth minister for the team. We have been contacting suitable people to challenge them about joining us. This means Bishop Gary will remain acting dean, so please pray for God’s wisdom and strength to manage these extra responsibilities.
Exmouth parish: we are blessed to have Bill and Jackie France as locum until December. Please pray for a full-time minister in 2014 with sufficient financial resources to make this possible.
Paraburdoo-Tom Price parish: we are thankful for Kees and Cindy Bootsma spending three months serving the people there. Keep praying for someone to see the need and offer to minister in this area which has been without a full-time minister for a number of years.
Registrar: Wayne Sutton will be retiring at the end of the year after two decades in this ministry. The Rev Jonathan Earnshaw has accepted the position for 2014. We will be having a change over period in the last part of this year. We thank God for his provision.
In October we will be holding our fellow workers’ conference – a time for families to get together to be encouraged from God’s word, to share with one another and to be refreshed. We are appreciative to those who supply funds to enable this to occur (such as the Mothers’ Union). David Seccombe will be our Bible teacher for the week and we’re looking forward to his ministry among us. We will also be catching up on child protection training and discussing other issues affecting the life of our diocese.
Canberra & Goulburn Synod 2013
The Synod of the Diocese of Canberra and Goulburn was held this weekend.
Nigerian Archbishop of Niger Delta Province kidnapped — report
“Most Rev Ignatius Ogboru Kattey, the Dean, ArchBishop and Bishop of Niger Delta North Anglican Communion of Nigeria, was last night kidnapped by yet to be identified gunmen in Port Harcourt, capital of Rivers State. …”
Auckland Synod says no to ‘gay marriage’
“Auckland Anglicans have said no to gay marriage – despite church heads being in favour of it. A motion to press the issue has failed at this weekend’s conference, despite both Auckland bishops and a majority of clergy being in favour.”
– Report from FarmingShow (yes, that’s right). Image: Diocese of Auckland.
Ten ways Gay activists shifted culture
“Whether you are a proponent of same-sex marriage, homosexuality or not, you have to respect the way gay activists have fundamentally transformed American society in one generation.
The plans and strategies of gay activism and how they went from being an oppressed minority to an elite protected status in mainstream culture is written in a book called After the Ball [published in 1990]…”
– from Charisma News.
What a Muslim teaches us
“Back in 1981, Christian hearts thrilled to see a mainstream popular film treat Christian conscience positively. The film was Chariots of Fire and the Christian conscience was that of Eric Liddell, the man who refused to run in the Olympics on a Sunday. It was just so different to see a man of genuine faith presented in a film as a hero instead of a moral failure or a narrow-minded hypocrite. …”
– Phillip Jensen writes in his weekly column “From the Dean”.
Religious freedom in America today — Bp David Anderson
“Sometimes, the battle you or I or some other Christian might face touches directly on our freedom of religion, and attempts to infringe or deny that to us because the exercise of our religion somehow offends someone else. At other times our freedom of speech is infringed or denied when what we say from a Biblical perspective is prohibited, punished or marginalized with the label of ‘hate speech.’ …”
– Bishop David Anderson, President of the American Anglican Council, takes a quick survey of recent challenges to religious freedom in the USA.
Diocese of Fort Worth: Living with litigation
Bishop Jack Iker of Fort Worth reflects on the lengthy legal battle imposed on his diocese.
“Living with litigation has become a way of life for us as members of the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth. For the past 4 ½ years, we have been under the cloud of a lawsuit brought against us by The Episcopal Church and its local supporters, seeking to deprive us of our buildings and assets. Read more
New Bishop of Waikato
The Rev Dr Helen-Ann Hartley has been elected as the 7th Bishop of Waikato in New Zealand. She will become the third woman bishop in the Anglican Church of Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia.
Photo: Stephen Barker / Anglican Taonga.
‘Kevin — Good Heavens!’
Sydney Anglicans has a roundup of responses to Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s statements this week on the Bible.
Related:
- The Prime Minister on Q&A, Monday 2nd September.
- The Prime Minister amplifies his comments, Tuesday 3rd September.
- And Sandy Grant looks at some of the responses he received to his post yesterday – at The Briefing, Thursday 5th September.
(Photo: SydneyAnglicans.net.)
Getting to know Archbishop Glenn Davies — Anglican TV interview
Kevin Kallsen at Anglican TV introduces the new Archbishop of Sydney to the wider Anglican world in this 14 minute interview.
Shellfish, slavery and same-sex marriage — How not to read the Bible
“This confused way of handling the Bible springs from an ignorance of the Bible’s own narrative.”
Archbishop Glenn Davies writes for the ABC’s Religion and Ethics –
“In recent days a number of strange claims have been made about slavery and shellfish in the Bible. The line normally goes something like this: although the Bible prohibits God’s people from eating shellfish and also endorses slavery, we can disregard these ethical instructions because we have come of age and can see things differently. …”
Here it is formatted as a 2 A4 page handout (330kb PDF file) suitable for copying.
Free e-Book — The Universal Compass: Why Study the Bible?
People from all walks of life would benefit from getting to know and understand the Bible.
George Whitefield College in Capetown has made available, as a free e-Book, “The Universal Compass: Why Study the Bible?” by Dr David Seccombe (Principal, 1993-2012). From the first chapter:
“From the death of the last apostle, the Bible has been the determiner of true Christianity. Almost all churches have accepted it in their statements of belief as the written Word of God, and as the final authority in matters of faith. …
However, although most modern denominations still subscribe in their statements of faith to the Bible as the final authority, some have abandoned it in practical terms. This collapse of confidence stems from the philosophical mood of the past two centuries. Man has placed himself at the centre and rejected all forms of authority not based on his own discovery of truth. …
[This book] is written in the hope that you will begin to read the Bible for yourself, or be encouraged to study it more deeply, if you already are a Bible reader. My prayer is that you may also consider the possibility of full-time study in a Bible-believing theological or Bible college.”
– The book is available as a 4.4MB PDF file from this page on the College website.
Get a copy and pass on the link to others who would benefit.
Archbishop Glenn Davies: Statement on PM’s Q and A comment
Anglican Diocese of Sydney – Media Release 3/9/13
“To sanction same-sex ‘marriage’ is not the teaching of the Anglican Church of Australia nor is it the teaching of the Bible.”
Full statement below:
Statement by the Archbishop of Sydney, Dr Glenn Davies, about comments by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on ABCTV Q and A, Monday Sept 2nd.
“Kevin Rudd was profoundly wrong in his understanding of the Bible. He misquoted the Bible and attributed to the Bible something that Aristotle said (that slavery is a natural condition). The Bible never says that. The Bible sees slavery as the result of fallen and broken relationships in society and it is crystal clear in its condemnation of the slave trade.
I was disappointed by Mr Rudd’s comments last night in the same way that I was disappointed by the position he announced in May despite, as he said, after much reflection. Unfortunately in my view he has not been reflecting on the teaching of Scripture. To sanction same-sex ‘marriage’ is not the teaching of the Anglican Church of Australia nor is it the teaching of the Bible. The Bible views marriage as an institution that God has created. Jesus brings clarity to the nature of marriage by saying that it is an exclusive relationship between a man and a woman, for life. Although there are many kinds of relationships in our society, to describe the relationship between two persons of the same sex as marriage is contrary to the Bible’s teaching.
As a bishop in the Church, I do not tell our people how to vote. They have a responsibility to vote wisely and as Christians they should vote in accordance with their conscience and their understanding of Scripture. Christians realise that no political party will reflect their views in every policy. So they have to make a judgment as to which party best represents their views. I encourage all Christians to think prayerfully and wisely about how to vote on polling day.”
– ends –
(Source – SydneyAnglicans.net. The Prime Minister’s comments may be seen here.)
Related: Shellfish, slavery and same-sex marriage — How not to read the Bible.
‘PM misrepresents the Bible’
“Last night, on a serious Australian current affairs program, Q&A, our current serving Prime Minister, a self-professed Christian, grossly caricatured the Bible. ….”
– Sandy Grant responds to the Prime Minister’s statements on Q&A last night.
And Eternity Newspaper’s John Sandeman spoke today with the Prime Minister’s questioner, Pastor Matt Prater –
“I did get attacked a lot on social media last night. And got called a lot of nasty names. I just want to make it clear to anyone reading this that I am not a homophobe. I don’t hate homosexuals. I love everyone with the love of Jesus.”
(Images: ABC TV.)
Update:
The Prime Minister further explained his response (YouTube) in Launceston on Tuesday 3rd September.
Question lands pastor ‘in lion’s den’ – The Australian.
“The first time Pastor Matt Prater interviewed Kevin Rudd, the year was 2006 and the then opposition foreign affairs spokesman was deeply obliging. …”
And Sandy Grant reflects on the whole thing at The Briefing.
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…