Orlando — Grief in a time of Culture War

“Like me, you have more than likely been staggered by the tragedy of the nightclub murders in Orlando, Florida. It seems inconceivable that someone could go to such lengths, sink to such depths of depravity, as to plan and then so callously execute his scheme to kill as many as possible.

Sadly it seems that no sooner has the dust settled but many from every side of every debate have used the attack to make their various points…”

– At The Gospel Coalition Australia, David Ould reminds Christians to respond differently from how many might expect. Read it all here.

Christian funerals can be too happy

“Have you ever felt guilty for experiencing grief?

It might seem like a strange question — why would you feel guilty for grieving? But sometimes Christians do feel guilty, precisely because we believe in Jesus. Belief in Jesus, so it is thought, should remove any reason for grief. Jesus loves me. Jesus died for me. Jesus is in control. Jesus raises the dead.

With such beliefs, how could any real Christian give in to grief?…”

– At Desiring God, former Moore College lecturer Constantine Campbell reminds us that it’s OK to grieve.

Don Carson on How knowing the Bible does not automatically make you more holy

“Knowledge of the Word does not sanctify us by mere education. I have now lived long enough and have belonged to enough professional biblical societies that there are not many front-rank New Testament scholars in the world whom I have not met. Some of them are very brilliant minds indeed…”

– Andy Naselli shares a sobering quote from D. A. Carson. Read it all at the link, and pray that we would all be shaped by God’s Word to be his people.

It’s unanimous — ARV and Anglicare to merge

ACL President Gav Poole wrote this opinion-piece for the current issue of The Australian Church Record:

“Pray that such a key diocesan organisation will be used for kingdom growth and the proclamation of the gospel.”

Full text:

Very rarely does every member of the Sydney Diocesan Synod agree. If they do, it is usually on minor matters. Given the size and significance of the decision to merge the Anglican Retirement Villages (ARV) and Anglicare, it is amazing that the entire Synod agreed. When Synod met on Wednesday, 27 April, it had one decision to make – ‘Should ARV and Anglicare merge?’ When crunch time arrived there was not a ‘nay’ in the house.

There were however amendments to the motion but most of those were easily decided. The exception was one amendment which entailed whether or not to retain the phrase, ‘at least’. Retention of the phrase was won by one vote. A small phrase took up a lot of time and was carried by a small margin.

Most debating time was taken up on two left field amendments concerning branding. Five speeches were against them, with one of the opposing speeches labelling them as ‘ridiculous’ and that they needed to be ‘booted out’. They were ‘booted out’ on the overwhelming voices. If nothing else, they offered comical relief.

The decision could have been made by Standing Committee but it would only take three people to insist that the ordinance be promoted to Synod. Standing Committee would have been unwise to try it. Imagine the objectors, ‘Standing Committee did what? How could they?’ But now … we’re all in this together. This had to be decided by Synod.

This was a significant decision. Consider the sheer size of the merged organisation – $1.5b in gross assets. If the company was publicly listed it would imaginably be in the ASX300. Consider the people – over 10,000 will be serviced by the new organisation in one form or another. Consider the history – the Church Society (Anglicare’s genesis) was established in 1856. And consider the partnerships with the many parishes across the diocese.

It’s not every day you get to make a decision of this calibre. Very few Synod members would have experience with any company merger, let alone one of this size. So how can so many people, with so little experience make such a large decision and be united in it? The answer – information and after that, more information.

For this reason, the decision to postpone the Synod was a good one. It would have been near impossible to be well informed if Synod had been held in March. Questions had to be asked, alternatives had to be properly entertained, numbers had to be crunched and advice sought. Although it was slightly embarrassing and inconvenient, a month’s deferral meant that Synod members were informed.

Synod members should be commended on their preparation. Most of the questions were asked at the three pre-Synod briefing meetings, where approximately 170 members were in attendance. Comprehensive reports were completed by the CEOs and Standing Committee. Seven good questions were asked at Synod, all of them demonstrating that they had read the subject matter. This was proof positive that given the chance Synod will educate itself and come prepared.

It is now over to Standing Committee to pass an ordinance that closely reflects the motion of Synod. Synod has noted the reports, including draft ordinances. Things like objects and the board make up must closely resemble that of the draft ordinances. Standing Committee’s work is all but done.

Synod’s work however continues. The decision to merge is only the beginning. It will be important for Synod to receive the promised reports and keep the merged organisation accountable. The legal makeup of the organisation will only go part of the way to ensuring the conditions of Synod are met. The board must be committed to these conditions and work in partnership with other parts of the diocese. This will take careful attention during elections. Synod’s motion will be fulfilled legally, politically and prayerfully.

Pray that such a key diocesan organisation will be used for kingdom growth and the proclamation of the gospel. Pray that the board, executive, employees and partners will act wisely and efficiently to protect the gospel character of the organisation. Pray for those who will be the object of the new organisation’s compassion. Most importantly pray that Christ be honoured as Lord and Saviour in every community.

Realistically this is unlikely to be a part of your regular quiet time. That would be great but you are most likely to pray when you receive prayer bulletins or booklets (every organisation seems to be doing this), or when your congregation is visited by a representative. Pray when prompted.

Such organisations can quickly go off track and after a while resemble their secular counterparts. Hopefully, this one will not. It is the motivation of such an organisation that will inevitably distinguish it. Truly righteous acts are seen by God, an audience of one. In Jesus Christ, we have freely received and gifts from God are to be freely given. A life impacted by the gospel will delight in expressions of generosity and compassion. We resemble our Father in heaven and such an organisation gives us access to the vulnerable and needy. Synod was unanimous in its decision, let the diocese be unanimous in its ongoing support.

The main motion agreed to at the Special Synod, 27 April 2016

2/16 Approval of the merger of Anglicare and Anglican Retirement Villages

Synod, noting the report of the Standing Committee in relation to the proposed merger of Anglican Retirement Villages Diocese of Sydney (“ARV”) and Sydney Anglican Home Mission Society (“Anglicare”) together with accompanying draft ordinances and other documents in relation to the proposed merger received at this session, approves in principle the merger of these two organisations on the basis that –

(a) the indemnity provided by ARV to Anglicare is intended to ensure that survivors of child abuse have at least an equivalent level of recourse as if Anglicare had continued to operate in its own right,

(b) the merged organisation will actively aim to continue to deliver services provided by Anglicare and ARV to socially disadvantaged people at an enhanced level,

(c) the merged organisation will actively aim to continue the work undertaken by Anglicare with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples at an enhanced level,

(d) the merged organisation will actively aim to continue to alleviate necessitous circumstances through the provision of education at an enhanced level,

(e) the legal name of the merged organisation is “Anglican Community Services”,

(f) consideration is given to making provision in both the Anglicare and ARV constituting ordinances for a gift fund for both entities,

and requests the Standing Committee to pass such ordinances and take such other action it considers necessary or desirable to give effect to the merger on this basis.

(Reprinted from the June 2016 issue of The Australian Church Record.)

ERS: Is there order in the Trinity?

“This is the first in a two part series responding to recent theological challenges to the doctrine of eternal functional (or relational) subordination (EFS or ERS).

This doctrine has been under sustained attack, especially in the light of its use to support the argument for an appropriate order of equals that might apply in relations between men and women in the home and in the church. It has also been under attack, it must be admitted, because of overstatement and a lack of precision in some of its advocates.

In this post I want to explore the strictly theological question of whether this doctrine inevitably involves a drift into the subordinationist heresy associated with Arius. This is the most common theological objection to the doctrine…”

– Here’s an important post on a vital doctrine – that of the holy Trinity – by Dr Mark Thompson at Theological Theology. Take the time to read it.

Australian Church Record — June 2016 — out now

The latest issue of The Australian Church Record (June 2016, number 1916) is now up on their website.

As always, it’s a free download, and is full of thought-provoking articles.

In this issue:

The art of godly listening

Where to for Anglican evangelicals?

‘When I kept silent’: the vital art of confession

Making sense of gender confusion

It’s unanimous: ARV and Anglicare to merge

and more. Get it from the ACR website.

Religious Instruction in schools and “soliciting”

“Press reports today (e.g.”Qld govt to review religious education“, Courier-Mail, 7 June 2016) indicate that a school Principal in Queensland has written to parents at his school indicating that he is cancelling the usual Religious Instruction (RI) classes, on the basis that he has discovered the lessons involve “proselytising” (a term which he says refers to “soliciting a student… to change their religious affiliation”). The Queensland Government in response to the press reports has indicated that it will be reviewing materials used to ensure they comply with relevant rules.

Does this mean a radical change has recently taken place in a program which has been operating for many years allowing parents to send their children to RI (elsewhere sometimes called “Scripture” or “Special Religious Education”) classes for a short period each week? Actually, no. It seems that the Principal has misread the relevant provisions, and the Queensland Government really doesn’t need to react to the misleading interpretation…”

– Assoc Professor Neil Foster provides vital reading as background for the news story out of Queensland.

Teaching 2 Peter

In the latest Preaching Matters video from St. Helen’s Bishopsgate, William Taylor encouraged preachers to tackle the little letter of 2 Peter.

He shows the great benefit of a careful study of the Biblical text.

Watch it here.

Celebrating The Reformation in 2017 at Moore College

Moore College has some dates for your diary –

18th March. This event, held at Moore College, will be a morning of hearing Peter Jensen, Peter Adam and Simon Manchester each present a paper on a significant character from the reformation and what we can learn from them today.

26th-27 May. This afternoon and following morning event, held at Moore College, will reflect on the reformation doctrine of justification by faith alone and how the biblical doctrine bears upon many of the contemporary debates surrounding this subject. Speakers include, Mike Ovey (Principle of Oak Hill College, London), Peter Orr and Andrew Leslie.

4-11 August. The Annual Moore College Lectures will be given by Carl Trueman, a world renowned Reformation scholar.

26th August. This event, held at St Andrew’s Cathedral, will be a morning hearing Gerald Bray, Glenn Davies, Kanishka Raffel and will include a service conducted from the 1552 Book of Common Prayer.

13-14 September. The School of Theology will be a conference assembling Reformation scholars from around Australia who will present papers on Reformation theology, significant reformers as well as the reception of the Reformation in the five hundred years since.

Winning the Good Fight — Queen’s Birthday Conference

Two Ways Ministries and Phillip Jensen are holding an encouraging afternoon of thinking and praying about our progress in evangelism.

Queen’s Birthday Conference – Winning the Good Fight, Monday 13th June, 1:30 – 4:30pm at Moore College in Newtown.

Click the image for a larger invitation.

And, to help with catering, they would be very grateful if you could let them know you are going – there’s an e-mail address on the invitation.

(Learn more about Two Ways Ministries.)

Death and the Life Hereafter in focus

“What happens after death? Will I get a spot in heaven? Is hell for real?

We’ve all asked ourselves such ultimate questions and the Annual Moore College Lectures will dare to provide answers.

Held between August 19 and 26, ‘Death and the Life Hereafter’ will be an engaging lecture series which investigates some of the most important aspects of our existence…”

– Dr Paul Williamson is giving this year’s Annual Moore College Lectures.

A Healing Thought

“Dear ……………..; You’ve always been a hater….. So sad for you. I won’t let you hurt my family and how dare you think it is your right to hurt others. Get educated.” This is a recent uninvited Facebook response to a friend of mine concerning the same-sex marriage plebiscite. …

– Bishop of Armidale Rick Lewers wrote this piece for the local paper.

Gospel DNA – Replicating Effective Ministry

The Centre for Ministry Development and Effective Ministry are planning a full day forum for Wednesday 20th July.

The topic for the day will be, “Gospel DNA – Replicating Effective Ministry”.

Main speakers are Richard Coekin, Paul Harrington and Tim Sims. Details and booking at Moore College’s Centre for Ministry Development.

We’re told that registration is now open.

Why I sit at the front

“I can’t understand people who choose to sit at the back of church meetings. I understand parents with small children who want the option of taking them out or whisking them off to the toilet. But everyone else?…”