Archbishop of Perth ‘stands aside’
The Archbishop of Perth has released this “Pastoral Letter to the Clergy and People of the Diocese of Perth”.
A world without God
“Wow. How did this one get past the censors? It was incredible. And moving beyond words.
What am I talking about? Sally Phillips most extraordinary documentary, A World without Down’s Syndrome, which screened on the BBC this week.
Sally is well known as the TV comedy actress from TV shows like Miranda and the Bridget Jones films. She is also a Christian and her oldest son Olly has Down’s syndrome. …
I’m not ashamed to admit I wept – not just a wee cry, but sobbed. I don’t know when I last saw something so moving, profound and world revealing.”
– David Roberston (Minister of St. Peter’s Free Church in Dundee) writes at The Wee Flea. The documentary is available here.
Related: Mom of baby with Down syndrome sends remarkable letter to doctor who recommended abortion.
Stories you may have missed — 9th October 2016
Here are a few of last week’s key stories –
Statement from the Global South Primates and GAFCON Primates Council Concerning Same-sex Unions. An important statement coming out of the Global South meeting in Cairo.
Sydney mourns Dr. Bill Dumbrell.
Audio files from the 2016 ACL Synod Briefing. Get up to speed on what’s coming up at Sydney Synod this week.
Statement regarding Dr Keith Mascord – Sydney Diocese
“The Archbishop does not normally comment on applications for licences, which are the subject of private discussions and correspondence with the applicants.
However, given misrepresentations in the media, the following points are relevant…”
– The Diocese of Sydney has released this Media Statement.
No Fool
“He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.”
– Jim Elliot.
Today, 8th October 2016, marks the 89th anniversary of Jim Elliot’s birth.
Statement from the Global South Primates and GAFCON Primates Council Concerning Same-sex Unions
This Statement has been posted on the Global South Anglican website. We reproduce it here in its entirety –
“Statement from the Global South Primates and GAFCON Primates Council Concerning Same-sex Unions
6th October 2016
1. We acknowledge that God is the Creator of the whole cosmos and of humankind. Male and female, God created them in his own image and likeness to know him, worship him and share in his glory and love.
2. We affirm the dignity and value of every human being, as each bears the image of our gracious God. We recognise that humankind’s rebellion against God has tainted that image, but not eradicated it. Yet every person is precious to God.
3. God’s message of hope is therefore addressed to every man, woman and child around the globe, that they might be redeemed, restored as image bearers of God through the life, death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, and inherit eternal life.
4. As we proclaim the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ to a broken and wounded world, we acknowledge our own failures and weaknesses in the light of God’s word, the Bible. As God’s love was declared to us, before we loved God, so we declare God’s love to those who neither know him nor love him. Yet our love for God is both to believe and obey, and so our message is to call people to repentance and love for God, that they might be forgiven and live their lives in accordance with God’s pattern for humankind as disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ.
5. We recognise that the brokenness of our world produces many aspects of human behaviour which are contrary to God’s good design. These include slander, greed, malice, hatred, jealousy, dishonesty, selfishness, envy and murder, as well as fornication, adultery and same-sex unions. In addressing the issue of same-sex relationships, we are not minimizing the sinfulness of other forms of behaviour that are contrary to God’s character and pattern for humankind. Rather, we are addressing an issue that continues to be contentious in both the Church and society and that strikes at the very heart of biblical authority.
6. We affirm that the clear teaching of Jesus, and the Bible as a whole, is that marriage is an estate for all people, not just for believers. It is a holy institution, created by God for a man and a woman to live in a covenantal relationship of exclusive and mutual love for each other until they are parted by death. God designed marriage for the well-being of society, for sexual intimacy between a husband and a wife, and for procreation and the nurturing of children (Genesis 2:18-25).
7. We contend that sexual intercourse between two persons of the same sex is contrary to God’s design, is offensive to him and reflects a disordering of God’s purposes for complementarity in sexual relations. Like all other morally wrong behaviour, same-sex unions alienate us from God and are liable to incur God’s judgment. We hold these convictions based on the clear teaching of Scripture. We hold them not in order to demean or victimise those who experience same-sex attractions, but in order to guard the sound doctrine of our faith, which also informs our pastoral approach for helping those who struggle with same-sex impulses, attractions and temptations.
8. In this respect, the Church cannot condone same-sex unions as a form of behaviour acceptable to God. To do so would be tampering with the foundation of our faith once for all laid down by the apostles and the prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone (Ephesians 2: 20-22; 1 Corinthians 3:10-11; Jude 3).
9. Any pastoral provision by a church for a same-sex couple (such as a liturgy or a service to bless their sexual union) that obviates the need for repentance and a commitment to pursue a change of conduct enabled by the power of the Holy Spirit, would contravene the orthodox and historic teaching of the Anglican Communion on marriage and sexuality. Such pastoral provisions, while superficially attractive in giving a more humane and socially acceptable face to the church, actually hide the contravention of doctrine involved. We must be faithful in guarding the good deposit of the gospel, in all its gracious gifts with all its covenantal obligations as well, not for the mere sake of orthodoxy but out of genuine love for God and our fellow human beings.
10. Our faithfulness to God and knowledge of his love empowers us to offer sensitive and compassionate ministry to those who are sexually broken in the area of same-sex attractions and unions. Our pastoral approach is to accept people for who they are, just as God accepted us for who we were. We oppose the vilification or demeaning of those who do not follow God’s ways. We affirm that every person is loved by God, so we too must love as God loves. Our role is to restore them to God’s divine patterns by inviting them to receive the transforming love of Christ that gives them the power to repent and walk in newness of life. We rely on the Holy Spirit’s power to reveal to them the measureless goodness of God and the greatness of God in setting the captive free as a new creation.
11. We recognise that discipleship involves growth and while we long for all new believers to come to maturity in Christ, we know that this is a process. For those who are same-sex attracted, the path of discipleship and living in conformity with God’s Word can be difficult. We commit ourselves afresh to care pastorally for them as members of Christ’s body, building them up in the Word and in the Spirit, and encouraging them to walk by faith in the paths of repentance and obedience that lead to fullness of life (John 10: 9-10).”
– Source, Global South Anglican. PDF version here.
Photo: Global South Anglican, which has also posted this Communiqué.
Findings from the New Atlantis Report on Sexuality and Gender
“I would like to draw your attention to one of the most important research events in recent history, and that is the publication in the Fall 2016 issue of the New Atlantis: A Journal of Technology and Society, of a special report on sexuality and gender, subtitled, ‘Findings from the Biological, Psychological, and Social Sciences.’…
In this huge issue of the New Atlantis, Mayer and McHugh go right at what they considered to be the scientific basis behind the claims of the modern sexual and gender revolutionaries. The point of this research, however, and of the two authors, is not so much to make a moral point, but a scientific point. And in order to do so, they’ve looked at the major scientific claims of those who had presented the research on LGBT issues, and in particular issues of gender and sexuality.”
– Albert Mohler outlines some of the key findings of this landmark publication.
And for the relevant issue of New Atlantis, see: New Atlantis Number 50.
Unity – The Real and The Counterfeit
“I am always puzzled by the way in which the petition of Jesus, ‘that they may all be one’ (John 17:21), is so frequently assumed not to have been fulfilled. Why would it have failed, when the other two petitions were so gloriously answered? After all, one of the major themes of the New Testament is a demonstration that the gospel and the Spirit belong to all who own the name of Christ, on the same terms and conditions.
Even more puzzling is the careless way in which the petition has been plucked from its context and turned into a command. The true command is to ‘maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace’. Even denominational divisions do not destroy the spiritual unity of the one church of Jesus Christ. Indeed, they may be necessary so that the apostolic truth can be preserved.
When John 17 is constantly plucked from its context and quoted to demonstrate that we are to seek a form of Christianity which is institutionally uniform, we go well beyond the text. …”
– GAFCON General Secretary, Dr Peter Jensen, looks at some implications of Christian unity.
Sexual and gender identity issues from a Christian pastoral perspective
Dr. Mark Yarhouse, Psy.D. recently visited Sydney, as a guest of Liberty Christian Ministries.
While here, he sat down to speak with Archie Poulos at Moore College.
Audio files from the 2016 ACL Synod Briefing
On Wednesday 5th October, the Rev. Craig Roberts, Rector of St Augustine’s Neutral Bay, Standing Committee member, and ACL Vice-President, discussed the main issues coming up at this year’s Sydney Synod.
The event was organised by the ACL as a service to members of Synod.
If you weren’t able to be present, here are the audio files. To listen to each section, click on the link under “Audio file”. Each file will open in a new window.
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Audio file |
Topics |
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Introduction and prayer from the Rev. Jason Ramsay. |
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Schools, Archbishop’s election, Synod membership, Conduct of Synod business, Parental leave for clergy. Requests for something to happen: funding church plants, Licensing incumbents, Professional development. |
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Asylum seekers in detention, Same sex marriage. |
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Our Reformation heritage, Growth in churches, Restoring faith, hope and trust in our society, Thanksgiving motions, Community chaplains, Renumeration of Anglicare, Youthworks, Schools Corporation Chairs, Equipping Rectors in leadership, Restricting the length of sermons. |
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Proposal to fund ministries in new growth suburbs, New churches for new communities fundraising drive, Reinvigorating ministry in small congregations, Funding projects in low socioeconomic parishes, Drawdown of diocesan endowment ($3.5m), |
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Thinking theologically about voting in Synod. |
Reports from the 2016 Global South Primates’ meeting in Cairo
The Global South Anglican website has posted a number of reports on the Sixth Global South Conference, currently taking place in Cairo. More than one hundred Anglican leaders from across the ‘Global South’, including Archbishop of Sydney Glenn Davies (third from right in photo), are meeting to discuss the challenges of reaching our world with the gospel of Jesus Christ in this generation.
As the Global South website states, “Anglicans in the 24 provinces of the Global South number 61.8 million, constituting 72 percent of the worldwide Anglican Communion.”
Please be encouraged to pray for all at the meeting.
Reports posted so far:
Global South Anglicans to Hold Sixth Conference in Cairo, Egypt.
Global South Anglicans Open 6th Conference with a Nod to Athanasius.
World Religious Leaders Laud the Anglican Global South Conference in Egypt.
President Sisi Welcomes the Anglican Global South to Cairo.
Global South Anglicans ‘Visit’ Carthage and the Valley of Dry Bones.
Photo credit: Michael Adel, Bridges Cultural Center.
Blessing of the Animals a highlight in Newcastle Diocese
“All creatures great and small were found in churches across the diocese of Sunday for the annual blessing of the animals.”
– News from the Diocese of Newcastle.
Jesus Always, the sequel to Jesus Calling
“This book is going to be big. Huge, even. Its predecessor has sold well over 10 million copies and more than a decade after publication has no less than 6 editions on the list of Christian bestsellers.
Today, at last, comes the long-awaited sequel, releasing to great fanfare—a million-copy first printing backed by a huge $300,000 marketing spend. One way or another you will come across this book and so will most of your friends and neighbours. You will see it on Amazon, in Costco, in airport bookshops, and perhaps even at your church’s book table. It’s Jesus Always, Sarah Young’s sequel to Jesus Calling. …
The big claim in her little books is that the words come to the reader from Jesus through her. At least, that was the claim of Jesus Calling and, as far as I know, it has not been retracted. Instead, it has been removed. If you are enthusiastic about Jesus Calling or wondering about Jesus Always, this is the one claim you must face head-on. You cannot treat Jesus Always as just another Christian book when Young herself claims it is so much more.”
– Tim Challies confronts the huge problems caused by a book which seems to claim to contain revelation direct from the Lord Jesus.
Here’s a promotional trailer for the new book.
Global South Conference opens in Cairo
“Archbishop Nicholas Okoh, the chairman of Gafcon, was the preacher at the opening communion service of the Global South Conference in All Saints Cathedral Cairo on Monday October 3rd, presided over by the chairman of the Global South, Archbishop Mouneer Anis.”
– Photos via Anglican Mainstream. And Canon Chris Sugden has this report.
See also:
This report from the Anglican Communion News Service.
FCANZ submission to Working Group
Here’s a media release from the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans New Zealand –
“we are unconvinced that a single structure can safeguard both theological convictions with integrity, and so have suggested that the best way forward for our Church is the creation of an extra-provincial diocese”
“4 October 2016
The General Synod of our Church resolved in May to establish a Working Group to identify ‘possible structural arrangements within our Three-Tikanga Church to safeguard both theological convictions concerning the blessing of same gender relationships’. While the composition of this Working Group is yet to be named, suggestions of structural arrangements were to be in the hands of the Working Party by 1st October.
The Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans New Zealand was pleased to make a submission. Regretfully, we are unconvinced that a single structure can safeguard both theological convictions with integrity, and so have suggested that the best way forward for our Church is the creation of an extra-provincial diocese.
Such a diocese will be distinct from the current ecclesiastical structures of the Anglican Church in Aotearoa New Zealand and Polynesia, and will be authentically Anglican. A number of extra-provincial dioceses exist globally, and are all recognised as being genuine expressions of Anglicanism. The existence of two ecclesiastical structures within the same geographic location has occurred in Europe for a number of years and provides a model for a similar overlapping within these islands.
Either theological conviction could make use of an extra-provincial diocese, and the FCANZ submission suggests that whoever adopts this structure retains their current assets and resources. Most significantly, the formation of such a structure will ensure that both theological convictions can be held with integrity, and that no one will be required to teach doctrine, or submit to authority, which differs from their theological conviction on the issue of blessing same-gendered relationships.
See a copy of the submission here. [ends]”
(Note: the PDF file linked above may download to your Downloads folder, rather than open in your browser.)
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…