Encouragement from Psalm 41

Allan Blanch, an Emeritus Vice-president of the ACL, and who served as Rector in the parishes of Broadway, Beecroft and St. Philip’s York Street, recently preached at St. Paul’s Lithgow on Psalm 41.

Most edifying. Listen here.

Christianity and McLarenism

Kevin DeYoung has published his review of Brian McLaren’s book A New Kind of Christianity.

It’s comprehensive – and devastating. Read it here (PDF file).

“H. Richard Niebuhr’s famous description of liberalism has not lost its relevance: ‘A God without wrath brought men without sin into a kingdom without judgment through the ministrations of Christ without a cross.’”

Good Book sale

The Good Book Company (through their Australian distributor Reformers’ Bookshop) has a sale on some helpful resources until the end of March. Worth having a look.

Lots of other useful material at regular prices too.
(This is an unsolicited plug.)

Classic Anglican fudge

John Richardson writes about one fudge after another in the Church of England –

“Let us go back, for a moment, to the decision to ordain women into the priesthood of the Church of England, taken in 1992 — or rather, let us go back to the ‘indecision’ … the Church itself spoke about the introduction of women priests as being a ‘process of reception’. That is to say, it was not prepared to commit itself to saying that this was exactly right — rather the approach would be ‘suck it and see’.”

– Read his full post at The Ugley Vicar.

A New Kind of Christianity?

Tim Challies writes about Brian McLaren’s new book, A New Kind of Christianity and comes to a tragic conclusion –

“It wasn’t too long ago that I wrote about Brian McLaren and got in trouble. Reflecting on seeing him speak at a nearby church, I suggested that he appears to love Jesus but hate God.

Based on immediate and furious reaction, I quickly retracted that statement. I should not have done so. I believed it then and I believe it now. And if it was true then, how much more true is it upon the release of his latest tome A New Kind of Christianity. In this book we finally see where McLaren’s journey has taken him; it has taken him into outright, rank, unapologetic apostasy. He hates God. Period.”

Tim Challies is not alone – Kevin DeYoung is planning a three-part review, and Mike Wittmer (who teaches Theology at Grand Rapids Theological Seminary) has also been analysing the book.

Brian McLaren was invited to speak at the 2008 Lambeth Conference.

(Photo: brianmclaren.net)

Carson at Moore on Christ and Culture

Don Carson spoke at Moore College in April 2008 – and his talks on ‘Christ and Culture’ are now available on the MTC website. (h/t Justin Taylor)

Ridley Preaching Conference 2009

Looking for encouragement in preaching?

Kanishka Raffel, David Jackman and Peter Adam spoke at last year’s Ridley Preaching Conference in Melbourne. You can hear the talks at the Ridley website.

What would the ACNA look like in 3D?

“Last Wednesday’s vote in the English General Synod to ‘recognize and affirm the desire of those who have formed the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) to remain within the Anglican family’ was a very positive step forward. …

But taking part in a BBC television debate yesterday about the future of the Anglican Communion… brought home to me that the theological truth of the ‘fork in the road’ embodied in the GAFCON Jerusalem Statement and Declaration of 2008 needs to be kept crystal clear if this process of recognition is going to bear good fruit and not be terminally compromised by institutionalists …”

– Charles Raven writes at SPREAD.

Barry Newman on Baptism Revisited — full series

Barry Newman has now completed his series of posts revisiting his earlier series on Biblical Baptism – and he’s made them available as a PDF file at his blog.

Sure to provoke discussion.

Smiting Morality with Gospel Joy

John Piper reads a powerful quote from CS Lewis.

Why I return with hope from the C of E General Synod

The Rev. Phil Ashey, Chief Operating and Development Officer of the American Anglican Council, and Bishop David Anderson, travelled to the Church of England General Synod to observe the debate on Lorna Ashworth’s Private Member’s Motion.

“I come home with great hope for the future of orthodox, Christ-centered, biblical and missional Anglicanism in North America and the UK.”

Read his report here – and also the report from Bishop David Anderson.

Vanishing Christianity — A Lesson from the Presbyterians

The liberalism of the Presbyterian Church of the USA is not new, but a recent survey highlights the issues. In writing about the survey, Albert Mohler concludes,

“This is a church that has lost its confidence in the Gospel in terms of the clear biblical claim that salvation comes only through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. … The crisis has migrated from the pulpits to the pews, and recovery is only a dim and distant hope…”

– The report to which Dr Mohler refers in his article is available here.

(The older, now liberal, PCUSA, about which he writes, should not be confused with the PCA, of which Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City, is a member.)

Matt Kennedy on ‘Leaving home’ (part 2)

A year ago, Matt Kennedy and his congregation at the Church of the Good Shepherd in Binghamton, New York, lost their property to the Diocese of Central New York. Matt continues the story of what happened next — at Stand Firm. (Missed Part 1?)

Photo: Ten News, Syracuse.

The English General Synod: The Centre Cannot Hold

“If Lorna Ashworth’s Private Member’s Motion ‘That this Synod express the desire that the Church of England be in communion with the Anglican Church in North America’ is passed by the Church of England’s General Synod tomorrow, she will have done a great service to English Anglicans as well as the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) because it is as much about the English Church as the Church in North America.

She poses precisely the sort of question that the Church of England’s leadership wants to avoid because the ACNA represents a choice which must be made between two incompatible forms of religion – historic biblical Anglicanism and that pseudo- Anglicanism being promoted by TEC and its allies which derives its energy from the spirit of the age rather than the Spirit of Christ.…”

– Charles Raven writes about the choice facing the Church of England General Synod.