The crisis of episcopal leadership in the Church of England

“We have a serious crisis in the episcopal leadership of the Church of England. It has more than one dimension to it, and, as with any crisis, it has been a long time coming. If your ceiling caves in because a water leak has weakened the structures, you can be sure that the water has been leaking for some while (as we found out in our kitchen a couple of years ago!). The dimensions of this crisis include questions of role, training and education, and selection and appointment—but also more fundamentally of theological vision.

These questions have been brought into sharp focus by the news, leaked to the BBC, that Paula Vennells, chief executive of the Post Office during the Horizon scandal when 700 postmasters were wrongly convicted of fraud, was shortlisted for the role of Bishop of London, historically the third most senior post after the two archbishops. …

She trained part-time on what was then the Oxford and St Albans course, and appears to have undertaken no further theological study. The idea that someone with so little theological understanding, and absolutely zero experience in stipendiary ministry, could be considered as a candidate for the third most senior position in the Church, is quite astonishing. It indicates a complete loss of faith in the importance of either ministerial experience or theological depth on the part of someone. And it does seem clear that she was put on the short list by Justin Welby…”

– Ian Paul pulls no punches at Psephizo.

Image: Ian Paul speaking at the Church of England’s General Synod in February 2023.

Gafcon Australasia Conference 2024

The Gafcon Australasia Conference is coming up in Brisbane at the start of July.

Details here.

Reformational Anglicanism and a New Global Communion — Dr. Ashley Null

Dr. Ashley Null gave the Inaugural John H. Rodgers Lecture at the Trinity School for Ministry in Pennsylvania on Reformation Day 2023.

“At the first Gafcon conference in Jerusalem in 2008, the Rt. Rev. John Hewitt Rodgers, Jr., in whose beloved memory this new, annual lecture series is now held, gave a landmark address entitled Where do we go from here?

In his Zoom Memoirs, recorded with the Rev. Dr. Stephen Noll, who is with us tonight, John commented that he considered this address to be the high point of his ministry in the wider Anglican Communion after retirement. High praise indeed for its message to which we should pay attention.

John began by noting a need to define what authentic Anglicanism actually is. Here is his brief description …”

The American Anglican Council has now published his address here.

Photo: GAFCON.

Reaching female university students for Christ

“Instant gratification is attractive. Especially to our Gen Z friends, with their supposed attention span of a mere 8 seconds.

Add to that the widely prevalent social anxiety – experienced by 90% of Gen Z according to one workplace study – and many of the ways that we come to Christ or grow in him are looking quite difficult. Anything that takes a long time, or involves other people. Concentrating for a 30min Bible talk. …

Each one, and the many not listed, presents some difficulty, and therefore invites both the evangelist and the evangelised to save their effort and just give up.

What are the implications of this for our evangelism, particularly to young people, and especially given the urgency of the task? Perhaps there are two broad approaches. …”

– At the Moore College website, Marlee Knight shares words of encouragement.

What to do about threats and weaknesses – with David Rietveld

From the Pastor’s Heart at the start of their fourth year –

“The massive drop in church attendance is a crisis facing churches across the Western World and there are external pressures and internal weaknesses that need to be addressed at every level of the church. …

Even allowing for a covid factor, even assuming some sort of bounce back, these are figures that we should talk about.”

– An important topic. Watch or listen here.

Nigeria – Christian Christmas massacre continues

“Attacks against Christian communities in Nigeria have continued into the new year, following a coordinated massacre of civilians over Christmas.

Partners of Release International, which serves the persecuted Church around the world, say 238 people were killed in attacks by Fulani militants between the 23rd of December and December 30. More have been killed since.

The governor of Plateau State has declared a week of prayer and mourning and there have been international calls to designate Nigeria as a country of particular concern…”

– Anglican.ink has this report from Andrew Boyd.

(Boyd also wrote the book Neither Bomb nor Bullet on Archbishop Ben Kwashi.)

Anglican Aid’s 2024 Prayer Diary

Have you downloaded (or obtained a printed copy of) Anglican Aid’s 2024 Prayer Diary?

“[In 2023], we praised God for answering our prayers for the rain that broke the devastating three-year drought in East Africa. Times of drought and emergency certainly drive us to prayer, but Psalm 104 reminds us that God is the good creator and sustainer of our world.

It is always God who makes things grow to bring forth food from the earth. Paul reminds the Corinthian church that the same is true for growing churches. When Corinthian church members were falling into factions and arguing about which leader they were aligned with, Paul said, ‘I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow’ (1 Corinthians 3:6).

This is why prayer is so important. Whether it is a farming or water project, school or church, we rely on God for his good gifts that bring transformation, in his good timing.

Our 2024 Anglican Aid Prayer Diary contains 31 days of prayer points for a range of projects supported through Anglican Aid to deliver emergency aid and relief, training of church leaders, income generation, clean water, education, and more. All these projects are carried out by believers, and it is our hope that God will bring tremendous growth as we pray throughout 2024, strengthening churches and transforming communities to his glory.

Canon Tim Swan
CEO, Anglican Aid.”

– Download your copy here.

Prayer diary items are also available through PrayerMate.

‘Alan Bates vs the Post Office’ contains hard lessons for the Church

Many Australians will be unaware of the huge miscarriage of justice involving the Post Office in the UK, but it’s worth learning what happened when the Post Office decided to protect its ‘good name’:

“More than 700 branch managers were given criminal convictions when faulty accounting software made it look as though money was missing from their sites.

It has been described as the most widespread miscarriage of justice in UK history, with dozens of convictions overturned and many more in line for compensation. …” – BBC Report, 22 March 2022.

Post Office Horizon scandal: ‘It’s broken people’s lives’ — Andrew Bridgen MP – GB News.

The Most Widespread Miscarriage Of Justice’ Mr Bates vs The Post Office – Good Morning Britain.

This article at Premier Christianity warns Churches against doing what the Post Office did.

Link via Anglican Mainstream.

Why You Should Attend Church (in Person) This Sunday

“Whether because of health concerns or simply out of preference for watching online in their pajamas, 30- to 49-year-old churchgoers now attend church far less often than before COVID. For some, gathering in person can feel risky or inconvenient.

No doubt online services can serve beloved homebound saints and sick members. There are valid reasons to miss church. And yet God’s Word insists individual Christians need congregational worship. …”

– While this article at The Gospel Coalition is written for a US readership, numbers are still down after COVID in many churches in Australia.

Pray for St. Patrick’s Bible College

Prayer focus from GAFCON:

“Following a huge increase in the numbers of believers, St. Patrick’s Bible College (Madagascar) is expanding its capacity to train leaders.

Praise God for the increase in students and the new dormitories to accommodate them.”

The Rev Berthier Lainirina, Principal of St Patrick’s Theological College speaks at Moore College Chapel, September 2023.

CMS QNNSW Summer School 2024 cancelled after storm damage

The Queensland and Northern NSW CMS Summer School, which was to have started today, has been cancelled due to significant storm damage at Mount Tamborine.

From the QNNSW website:

“In consultation with MTCC and QCCC we have made the difficult decision to cancel Summer School this year. Care for Summer School attendees and the local community at Mount Tamborine has been paramount in our minds. With all the information we have available to us, we believe this is the best decision to achieve that.

An email has gone out to all people who have registered for Summer School with further details about what’s next.

We want to give a massive shout out to MTCC and QCCC for all the hard work they’ve put in over the last week and half to try and make it possible for Summer School to go ahead. We are also very thankful for the work our speakers, missionaries, volunteers and staff team have put in in the lead up to Summer School.” (Links added.)

A good reminder to pray for other CMS Summer Schools and conferences taking place.

Tamborine Mountain residents without power, water after ‘tornado’ storm destroys electricity network – ABC News, 29 December 2023.

On Being a Heroic Man

“There is something deep inside a man’s heart that longs to be heroic.

I don’t know what little girls dream of, but I do know that little boys dream of carrying those girls out of a burning schoolhouse so they can be admired as strong and brave. Teenaged boys dream of fighting in a war not so much to blaze away at the enemy as to perform an act of heroism that will mark them as tough and noble and worthy of honor.

Though older men may no longer be prone to such fantasies, they, too, are drawn to heroism and are convinced that they would be equal to the challenge, that they would stand where others fall, that they would run forward when others run back. …”

– At the start of the year, Tim Challies shares some wisdom for men, urging patience and action.