Church statistics: not many dead
“Still, it is worth remembering, as one looks at these dull graphs, that there are on any Sunday at least 100 people in an Anglican church for every member of the National Secular Society.”
– At The Guardian, Andrew Brown tries to put in perspective the latest figures form the Church of England.
Ignorance or historical censorship?
“In teaching about William Cowper to groups of people under the age of 30, I have tried to place him in his historical context.
To my amazement, I have discovered an almost complete lack of knowledge of colonial history.
The names and events of governors Arthur, Bligh or Macquarie, or issues like emancipation, or the exploration of the continent – the crossing of the Blue Mountains, the inland explorers or the journeys of Matthew Flinders – or even the gold rushes, were basically unknown…”
– Phillip Jensen writes about the importance of history. (Also at SydneyAnglicans.net)
How will they hear without a preacher?
“Preaching has fallen on hard times. So suggests a report out of Durham University’s College of Preachers. The British university’s CODEC research center, which aims to explore ‘the interfaces between the Bible, the digital environment and contemporary culture,’ conducted the study to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the College of Preachers. The report is not very encouraging…”
– from Al Mohler’s latest column.
What’s happening to InterVarsity?
Take the time to read this important piece by J. Mack Stiles. It’s a strong reminder for churches and parachurch organisations to remain crystal clear on the gospel —
“For the better part of 30 years I have been a ‘company man.’ My life has been devoted to student ministry through InterVarsity Christian Fellowship as a campus staff worker. All four of my books are published by IVP. The eleven Urbana missions conferences I attended shaped my life as a student and as a staff worker. … I love IV, and I long for its success. …
But, as Phillip Jensen says, the generation that assumes the gospel is the generation most responsible for the loss of the gospel.”
Read it here – from the current 9Marks eJournal.
Preaching without notes
“I’m a convert to preaching without any notes.
I know it’s not for everyone, but I reckon more preachers could do it if they wanted to.
I’ve preached evangelistically without notes for years, by memorising certain talks that I knew I would get to repeat many times. But I’ve not thought it ‘worth it’ to preach all the time without notes. Until now. …”
– At Read Better, Preach Better, Moore College’s Con Campbell shares his experience in preaching without notes.
Notes from the Future: Evangelical Liberalism in the UK
“The Lord Jesus called me into his kingdom in April 1974 in a Baptist church in Southampton, England. He had blessed me with a Christian family, and my conversion was very much a humble acceptance in my heart of truths I had long known in my head. Then, almost immediately after my conversion, I found myself (as a 15 year old) having to resist liberal theology from my fellow pupils at school, and even more so from my teachers.
I’ve used the word ‘liberal,’ though it felt very different from the liberalism I now see and sense…”
– Mike Ovey, Principal of Oak Hill College in London, writes in the current 9Marks eJournal. (Photo © Richard Hanson.)
The Real Scandal of the Evangelical Mind
“Combine the problems of defining evangelical identity with the current cultural penchant for not excluding anybody and you have a heady recipe for total disaster. Say nice things about Jesus, have a warm feeling in your heart when somebody lights a candle, and be kind to your grandmother and—hey presto!—you belong; you too can be an evangelical …”
– Carl Trueman writes on the danger particularly facing evangelical academics in the US (and elsewhere?) – in the current 9Marks eJournal.
‘Moses Tay: A Prophet confronts Lambeth Pragmatism’
Charles Raven’s latest column —
“if you try to keep the light and darkness together, righteous and immoral together, to say we are a church, it’s disparaging the meaning of covenant” – Bishop Moses Tay
In his recent interview with the Christian Post Moses Tay, onetime Archbishop of Singapore, brings a sharp prophetic insight to bear on the Anglican Covenant and warns that it is a ‘whitewash’. ‘It cannot be of God’ he says ‘because if you try to keep the light and darkness together, righteous and immoral together, to say we are a church, it’s disparaging the meaning of covenant’. Read more
The persecuted church
Bishop Bill Atwood has written this for the American Anglican Council’s weekly newsletter:
When President Nixon went to Yalta in 1973 (in what is present day Ukraine), I flew the White House staff and secret service on my Air Force plane. Of course the senior staff and the President flew on Air Force One. Read more
Despite the sceptics, there is real truth in the story of Christmas
“There are enough question marks over the Christmas story for dogmatic sceptics to have a field day at this time of year, but the core historical realities are not easily swept away…”
– John Dickson writes in The Sydney Morning Herald.
Very different paths to God
“Everything I know about God comes from God himself.”
– Archbishop of Sydney Dr Peter Jensen and ‘militant agnostic’ Brian Schmidt are both featured in today’s Sydney Daily Telegraph on ‘seeking the truth of our existence’.
The saint(s) go marching in
Over at SydneyAnglicans.net, Glenn Davies, Bishop of North Sydney, provides some much-needed Biblical perspective for the current excitement about Mary MacKillop.
The death of Oral Roberts
“Roberts was a pioneer in the use of modern electronic media. Early on, Roberts recognized the power of television. He understood that radio could reach untold thousands, but he saw television as the way of reaching hypermodern America.”
– Albert Mohler writes about Oral Roberts’ methods, his message, and his legacy.
Learning from a Liberal mistake
Charles Raven has written a characteristically insightful article on the latest happenings in the Anglican Communion:
“the orthodox should not be in a hurry to draw the simplistic conclusion that my enemy’s enemy must be my friend…”
Learning from a Liberal mistake
As GAFCON was launched in Jerusalem last year, Archbishop Peter Jensen spoke of the ‘extraordinary strategic blunder’ by the Episcopal Church of the United States in consecrating a practising homosexual, Gene Robinson, as a bishop in 2003 which awoke the “sleeping giant that is evangelical Anglicanism”.
Now liberals have committed a second strategic blunder. Not so much the emergence of partnered lesbian Mary Glasspool as suffragan bishop elect by the Diocese of Los Angeles – such a move was entirely predictable after this year’s General Convention rejected Rowan Williams call for ‘gracious restraint – but their very public hostility towards Dr Williams following his rather cool and disapproving response. Read more
Living the legacy (of John Calvin)
“As 2009 draws to an end, we look back over a year that has been punctured by an extraordinary number of significant anniversaries…”
– In the latest issue of Churchman, Gerald Bray writes about why we need to ‘live the legacy’ of John Calvin. It’s available as a PDF file from Church Society.
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…