Morning Star Publishing joins Bible Society Australia Publishing Arm
From a Bible Society Australia press release:
“Morning Star’s list joins Acorn Press and the Centre for Public Christianity as imprints of Bible Society Australia Publishing.”
– Full press release here. And the Morning Star Publishing website.
Simon Manchester on Getting the Message Across
Late last year, Nancy Guthrie spoke with Simon Manchester about how to engage listeners.
Mark Jones ‘meet the author’ at Reformers Bookshop
Mark Jones, author of several books, including the well regarded Christian’s Pocket Guide to Jesus Christ: An Introduction to Christology, is visiting Reformer’s Bookshop in Stanmore next week (Thursday 16th August) for a ‘Meet the Author’ event.
In other news from Reformers, they have recently introduced four Pastors Packs which may be of interest to our readers.
Reformers also has some copies of Reformation Worship, edited by Jonathan Gibson and Mark Earngey, at their reduced price. (Use this link. Click through to the checkout to get the 30% discount, while available.)
Jonathan Edwards: Safe beneath his Sovereign God
“In the spring of 1750, the central discussion at Northampton Church in southern Massachusetts was not how to honor their faithful pastor for almost a quarter century of diligent labors among them. Rather, it was how to most expeditiously get rid of him.
In late June, the church held a series of meetings, and they summarily fired their pastor by a vote of 10 to 1 – of the 253 voting members, 230 voted for him to be dismissed, and 23 for him to stay.
Why were the people pointing fingers instead of offering warm handshakes to their pastor, Jonathan Edwards?…”
– At Desiring God, Dane Ortlund brings godly encouragement from the life of Jonathan Edwards.
Related: Johnathan Edwards’ The Religious Affections is the free Audiobook from Christian Audio for August 2018.
GAFCON announces plans for additional Conference for 2019
The Chairman of the GAFCON Primates Council, Archbishop Nicholas Okoh, has announced that GAFCON will hold a conference in 2019 for those excluded from attending the recent global gathering in Jerusalem.
“…we were saddened by the fact that there were some from Africa and the Middle East who wanted to join us but were prevented from doing so due to visa issues. We are determined that they should experience the same sense of awe and joy and we have therefore decided to organise a conference specifically tailored for them.”
– Source: GAFCON.
‘Church in Hard Places 2018’ videos now available
Andrew Beddoe has shared this news from the recent Church in Hard Places 2018 workshops:
“If you missed the Church in Hard Places 2018 workshops this year you might be interested to view the sessions …
These videos will not only help those ministering in socially deprived areas but those seeking to bring the hope of Jesus to any community that does not know Him.”
Response to Ely Cathedral’s Support of Pride Festival
Here’s a response to Ely Cathedral’s support of their local Pride Festival, from Lee Gatiss, Director of Church Society. He comments on an item on a Cambridge local news website:
“Why is a Church of England cathedral promoting what is described as “primarily a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender celebration”?
They are not naive, and know what they are doing. The flag will no doubt be a rainbow, but in reality it is a white flag, signalling their surrender of Christianity in favour of a completely different gospel, which is divisive in the church and endangering to the soul.
There are better ways of rejoicing in the diversity of humanity — by proclaiming the joyful news of eternal life for every one of us who repents, turns away from our sin and turns to Jesus instead. Bring back the cross, the symbol of his kingdom. That is the banner under which Christians gather. But God says, ‘pride comes before destruction.’”
– from Church Society.
Have we lost evangelism? with Phil Colgan and Craig Schafer
“A good friend tells you when you have something stuck between your teeth just before the photograph is taken.
Scotland’s David Andrew Robertson was a guest on The Pastor’s Heart a few months ago and is a good friend.
In an interview with Australian Church Record, having spent three months in Sydney, he’s had some significant things to say about the Sydney Anglican Church and asks have we gone off the boil on seeking the lost saved? …”
– Take the time to watch Phil Colgan and Craig Schafer discuss the state of evangelism with Dominic Steele at The Pastor’s Heart.
And a response from David Robertson:
“This is a fascinating discussion about evangelism in Sydney – in response to this interview I gave to the Sydney Anglican magazine. This is from an excellent podcast called The Pastors Heart. hosted by Dominic Steele. I found it very encouraging to hear pastors and church leaders take seriously this issue.
I contrast these Sydney Anglican brothers with what I hear from Anglicans here (Rico Tice resigning from the Archbishops commission on evangelism, Kelvin Holdsworth complaining about the roads being closed for a cycle race in Glasgow, the Leeds diocese facing bankruptcy, or the endless attempts to impose LGBT ideology upon the church), and I am heartened by what I hear. (at a personal level it was good to have people take one seriously and not just shrug their shoulders or shake their heads!).
Those of us who are not Sydney Anglicans (or even Australians!) could learn a great deal from this conversation – I loved the line ‘You can’t convert the public square, you can only see people converted’. …”
Recorded: Canadian hospital staff urging patient to die
“A Canadian man suffering from an incurable disease claims that despite asking for home care, the medical team at an Ontario hospital would offer him only medically assisted suicide…”
– A disturbing story from The Society for the Protection of Unborn Children.
How I talk to people about the Trinity
“It was the first evangelistic course that I had ever run. I had just finished my presentation on the authority of Jesus in Mark 1-2 and opened up for question time. The first question, right off the bat, was…
‘So, what’s the deal with the Trinity?’
Since then I have found that of all the questions I get asked, this is the most common one. …”
– Maybe you’ve had similar experiences to Tom Habib, who writes at The Australian Church Record.
Six Benefits of Studying Church History
“Many of us may struggle with the feeling that the church is already too old-fashioned. If so, why should we study church history? Shouldn’t we stop looking backward to the 16th century and start living in the 21st century?
Contrary to our concerns, the church has always realized that a forward-looking church is also a backward looking church. Likewise, well-balanced, progressive Christians will be students of church history. …”
– Meet the Puritans wants to encourage you to study church history.
Alight for the Lord
“With an eye to spreading the blessings God has given, CityAlight – the music ministry of St Paul’s, Castle Hill – has created a series of videos about their most popular songs.
The idea behind this is twofold, explains CityAlight’s music director Tiarne Kleyn. …”
– Encouragement from SydneyAnglicans.net.
Edinburgh church votes to split from the Scottish Episcopal Church
“One of the largest churches in Edinburgh has voted to split from the Scottish Episcopal Church amid tensions over its decision to become the first Anglican body in the UK to endorse gay marriage. …
The Rev David McCarthy, Rector at St Thomas’ told The Sunday Telegraph the decision had been a “very painful” one. …
‘… it is the Episcopal Church who are leaving us. They are leaving orthodoxy.’…”
– Report from The Sunday Telegraph.
(Photo of David McCarthy via GAFCON.)
See also: St. Thomas’, Corstorphine, Edinburgh.
Lambeth 98 — Scripture Rules
Twenty years ago today, the 1998 Lambeth Conference passed Resolution 1.10 on Human Sexuality. (5th August 1998.)
Many see it as an important date in Anglican history – as does Dr. Stephen Noll, who was there for the American Anglican Council. Read his Diary notes from Week Three of Lambeth 1998.
How was Lambeth 98 seen at the time?
The American Anglican Council’s Encompass newsletter for August 1998 featured a front page report by AAC President Bishop James Stanton, Bishop of Dallas, who wrote these prophetic words:
“I hope that the result of Lambeth 1998 will be the forming of an alliance of Anglicans from the West and the South committed to the biblical Gospel and to our Lord’s Great Commission to make disciples of all nations.”
Here is the full text of his report:
“l am writing on the final day of the 1998 Lambeth Conference in Canterbury. We are completing three weeks that have been full of the joys one would expect from a great gathering of the Church‘s leaders, ‘elect from every nation yet one o’er all the earth.’ And all this during a beautiful English summer, overlooking Canterbury Cathedral, our communion’s historic home.
But I must confess that a dark shadow hung over this Conference that was only dispelled in the final days. This shadow was the work of our American Episcopal Church.
By tolerating an overt non-theist in its midst — the Bishop of Newark — and by promoting practices clearly contrary to the Bible and the Church’s historic teaching — the ordination of practicing homosexuals and ‘blessing’ of same-sex partnerships — our Church was threatening its own unity and the unity of the Communion.
Frankly we Americans needed help. Last September in Dallas, Stephen Noll, our Encompass editor, had urged the forty Third World bishops gathered there: ‘The handwriting is on the wall. Please spell it out for us, by the grace of God that is given you and the help of the Holy Spirit.’ On August 5 they did just that when they passed a strong, clear Resolution on Human Sexuality.
This Resolution was not easily won. We faced, sadly, opposition prepared to thwart the will of the majority. Our team at Lambeth worked hard to provide support in terms of networking, information, planning, and praying (intercessors prayed every waking hour of the Conference). The crisis point came when the Archbishop of Canterbury, seeing the determination of the Third World bishops on this issue, intervened to ensure a fair and orderly debate. The dam then broke and the Conference did spell out its position by a vote of 526 for, 70 against, 46 abstaining.
Archbishop George Carey said at the end of this historic debate that ‘if this Conference is known and named by what we have said about homosexuality we will have failed.’ l agree. This Conference was not about sex. It was about the authority of Scripture in the Church, which is at the heart of our identity as Christians and Anglicans. It was no accident that the day after the sexuality vote the Conference passed a strong statement of biblical authority.
Furthermore, I think this Conference will be known as the moment when the voice of the ‘South,’ i.e., the Two-Thirds World Anglicans, became the voice of the Communion. it was a bold but caring voice – It is the voice of the Decade of Evangelism – It is a voice seeking help to teach, to nurture, and to employ the new converts who are the fruit of the past decade’s expansion. It is a voice challenging us to take the Gospel to our secularized societies in the West.
Our African, Latino, and Asian comrades acknowledged our role here. ‘The Conference would have been a disaster without you,’ one Nigerian bishop told us as we bade farewell. ‘We are not self sufficient. You managed under the guidance of the Holy Spirit to keep us together.’
I hope that the result of Lambeth 1998 will be the forming of an alliance of Anglicans from the West and the South committed to the biblical Gospel and to our Lord’s Great Commission to make disciples of all nations. We have seen a work of God. Our work has just begun.
With great thanksgiving to God and greetings to you.
James M. Stanton, Bishop of Dallas
President, American Anglican Council.”
See the original article here (700kb PDF file).
On the inside pages, Dr Stephen Noll, Encompass Editor, provided his own perspective:
Lambeth Report: Was it a Defining Moment?
“The bishops of the South did not want to talk about sex, but they did want to talk about Scripture, so the next day they passed a Resolution on Scripture that ‘reaffirms the primary authority of the Scriptures, according to their testimony and supported by our own historic formularies.” It goes on to urge “that the Biblical text be handled respectfully, coherently, and consistently … believing that Scriptural revelation must continue to illuminate, challenge and transform cultures, structures, and ways of thinking, especially those that pre- dominate today.’…”
With twenty years’s hindsight, Dr Noll’s reflection is sobering reading. See his full comments here (1.2MB PDF file).
See also Bishop Paul Barnett’s remarks to the October 1998 ACL Dinner.
(In the older section of our website).
Book review: That Hideous Strength; How the West was lost — by Melvin Tinker
“This highly readable book examines the spreading cancer of cultural Marxism in the Western world through the lens of two stories.
One is CS Lewis’s 1945 science fiction novel, That Hideous Strength, about a bunch of godless technocrats in the National Institute of Co-ordinated Experiments (N.I.C.E) whose goal is the ‘scientific reconstruction of the human race in the direction of increased efficiency’.
The other is the biblical account of the building of the Tower of Babel in Genesis 11. …”
At Anglican Mainstream, Julian Mann takes a look at That Hideous Strength: How the West was Lost.
It’s published by Evangelical Press.
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…