The best App for your iPad

Another wonderful free resource from Crossway – the ESV for iPad.

Checked your lectionary lately?

An Episcopal blogger has noticed that some passages are mysteriously omitted from the Revised Common Lectionary used in the Episcopal Church –

“You see, during the weekdays, the RCL usually reads straight through a book of the Bible so that you can get through the entire Gospel of Luke for example in a series of daily readings. But look at what happens to Paul’s letter to the Romans between Tuesday and Wednesday of this week.”

– Story here.

TEC and Friends: Inclusion with Attitude

“Although TEC’s Presiding Bishop, Katherine Jefferts Schori, avoided an explicit attack on Rowan Williams in her sermon at Southwark Cathedral yesterday, it is clear that TEC and its allies are becoming more militant and that far from suggesting that the Windsor Covenant process has at last found teeth, the Archbishop’s attempt to discipline TEC only underlines its ineffectiveness…”

– Charles Raven comments.

What is the Gospel?

The Southern Baptist Seminary has posted a 4 minute video entitled “What is the Gospel?”.

Reminiscent of both Two Ways to Live and Why Theology?, you may well find uses for it.

Vimeo members (free subscription) can download it as a 350MB/720p video file (link on lower right hand column). h/t Justin Taylor.

(They also have a neat video promo for their School of Church Ministries.)

Divorced Bishops in the C of E: another nail in the coffin?

“One of the most depressing experiences I ever had in a Diocesan Synod was the morning on which ours debated the proposals to change the Church’s regulations on the remarriage of divorcees.

Until 2002, considering the many other ‘easings’ of the Church of England’s doctrinal adherences, its position on divorce and remarriage had remained remarkably consistent with a traditionalist understanding of Scripture…”

– John Richardson wonders what else can happen once Biblical teaching is ignored.

The Amazing Technicolor Multifaith Theology School

“The leftward march of liberal Protestantism is hardly news, but on occasion a development arises that serves as something of a parable of that trajectory. Such is the case this week with news from California that the Claremont School of Theology, a school historically related to the United Methodist Church, is transforming itself into a multifaith center for the training of clergy…

What this implies, of course, is that ministers, priests, rabbis, and imams, along with Buddhist and Hindu spiritual leaders, are just different varieties of clergy…”

– Albert Mohler’s latest column. (Photo: This sign on a Sydney church last week reflects similar sentiments.)

J.C. Ryle’s legacy — 110 years on

“110 years ago today [well, yesterday – ed.], June 10th, 1900, the prolific writer, vigorous preacher and faithful pastor, John Charles Ryle died in England at the age of 83. Here are some quotes surrounding Ryle’s death and his legacy in Christian history…”

– from J.C. Ryle quotes.

Confusion reigns

Canterbury’s continuing chaos: does anyone know what is going on?

“The fallout for the Anglican Communion following the consecration of Mary Glasspool is, for many of us, becoming more confusing by the day…”

– John Richardson’s post is worth reading in full.

Andy Naselli’s thumbnail guide to ‘Keswick theology’

Andy Naselli’s book, Let Go and Let God? A Survey and Analysis of Keswick Theology, published by Logos Bible Software, is now out.

If you’ve wondered what ‘Keswick’ second-blessing theology was, Andy gave a good summary for Kevin DeYoung last week. (Note: The modern Keswick Conventions are very different.)

The Spirituality of Emerging Adults

Dr Christian Smith, author of Souls in Transition: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of Emerging Adults, was interviewed on a recent episode of The White Horse Inn.

Very interesting insights into the world of young adults in the US – with application to Australia too.

Details here (look for May 16, 2010), and audio here.
(Photo: University of Notre Dame.)

Leadership: Casting the Right Vision

In some Christian circles at the moment there is quite a deal of talk about leadership and vision. It is the language of international politics with aspiring Prime Ministers and Presidents seeking to position themselves as genuine leaders with expansive (and yet still economically responsible) vision. As so often happens, churches then echo the concerns and the rhetoric of the community at large.   Read more

Gifted Individualism is not Leadership — Church Record editorial

Editorial from the June 2010 Australian Church Record –

One of the great privileges of being part of the Lord’s people is rubbing shoulders with so many gifted people. Paul’s image of ‘the body’ (1 Corinthians 12) displays such a beautiful picture of the organic unity that exists amongst God’s people. Here we find the Spirit of God has baptised all of us into the body-life of the congregation, and God has richly gifted his people. This is so that the body-life can function well, with security and stability, thus promoting the movement towards ‘growing up into the head (Christ)’, our ultimate maturity (Ephesians 4).

At least two factors in the last half-century have placed ‘giftedness’ firmly on the agenda, especially when it comes to discussions of ‘leadership’. The first is within ‘Christian culture’, namely, the influence of neo-pentecostalism. This has made it almost axiomatic for Christians to wonder about the gifts the Spirit may have distributed to them. The second (and related) factor comes from general culture, namely, the so-called ‘sixties revolution’, a phenomenon which simmered across the decade, came to a head in 1968, and then continued to bring massive cultural transformation across the seventies and beyond.   Read more

Resources from the PCQ

The Presbyterian Church of Queensland has a useful collection of resources – both audio and PDF files.

Among them is a challenging talk by Dr. Bruce Winter on ‘Paul’s Worldview expressed to the Corinthians’. (Part 1 – part 2 not online.)

Worth checking out.

Disorganised Doubt

Charles Raven:

“It seemed to me that pretty much all that needed to be said about Rowan Williams’  Pentecost letter ‘Renewal in the Spirit’  had been said, with general agreement that his rebuke of the American Episcopal Church for proceeding with the consecration of Mary Glasspool was little more than a token gesture. Although his admission that the Communion has not ‘found a way of shaping our consciences and convictions as a worldwide body’ was surprisingly frank, he had nothing new to offer for the future beyond a plea for diversity and ‘mutual exploration’ within the framework of the now widely discredited Covenant process.

Yet when I heard the first of this years’ BBC Radio 4 Reith lectures by the eminent cosmologist and astrophysicist Professor Martin Rees, his description of the scientific enterprise as ‘organised doubt’ set in motion a train of thought which led me to think that the term ‘disorganised doubt’ could shed some light on why Dr Williams and the other ‘instruments of unity’ are incapable of restoring coherence to an increasingly disordered Communion…”

– read it all at SPREAD.

John Woodhouse on 1 Samuel at Christ the Center

Recently Moore College Principal John Woodhouse was interviewed on 1 Samuel for the Christ the Center programme.

It’s at 21MB download – see the small [»] play and [?] download links at the top of this page. Variable audio quality, but well worth hearing.

“Any faithful exposition of God’s word will proclaim Chrust.”

(h/t Faith by hearing.)

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