David Short shares his Journey of Faith; Leadership and Surviving a Split in the Anglican Church of Canada
“The tectonic plates of global Anglicanism have shifted and are realigning around the theology of Scripture and the gospel.
The shifting surfaced first in our diocese which was strongly theologically liberal. When the bishop announced he would proceed with the blessing of same sex unions, we walked out of Synod and appealed for alternative episcopal oversight from the Canadian house of bishops. The bishop brought charges against us and we then entered years of processes from the national and international church – all under the hostility and threats of the diocese.
It was our view that we had not left anything, but it was in fact the diocese which had abandoned biblical historical orthodoxy. …”
– David Virtue speaks with David Short, Moore College graduate who continues to serve Christ in Vancouver.
Related:
The Good Fight of Faith – Links to a 2022 interview with David and Bronwyn Short by Simon Manchester for Southern Cross magazine – and other relevant pages.
Many other posts on this website.
Image: David during a GAFCON online tribute to J I Packer in 2020.
Young clergy and ordinands push back against gay blessings proposals
“Over one hundred men and women training for ordination in the Church of England have written a public letter warning the church was set to ‘fracture’ should the House of Bishops’ Living in Love and Faith (LLF) proposals on same-sex blessings be adopted.…”
– George Conger writes at Anglican.ink.
The letter begins:
“Dear Bishops and Archbishops,
We write to you from a broad coalition of those who share a call to ordained ministry in the Church of England. We include people within the discernment process, in training, and those in their diaconate year. At the time of writing we span ten training institutions and twenty-six dioceses. This group draws men and women from varied backgrounds including the HTB and New Wine networks, conservative evangelicals and traditional Anglicans, all of whom care deeply for and are heavily invested in the Church of England.
As those in whom you have invested, who you are preparing for decades of ministry, we need to convey our grief in seeing the current direction of travel concerning the Prayers of Love and Faith (PLF). …”
– Read it all here. (PDF file)
Also in the Church of England:
Racial justice pilgrims [from London] visit Anglican Communion Office during tour of London – Anglican Communion News Service.
The promise of life — some thoughts on 2 Timothy
“What is the primary role of the Christian pastor?
The question might yield a variety of different responses today. For the definitive answer, however, we need look no further than 2 Timothy.
As Paul sends final instructions to his ‘child’, his own execution imminent, priorities are set forth with unequivocal lucidity.”
– St. Helen’s Bishopsgate has published the latest audio reflection on 2 Timothy by Dick Lucas. An encouragement for pastors as well as members of churches. 14 minutes.
(Dick turned 98 last month. Do give thanks for him and pray for him in his continuing ministry of gospel encouragement.)
Related – from ten years ago:
Judgement, Salvation & the Living and the Dead – Dick Lucas Sermon Jam
Halloween Interview – Ian Carmichael
“Ian Carmichael is a publishing consultant for Matthias Media and author of the publishing company’s first Halloween-themed tract.
The ACR caught up with Ian to hear about some of the opportunities we can take advantage of at this time of year. …”
– Read the interview at The Australian Church Record.
Canberra & Goulburn Diocese gives thanks for Professor John White
“John White was a longtime parishioner of St John’s, Reid, and former Professor of Physical and Theoretical Chemistry at ANU. He is widely known in the scientific community for his work on neutron scattering, was a Fellow of the Royal Society of London and a Fellow and Honorary Fellow of St John’s College, Oxford.
John was Chairman of the Oxford-Australia Scholarships Committee and held a number of other significant roles during his long and accomplished life.
John was passionately interested in the relationship between Christianity and Science. He was a founder and former President of ISCAST (Institute for the Study of Christianity in an Age of Science and Technology), and a member of the Council Wycliffe Hall (Oxford) and St Mark’s National Theological College (Canberra). …”
– The latest issue of Anglican News from the Diocese of Canberra & Goulburn includes a tribute to Professor John White. See pages 12-14 of the Sept / Oct 2023 edition (PDF file).
D. A. Carson’s Theological Method
“In 2011, the Scottish Bulletin of Evangelical Theology published my article ‘D. A. Carson’s Theological Method.’
In 2023, Crossway has published a book of essays by D. A. Carson in which I update my 2011 article, and Crossway has graciously granted me permission to upload a PDF of my updated essay on my website…”
– See Andy Naselli’s updated article at his website.
George Whitefield College newsletter October 2023
The October 2023 newsletter from George Whitefield College in Cape Town has been released.
For your encouragement and your prayers, download the PDF file here – or see select articles on their website.
Who is Noticing?
Posted last week at the Global South Fellowship of Anglican Churches website, Bishop Keith Sinclair reflects on Ephesians 6 and asks who is noticing what is happening in the churches –
“It turns out that the ones who are noticing what is happening in the church are not disinterested observers, but those opposed to all that God has established in the gospel and made manifest in the life of the church.
What happens in the church matters not only to those in the church, but also in the cosmic struggle with the rulers of darkness and the powers of evil.”
Photo: Bishop Keith Sinclair at GAFCON IV in Kigali in April 2023.
(See his remarks here.)
Interrogating identity: From philosophical theories to Biblical wisdom – with Chris Watkin
From The Pastor’s Heart –
“We traverse the historical landscape of identity, starting from Descartes’ cogito ergo sum or ‘I think, therefore I am,’ to the current age where identity has become a commodity.
Chris Watkin, the award-winning author of Biblical Critical Theory, helps us understand possessive individualism, starting with John Locke, expressive individualism, and how both terms help us grapple with modern identity formation.
Plus, we probe into the delicate balance between dignity and humility in the context of human identity.”
Related:
Andrew Moody reviewers Biblical Critical Theory at The Gospel Coalition Australia.
The book is available from Christian booksellers, including The Wandering Bookseller.
My Greatest Recommendation for Kids – Best News Ever
“Recently, a friend was telling me about a poll they conducted among the parents at their church. One question asked about whether the parents read the Bible regularly with their kids at home. They were surprised to find that only about ten percent of families did. Anecdotally, I’d say that seems a pretty fair representation of churches more widely. …”
– At The Australian Church Record, Jocelyn Loane has some practical help.
(Available from The Wandering Bookseller.)
Sydney Rare Book Week – Books of the Reformation
From Moore College:
“Printing played a pivotal role in the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century.
The development of the printing press enabled the mass production of written materials, which made it possible to disseminate ideas and religious texts rapidly and widely throughout Europe. The easy access to printed materials allowed people to share theological ideas, which fostered religious diversity, and ultimately sparked a transformative era in European history.
Take a closer look at early editions of key Reformation texts in Moore Theological College Library with Head of Church History Rev Dr Mark Earngey.”
– Free, but book at the College website.
“To know and love the indigenous people of this land”
In his response to the Voice Referendum result, Archbishop Kanishka Raffel says there should be renewed effort towards Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ministry.
“The people of Australia have now spoken on the Voice to Parliament,” the Archbishop said in a statement. “Whatever your reaction to the outcome it is timely to remember what the Sydney Anglican Indigenous Peoples Ministry Committee affirmed this year – it is God’s voice that is sovereign over all peoples and lands.”…
– Read Russell Powell’s report at SydneyAnglicans.net – complete with a brief video message from the Archbishop.
Full statement below:
Anglican Church Diocese of Sydney Public Statement
The people of Australia have now spoken on the Voice to Parliament.
Whatever your reaction to the outcome it is timely to remember what the Sydney Anglican Indigenous Peoples Ministry Committee affirmed this year – it is God’s voice that is sovereign over all peoples and lands.
The conversation around the referendum highlights the need for reconciliation with the indigenous people of this land and should spur us on to the true work of reconciliation through Jesus.
Our ministries of care and education for and by indigenous people, through Anglicare and our schools, are an important part of this.
I was encouraged by our last Synod warmly welcoming and listening to the voices of our indigenous brothers and sisters. I recall the words of the Rev Michael Duckett who challenged us to spend as much time as we have spent talking about the Voice, talking about the spread of the gospel among first nations people.
“Put your efforts and your prayers,” he said “into the spread of the gospel among my people here so the Sydney Diocese can showcase to the world what it means to be reconciled to the First Nations peoples through Christ Jesus.”
What a wonderful and humbling vision! To know and love the indigenous people of this land. To direct our prayers and our efforts into helping to raise up the next generation of ministry leaders. To pray for First Nations people, young and old, to know the Lord.
May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine on us, so that your ways may be known on earth, your salvation among all nations. PS 67:1,2
Archbishop Kanishka Raffel
15 October 2023.
Bishop of Rochester and Bishop of Ebbsfleet speak about the House of Bishops meeting and press statement
Two Bishops in the Church of England have issued their own statements in addition to the joint statement of dissenting bishops of 12 October 2023.
Statement from Bishop Jonathan Gibbs, Bishop of Rochester:
“I have always prayed that God would surprise us and open avenues that we have never conceived, in ways that would honour and affirm people with a wide diversity of views on these hugely important and sensitive issues, while remaining faithful to our inheritance of faith.
It is therefore with great sadness and reluctance that I have felt compelled to join with others in indicating that I cannot endorse the decisions taken at the meeting of the House of Bishops on Monday 9 October, or the press statement issued afterwards, which I believe does not adequately reflect the decisions made or the depth of disagreement within the House. …”
See also this statement from Bishop Rob Munro, Bishop of Ebbsfleet:
“The press release does not make clear the depth of disagreement within the House about these proposals. …
I am deeply concerned that the approach that is being proposed will ultimately harm our unity, sanctity, catholicity and apostolicity as a Church, and seriously impact our mission. I believe it is necessary, in commitment to my consecration vows- to uphold God’s Word, to teach the doctrine of Christ and refute error- to publicly raise these concerns, that I have been expressing in the House.
When the fuller details of the proposals are published, I hope to address specific concerns in more detail. I continue to be supportive of the approach of the CEEC and encourage you to keep in step with their collective response.”
– Read his full statement – via Anglican.ink.
Image: Bishop Jonathan Gibbs (left) and Bishop Rob Munro.
Letter in Church Times on the present crisis from an incumbent: “unity has already broken down”
A Letter published in Church Times:
“Sir, – For the first time in more than 20 years of ordained ministry, I have declined to give permission for a child of my parish to be baptised in a neighbouring parish where the parents have begun attending. The reason is that I have heard from several sources that the priest of that parish is teaching publicly that same-sex relationships can be blessed in church. This is contrary to scripture and 2000 years of Christian teaching and pastoral practice.
The Bishops of the Church of England have decided this week that they will put revised prayers to the General Synod in November, after a long and heated debate in July. So far, they have declined any appeal by the Church of England Evangelical Council and other bodies for a separate province for either revisionists or conservatives, claiming that they ‘want to maintain unity’.
I have to tell them now: unity has already broken down, when we cannot commend the ministry of a fellow Anglican minister (or indeed bishop). ‘Good separation’ has to be better than years of the breakdown of structures.”
– At Anglican Mainstream.
See also:
Dissenting bishops statement on LLF process.
Church Society Editorial: Good Lord!
“There’s been a lot of talk about the doctrine of the Church of England of late. The doctrine of the Church of England is clearly stated in Canon Law. Canon A5 says:
“The doctrine of the Church of England is grounded in the Holy Scriptures, and in such teachings of the ancient Fathers and Councils of the Church as are agreeable to the said Scriptures.
In particular such doctrine is to be found in the Thirty-nine Articles of Religion, The Book of Common Prayer, and the Ordinal.”
I have devoted my life and ministry to these things. …”
– In this important editorial, Church Society’s Director, the Rev Dr Lee Gatiss, wonders what we can do when we are exasperated by bishops and the direction of the Church of England.
He goes on to say this about ‘canonical obedience’ to bishops –
“if bishops now require obedience or acquiescence in something neither lawful nor honest, and against the plain and public definition of Anglican doctrine, it is clearly not just a matter of conscience but my duty to the truth to say no. They should expect resistance.”
(Emphasis added.)
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…