New Church Society website and blog

Church Society in the UK have just re-launched their website.

“Over the past few months, Church Society has been through a process of rebranding which has gone to the heart of who we are and what we do.”

As well as a new look, there’s now a blog with weekly features – the first one is Formulary Friday (“Every Friday, we consider an aspect of the formularies of the Church of England: that is, the 39 Articles of Religion, the Book of Common Prayer, and the Ordinal.”).

As Church Society Director Lee Gatiss says, the need for theological clarity in the Church of England has never been greater.

– See it all here, and you can also subscribe to their RSS feed.

David Cook’s encouraging report from the UK

“We have been in the U.K. now since 13th February, long enough to have some reflections:

In Australia we may think that the Church we see in the Royal weddings or funerals is typical of the church here – formal and lifeless. That is contrary to our experience. We have found the Church to be faithful, creative, lively and very well led.

We are here as part of the 4 yearly Passion For Life and my role has been to either preach evangelistically or to encourage others to do that…”

– Presbyterian Church of Australia Moderator General (and former SMBC Principal) David Cook is in the United Kingdom, where he’s spoken at various places including St. Helen’s Bishopsgate and The Tron in Glasgow. Read his reflections here (you may need to scroll down to 27 March 2014).

‘815 in Transparent move to punish Fort Worth’

“Episcopalians in non-litigating parishes and dioceses should be asking: Why the silence? Why is 815 being allowed to run amok with the Church’s precious resources? Who is really in charge? Where are those who helped put the Presiding Bishop into power, and who will act now to curb her irrationality and her grasping at straws?”

– A S Haley, the Anglican Curmudgeon (and lawyer), takes a look at the latest Episcopal Church legal manoeuvrings.

A Loss of Vision

“It is unsurprising that this statement has convinced no one. The suggestion that they are just following the theological lead of the churches and denominations is a massive failure of judgment. After all, the defection from biblical teaching by large tracks of the American church is well documented and grieved over by churches around the world and by those faithful Christians and congregations that remain in the US.

What’s more, our collective responsibility to live obediently under the word of God is not something that can be put to one side or delegated to someone else in the way that Mr Stearns seems to think it can be. If our operations are not driven by our theology then there is something massively wrong. For Christians seeking to humbly and intelligently live as disciples of Christ in today’s world, there is no ‘theology-free zone’…”

– At Theological Theology, Dr. Mark Thompson comments on the World Vision USA decision.

The Worldliness in World Vision’s new hiring policy

“We are entering the days and the decade of a great shifting and sifting of evangelicalism. The capitulation will not happen all at once. The camel of compromise will poke its nose into the tent little by little.

We will hear about the unity of the church, as if Christ in John 17 were interested in a unity indifferent to the truth (John 17:17). We will hear about the reputation of the church, as if Christ promised that everyone would love us as long as we meant well (John 15:18-19). We will hear urgent pleas to stay on mission and not be distracted by controversy, as if Christ’s gospel of the kingdom had little to do with actually repenting and believing in the gospel (Mark 1:15). We will hear—in a hundred ways from a thousand voices in a million devilish disguises—the siren song that beckons the church to change or die, as if we could rescue Christianity by saving it from itself…”

– Kevin De Young’s piece at The Gospel Coalition is well worth reading in full.

Piper: World Vision USA’s move trivialises Perdition and the Cross

John Piper looks to the godly example of Jim Packer when he responds to Christianity Today’s report that “World Vision’s American branch will no longer require its more than 1,100 employees to restrict their sexual activity to marriage between one man and one woman.”

Piper: “This is a tragic development for the cause of Christ, because it trivializes perdition — and therefore, the cross — and because it sets a trajectory for the demise of true compassion for the poor.

When J.I. Packer walked out of the 2002 synod of the Anglican Diocese of New Westminster, he was protesting its decision to ‘bless same-sex unions.’ His rationale is relevant for the developments at World Vision…”

– Read it all at Desiring God.

Pointing to Disaster — The Flawed Moral Vision of World Vision – Albert Mohler.

On World Vision and the Gospel – Russell Moore.

Franklin Graham Statement on World Vision – Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. “My dear friend, Bob Pierce, the founder of World Vision and Samaritan’s Purse, would be heartbroken. He was an evangelist who believed in the inspired Word of God.”

The Road Less Traveled: The Faithfulness of J.I. Packer vs. the Capitulation of World Vision – Justin Taylor.

The Hole In Their Bible – Todd Pruitt. “Stearns says that World Vision is united around the Apostle’s Creed. But what profit is there in affirming belief in God while denying that which He has made so clear?”

And from the files: Are we stronger than He? – by David Short, published in ACL News, January 2005 (PDF file).

Photo: Canon David Short and Canon Dr J I Packer at St. John’s Vancouver – they both left the Anglican Church of Canada because of that denomination’s departure from obedience to the Scriptures.

The False Teachers: Charles Taze Russell

Tim Challies has been writing a series on false teachers.

This week he turns to Charles Taze Russell (1852-1916), founder of the Jehovah’s Witnesses.

Advance your Preaching — Moore to host hands-on preaching day

“On April 8 Moore College will host the first of a regular series of hands-on days to help improve our skills in proclaiming the Word. Moore Emeritus Faculty member Dr David Peterson, author of the Pillar Commentary on Acts, will give us input on issues involved in preaching the Book of Acts. …”

– Read the details at the Moore College website – and book in to “Advancing your Preaching” here.

Fred Phelps and the Anti-Gospel of Hate

“Fred Phelps became infamous due to one central fact — he was a world-class hater. He brought great discredit to the Gospel of Christ because his message was undiluted hatred packaged as the beliefs of a church.”

– Albert Mohler writes on the tragic legacy of the founder of ‘Westboro Baptist Church’.

How real is ‘Heaven Is for Real’?

John Piper was asked about the “Heaven is for real” genre of books written by people who claim to have been to heaven.

Here his reply – 6 minutes here. (h/t Tim Challies.)

Why Holidays are More Christian than Holy Days

“There are Holy Days and there are holidays and Christians support both, though they prefer holidays.

The word ‘holiday’ comes from Holy Day, but has been secularised. The Holy Day celebrates something of eternal, supernatural or religious significance. The holiday is just taking time off work. Holy Days are not always celebrated by taking time off – sometimes they are marked by fasting or feasting or wearing special clothing. However, some Holy Day celebrations do involve taking time off from work. …”

– Dean of Sydney Phillip Jensen writes in his weekly column.

The New Calvinism: A Triumph of the Old

“Theologically, the New Calvinism is mainly an extension of the broader rim of Old Calvinism that was expressed in Charles Spurgeon and populist Presbyterians like James Boice. In fact, Boice’s main target was the very evangelical audience that largely comprises the New Calvinism, and I often heard him predict and rejoice in the Reformed resurgence that blossomed shortly after his death. Instead of a theological shift, the New Calvinism represents a major sociological and ecclesiastical extension of Calvinism in general…”

– Rick Phillips at Reformation 21 begins a series of observations on the phenomenon known as ‘New Calvinism’.

The Dry behind the Fence

“For those with water on tap and a weekly pay cheque it is worth considering the food on our plates, the fresh produce of a morning breakfast and the meat and three vegetables to which we are accustomed. All of this while dressed in cotton, looking forward to the heat of summer giving way to winter’s woollen warmth.

While many of us enjoy the privilege of another evening meal, the food bowl of our nation and region is struggling. While we drink freely, the farmer is on the verge of buying drinking water. While we eat, people on the land are spending what they often don’t have to buy fodder for the stock they may be unable to keep…”

– It’s very tough on the land, and Rick Lewers, Bishop of Armidale, encourages us to pray for rain and to be mindful of the farmers.

Mohler on Spurgeon

Albert Mohler delivered the annual Spurgeon Lecture at the Reformed Theological Seminary in Florida last week. He looks at Spurgeon in his intellectual and cultural context.