Worshipping on Sunday is okay, but witnessing on Monday…?

“A leading religious freedom expert has laid out the issues ahead for Christians expressing their faith in public, saying the looming battleground is not private, but public, beliefs. …”

– At SydneyAnglicans.net, Russell Powell reports on Professor Patrick Parkinson’s 2020 New College Lectures.

See also:

The fall of Rome and the way forward for Jesus’ people – with Patrick Parkinson – The Pastor’s Heart.

What if the church wasted the COVID crisis by not prepping for a more hostile shutdown? – Stephen McAlpine.

Four surprising ways to cheer your Covid-stressed Pastor

“Some while ago I wrote a short blog about how to put a spring in the step of your pastor.

Here is a Covid update. How about this for four ways to cheer your pastor in these pandemic days? Each arises partly out of conversations I have had with pastor friends. …”

– Christopher Ash shares some encouragement at The Good Book Company in the UK.

See also:

Stop! Think Twice Before Switching Churches in 2020 – Ivan Mesa at The Gospel Coalition.

“No pastor ever took a seminary course on pastoring amid a pandemic, so be patient with them.”

Southern Cross magazine for October 2020 now out

The latest Southern Cross magazine (October 2020) is now available for download, or reading online.

Features include:

• Christians and sport
• Getting back to church in Sydney
• Evangelism in COVID Melbourne
• The latest Ordinations
• Persecution of Chinese Christians by rewriting John 8

Grab your copy here.

One Year in Sydney: An Interview with David Robertson

You may recall David Roberston’s interview with The Australian Church Record in July 2018. At the time, asked about his impressions of Sydney Anglicans, he said,

“I came here expecting to learn a great deal about evangelism. I have learnt about church structures, praise, organisation and leadership training – all of which is essential. But in my limited experience I’m not convinced that evangelism is a strong point amongst Sydney Anglicans (or indeed some other Christians).”

That’s what’s behind the beginning of David’s answer in this new interview with the ACR:

“I think what has happened is a warning to those of us who have big mouths – or at least think out loud!

After I spoke to you, I returned home to my church in Scotland, safe in the knowledge that I would not have to put into practice what I suggested. But the Lord had other ideas! Peter Kaldor of City Bible Forum challenged me to come to Sydney and put into practice the ideas I was talking about.

Through a variety of push and pull factors it was made clear to myself and my wife, Annabel, that the Lord was calling us here. In one sense it was a hard decision – giving up home, country and a now well-established church to come to the unknown.

But the opportunity to set up a new evangelistic opportunity called Third Space, and to work with Steve McAlpine and CBF, was one that ultimately, we could not refuse. …”

Read it all.

‘But Billy,’ you may ask…

“Andrew Blackwood was Chair of Practical Theology at Princeton and said of preaching, ‘These three remain, faith, hope and clarity, but the greatest of these is clarity!’

Billy Graham was one of the clearest preachers I have heard, I heard him preach for two weeks at his Sydney campaign in 1968. Dr. Graham would often stop and ask himself, ‘“But Billy,’ you may ask…” He would anticipate and answer the question on peoples’ minds.

Dialogical preaching which anticipates questions raised by the sermon is a very good friend of clarity in preaching. …”

– David Cook continues to encourage preachers at The Expository Preaching Trust.

Photo: Billy Graham and Archbishop Marcus Loane in Sydney, 1968. Photo courtesy Ramon Williams.

Luther: In Real Time

From Ligonier Ministties:

“It’s 1520. Martin Luther has been declared a heretic by Pope Leo X, and his books are being burned. How much longer before Luther himself is thrown into the fire?

Enter the dramatic story at the dawn of the Reformation. Each episode is released 500 years to the day after the events described, allowing you to walk in Luther’s footsteps from his heresy charges to his famous stand for God’s Word.

Hear, in Luther’s own words, what Protestants are protesting and why it still matters today.”

– Sounds interesting.

The Priestly Preacher

“Have you ever heard a preacher talk about hell, divine election or holy war as if they were talking about riding a bike or watching a game on TV? They appear to have no sense of the gravity or the offensiveness of what they are talking about.

It’s as if the preacher lives in a different world from their listeners – unaware or uninterested in the humanity and situation of their hearers.

It’s as if they haven’t realised that their congregants are 21st century Australians who have loved ones and work colleagues who are not Christians. …“

– Ray Galea with a challenge for preachers – at The Gospel Coalition Australia.

Something Better

Richard Coekin at Dundonald Church in London wants to encourage Christians to share their story.

The aim: “To resource the local church to reach the city with news of something better.”

Check out the “Something Better” website here.

Capitol Hill Baptist shows how to fight for Religious Freedom in a Pandemic

“Capitol Hill Baptist Church (CHBC), an 850-member church led by TGC Council Emeritus member Mark Dever, has filed a lawsuit in federal court claiming Washington, D.C., mayor Muriel E. Bowser is violating the First Amendment and facilitating discrimination by allowing large anti-racism protests while severely limiting worship services. …”

– Joe Carter at The Gospel Coalition looks at what Capitol Hill Baptist Church is doing and why.

See also the CHBC website. (Screenshot: CHBC website.)

Praying for Christians in Sudan

In a recent interview, Bishop Andudu Adam Elnail spoke about the Peace Agreement signed in Sudan earlier this month.

Fuel for prayer.

Bishop Andudu and Faith McDonnell lead GAFCON’s Suffering Church Network.

How to see members report growth in faith – with Tom Harricks and Roger Cunningham

From The Pastor’s Heart:

“It sounds so simple.  And yet it’s clear from the statistics (National Church Life) that people in some congregations are reporting much growth in faith, while people in others are reporting not much at all.

And isn’t it what we all want: For the sheep that God has given us the task of being under shepherds for – to report that they have grown significantly in faith this year?”

– Dominic Steele speaks with Tom Harricks and Roger Cunningham on this week’s edition of The Pastor’s Heart.

John Anderson on Fatherhood and other matters

Former Leader of the National Party and Deputy Prime Minister John Anderson has been posting interviews and reflections on his website.

Most recently, he read on camera two op-eds on fatherhood which had been published in The Australian and Quadrant.

Related:

Christians in a Fragile Democracy: An Interview with John Anderson – from the Gospel Coalition Australia.

Bathurst Synod – Presidential address 2020

Here is Bishop Mark Calder’s first synod charge, as presented to an extraordinary session of the 49th Synod of the Diocese of Bathurst, 19th September 2020.

A powerful and challenging address. Fuel for prayer.

Update: The full text is now available.

Rejoice in the Lord!

“I have been feasting on Philippians in recent months, meditating on Paul’s command to, ‘rejoice in the Lord’, found in 3:1 – and then intensified in 4:4: ‘rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again. Rejoice!’

Here are six reflections. …”

– Godly encouragement from Peter Adam at the Gospel Coalition Australia.

The gospel according to a 5-year-old

“When my kids were young, I had the idea to talk with them about the gospel over dinner so that we could discuss together about what it means for us to follow Jesus. (Dinnertimes were pretty crazy with three kids under ten and the usual debates over the necessity and place of vegetables in the created order, so it was an ambitious goal.)

My husband suggested that the best way to start might be to teach them the gospel outline Two Ways to Live and to make it super fun. …”

– Great advice for parents (and grandparents!) from Bronwyn Windsor at The Australian Church Record.

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