Dr Billy Graham’s life and influence

Anglican Media Sydney has made available Russell Powell’s 2008 interview with David Aikman on his book “Billy Graham: His Life and Influence”.

Well worth 5 minutes of your time.

With great thanksgiving for Billy Graham 1918–2018

Billy Graham at the age of 99, has been called home to be with the Lord.

The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association has the news.

The Gospel Coalition has a number of feature articles linked from their home page.

In  the Lord’s providence, Billy Graham and his team had a huge impact on Sydney in 1959 – and in the years since. We are sure that much will be written about the 1959 Sydney Crusade.

In the midst of all the thanksgiving for Billy, please consider this:

Do you need to get right with God? Do you need to find new life in Christ? –

You could do a lot worse than to listen to Billy’s message, given at the Sydney 1959 Crusade, on the subject: “The Certainty of Death”.

(His other messages in Sydney can be heard here.) Then find a church.

Archbishop of Sydney Dr Glenn Davies has issued this statement:

The world has lost one of the most significant figures of the late twentieth century with the news of Billy Graham’s death on 21 February in his 100th year.

Billy Graham’s extensive ministry has affected the lives of millions of people around the globe, and under God, hundreds of thousands of people have been brought to faith in Jesus Christ through his anointed preaching ministry.

We in Australia are especially grateful for his first visit to our country in 1959, where his crusade in Sydney of that year had all the hallmarks of revival with increased church attendance, increased candidates offering themselves for the ministry and a marked effect on criminal statistics with fewer crimes being committed. His visits in 1968 and 1979 were again welcomed by church leaders, which again saw an increased level of cooperation among the Churches and many people becoming Christians.

Billy Graham was passionate about Jesus Christ and unrelenting in finding ways to persuade people to put their trust in the Saviour of the world.

We have lost a giant among us – but the angels in heaven rejoice in his arrival in his eternal home.

Dr Glenn Davies,

22 February, 2018 AD

And SydneyAnglicans.net has this tribute.

Top image: BGEA. Second image – Billy with Archbishop Marcus Loane at the 1968 Sydney Crusade, courtesy of Ramon Williams.

Will we be Free?

“Until last week, Sky News’ Paul Murray supported the same-sex marriage campaign.

But the goodwill is fading. Speaking on his nightly program, Murray conceded what we have always forewarned: rainbow advocates are now asking for all protections for religious freedom to be ‘blown up.’

That is, the scant protections that already exist. Not new ones.

Murray agrees that there are people in the activist parts of the rainbow movement who will force churches to marry same-sex couples and deny Christian schools the right to hire staff who share their faith. …”

– Martyn Iles, the new Managing Director of the Australian Christian Lobby writes about the battle ahead, and shares his organisation’s submission (PDF) to the Expert Panel on Religious Freedom.

Dealing with Guilt and Shame

“Western culture regards guilt and shame as overwhelmingly negative experiences. The catch-cry of our times is “believe in yourself”, and ridding ourselves of guilt and shame is part of the near universal pursuit of positive thinking. Yet, for many, guilt and shame are all-too crushingly real and inescapable. We feel their weight even as we try to banish them with positive spin.

In our first Centre for Christian Living event of the year, Faculty member Dr Dan Wu will explore what the Bible has to say about guilt and shame – what they are, and how they can be both negative and positive experiences for Christians. Most importantly, Dan will unpack how these experiences relate to the defining reality for all human life – the glory of God seen in the cross of Jesus. …”

– Read about Moore College’s Centre for Christian Living event coming up on Wednesday 7th March.

Go, Bear the Saviour’s Name…

“In advance of my upcoming trip to Australia and New Zealand, I’ve been studying all I can find on the early history of Christianity in those two nations. Australia was settled by the British first, of course, and served as a kind of staging point for missionaries to reach New Zealand and the Pacific Islands.

Australian Christianity begins with Richard Johnson, the chaplain of the very first fleet to reach her shores. He had been hand-selected for the task by William Wilberforce and his associates, and immediately got to work preaching the gospel and carrying out the duties of a pastor. He did so with the blessings and prayers of many in his home country, including John Newton, (author of “Amazing Grace”), who wrote this little poem in his honour. …”

– Tim Challies (who will be in Sydney shortly) quotes John Newton’s words to Richard Johnson.

Image: John Newton, courtesy of Marylynn Rouse at The John Newton Project.

Related: ‘Go, bear the Saviour’s name to lands unknown’.

Moore extends support for students with dedicated Academic Support position

“Moore College has a longstanding commitment to supporting its students in their studies. To this end, the College provides a Dean of Students, the formal and informal support of faculty members, organised student peer support, chaplaincy groups and other assistance to students.

The College is excited to announce the appointment of Mrs. Amelia Höhne as Academic Support Coordinator for this academic year. Amelia will work alongside the faculty to strengthen the learning and study skills of students. …”

– Full story from Moore College.

Church Society, Reform UK and Fellowship of Word and Spirit ‘joining forces’

[Also see the Update further below.]

Church Society’s Director, Dr Lee Gatiss, has issued this statement via his Twitter account –

“This is my comment on the well-founded rumours that , , and the Fellowship of Word & Spirit are joining forces.

‘I rejoice greatly and am so grateful to God that Anglican Evangelicals are at last beginning to combine their strengths to stand firm and contend together in the Church of England.

This is a hugely positive story and counters the fiction that orthodox groups and fragmenting and leaving. We’re not. Conservative evangelicals are coming together like never before, as the times demand.

This is the biggest thing to happen in the Anglican Evangelical world here for 25 years, and I see it as a cause for celebration. There is much still to pray for.’ ”

– We await further details.

Update – this announcement has now been made:

Contending for the Gospel: Time for a New Approach – Church Society –

“We are delighted to announce that the Church Society Council, the Reform Council, and the Trustees of the Fellowship of Word and Spirit have all agreed to pursue a merger. It is in the light of our shared Biblical, Reformed, Anglican faith and common goals that we have decided that the challenges of the present time require us to unite our efforts so that we are better placed to harness the energies of evangelicals in contending for the gospel. …” – Announcement from Church Society Director Dr Lee Gatiss.

Also,

“The need for unity of fellowship and purpose with bodies like Church Society and Fellowship of Word & Spirit is urgent and overdue. …” – Canon David Banting.

“Our new context means that we need to focus our efforts, unite our endeavours, and ensure we maximise the usefulness of our resources. …” – Bishop Rod Thomas.

“At a time when our nation is rapidly rejecting its Christian inheritance, and the Church of England is in a crisis about its convictions and influence, there has never been a greater need for those committed to biblical truth to unite together, enabling our message to be heard with greater clarity and power. …” – Dr Rob Munro.

Read the full statements at the link above.

Relevant websites: Church Society, Reform, Fellowship of Word & Spirit.

Growing godly kids #2: Teaching children to pray

“Speaking to our heavenly Father should be the most natural thing for a child of God. However, our own sinfulness often gets in the way of trusting God and speaking readily to him. It is a quaint idea to imagine children will naturally develop a vibrant prayer life, but the reality is that they struggle just like adults.

Therefore, a vital aspect of growing children as disciples of Christ is helping them to grow as praying disciples of Christ. …”

– At The Australian Church Record, Pete Tong continues his series on Growing godly kids.

The Tragedy of Adultery

“The adultery of the Deputy Prime Minister, Barnaby Joyce, has raised many questions for public debate. But sadly, the debate has only illustrated the incompetence of our media and politicians, and the inadequacy of the Australian culture to deal with these questions.

From the outset, let me make it clear that this article is not written from a political bias. Similarly, I have no private knowledge or personal involvement with the people caught up in this tragedy. I call it a ‘tragedy’ because it is. Nobody involved is now happier than beforehand. While I am sorry for them and would offer to help if I knew them, I am writing about the principles this tragedy illustrates, not sitting in judgement on the people involved (I know I’m a sinner unable to throw any stone, John 8).

My concern is the inadequacy of the debate and the way principles have been ignored, obscured or distorted by the media and politicians alike …”

– Take the time to read this strong piece by Phillip Jensen – read right to the end.

Related: To walk away from marriage is to abandon your duty (link via Anglican Mainstream).

Bishop Stuart Robinson: Farewell message in Anglican News

“Though we are retiring from episcopal ministry we are … ‘refiring’ back into full-time parish ministry. I’ll be inducted as Priest, St Michael’s, Vaucluse and Rose Bay, on Saturday May 5th at 4.30pm.

And my formal farewell from this Diocese is Saturday March 31st at 11.00am is a ‘Laying Up Of The Pastoral Staff’ event.”

– Bishop Stuart Robinson reflects on his ten years as Bishop of Canberra and Goulburn in his last message for the diocesan newspaper.

As well, there is news of clergy moves in the diocese – all on page 2 of the February 2018 Anglican News (800kb PDF file).

Twenty-six ordained at St. Andrew’s Cathedral in Sydney

“There was thunderous applause in St Andrew’s Cathedral and hugs and plenty of pictures outside as 26 men and women were ordained as Deacons for various ministries around Sydney and Wollongong. …”

– Russell Powell has the story about today’s ordinations – at SydneyAnglicans.net.

Abp of Canterbury: Anglican Communion is in ‘a better place’ than five years ago

“In a wide-ranging interview with the Church Times to mark five years in office, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, has said that the Anglican Communion is in ‘a better place’ than it was five years ago. …

The interview was conducted by the Church Times’ editor, Paul Handley, in Lambeth Palace, the official residence and offices of the Archbishop of Canterbury.”

– Read the summary from The Anglican Communion News Service, or the full Church Times article. Not all would necessarily share his optimism.

(Photo: Lambeth Palace.)

Church Nightmare a Wake-up Call on ‘Tolerance’

“It’s absolutely crazy.” That’s all Pastor Jeremy Schossau [Metro City Church in Detroit] could say about all that his church has endured in the last several days. From shutting down their social media to being on a heightened security alert, the congregation of Riverside, Michigan never dreamed this much hate could exist over such a simple, Bible-based workshop.

“People have literally threatened to kill me and my family, to burn our house down, to burn our church down, to assault the people of our church and our staff.” … At one point, Metro City Church was getting 40 messages a minute. …

All Metro City church wanted to do was walk families through what the Bible has to say about the issue of gender and sexuality. And for that, legislators want Pastor Schossau to be formally investigated. …”

– A disturbing story from the Family Research Council. Link via the American Anglican Council.

Related:

Amid downriver church controversy, Michigan lawmakers propose conversion therapy ban.

Explanatory videos from the church.

History Bytes – Remembering Sir Marcus Loane

“I was Rector of Berridale. The clergy of the Monaro were invited to dinner in the Cooma Rectory to meet Sir Marcus Loane, then Archbishop of Sydney and Primate of Australia. I found him a shy and reserved person, but when Church history was the subject his face lit up. …”

– On the Diocese of Canberra & Goulburn website, Fr. Robert Wilson remembers a great man.

Related:

From Strength to Strength — A Life of Marcus Loane by Allan M. Blanch reviewed at Australian Presbyterian.

(Photo courtesy of Ramon Williams.)

Ramon Williams, Australian Christian media powerhouse, decides it’s time to retire

Ramon Williams, the unassuming one-man Christian media powerhouse behind Worldwide Photos, has tonight announced, on medical advice, that his ministry will conclude.

Dan Wooding at IPA News published a profile of Ramon in July 2017 –

“Now 86, Ramon Williams has been supplying news articles and photos to the Christian media from ’down under’ for more than 50 years, and he is considered by many, including myself, as one of the great heroes of the Australian Christian media.

This self-effacing former missionary has, for more than half-a-century, been running the equivalent of a Christian AP (Associated Press) news wire…” – Read the full article at IPA News.

Ramon and his wife Dorothy, both graduates of SMBC, served as missionaries with WEC (Worldwide Evangelisation Crusade) in South East Asia from 1959 to 1967, and originally established Worldwide Photos as a department of WEC.

In this June 2017 profile in The Salvation Army’s War Cry, Ramon explains –

“… the mission called for someone to open a new department to produce good-quality audio­visuals. I accepted the challenge and (with wife Dorothy) came home to Australia in November 1967, to start the work.

I noticed in the ministers’ meeting, prior to the 1968 Billy Graham Crusade, that nobody was photographing the event for the Christian media. New Life, an Australian Christian newspaper, was willing to accept my offer to photograph the crusade but they could not pay. Afterwards I found The Australian Baptist was willing to accept photos but could not pay. I’ve been doing it ever since—supplying photos to people who cannot pay! …”

Astute observers will notice that the ACL website is one of many beneficiaries of Ramon’s cheerful generosity, and it is only appropriate that we publicly thank him here, through our website.

We are sure that many will echo our heartfelt thanks.

Photo courtesy IPA News.

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