J.C. Ryle on Success, Humility and Ministry

J.C. Ryle, meditating on Luke 10:17-24:

“We learn, from this passage, how ready Christians are to be puffed up with success. It is written, that the seventy returned from their first mission with joy, “saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through your name.” There was much false fire in that joy…”

– read the full quote, posted by Ligon Duncan, at Reformation21.

Related:

“Even though many of his books are still in print, Ryle seems no longer to be in fashion. This is a pity because his kind of teaching is the answer to the superficial atmosphere in which we live, and in which many who call themselves Evangelicals are hardly distinguishable from those who deny the foundation truths of the Gospel.”

– ‘Bishop Ryle and me’ – David Phipps in Cross†Way (PDF file).

‘Why we always lose this debate’

“I’m convinced that we continue to lose the argument about homosexuality and Christianity because the traditionalist almost always makes his case within a conversation that has been framed by the opposing viewpoint. The Christian doesn’t lose the argument at the micro-level. The argument is lost from the beginning because of how the discussion is framed…”

– Trevin Wax, author of Holy Subversion, reflects on an appearance on Larry King Live on CNN last week. (h/t Tim Challies.)

Page CXVI album free download this week

The US-based Christian band Page CXVI has just released a new album of Hymns (called Hymns II) – and to help publicise it, they are making their first album (not surprisingly called Hymns) available as a free download this week.

You can preview their albums before you buy / download. See their website here.

Girls Gone Wise in a World Gone Wild

“This is a wonderful book with amazing insight into the hearts of women (and men!) who feel pressured by today’s ‘wild’ culture – and also deep, spiritual insight into the Bible’s wisdom regarding the beauty of true womanhood as God created it to be.”

—Wayne Grudem on Mary Kassian’s new book, Girls Gone Wise in a World Gone Wild.

More endorsements at Between Two Worlds. Available from Moore Books.

Reaching the unreached

Tim Chester, in Sheffield, writes –

“Last year I ran some posts on the Reaching the Unreached conference organised by the South-East Gospel Partnership at St Helen’s, Bishopsgate, London with a view to raising the profile of mission to the council estates and disadvantages areas in the UK…”

There are also links to last year’s conference audio, and info on this year”s conference. (Melvin Tinkler’s talk is very challenging.)

Singapore: Shadow and Substance

Charles Raven writes on the significance of GSE4 – at SPREAD.

“Although not attended by great fanfare and ceremony, something quite remarkable seems to be happening in Singapore at the fourth Global South to South Encounter. We are seeing the emergence of a global Anglicanism of substance, displacing the shadow Anglicanism of institutional pragmatism.

Institutions which until recently had the appearance of substance – the Anglican Consultative Council, the Lambeth Conference, the Primates meeting and the Archbishop of Canterbury himself – are now taking on an unreal quality as shadows of a discredited past while the GAFCON movement, dismissed by many at its inception in 2008, is turning out to have foreshadowed a fundamental realignment which is now beginning to express itself in new structures…” (more.)

(Note: Charles Raven has updated the text of his commentary slightly on his website.)

Themelios April 2010

Themelios is out and, as usual, is packed with worthwhile articles. The main index is here.

Among the many book reviews are –

Paul Barnett’s review of James D. G. Dunn’s Beginning from Jerusalem, and

Con Campbell’s review of Daniel B. Wallace’s book Granville Sharp’s Canon and Its Kin: Semantics and Significance (“Rarely is a book on Greek syntax enthralling, let alone immensely significant. Daniel Wallace’s new book on the Greek article is both.”).

Mission in your own back yard?

Four Sydney churches say ‘yes’ in this 9 minute mini-documentary from CMS NSW.

(Download it and use it in church! – Sign up to Vimeo and then find the download link on the bottom right of this page.)

Church, mission, evangelism and programs

“… what has become known as the Knox-Robinson doctrine of the church, or the Sydney doctrine of the church, was never just an idiosyncratic expression of Australian anti-authoritarianism. It arose out of the revival of evangelical biblical scholarship following World War II — Alan Stibbs produced some of his material for Tyndale House conferences in Cambridge and Donald Robinson wrote the article on church for the IVF’s landmark New Bible Dictionary.

Nor was it ever exclusively based on a limited word study of the Greek word for ‘church’ in the New Testament, ekklesia (a jibe still thrown about today)…

The current level of confusion, even among some who consider themselves sympathetic to the basic outlines of this exposition of the doctrine, suggests that there is a need for a fresh restatement of it.”

– ACL President Mark Thompson, at Theological Theology, sees many benefits from taking a closer look at the doctrine of the church.

Providence

“If we are uncomfortable with the idea of providence why is that? One reason is because we are influenced by a scientific worldview which can be presented as supporting a mechanistic understanding of the world…”

– David Phillips writes on the importance of a Christian understanding of Providence, in Cross†Way. (PDF file.)

Together for the Gospel 2010

Audio and video files from last week’s Together for the Gospel Conference 2010 have been made available on their website.

John MacArthur on ‘The Theology of Sleep!’ is particularly helpful for all who care about evangelism and church growth.

Save our Scripture

The Australian Christian Lobby has launched a campaign called “Save our Scripture” and is working with churches (including the Presbyterians) to answer the threat from the NSW ‘Ethics’ trial in schools.

The website includes background and contact information and suggestions for how churches can helpfully respond. ‘Action packs’ for churches are also available. From the website:

“In brief:

  • NSW Government trialling ‘Ethics’ classes in primary schools in competition with Scripture classes.
  • Because they are being pitched to all parents, not just conscientious objectors, this could lead to the demise of special religious education (SRE) in schools.
  • Ethics classes should be rescheduled so they are available to all students, regardless of religion, leaving the SRE classes in place.”

Read more at MakeAStand.org.au and see what you can do. Also on Facebook.

CMS Global Vision

CMS is sending copies of the Autumn 2010 Global Vision to churches, but if you would like to read it online, you can find it here – cms.org.au/globalvision.

Global Vision is all about ‘encouraging and equipping churches to be globally minded’.

Using God’s name as a comma

“Praying in public is hard. Praying in public week after week is very hard. Praying in public week after week in a fresh and edifying way is almost impossible. Ask any pastor. Preaching is easy, in comparison. Here are some things I’ve found helpful…”

– David Murray, at Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary in Grand Rapids, offers some tips. (David and Tim Challies have just started a weekly blog.)

Dealing with disappointment in the church

At his Gospel Coalition blog, Kevin DeYoung has been writing about ‘Dealing with disappointment in the church’ – both for members and for leaders.

While churches, their sizes and leadership styles vary enormously, there is much that is worth thinking through – Part 1, Part 2, Part 3.

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