9Marks at Southeastern Seminary: Biblical Theology

Justin Taylor at Between Two Worlds has posted links to videos of five 9Marks sessions recently given at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in North Carolina. Details here.

(Bear in mind the videos are large files.)

The Constitutional Crisis in ECUSA (I)

“Recent changes made by General Convention 2009 to the Canons, in combination with some in the Church who want to establish a strong central authority under the Presiding Bishop, and the ego of the current occupant of that office, have pushed ECUSA to the brink of a crisis, from which it cannot emerge unscathed.

Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori has already seized authority over the affairs of the Church which is unprecedented — and her usurpation of authority to date has for the most part not been challenged, or questioned. Led by its Presiding Bishop, ECUSA is in the middle of being transformed by a small group from within, and the average congregation and their clergy as yet have no awareness of the scope of the changes.”

– Christian lawyer A S Haley, who blogs at Anglican Curmudgeon, has begun what may well be a most enlightening series.

Shadow Gospel

Just released:

Shadow Gospel: Rowan Williams and the Anglican Communion Crisis – by Charles Raven – a new publication from The Latimer Trust in the UK.

Here’s an extract from the preface:

“Although signs of hope are undoubtedly emerging, a secure future for the Anglican Communion rests on an accurate diagnosis of its present ills. In this account of Rowan Williams’ leadership as Archbishop of Canterbury a kind of tragedy unfolds, in which the weight of an historic institution and the resourcefulness of a deeply learned mind are brought to bear in an attempt to sustain the unsustainable – an illusory middle ground between two fundamentally opposed visions of Anglican identity.   Read more

Gambling at General Synod

“…I’m pleased to say we finally reached a motion I gave notice of on the first day of Synod on the last day! After a bit of debate, it was passed unanimously. …

‘… Synod calls on all state and territory governments to reduce their reliance on taxation on gambling and asks all political parties to refuse donations from organisations which profit from gambling. …’

The last day of Synod also saw Sydney get hammered on the finances.”

Sandy Grant, Rector of St. Michael’s Wollongong, continues his General Synod blogs at The Sola Panel. (Other posts here.)

Church, constitution and creeping centralism

“As we continue to debate a number of matters concerning the relationship of the dioceses to the national church there’s an increasing sense that there are many here who have less and less time for Sydney, except when it comes to us opening up our wallet.

The background to this is probably worth explaining…”

– David Ould continues to write from General Synod. Today’s thoughts have been posted on SydneyAnglicans.net.

Sandy Grant is also posting some reflections over at The Sola Panel.

Out of Egypt

“On 30 January 2010 Bishop Mouneer Anis of Egypt announced that he was resigning from the standing committee of the Anglican Consultative Council…

Bishop Mouneer could easily have camouflaged his resignation in the way that people often do. He could have pleaded the burdens of office or the dangers of stress and ill health. He might even have said that it was time for someone else to take his place, and pretended that he was stepping down in order to give others a chance. He did none of those things…”

– from Gerald Bray’s Churchman Editorial 124/2 (Summer 2010) – on Church Society’s website.

Should Christians practice Yoga?

“Some questions we ask today would simply baffle our ancestors. When Christians ask whether believers should practice yoga, they are asking a question that betrays the strangeness of our current cultural moment…”

– Albert Mohler looks at the modern sanitisation of Yoga.

The power of proximity

“Already I’ve been struck by the value that General Synod provides for proximity. That is, it brings together some of the key players and leaders of all the different dioceses in the Anglican Church of Australia. We are together with time and space forcing us to deal with things we could otherwise put off for years or just ignore for ever…”

– Over at SydneyAnglicans.net, Bishop Robert Forsyth blogs on General Synod so far.

And Anglican Media Melbourne reports –

“The General Synod, meeting at Melbourne Grammar School, adopted a resolution asking the synods of all 23 Australian dioceses to consider whether the Anglican Church of Australia should adopt the Anglican Communion Covenant and to report to the Standing Committee of the General Synod by December 2012. The resolution asked the Standing Committee to report to the next meeting of the Church’s national parliament in 2013.”

General Synod days 1 & 2

David Ould gives his take on the first two days of General Synod, meeting in Melbourne since Saturday.

(Here’s the official General Synod site.)

Tim Keller’s ‘The Reason for God’ DVD

Barry Cooper, from the Christianity Explored team has posted online a trailer for Tim Keller’s forthcoming The Reason for God DVD. Looks to be very useful.

(h/t Justin Taylor, who has an outline of the sessions.)

Growing capacity for Mission and Ministry

“The unrevoked commission of our risen Lord is to multiply disciples wherever we are (Matthew 28:16-20). Literally Jesus said: ‘as you go, make disciples’. This is for all of us in the places where God has put us.

God wants more and disciples whose baptism demonstrates a real turning from self to Christ and whose lives are changed by obeying his word. God wants faithful followers of Christ to transform his world. The risen Christ not only commissions us to continue his mission in the world but also gives gifted people to build the church…”

– Bishop Trevor Edwards gave a presentation on “Growing Capacity for Mission and Ministry” at the Synod of the Diocese of Canberra and Goulburn last weekend. His notes are now online.

Carl Trueman teaching on preaching

Colin Adams at Unashamed Workman writes:

“Carl Trueman lectures on the theme ‘The Preacher as a Prophet’.  I would add a hearty ‘Amen’ to Trueman’s main thesis:  Preaching is ”confronting people with God”, not merely conveying information. This lecture deserves a much wider audience than the 40 or so people who originally heard it.”

Important sermons and articles worth reading

“A few days ago I was thinking back to a few classic sermons and essays that have made a significant impact on my own thinking and ministry. They are the sorts of pieces that can get lost in the shuffle in the midst of book recommendations, classic and contemporary. …

So I thought it might be helpful to ask some pastors and theologians what they would recommend as sermons or essays that have had a special impact on them, or that they would seriously urge students and pastors to consider reading.”

– Justin Taylor at Between Two Worlds has a very useful list here, with links.

How much has ECUSA spent on lawsuits?

A.S. Haley, The Anglican Curmudgeon, attempts to work out how much the Episcopal Church has spent so far on lawsuits and ‘disciplinary actions’.

The Commission of The Risen Jesus

“We gather in this Cathedral today to ordain five persons as priests in the church of God. In due course they will be reminded in the liturgy of their weighty responsibilities and duties in the household of faith and we will hear their solemn vows and undertakings to fulfil the same. We will join in prayer that God will make them equal to their task. But first we must all listen again to the words of the risen Christ…”

– Two weeks ago, Bishop Trevor Edwards preached on John 20:21 at an ordination in the Diocese of Canberra & Goulburn. Read his sermon here.

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