Ben Kwashi appointed Bishop of Chad

“The Most Rev. Benjamin Argak Kwashi, the retired Archbishop of Jos and former General Secretary of GAFCON, has been installed as Area Bishop for Chad in the Diocese of North Africa in the Episcopal/Anglican Province of Alexandria.

The Rt. Rev. Dr. Ashley Null, Bishop of North Africa, told Anglican.Ink that Archbishop Kwashi was installed on 6 June 2026 ‘at my request of the Archbishop and the Province’ to serve as his Area Bishop for Chad. ‘So yes, Ben is my suffragan,’ Bishop Null said.

The installation was held in Cameroon, rather than Chad, at the invitation of Bishop Dibo Elango. Bishop Null said the venue was chosen because American clergy in the diocese, including the bishop, are not presently able to enter Chad, while Chadian clergy can face difficulty obtaining visas for other countries in the diocese. …”

– Report by George Conger at Anglican.Ink.

Photo: Anglican.ink.

The love that builds up

An important and practical topic from Phillip Jensen –

“Dear friends,

‘Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up’. What a challenge Paul gives to us in the first verse of his answer to the Corinthians’ question about food offered to idols.

As we continue our discussion of this part of 1 Corinthians, I hope you will share with us the wonder of thinking lovingly about knowledge. For knowledge, especially the knowledge of God and his ways, is very important. But knowledge, like many good things, can be used for evil as well as for good. Without love, our knowledge will be used for our benefit instead of the benefit of others. And so we will fall under the condemnation of being puffed up instead of building others up.

It is just so fascinating how Paul’s discussions of particular problems in 1st century Corinth open up for us such permanently important topics.”

– Hear Phillip and Peter discuss, at Two Ways News.

Book Review: Sing! — reviewed by Liv Chapman Leggett

At The Australian Church Record, Liv Chapman Leggett reviews Keith and Kristyn Getty’s Sing! –

“Netflix’s animated smash hit K-Pop Demon Hunters has been watched over 500 million times worldwide, its songs streamed to the top of the charts, and its stars rocketed into global fame. Amid the flashy animation, insanely catchy tunes, and moments of genuine humour runs a surprisingly clear and powerful message: what you sing shapes you. It’s not surprising that millions of young people have accepted this to be true. As Christians, this offers a timely invitation to reflect more deeply on our own convictions about music, and to consider how deliberately and carefully that formative truth is carried—and protected—within our church’s music ministries.

Sing! How Worship Transforms Your Life, Family, and Church by Keith and Kristyn Getty is the perfect companion for this journey. …”

– Read and be encouraged here.

Find the book here – The Wandering Bookseller and Reformers, among others.

St Barnabas’ Orange East at 100

The parish of St Barnabas’ Orange East celebrated the centenary of the parish and Christian ministry in this key central west city on Sunday.

Photo: Cutting the celebration cake. The Rev’d Bob Cameron, immediate past Rector, Bishop the Rt Rev’d Mark Calder, and the Rev’d Ben Mackay, current Rector.

Via the Bathurst Diocese Facebook page.

Letters that touched my heart

Archbishop Kanishka Raffel shares –

“In October of last year Cailey and I had the great privilege of visiting the Billy Graham Library in Charlotte, North Carolina, USA. Although it is called a ‘library’, it is what we would usually call a museum – although that is too tame a description for the 14 galleries recording the remarkable ways in which the Lord used William Franklin Graham Jnr (known to the world as Billy Graham) to preach the gospel to more people in more places across the globe than anyone else before or since.

Attached to the Billy Graham Library is a research archive, which houses an enormous collection of papers, recordings, journals, campaign and other materials from Billy Graham’s more than 60 years of public ministry. …”

– Read it at SydneyAnglicans.net.

Also published in the current edition of Southern Cross magazine.

Nothing in my hands…

From the Dean of Sydney, Sandy Grant,

“Dear Friends, sadly, diphtheria has been in the news again, due to the outbreak of this serious bacterial infection interstate. …

Diphtheria was a common cause of death in Australian children until the 1940s. Today, cases are rare due to high vaccination rates. …

The impact of diphtheria was brought closer to my consciousness when I served in the Parish of Kurrajong. The minister’s residence had a cemetery right next door.

The saddest graves were a family plot near the entrance. In it were buried George and Henrietta Jaffray, and four of their children. …”

– From the St. Andrew’s Cathedral Sydney newsletter for 4th June 2026.

In addition, he shares, “P.S. On a different note, here is one of the most helpful articles I’ve read all year… by a tradesman, not an academic.”

– Both at the link.

Photo: Cemetery of the former Presbyterian Church in Cranbrook, Tasmania.

John Lennox interviewed on The Diary of a CEO with Steven Bartlett

Oxford mathematician and Christian apologist John Lennox in a brilliant interview –

“A powerful conversation on AI, God, hell, truth, and more.

John Lennox sat down with Steven Bartlett to discuss his life, his faith and his insights on what it means to be human in the age of AI on one of the biggest podcasts in the world.”

– Posted last week, and already seen by two million viewers, this interview with John Lennox is very much worth your time.

It’s 86 minutes long, so set aside the time. (Direct link on YouTube.)

Consider how you might share it with others – whether Christian or not.

How to Create an Online Presence for Local Churches — Church Society podcast

From Church Society –

“Tony Cannon, Regional Director of Church Society, talks to Jo Lewis, from Hailsham Parish Church, about how a local church can create an online presence, ideas for presenting the gospel and drawing people in, and some of the pitfalls to watch out for. Jo has a whole range of creative and practical ideas.”

– Listen here.

No condemnation No separation — Romans chapter 8

Bishop of Bathurst Mark Calder is continuing his series on Romans – this week he is up to chapter 8.

See the full series here.

Self-control in preaching

Encouragement from Michael Leong at The Expository Preaching Trust –

“One of the most common requirements of an elder, overseer, or pastor is that he be self-controlled (1 Tim 3:2; Titus 1:8). Self-control is the opposite of self-indulgence; the word implies that there are things about us that are unsavoury or shameful, and they should not be let out to run riot in our families, churches, or public lives.

Self-control goes against the grain of our culture. Our world encourages us to ‘trust your feelings,’ ‘follow your heart’ or ‘you do you,’ a way of living called Expressive Individualism in Christian circles. Some workplaces encourage their employees to ‘bring your whole self to work;’ Christians who understand their own sinfulness know that this is destructive and harmful, rather than helpful.

Preachers should certainly not ‘bring their whole self’ to their preaching. Our preaching must be conditioned by the text we are preaching from, the sound doctrine entrusted to us, and the needs of the people under our care. …”

– Read it all.

Rare find: The King’s Book

“The Donald Robinson Library was delighted to recently acquire a copy of the King’s Book, properly titled ‘A necessary doctrine and erudition for any chrysten man: set furthe by the kynges maiestye of Englande’, printed in 1543. …”

– Erin Mollenhauer, Senior Archivist and Special Collections Librarian at Moore Theological College, explains the background.

Are evangelicals losing confidence in low-church evangelicalism?

This week at The Pastor’s Heart –

“What’s going on? Is this a reaction against thin, seeker-friendly evangelicalism? Spiritual nostalgia?

Across the Western church, some younger Christians seem to be searching for deeper roots: tradition, transcendence, beauty, liturgy, sacraments and a stronger sense of connection with the historic church.

Some evangelicals have become Roman Catholic or even Orthodox. Even a church formerly affiliated with the Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches (FIEC) in the UK has become Orthodox.

Orlando Saer, senior pastor of Christ Church Southampton, describes himself as something of a “spiritual mongrel”, shaped by Roman Catholic, high Anglican, low Anglican, independent Baptist and FIEC influences.

On sabbatical in Australia, Orlando has been thinking deeply about why Christians are longing for rootedness, transcendence and tradition, and how evangelical leaders should respond.”

– Watch at The Pastor’s Heart.

Knowledge — The knowledge that puffs up

From Phillip Jensen –

“Dear friends,

This week, we come to a new section in the writing of Paul to the Corinthians. In chapters 8–11 he is dealing with an issue that the Corinthians have raised with him: namely, food offered to idols.

I confess that when I first preached on this passage, I wondered about its relevance to our congregation. How wrong I was! God’s word is always relevant, and this passage turned out to be one of the most foundational passages for our congregation. For apart from the many overseas students who grew up with food offered to idols, the treatment of this issue by Paul raises the great questions of freedom, knowledge, and love.

This week, we look at knowledge.

Yours,
Phillip.”

– Hear Peter and Phillip Jensen discuss at Two Ways News.

How the World has Changed since Same-Sex Marriage

Mark Powell writes at AP, the national Australian Presbyterian journal –

“The challenge for Christians today is the same as it was for God’s people when they were in exile in Babylon. Whenever an orchestra of musical instruments were played, the people were told to bow down to the golden image, or else.

This is exactly where we all are again today. Except this time the image has every colour of the rainbow. Whatever is threatened if we don’t, it remains binding that we cannot bow down to their image but must continue to worship God alone. …”

– Read it here.