Reformation Preaching and the Modern Mind — Annual Moore College Lectures 2017

“The Annual Moore College Lectures will be given by Carl Trueman, a well-known church historian who has written extensively on reformation themes.”

– Beginning 3rd August. Details from the College.

UK government’s sweeping transgender reforms

“British adults will be able to change their gender legally without a doctor’s diagnosis under government plans that will transform British society.

Men will be able to identify themselves as women – and women as men – and have their birth certificates altered to record their new gender.…”

– Report from The Australian.

The Banner of Truth Trust turns 60

“Iain Murray is 86 years old. Sixty years ago today, along with Jack Cullum and Sidney Norton, officially founded Banner of Truth, the Reformed-evangelical publisher that began out of Westminster Chapel in London in 1957.…”

– A cause for thanksgiving. Justin Taylor marks the anniversary. (Picture: Iain Murray.)

ABC ignored church’s ‘positive story’

“A senior female Anglican leader has expressed ‘disappointment’ that her ‘positive’ story in fighting domestic violence was ignored by the ABC in its controversial TV program claiming Christian men who go to church occasionally are the worst abusers of women.

Sydney diocese Archdeacon for Women Kara Hartley was ­interviewed for more than an hour by ABC journalist Julia Baird for the report on 7:30 that aired on Wednesday night, but none of her comments were aired.…

Archdeacon Hartley’s remarks came as the Catholic Archbishop of Brisbane, Mark Coleridge, ­revealed he had, on request, provided the ABC with extensive comments for a related online essay by Baird and co-author ­Hayley Gleeson. But not only did Baird and Gleeson not publish any of his remarks, they falsely reported he had not responded.

Only after the diocese made an official complaint to the ABC did it amend the article yesterday.”

– Story from The Australian. (Photo courtesy Sam Law.)

Related:

A summary of major public statements from Diocesan Leadership on the issue of Domestic Violence – Anglican Diocese of Sydney.

Domestic Violence: A starting point for answers – Kara Hartley, The Australian Church Record.

Bolt Report editorial, 20 July 2017. – Sky News via The Herald Sun.

Update:

An Unholy Row – ABC TV Media Watch, 24 July 2017.

Orange East welcomes new Rector

“Bishop Ian Palmer commissioned the Reverend Bob Cameron as Rector of the parish of Orange East in a service in St Barnabas’ Church on Saturday morning, July 15.”

– News from the Diocese of Bathurst.

Fundamental shifts in the Church of England General Synod

“The decisions taken in the February and July 2017 sessions of the General Synod crossed a line never before reached.

Its failure to take note of the definition of marriage as that between ‘one man and one woman in lifelong commitment’, and its embrace of key LGBT agenda (banning so-called ‘conversion therapy’ for unwanted same-sex attraction, liturgy to mark a person’s gender transition) has caused serious consternation, anger and anxiety in the Church of England, and beyond.

It was the scale of defeat of orthodoxy in the July sessions that is most shocking. …”

– At the GAFCON website, Dr. Chik Kaw Tan, a 12-year veteran of General Synod, shares his reflections on the significant shifts which have taken place, and possible consequences.

What was the Reformation and why does it matter?

Last week, David Cook spoke at St. Helen’s Bishopsgate, on What was the Reformation and why does it matter?.

“The great pastoral effect of the Reformation is Assurance.”

Most encouraging. Watch on Vimeo.

Related: The English Reformers’ Teaching on Salvation. Talk by Donald Allister at the 1991 Church Society Conference.

UK Foreign Office agency says Evangelical Christians in the Global South should ‘reinterpret’ the Bible

“A report produced by an executive agency of the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office has argued that Evangelical Christians in the Global South should be expected to ‘reinterpret’ the Bible to make it compatible with LGBT ideology.

The recommendations, if implemented, would massively reverse freedom of religion across the globe. …”

– News from Barnabas Fund. (h/t Anglican Mainstream.)

A Letter to the Anglicans of Great Britain — how to ensure a faithful ecclesial future

This letter has been published at The Anglican Mission in England website, and elsewhere. We reproduce it here for you to read in full:

“Many will share our dismay at the recent decisions of the General Synod of the Church of England and the pursuing principles, values and practices contrary to Holy Scripture and church Tradition.

Given the persistent failure of the majority of the House of Bishops to fulfil the God-given duties which they have sworn to discharge these tragic developments were, sadly, not wholly unexpected.

Accordingly, and in preparation for such eventualities we, as some of those committed to the renewal of biblical and orthodox Anglicanism have already started to meet, on behalf of our fellow Anglicans, to discuss how to ensure a faithful ecclesial future.

We now wish that we have done so to be more widely known.

Our number is drawn from bishops, clergy and laity, from across Great Britain and from a breadth of traditions. Much more importantly, however, we meet joyfully united by a shared endorsement of the terms of the Jerusalem Declaration.

We will meet again, as planned and with external facilitation, mediation and episcopal advice, in October. It is our intention to welcome on that occasion an even greater diversity of contributors.

We would value your prayers and any expressions of interest from those who feel they might be able to make a valuable contribution to our deliberations.

Anyone desiring to contact us can do so through any of the organisations or churches listed.

Revd Dr Gavin Ashenden, Former Chaplain to the Queen
Mrs Lorna Ashworth, General Synod of the Church of England, Archbishops’ Council
Revd Nigel Atkinson, Vicar St John’s, Knutsford and Toft
Revd Andrew Bawtree, Chair of the House of Clergy, Diocese of Canterbury
Revd Mark Burkill, Chairman of Reform
Rt Revd John Ellison, Anglican Mission in England Executive
Rt Revd John Fenwick, Bishop Primus, Free Church of England
Rt Revd Josep Miquel Rossello Ferrer, Free Church of England
Ven Dr Amatu Christian-Iwuagwu, Vicar St Mary’s Harmondsworth & PiC Anglican Igbo Church of the Holy Trinity, London
Rt Revd Paul Hunt, General Secretary, Free Church of England
Canon Nigel Juckes, Incumbent, Llandogo, Monmouth
Mr Daniel Leafe, Gafcon UK
Mrs Susie Leafe, Director of Reform
Rt Revd Andy Lines, ACNA Bishop with Special Mission
Revd David McCarthy, Coordinator of the Scottish Anglican Network
Revd Lee McMunn, Mission Director, Anglican Mission in England
Revd James Paice, Trustee, The Southwark Good Stewards Trust
Rt Revd Jonathan Pryke, Senior Minister Jesmond Parish Church, Anglican Mission in England Executive
Revd Dr Peter Sanlon, Convenor of Anglican Partnership Synod
Ven Dr Will Strange on behalf of the Evangelical Fellowship in the Church in Wales
Revd Andrew Symes, Executive Secretary, Anglican Mainstream.”

Domestic Violence: A starting point for answers

“There is a lot of discussion at the moment suggesting there is a link between biblical teaching on submission and headship with the prevalence of DV in church. Some argue the existence of this teaching leads to domestic violence.

I believe this is mistaken for two reasons….”

– At The Australian Church Record, Archdeacon Kara Hartley, who for the last 18 months has served on the Sydney Diocese Domestic Violence Task Force, responds to questions about domestic violence, churches and the Bible.

There’s also a list of useful resources. (Photo courtesy Sam Law.)

The Agonising Ordeal of Eugene Peterson — You might be next

“Was he against it, before he was for it? Is he really against it now?

The ordeal experienced last week by popular author Eugene Peterson was agonizing to observe, largely self-inflicted, and virtually inevitable. You should pay close attention to it, for you might very well be next. …”

– Albert Mohler draws some sobering lessons.

The Mark Drama: A fast-paced reenactment of Mark’s gospel

See The Mark Drama at Moore College on Monday 24th and Tuesday 25th July:

“Jesus has to be one of the most hotly debated people of all time. During his lifetime, many questioned his origin and authority, while others feared he was a dangerous revolutionary.

A production of the Moore College community, the Mark Drama turns Mark’s biographical account of Jesus into a 90-minute, theatre-in-the-round stage production.

Fully immersed in the action, here you can decide for yourself – is Jesus just another guy with imaginative ideas about God, or is he truly the King of the universe?”

– Who could you invite to come with you? Book in to see it.

Compassion for the Lost

“Instead of just throwing up our hands in despair or shaking our heads sadly about what we believe are poor, short-sighted choices by many of our contemporaries, we need to ask God, through His Spirit, to make us more like Jesus in having compassion on those who have, for whatever reason, excluded God from their lives.

When Jesus saw the crowds of his day ‘he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless like sheep without a shepherd’ (Matthew 9:36). …”

– In the latest edition of Anglican News from the Diocese of Canberra & Goulburn, Bishop Trevor Edwards urges us to respond to the latest census figures as the Lord Jesus did to the people of his day. Read it all, on page 2 of this 2.8MB PDF file.

Also be sure to see:

Philip Jensen on Why and How Churches Must be Pragmatic – Steve Kryger at Communicate Jesus:

“Since the release of the latest Australian Census data, I’ve been troubled by how many people in my nation are yet to know Jesus, and how ineffective we (as evangelical Christians) have been at reaching them.

I discovered that since 1991, there has been a 22% drop in the number of people claiming to be Christians and in a single generation there has been an 88% decline in the number of self-declared Christians.

So my friend Dave sent me this sermon by Philip Jensen from 1988, where he pulls no punches in pleading that churches change to reach the 97% who are not in our churches each Sunday.

You should listen to the whole message, but here are 10 quotes that stood out…”

Both articles are a great encouragement and spur.

Evangelical Christianity 150 Years Ago and Today

“Being an evangelical Christian in 2017 can be a fairly daunting prospect. There appear to be so many challenges in wider society and in the wider church. Surely standing up for the gospel of Jesus Christ and proclaiming it in the world is more difficult now than it was in the past!

Well, a little historical perspective can allow us re-evaluate our situation and encourage us by the inspiring examples of those who have gone before. It is for this reason I commend two recent books about nineteenth-century evangelicals.

The first little book is Allan Blanch’s A Pioneering Pastor: Thomas Sharpe of Norfolk Island and Bathurst.

Sharpe’s faithful evangelical ministry has been somewhat forgotten in our historical narrative of Christianity in colonial Australia. Sharpe was born 220 years ago in Yorkshire and was ordained in 1828 … for the specific purpose of Anglican ministry in Australia.

One of the wonderful features of Blanch’s biography is that he allows Sharpe to speak for himself through his journal. Blanch also provides important contextual background for the events — both ecclesiastical and social. This book is well-researched and easy to read.”

– At SydneyAnglicans.net, Dr. Ed Loane briefly reviews two new books – A Pioneering Pastor: Thomas Sharpe of Norfolk Island and Bathurst by ACL Emeritus Vice President Allan M. Blanch, and Bishop J.C. Ryle’s Autobiography, edited by Andrew Atherstone.

A Pioneering Pastor: Thomas Sharpe of Norfolk Island and Bathurst by Allan M. Blanch is available for $19.99 from:

Strathalbyn Books
P.O. Box 970, Bathurst NSW 2795.

email: strathalbynbooks@gmail.com

Cheque or money order made out to Strathalbyn Books.

Click here to download an order form (PDF file).

FCA Australia commends Abp Davies and Bp Condie for their involvement in the consecration of Andy Lines

“An open letter to the members of the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans – Australia:

Grace and peace to you in the name of our dear Saviour Jesus.

I am writing to you on behalf of the Board of FCA-Aus following the recent consecration of Canon Andy Lines as a missionary bishop to Europe, which took place in Wheaton Illinois, USA on Friday 30 June 2017.

FCA-Aus Chairman, Dr Richard Condie, Bishop of Tasmania participated in the consecration, along with Board member, Dr Glenn Davies, Archbishop of Sydney and Bishop Gary Nelson of the Diocese of North West Australia. The consecration took place under the auspices of the Province of the Anglican Church in North America at the request of the GAFCON Primates, and the Australian bishops joined more than 50 other bishops including 11 Primates (presiding bishops within Anglican Provinces).

The Board of FCA-Aus warmly and unanimously commends and supports the participation of the Australian bishops in the consecration of Bishop Andy Lines. …”

– Read the full letter from Kanishka Raffel, Dean of Sydney, on behalf of the Board, FCA-Australia.

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