Strategies to increase the retention of the children of members
From The Pastor’s Heart –
“There are three different ways that the adult population of churches can grow:
- Adults being saved.
- Christians transferring from another congregation within your denomination of switching from another denomination.
- Children of members growing up in the church and taking on their parents faith for themselves.
Most evangelical churches – even growing churches – are underperforming in the first and third ways. …”
– At The Pastor’s Heart this week, Dominic Steele speaks with Al James from Sydney Anglican Youthworks.
Make the Main Thing the Main Thing on Sundays
“If everything in a church needs to change, where should a pastor start? I want to offer a convictional testimony for making the Bible the main course on Sunday. Every other change should follow. …”
– At 9Marks, Bret Capranica has encouragement for pastors.
Fact-Checking a popular story of Christian origins
“The latest book by bestselling author and controversial Australian feminist Clementine Ford is I Don’t: The Case Against Marriage (Allen & Unwin, 2023).
She wants this book to not only dissuade people from getting married but also ‘to end marriages’, because of the harm they bring to women.
This article isn’t about her main thesis, but the striking way she begins her case against marriage. The very first step Ford takes is to outline the history of Christianity and so discount the moral authority of the church. …”
– Robert Martin at Northcote Baptist Church in Melbourne does a spot of fact-checking for The Gospel Coalition Australia. This could be helpful if you have friends who are reading the book.
Related:
Who will champion marriage? – Marriage Foundation via Anglican Mainstream. The linked story includes some interesting charts.
Singing as Spiritual Formation
“Churches in Australia go to incredible lengths to sing together. Typically, churches do not have the resources to do music as they’d like. What’s more, views differ on the place of music in church life. Yet Sunday after Sunday, the church sings.
Over the last 15 years, I’ve had the privilege of visiting churches throughout Australia to help in music ministry training. Almost all have been struggling to motivate their congregations to sing heartily, and to develop bands that lead the congregation well. Some church music teams are thriving – praise God! Yet mostly, churches are just getting by. I know of churches where faithful music teams are few in number and exhausted. I know of churches with no musicians – they sing along to YouTube videos in their services instead. I have served on staff as Music Pastor at three evangelical churches (2 in Sydney, 1 in Melbourne), each holding slightly different views on the place of singing and seeking to lovingly engage with congregational expectations of singing’s purpose and song choices. Perhaps these are familiar scenarios. Music ministry is complex.
And yet I’ve not encountered a single church that has excluded singing from its gatherings. Singing on Sundays – some way, somehow – seems to be a non-negotiable. …”
– Greg Cooper published this article back in March at EFAC Australia.
Image: gregcoopermusic.com
June 6, 1944, One of the Most Morally Significant Days in Western History
In his The Briefing broadcast for Friday 07 June 2024, Dr Albert Mohler reflects on D-Day.
Remembering D-Day
Today marks the 80th anniversary of D-Day on 6th June 1944.
Five years ago, Joe Carter wrote this potted summary for The Gospel Coalition.
Students of history know that D-Day represented a massive effort to win freedom from Nazi tyranny, and there was great personal sacrifice. In a world where so many take for granted the freedoms we enjoy, it is good – and sobering – to remember.
Yet Christians know that our liberation from sin and death came at an even higher price. Incalculably so.
As we remember and give thanks for those who laid down their lives to defend our freedom and civilisation, let’s never take for granted what the Lord Jesus has done for us.
Related:
Hear the NBC radio broadcast announcing the D-Day invasion.
A D-Day story: Part One – The crossing – Tom McCarthy at The Conservative Woman.
Freedoms of West make our culture worth defending – John Anderson
Image: 1977 photo of a stone marker in Saint-Malo, France – part of La Voie de la Liberté – the Road to Liberty – opened in 1947. It commemorates the route of the Allied forces as they fought to liberate Europe.
Making Sense of Suffering, Part 1 — Don Carson
From The Gospel Coalition, a Carson Center Podcast:
“Don Carson outlines six theological pillars for a biblical understanding of suffering.
Looking into the philosophical problem of suffering, he references David Hume’s skepticism about God’s goodness in light of pervasive hardship, and he challenges his audience to consider how to reconcile the existence of a loving, omnipotent God with the reality of suffering.
A faith that remains steadfast despite life’s trials requires a deep trust in God’s sovereignty and goodness, which can sustain believers through the deepest valleys of suffering. …”
– Listen or read the transcript here.
How should we teach artificial intelligence morality?
From The Pastor’s Heart:
“A new massive ethical question has risen up with the advent of artificial intelligence.
How will people decide what kind of morality to give to their artificial intelligence creations?
There will need to be a morality. But what should it be?
The market is already making different choices.
Elon Musk has said he wants the AI behind X (formerly Twitter) to be morally flexible. He wants his AI to appeal to all people: left and right, authoritarian and democratic, kind and brutal …
Stephen Driscoll is the author of ‘Made in our Image – God, artificial intelligence and you’.”
Martin Salter Interview on Acts
From Church Society:
“In the podcast this week, Martin Salter talks about his new commentary on the book of Acts, in the new Hodder Bible Commentary series, in which the gospel spreads from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth, and people learn what it is to live for Jesus.
We hear about the battles that follow – battles in the spiritual realm, and the persecution of Christians as they preach the gospel.
Martin also talks about how we read biblical narrative and what that means for applying Scripture today.”
– Listen here.
King’s Birthday Conference 2024: A Post Christian Christ?
From Phillip Jensen:
“The annual King’s Birthday Conference is coming up… This year, I will be joined by my nephew David Jensen as together we will explore the question of ‘A post Christian Christ?’.
Together, we will look at the gospel’s message in a world that tries to bypass Jesus. Many Australians may have lost connection with organised religion, but Jesus, the Lord of heaven and earth, has not finished with them. How do we tell people, who do not want to hear, of the Saviour they are ignoring before they meet him as their Judge?
Please join us on the afternoon of Monday June 10th from 1:30-5:00pm at Moore Theological College, Sydney. There will a Q & A time after the sessions and afternoon tea will be provided.
If you are outside Sydney, there will be a live-stream option (Q&A not included), so why not gather a group of friends to join us together online?”
– See all the details, and register, at this link.
An Easy Life But Hard for Faith: Lessons From New Zealand
“I am a Kenyan living in New Zealand with my family, serving as a pastor of a local church. Having lived here close to eight years, I’ve imagined what lessons the church in Africa could glean from the church in New Zealand.
To this end I aim to briefly capture the church in New Zealand’s context; highlight some of the trends that have led to the current state of things; and finally draw out a few thoughts the African church should reflect on. …”
– Mark Ambundo writes in The Gospel Coalition Africa Edition.
A Day of historical consequence
In his The Briefing for Friday 31 May 2024, Southern Baptist Seminary’s Dr. Albert Mohler reflects on the Trump trial in New York and the ‘difficult political moment’ faced by conservative Christians as the US Presidential election looms.
Listen here. And don’t forget 1 Timothy 2:1-4.
Books in Ministry — recommendations from Mark Dever
From The Banner of Truth in Edinburgh –
“We sat down with Mark Dever (a pastor at Capitol Hill Baptist Church and President of 9Marks) to talk books, ministry, and books in the ministry.”
– A very helpful and encouraging 45 minutes.
You will want to have a pen handy to write down some of his recommendations. As well, there are tips on how to read some of the Puritan authors.
Gerald Bray Interview on the BCP — Church Society
From Church Society:
“Lee Gatiss talks to Gerald Bray about Gerald’s new Companion to the Book of Common Prayer.”
– Listen here.
Are we basically good?
“Friends in Christ, some of you may have noticed a little buzz in the religious world, because of Pope Francis’ interview on the American 60 Minutes. The fuss came especially with the last question reporter Norah O’Donnell asked:
‘When you look at the world, what gives you hope?”
What an opportunity on 60 Minutes, one of the most watched programs on television! And here’s what Pope Francis says …”
– In the St Andrew’s Cathedral newsletter, Dean of Sydney Sandy Grant looks at the terrible answer given by the Pope.
Worse still, he notes who the Pope neglects to even mention in his answer.
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…