The Silence has been Deafening

“We are now less than six days from ECUSA’s “consecration” of a partnered lesbian to the (ECUSAn, at any rate) episcopacy. As I wrote in this earlier post, in so consecrating Canon Mary Glasspool, ECUSA will shoot itself in the foot. Even so, the silence from Lambeth Palace over the past weeks has been deafening…”

– A S Haley writes at Anglican Curmudgeon.

A marriage which is no longer a marriage

Bishop Gregory Venables:

“First of all although the Covenant is a wonderful effort it looks as if it’s not going to succeed because it doesn’t really get to grips with what the problem is. There are two versions of Christianity: the original version and the new version which isn’t true Christianity. It does not address and we are not going to resolve it. Really the Covenant seems to be a way of holding together a marriage which is no longer a marriage.

Also even if we sign the Covenant and believe that there is enough there to work through the problems, the Anglican Church does not have a structure to implement how it would be worked out. We haven’t got a leadership, we haven’t got anybody who can say right now that we’ve done this, this is what’s going to happen.

And the worst thing about it is that now it looks as if there is going to be a standing committee which could fulfil that role but the standing committee is representative of the problem rather than the solution so it doesn’t look very hopeful.”

– Archbishop Venables sees the proposed Anglican Covenant as dead in the water.

(Quoted by A S Haley in his commentary, The Silence has been deafening. Photo from an Anglican TV video.)

Eternity at the Cathedral

The theme for the Queen’s Birthday Convention III at St Andrew’s Cathedral in Sydney is Eternity.

Monday 14th June 2010, 10:00am – 5:00pm.
Details here.

(Related: The story of Arthur Stace.)

Planning for the Lord’s Day

“In his book Expository Listening Ken Ramey offers a list of ways you can ‘Plan Ahead, and Schedule Your Week Around the Ministry of the Word.’

‘For the majority of people, even church members, church is not the priority of their week. Too often school, work, sports, and other activities take precedence over going to church. They make the mistake of letting their time be ordered by the world, which views the weekends as a time to relax, to play sports, to stay up late and sleep in.

For Christians, however, Sunday should be the most important day of the week. You should try to schedule your work, activities, get-togethers, and vacations around church.’…”

– Tim Challies posts some of Ramey’s helpful suggestions we could all learn from.

Try not to be cool like this

This satirical video from North Point Media in the US says it all.

(h/t Justin Taylor.)

Why expository preaching protects preachers

Many of our readers will be convinced of the importance of expository preaching. Here’s some more encouragement – Tony Reinke writes:

“During the second T4G panel discussion Mark Dever and Al Mohler discussed evangelism, preaching, and the hesitancy among some Christians to speak openly on tough subjects like God’s judgment…”

– At the Sovereign Grace Ministries Blog.

On shooting oneself in the foot

A.S. Haley last week reflected on the consequences of the imminent consecration of Mary Glasspool –

“The image of a ham-fisted gunslinger, unable to keep from pulling the trigger before he can draw his Colt .45 from its holster, fits ECUSA to a T. It has recklessly ridden into the middle of the Anglican Communion and proceeded to shoot the place up, just as in a Hollywood grade-B Western. While everyone else ducks and runs for cover, ECUSA whoops it up, gets drunk on its cheap imitations of Scripture, and tosses its collective miter in the air to celebrate its raucous belligerence. It is still big and powerful enough to do considerable damage, but it is the rest of the Communion who will have to pick up the pieces.

Meanwhile, the local sheriff hides away in his home, and announces that just as soon as the bully has left, he will sponsor another round of indaba at the local saloon. Talk will go on, accomplishing nothing, but what the sheriff has not noticed is that there are fewer and fewer people at the table.”

– read it all at The Anglican Curmudgeon.

The Heart in the New Testament

Barry Newman is still working away on his posts on ‘the heart’ – he’s now looking at ‘the heart’ in the New Testament, and is up to part 7.

Prayers for pastoral ministry

Serving in the bush — especially if you the bishop — can involve a great deal of travel. Bishop David Mulready of North West Australia writes:

“On May 7, we leave Geraldton again and fly to Perth in order to fly to Broome, Kununurra and Wyndham for our annual visit. Whilst at Broome, I will drive 600km with Tim Mildenhall to visit Michael and Faye working in the Looma Community, then Derby to visit Pastor Timothy Iga. After a few days in Broome, we’ll fly 1200km to Kununurra to visit the ministry team and Congregations in Kununurra and Wyndham.

On May 14 I will Induct Gary Alexander as the Minister-in-Charge of the East Kimberley Parish and Ordain Andrew Hadfield who is working amongst Indigenous people in Oombulgurri, Wyndham and Kununurra. We fly home via Perth on May 17.

Late June and most of July will be huge with the three week visit of Bishop Joseph and Ann Abura from our link Diocese of Karamoja in Uganda.

On top of that, Maureen and I will be on the road for four weeks visiting Parishes in the Pilbara and Gascoyne, driving 4,000+kms.

That gives you a small taste of what we’ll be doing in the weeks ahead.”

Please keep David and Maureen and those they serve in your prayers.

(More from the DNWA website. Photo with thanks to Outback Magazine.)

Col Marshall, MTS, The Trellis and the Vine, and Cricket!

Mark Earngey recently interviewed Col Marshall for his podcast (Pilgrim’s Podcast number 30).

Among other things they speak about his book The Trellis and the Vine – hear it here.

It’s getting dangerous out there — a preacher is arrested in Britain

“We have seen this coming for some time now. The public space has been closing, especially when it comes to Christian speech — and especially when that speech is about homosexuality.

Now, a Christian preacher has been arrested in Britain for the crime of saying in public that homosexuality is a sin. This arrest is more than a news event — it is a signal of things to come and an announcement of a new public reality…”

– Albert Mohler on the wider significance of the arrest of street preacher Dale McAlpine.

J. C. Ryle on SermonAudio

SermonAudio has gathered many readings from J. C. Ryle and posted them on their website.

(h/t Faith By Hearing.)

Songs For Little Rooms

Emu Music Australia has released their latest album, Songs For Little Rooms.

“Songs For Little Rooms presents an intimate live recording of new and classic Emu songs. Our aim is to demonstrate how a small music group can provide a big lead in church and how to use your instruments and singers effectively and creatively.”

Sounds great, and includes a DVD. Details and sample audio from the Emu website.

The AAC’s Bishop Bill Atwood on GSE4

30 April 2010

“And it shall be, on the day when you cross over the Jordan to the land which the Lord your God is giving you,that you shall set up for yourselves large stones, and whitewash them with lime. You shall write on them all the words of this law, when you have crossed over, that you may enter the land which the Lord your God is giving you, a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the Lord God of your fathers promised you.” – Deuteronomy 27:2-3

Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Clearly, when the Jews left the wilderness and crossed the Jordan to enter the Promised Land, their struggles were not over. They still had many challenges and battles to fight, but the passage of crossing the Jordan was a tremendously important one, and the Lord called them to mark it with large stones.

The Fourth Global South Encounter (GSE4) that was just held in Singapore was a huge passage for many, but particularly so for the Anglican Church in North America. I have noted with interest that some people have expressed great disappointment with the lack of “action,” but I’d like to suggest that they may have missed some points of tremendous significance.   Read more

Thomas Cranmer’s ‘True and Catholick Doctrine of the Sacrament’

In 1990, D A Scales wrote a paper for Churchman on Cranmer’s doctrine of the Lord’s Supper. Church Society has just republished it.

“The doctrine of the Lord’s Supper was not unimportant in Cranmer’s eyes, because that Sacrament speaks of the central doctrines of the Christian faith—of salvation through the atoning death of Christ. It was instituted, in St. Paul’s words, to proclaim the Lord’s death till he come: right views of the death of Christ and right views of the sacrament will tend to go together; false views of the sacrament will tend to obscure an understanding of our salvation through the finished work of Christ…”

See it here – PDF file.

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