Christians now seen as “extremists”?

In his analysis of US politics, Albert Mohler points out that Bible-believing Christians are now viewed by some as extremists – he is speaking in his The Briefing for Tuesday 31 October 2023.

If interested you can see the relevant section of interview with the new US Speaker of the House here.

A heart issue and skill deficit – addressing deep problems in Mission and Maturity – with Andrew Heard

From The Pastor’s Heart:

“A few weeks ago on The Pastor’s Heart we talked with Zac Veron and Raj Gupta about issues confronting Sydney Anglicans.

The National Church Life Survey shows a drop in newcomers from 9% in 2011 to 5.4% in 2021 – a more than ten year trend of fewer people joining church.

Plus there’s been a 7.5% drop in attendance between 2015 and 2019.

But it’s not just the Sydney Anglicans that need a wake up call. It’s most of us in Australian Evangelicalism.

And if you are a senior pastor watching from around the world – it’s highly likely that there will be a massive overlap between your problems and our problems.

Andrew Heard leads the large and influential EV church on the Central Coast of New South Wales. He’s also the key person behind the influential Reach Australia movement. And is a leader in the Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches.”

– A wake-up call. Watch here.

What is Reformation Day?

“A single event on a single day changed the world.

It was October 31, 1517. Brother Martin, a monk and a scholar, had struggled for years with his church, the church in Rome. He had been greatly disturbed by an unprecedented indulgence sale. The story has all the makings of a Hollywood blockbuster. Let’s meet the cast. …”

– At Ligonier Ministries, Stephen Nichols reminds us what it was about.

Howard and Dorothy Mowll – Global Anglican Pioneers

Published recently by Latimer Publications in the UK, “Howard and Dorothy Mowll – Global Anglican Pioneers” is sure to be of interest to many.

From the Latimer Trust website:

“God’s blessing upon the Diocese of Sydney in the election of Howard Mowll as its sixth Diocesan Bishop in 1933 is clearly evident in these pages.

Despite the inadvertent loss of his personal papers, the authors of this fine anthology provide an insightful and informative account of the ministry of Archbishop Mowll across four continents. These scholarly chapters provide a rich tapestry of the outstanding leadership of Mowll not only in the Diocese of Sydney but throughout Australia and beyond. His zeal for a robust theological education, energetic evangelism and a vision for youth ministry made a formidable impact on Evangelical Anglicanism in Sydney.

This book is long overdue in celebrating the legacy of Howard Mowll, arguably the most significant and effective Archbishop of Sydney of the twentieth century.

Glenn N Davies, Archbishop of Sydney 2013-2021.”

The book has its origin in the 2021 Moore College Library Day and is edited by Erin Mollenhauer, Senior Archivist and Special Collections Librarian at Moore College’s Donald Robinson Library.

It’s available direct from Latimer Trust – and also via these booksellers.

“Jesus has come to invade the realm of darkness”

“Archbishop Kanishka Raffel has visited the Diocese’s newest Anglican building, Leppington Anglican Church, celebrating ministry to what has become known as the ‘new southwest’. …

The church’s opening was disrupted by COVID and the service was the first opportunity to mark the event. …”

– Leppington opens as ‘new SouthWest’ emerges.

Russell Powell writes of Hope Anglican Church at Leppington.

Embedded in the article is the video of the service, including an interview with the Archbishop, and his sermon. The Archbishop reminds us, “Jesus has come to invade the realm of darkness”.

New College Lectures 2023 with Chris Watkin

The recent 2023 New College Lectures with Assoc. Professor Chris Watkin have now been made available on their YouTube channel.

The topic: A Christian Critical Theory?

See also:

Interrogating identity: From philosophical theories to Biblical wisdom – with Chris Watkin

The Wandering Bookseller is also having a sale this weekend

The Wandering Bookseller has 25% off all stock this weekend (28-29 October 2023).

(Again, this is not a sponsored post, but we thought you might be interested.)

Thought Crimes

“Footage obtained by ADF UK shows an officer employed by West Midlands Police issuing a fine to a Christian standing still and praying silently within an abortion facility ‘buffer zone’ in Birmingham on 18th October.

The praying individual in the footage was Isabel Vaughan-Spruce, the volunteer who has already been vindicated twice for having committed no crime by silently praying inside a ‘buffer zone’.  …”

– From ADF UK – link via Anglican Mainstream. The officer asks, “Are you here to pray?”

See also:

When Prayer is Illegal, Are We Free? – Glen Scrivener Reacts to Abortion Buffer Zones.

Tribute to Roger Beckwith

“Latimer House’s warden from 1962 was an up-and-coming evangelical theologian, James I. Packer. His deputy from 1963 as Latimer House librarian was Roger Beckwith, a young church historian and liturgist.

An Oxford graduate, Beckwith had served his first curacy at St Peter’s, Harold Wood, in east London, a parish with a long evangelical history, followed by four years as tutor at Tyndale Hall, Bristol…”

– For the Latimer Trust, Andrew Atherstone has written this tribute to Roger Beckwith, who was called home last Saturday.

Matthias Media warehouse spring clean

Matthias Media is having a “spring clean” sale for orders within Oz. Many books and tracts on special. Ends 31 October.

They’re not sponsoring this – we just thought you might like to know.

Podcast: The Doctrine of the Church of England

The latest from Church Society:

“The podcast miniseries on the Church of England continues with an exploration of the Church of England’s doctrine. Ros Clarke, Kirsten Birkett and Lee Gatiss explain what doctrine is, how Anglican doctrine was established, what constitutes heresy, and how false teaching is supposed to be dealt with in the church.

Previous episodes in this series examine what the Church of England is, what the current crisis entails, and how the church can change.”

– Listen here.

Freedom23 — Freedom for Faith National Conference

The 2023 Freedom for Faith National Conference is coming up at Village Church Annandale on Monday 6th November.

Details and booking from their website.

Rolling out the Global Anglican rescue – with Archbishop Justin Badi Arama

From The Pastor’s Heart:

“Slowly, carefully, but quite deliberately, a new locus of leadership is emerging within the global Anglican Communion, a locus that significantly is intentionally focussed on Christ and biblical authority and not focussed on London, England or the Archbishop of Canterbury.

An important meeting of the Primates of the Global South and other leader of the Anglican Community has just wrapped up in Cairo.

Significantly and surprisingly the 13 orthodox Primates were joined at their meeting by Nicky Gumbel, the pioneer of the Alpha Course and London’s Holy Trinity Brompton’s massive UK church planting network.”

– Watch or listen here.

Are You Listening to Yourself?

“A verse that encourages me greatly, in preaching, is Jesus’ words in John 10:27:

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.

When we communicate God’s word, it gathers the sheep, the sheep come to listen, they recognise Jesus voice.

Its encouraging, because God’s truth attracts God’s people, so when I am discouraged by small numbers, this verse reminds me – God’s people listen to God’s voice, and want to hear Him speak to them through His word, and faithful preaching. …”

– At The Expository Preaching Trust, Jim Mobbs encourages preachers to listen to their own sermons.

Picture: Detail from “The Evangelist”, a painting of Arthur Stace preaching in the open air, by artist David Lever.

Communique from GSFA leaders meeting in Cairo

Leaders of the Global South Fellowship of Anglican Churches have just released this Communique after their meeting in Cairo last week –

“Anglican orthodox leaders met at All Saints’ Cathedral in Cairo, Egypt from 17th – 19th October 2023. The theme for the meeting was ‘I will make you as a light to the nations’ (Isaiah49: 6b). This resonates deeply with the essence of our faith and the mission of the Church.

In his opening address, the chairman of GSFA, Archbishop Justin Badi encouraged us as followers of Jesus to be bearers of God’s light by living and proclaiming His Truth in a sin-ruined and broken world. …”

– Do read it all here.

Also see this summary of the meeting:

GSFA brings hope and builds orthodox unity in the Anglican Communion

Update:

Historic meeting backs world mission and a ‘firewall’ against false teaching – Russell Powell at SydneyAnglicans.net

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