Godly Tracts and Spurgeon’s Example

At AP, the Presbyterian online journal, Troy Appleton has some encouragement concerning gospel tracts:

“Some Christian commentators have argued that tract giving is a useless activity; that times have changed. True, many a tract may end up unread and crumpled up in the trash bin. Yet, we must trust in God’s providence. It is likely you will never be able to meet every person in your neighbourhood or even on your street – they are unlikely to ever hear the Gospel told to them in their lifetime. The giving of a tract may be the seed that God uses in His providence to cause them to come to Christ. We may never know this side of eternity. …”

– Read here. (And yes, Matthias Media also has various kinds of tracts.)

Image – a home-made tract distributed at the University of Sydney in the late 1970s.

Survey results: How often do Rectors preach in the Sydney Diocese?

“In January 2025 the ACR emailed out a survey to all Sydney Anglican Rectors – numbering just over 250. The survey was short and uncomplicated to ensure a good number of respondents. Below are the results for the survey and the questions that were asked.

The catalyst for the survey followed some anecdotes about preaching frequency amongst our Rectors, especially amongst those Rectors who serve in what might be called a large church.…”

– Mike Leite, Editorial Director of The Australian Church Record, shares the results of the ACR’s survey.

The heart of God for children

“Children have a unique way of humbling us. From the joys of first steps to the frustration of sleepless nights, children shape our experiences in profound ways. But beyond our personal encounters, what does God say about children? How does he view them, and what should our response be? …”

– Charles Cleworth, who teaches Theology, Philosophy and Ethics at Moore College, writes at SydneyAnglicans.net.

Creating warm and deep church gatherings

From The Pastor’s Heart:

“How can we create gatherings that are both warm and deep? How can we avoid gatherings that are superficial or dry.

How do we embed gospel culture in our church gatherings.

How do we emphasize grace, forgiveness and a welcoming atmosphere?

And how to encourage authenticity and emotional intelligence in gathering leaders. Plus how do we evaluate.

A Pastor’s Heart episode to watch with your staff team.

Toby Neal is Senior pastor at Vine Church in Sydney. And Liv Chapman Leggett leads the gatherings aspect of the ministry at Vine Church.”

– Watch or listen here.

Was the Garden Paradise?

From Phillip Jensen:

“Peter and I love gardens but hate gardening. However, all the good things about the garden are set out in Genesis 2.

In today’s podcast, we explore God’s generous provision symbolised in the Garden of Eden. To what extent was the garden paradise that we need to regain? To what extent is the paradise promised to the thief on the cross something greater than the Garden of Eden?”

– Listen at Two Ways News.

Related:

Two Ways Ministries’ 2025 King’s Birthday Conference is coming up at Moore College next Monday 9th June.

“From Feminism to motherhood, from animal rights to toxic masculinity, from racism to euthanasia, Australia is in an ethical turmoil on many issues. Christians often feel in the crossfire of these culture wars. Do Christian ethics apply to non-Christians?

This year at the King’s Birthday Conference, Phillip Jensen is going to look at how becoming a Christian takes us back to the universal morality of Creation.” …

– See the details, and register before it’s too late!

Church of Uganda celebrates Archbishop Janani Luwum’s legacy

From NTV Uganda –

“Forty-eight years ago, Archbishop Janani Luwum was reportedly assassinated on the orders of the former President Iddi Amin Dada.

Luwum was at the time the leader of the Church of Uganda. But his legacy lives on after Uganda declared the 16 of February a public holiday to celebrate the life of Luwum. Daniel Kibet brings us the tales from the Northern Uganda Diocese of the Anglican Church, where Luwum once served as the bishop, and how people there remember him.”

– The 5 minute report includes comments from Moore College graduate Bishop Alfred Olwa.

A Psalms ‘taster’

“Friends in Christ, recently a younger new friend has started reading the Bible, and had read some New Testament books, some of the Gospels, and some of the Letters. He’d also begun in Genesis. But I wanted to encourage him to read the Psalms. After all, the Psalms are really the song book of Jesus. That’s what all Jewish people in his era would have grown up knowing, and often singing.

But there are 150 of them! And although there is structure to the chapters, and some important themes and groupings, they don’t have an unfolding narrative that’s necessarily obvious.

So for better or worse I decided to pick just 15, 10% of the total, as a kind of introductory highlights orientation tour for my friend to read over a few times, before hopefully going on to read all 150 later on. …”

– Dean of Sydney Sandy Grant writes in the Cathedral newsletter.

The Reason to persevere in Prayer — Luke 18:1–8

“This is a parable Jesus told his disciples ‘to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart’ (Luke 18:1). And we all need this encouragement, don’t we? Because prayer is hard. Especially that persistent, daily habit of praying, day after day, month after month, year after year. …”

– Lionel Windsor speaks in Chapel at Moore College.

Cultural Pain and God’s Megaphone

“What we are seeing across the West in the so-called ‘Quiet Revival’,  the ‘Surprising Rebirth’, or ‘Tide of Faith’ – call it what you will –  is a corporate expression of a previously personal phenomenon: The problem of pain.

And in this instance – not simply personal pain, but cultural pain. The pain of a society in deep distress. All of the levers of success, or ease, or hope have been pulled, and they have broken off in our hands. Pain is everywhere. …”

– Stephen McAlpine thinks we are reaching a tipping point of corporate cultural pain and we need to be ready.

Discussing The Nicene Creed

Mark Gilbert and Leonardo Di Chirico chat about their new book The Nicene Creed – The nature of Christian unity and the meaning of gospel words, published this month by Matthias Media.

This 17 minute video is a terrific introduction to understanding the key differences between Romans Catholics and Protestants, so that we can love our Catholic friends from a position of better understanding.

It may also make you want to get the book! (If so, click the image for details.)

Towards the end of the video, Mark mentions The Reformanda Initiative. where there are additional resources.

Anglican Heroes: Richard Hooker — Church Society podcast

In the latest Church Society podcast, Dr Ros Clarke speaks with Nigel Atkinson about Richard Hooker (1554 – 1600).

Why should we know about Richard Hooker today – and how has he been misrepresented (by Cardinal Newman, for example)?

Did he really turn his back on the Reformation? (Answer: No.)

This may be a revelation to many Anglicans.

– Hear the full conversation.

More interesting than any Dan Brown novel — The Council of Nicaea

“This year, in May to be specific, marks 1700 years since the start of the Council of Nicaea. The town is now known as Iznik, in modern Turkey. From this Council’s determinations sprang the core content of what Christians now know, and regularly recite, as the Nicene Creed.

Why does the anniversary of such an old statement matter? It’s not ultimately about philosophical theology, or winning a debate, let alone the intersection of religion and politics, as some suggest.

Ultimately, it’s about worshipping God properly, as he truly is, and not just as we imagine or find convenient.

In particular, it was about honouring Jesus not just as perfect man, but truly as God.…”

– At the Cathedral website, Sandy Grant, Dean of St. Andrew’s Cathedral in Sydney, explains the significance of the Council of Nicaea.

He reminds us, “the background story is more interesting than any Dan Brown novel conspiracy theory. And the theology is more important” – so take the time to read (and also see the resources he links).

Richard Coekin: ‘Pious Passivity’ vs ‘Strategic Intentionality’

From The Pastor’s Heart:

“What happens when churches move beyond ‘pious passivity’ to strategic intentionality in reaching the lost?

Richard Coekin – founding pastor of Dundonald Church in London and director of Reach UK  –  joins Dominic Steele to unpack the revolutionary approach transforming churches across Australia and the United Kingdom.

Following on from Reach UK and Reach Australia in May, Richard candidly shares his journey from skepticism about ‘Pentagon language’ and structured frameworks to embracing these tools as valuable expressions of pastoral care and evangelistic intentionality.

‘If you don’t aim at anything, nothing will happen,’ he explains, challenging the notion that strategic thinking somehow diminishes reliance on God’s sovereignty.

We look at the biblical foundations for strategic ministry, with Richard pointing to Acts 6 as a model where the apostles prioritized preaching and prayer, built ministry teams for delegation, and ensured the church’s practical needs were met.

Plus we discuss measuring spiritual fruit.

Whether you’re skeptical of strategic approaches to ministry or already embracing them, this conversation offers fresh insights on leading churches that are both faithful to Scripture and effective in mission.”

– Watch or listen here.

Man in the Garden

From Phillip Jensen:

“One of the high points, if not the high point, of Genesis 1 is the creation of man, both male and female, in the image of God. There we are told of our responsibility to govern the earth, to multiply and to fill it. When we turn to chapter 2 of Genesis we are again told of the creation of man. This time it is in much more detail, and yet it still gives the same prominence and importance of man in God’s creation.

Today’s podcast is a discussion of the movement of Genesis 1 to Gen 2 where we look at man in the garden.”

– Listen at Two Ways News.

Did Melbourne just see a sign?

Murray Campbell at Mentone Baptist Church in Melbourne reflects on events in Melbourne, including the election on Saturday of Bishop Ric Thorpe as the next Anglican Archbishop –

“Melbourne needs more churches. Melbourne needs 100s more Christ-centred, Gospel-believing and preaching, people-loving churches.

I’m not an Anglican so feel free to take my observations with the same volume of water found in a baptismal font (bad joke). My Melbourne Anglican friends are overwhelmingly encouraged and thankful for all candidates and the outcome, even as the Diocese looks over troubled waters. Like all our Christian denominations, much deep work of theological and spiritual reform needs to take place. Theological liberalism and moral progressivism is like sand in the car after a day at the beach …”

– Read it all here.

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