‘Government should back Nationals’ urgency motion to help Islamic State victims’
Here’s a media release from The Australian Christian Lobby:
“The Australian Christian Lobby has renewed its call for the Federal Government to urgently lift the humanitarian refugee intake to assist refugees fleeing Islamic State brutality in Iraq and Syria.
This follows unanimous support for such a move at this weekend’s Nationals Federal Council meeting in Canberra. Read more
UK must offer asylum to terror refugees — Abp of York
“The Archbishop of York has urged the government to do more to offer asylum to Christians and others being persecuted by Islamic State terrorists…”
– Report from BBC News. (Photo: Diocese of York.)
Moore College Open Events Sept 2014
Moore College has a number of Open events in September, beginning on Monday 1st.
David Platt new President of SBC International Mission Board
“Our IMB president must be one who can drive our missions focus in a new way for a new era. It’s not enough that Southern Baptists’ global missions leader motivates us all to give and to go (although he must do that). He must be someone who can connect from the Scriptures how the Great Commission, and especially our global Great Commission responsibilities, are the urgent concern of all of us.”
– Russell Moore gives thanks that David Platt has been elected as President of the Southern Baptist Convention’s International Mission Board.
The GWC Whitefield Symposium
The audio of the talks given at the Whitefield Symposium at George Whitefield College in Cape Town is now on their website.
Speakers include David Seccombe and Melvin Tinkler. Available here.
Same-Sex Blessings arrive at Falls Church
“A historic Episcopal parish that counts U.S. President George Washington among its past vestry members has hosted its first blessing of a same-sex union…”
– Report from Juicy Ecumenism.
Background (and photo): The costly faithfulness of The Falls Church – May 2012.
“The tragedy of the situation at The Falls Church is not that the congregation will die, but that yet another a historic symbol of American Christianity has fallen into the hands of those who teach doctrines contrary to Scripture.”
Sadness as Mark Driscoll steps aside for a period
Mark Driscoll made this statement (video) at Mars Hill in Seattle yesterday.
Please especially uphold in prayer Mark and his family and the Mars Hill church in this time. (1 Corinthians 12:26.)
‘GAFCON in talks with New Zealand parish’
“The Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans is in talks to offer alternative episcopal oversight to a breakaway New Zealand congregation, The Church of England Newspaper has learned…
A spokesman for the GAFCON secretariat in Sydney confirmed there had been “initial contact” with the parish leaders…”
– story from Anglican Ink. Please continue to pray for West Hamilton Community Church (as it is now called) and the Pastor, Michael Hewat. (Photo: Affirm.)
Kent Brantly’s remarks upon his release from hospital
“I prayed that God would help me be faithful even in my illness and that in my life, even in my death, he would be glorified.”
– Samaritan’s Purse Dr.Kent Brantly spoke as he was discharged from hospital after recovering from Ebola. See the video at Denny Burk’s website (h/t Tim Challies). Photo: Samaritan’s Purse.
South Sudanese church leaders: ‘The West has forgotten us’
“Church leaders in South Sudan said yesterday that the world has turned its back on the war-torn nation and little is being done to help the millions in desperate need of humanitarian aid.
Representatives from the Africa Inland Church, Episcopal Church of Sudan, Presbyterian Church of East Africa and the Pentecostal Church in South Sudan met in London yesterday to launch an appeal in partnership with the Barnabas Fund, urging the West to support their efforts in rebuilding peace…”
– Story from Christian Today. (h/t Anglican Mainstream.) Photo: Barnabas Fund.
See also Barnabas Fund, and
The Archbishop of Sydney’s Anglican Aid South Sudan appeal – and donation page.
Global South oversight of South Carolina
Archbishop Mouneer Anis (Chairman), and Archbishop Ian Ernest (Hon. General Secretary) have written on behalf of the Global South Primates Steering Committee, to welcome Bishop Mark Lawrence and the Diocese of South Carolina to their pastoral oversight.
“The Global South of the Anglican Communion welcomes the unanimous request of The Rt. Rev. Mark Lawrence, XIV Bishop of the Diocese of South Carolina, and the Convention of the Diocese of South Carolina to ‘accept the offer of the newly created Global South Primatial Oversight Council for pastoral oversight of our ministry as a diocese during the temporary period of our discernment of our final provincial affiliation.’
The decision of the Diocese of South Carolina was made in response to the meeting of the Global South Primates Steering Committee in Cairo, Egypt from 14-15 February 2014. A recommendation from that meeting stated that, ‘we decided to establish a Primatial Oversight Council, in following-through the recommendations taken at Dar es Salam in 2007, to provide pastoral and primatial oversight to dissenting individuals, parishes, and dioceses in order to keep them within the Communion.’
Recognizing the faithfulness of Bishop Mark Lawrence and the Diocese of South Carolina, and in appreciation for their contending for the faith once for all delivered to the saints, the Global South welcomes them as an active and faithful member within the Global South of the Anglican Communion, until such time as a permanent primatial affiliation can be found.”
Related: Local Anglicans receive new tie to the global church – Post and Courier.
Face to Face with the Message of Matthew
“Face to Face with the Message of Matthew” is the theme of this year’s Moore College School of Theology – being run at the College on Wednesday 10th and Thursday 11th September 2014.
Positively evangelical
“In 1997, Mark Thompson wrote in Churchman:
‘If I am not mistaken there is a concerted attempt being made at present to redefine what it means to be an evangelical Christian. A number of prominent people around the world are trying to broaden the term, to encompass a variety of perspectives which were once quite alien to evangelical thought and practice.’
Well, he wasn’t mistaken. I was recently at an Anglican gathering encompassing representatives from all streams of the Church of England, except, perhaps, the most Catholic. As we went around the circle introducing ourselves, everyone there described him or herself as evangelical. It was usually qualified – ‘largely’ evangelical, or even ‘a little bit’ evangelical – but it was clearly a very common label…”
– Kirsty Birkett writes at Church Society’s blog and reminds us of (and links to) a paper by Mark Thompson entitled, “Being Clearly and Positively Evangelical”.
Dying with Dignity?
“Here’s the submission I made to the relevant committee of the Senate of the Australian Parliament regarding Senator Richard Di Natale’s private member’s Exposure draft of the Medical Services (Dying with Dignity) Bill 2014…”
– Sandy Grant at St Michael’s Cathedral, Wollongong, shares what he’s written – at The Briefing.
Themelios 39.2
The Gospel Coalition has released the latest issue of Themelios with 192 pages of articles and book reviews.
Included: What Are Gospel Issues? – D. A. Carson.
Projection Atheism: Why Reductionist Accounts of Humanity Can Lead to Reductionist Accounts of God – Michael Ovey.
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…