“The Surprising Genius of Jesus” — Peter Williams
Tyndale House Principal Peter Williams gives three lectures at the Southern Baptist Seminary.
The title for his talks, “The Surprising Genius of Jesus“, is drawn from his forthcoming book.
Fascinating and enlightening. Well worth setting aside the time to watch and listen.
I am now a Culture Warrior
“‘I was wrong’. This is not a phrase I use a lot! At least when it comes to major subjects. Over the years I have been aware of significant changes in thinking that have had an enormous practical impact for me – baptism, Calvinism, the European Union, socialism, worship and environmentalism being the main ones I can think of. Recently I have been forced to change my view on the question of culture wars.
I often used to say that I did not want to get involved in culture wars and that it would be a mistake for the Church to do so. Recently I have been compelled to rethink. The trouble is that the term ‘culture wars’ is itself a product of the culture wars. Here in Australia, we look askance at some of the culture wars that are going on in the US, and most of us want nothing to do with them. It is a negative term associated with white nationalism, Donald Trump and Tucker Carlson, and suggests that Christians are some kind of political force whose mission in life is to combat the Left. No thanks. We want to influence the culture, to win the culture, not to fight it. Besides which if we engage in culture wars then won’t we alienate people from the Church and the message of the Gospel? Doesn’t the Scripture itself tells us that our weapons are not the weapons of this world? …”
– David Robertson writes compellingly at AP, the national journal of the Presbyterian Church.
Related:
Tucker Carlson reads the Bible. (Not the Bee)
The trans culture wars vs lovingly pastoring gender incongruent church members – with Rob Smith
A growing mission field: reaching South Asian migrants
From The Pastor’s Heart:
“How do we connect for Jesus with the largest group of migrants coming into Australia?
In just in the last few years, the group of Hindus migrating from India have overtaken China and the UK to become the largest constituency of migrants. …”
What I’d be reading right now (if it had come out before the extended version)
“You might be aware that a couple of years ago, Victoria passed laws to ban certain kinds of conversation about gender and sexual identity—and other states like NSW are considering following suit. The scope of Victoria’s laws goes far beyond the fringe practice called ‘conversion therapy.’ …
Why am I mentioning this? Despite what you might assume, I’m not just lamenting the madness of modern society or trying to stir up some conservative outrage. Instead, I’m mentioning it because I believe it’s essential to ask: Why? Why are we, in our Western world, in this situation? To be more precise:
Why are we in a situation where ‘sexual orientation’ and ‘gender identity’ are so central to our collective modern view of what it means to be a human being that it can trump biological reality and even a person’s own convictions?…”
– At The Australian Church Record, Lionel Windsor points us to a book which will help you understand why our culture is where it is now – so that “through God’s grace, we can proclaim the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ to real people in our world today”.
“John Chapman led a diocese to go evangelical, and outrage lingers still”
“The Anglicans of Armidale elected an evangelical bishop in 1964, a move led by John Chapman, best known as Sydney Anglican’s evangelist.
The Professor of History at the University of New England, Thomas Fudge, gave a public lecture on the evangelical takeover of the diocese – making his disapproval plain by wearing a Cope, an ecclesiastical garment disapproved of by many evangelicals. …”
– John Sandeman reports on unhappiness which still lingers.
It’s true that not everyone loved John Chapman, but many many thousands did, and praise God for him and his clear preaching of Christ.
Related:
Chappo’s contribution to the Anglican Diocese of Armidale – Tim Stevens.
“Through God working through the diligence of a humble Christian man called John Chapman, many people in the Diocese of Armidale came to know the Lord.”
Phillip Jensen on Chappo, March 2013. – The Briefing, Matthias Media.
The preaching of John Chapman – Simon Manchester, The Briefing.
John Chapman – a personal reflection from Mark Thompson.
John Charles Chapman (Chappo) – by David Cook.
Dick Lucas gives thanks for Chappo.
In the 1990s, John Chapman wrote this about the need for groups like the Anglican Church League:
“It has been interesting to me to see how the churches in the New Testament, who were founded by the apostles, so soon fell into such error that the apostles say that they have lost the gospel itself (see 2 Corinthians 11:4).
There is in the Pastoral epistles a strong call to guard and preserve the gospel. The ACL was founded and exists to do that. The way they seek to do it is to help us by finding people who are committed to this cause who will serve us on the committees and boards of the various agencies of this vast Diocese.
I have been a member of ACL for more than 30 years and commend its activities.”
Photo: Chappo, probably when he was Armidale Youth Director – apparently taken during a mission at the University of New England, early 1960s.
How we got the Bible: The story of Scripture
“Countless lives have been changed by the preaching of the word of God. Since human beings tend to look at the outside and not at the inside, we often attribute the power of this transformative teaching to the preacher. We all know on reflection, though, that the real power does not rest in humans but in God’s word itself.
Reading Scripture is the most immediate exposure to the word of God. In practice, this means picking up a physical book and opening it to a specific page, or opening up an app on our phones and scrolling to a specific location. In either case, we trust that the word has not been corrupted and that the message of the Bible we hold in our hands was not changed or lost altogether. We believe that we are reading the actual words that God spoke.
In what follows, we will think about what has gone before that moment when we open Scripture and read it. What happened to the Bible between the earliest times and the twenty-first century? How did God bring his word to us? The reverse of this question—how he brought us to his word—is part of our individual testimony. But the way in which God brought about the Bible is the story of his providence in history, played out over thousands of years. And by understanding what God had done over the ages, we will see that it is reasonable and justified to trust that the Bible in our hands is a translation of the trustworthy words of Scripture. We could talk about ten reasons why to trust the Bible. But it may be more effective if we understand the larger narrative of the history of the Bible. …”
– Dirk Jongkind, Vice Principal at Tyndale House in Cambridge, takes a long look at the story of how the Bible came to us. Very helpful and worth sharing.
Image: A 3rd Century fragment from Egypt, of Revelation chapter 1, in the Chester Beatty collection, Dublin. Photo with thanks to Kevin Murray.
This is the Word of the Lord
“Thanks be to God.
With great joy in his heart, a friend of mine recently shared with me about how his son became a Christian.
The teenager had been reading through the story of Achan’s sin (Josh. 7:1-26) at youth group and upon reflection on the nature of sin, had come to trust in Jesus for salvation. I was wonderfully surprised! Wonderfully, for the boy had made the most important decision of his life by believing in Christ. Surprised, because – somewhat to my shame – my initial impulse was to be surprised that the account of Achan’s sin could have been the instrument of his salvation. I think, upon reflection, that I had forgotten something significant about God’s Word: that it is good, all of it. But perhaps it is possible to forget the other good aspects of the Holy Scriptures too?…”
– At The Australian Church Record, Mark Earngey writes with great encouragement to treasure the Word of the Lord.
Your preaching is primarily for believers
“In certain circles, seeking to get unbelievers into church is seen as the highest possible goal. There is nothing better, according to some, when unbelievers come into the church and under the sound of the gospel. That, they aver, is what we ought to be about. At the risk of being deemed a contrarian, I just don’t think that is true.
What goes on inside the church is necessarily for the upbuilding of believers. The church is, after all, a gathering of believers. The world is not the church. What happens in the church is not primarily for the world. It is for believers.
This matters when it comes to our preaching.…”
– Here’s a short and encouraging article for preachers from Stephen Kneale in Oldham, Greater Manchester. (Link via Tim Challies.)
A heart for the persecuted Christian – with Dan Oli Shani
From The Pastor’s Heart:
“One in seven Christians are persecuted globally. That’s 360 million Christians who are denied access to jobs and education, are arrested, attacked, and even killed for following Jesus.
Worst effected according to the Open Doors World Watch List are Christians in North Korea, Somalia, Yemen, Eritrea, Libya, Nigeria, Pakistan and Iran.
All that sounds so distant from the comfort of an armchair in Sydney.
Open Doors International is deeply engaged with ministry to persecuted Christians.
Open Door’s Global CEO is Dan Ole Shani from Kenya. Dan shares his pastor’s heart for the persecuted with Dominic Steele, and suggests ways forward.”
You can’t be yourself by yourself
“Men and women cannot be fully themselves without one another.
Don’t get me wrong; I love my alone time. I am “me” when I’m by myself. But Genesis 1:27 complicates my idea of myself by saying that God created humankind in his image, as male and female. Somehow, by myself I’m not enough. It takes both men and women to fully express the divine image.
This turns out to be a hugely important truth not just for my self-understanding, but for our relating as men and women in the church (note: this is not an article about marriage!) The foundational text comes in Genesis 2…”
– Here’s a very helpful an thought-provoking article by Dr Andrew Shead at Moore College.
At SydneyAnglicans.net and also in the June-July 2023 edition of Southern Cross magazine.
Remembering Howard Guinness
We are poorer when we forget those who have gone before us – those who laboured for Christ over many decades.
One man we should not forget is Dr Howard Wyndam Guinness 1903-1979, pioneer in student evangelism and university ministry in the UK, Canada, New Zealand, Australia and elsewhere.
He was key in founding the Sydney University Evangelical Union in 1930, as well as much else. He was also responsible for launching the Crusader Union in Sydney and Melbourne.
In 1949, Archbishop Mowll invited him to return to Australia to become the Rector of St. Barnabas’ Broadway and Chaplain to the University of Sydney. Generations of students were discipled through that ministry.
Howard Guinness’ funeral was held at St Andrew’s Cathedral, Sydney, on 31st July 1979. Then Archbishop of Sydney, Sir Marcus Loane, preached, and Bishop Donald Robinson led the prayers.
You will be blessed by setting aside 25 minutes to hear this excerpt from a recording of the service – with the sermon, the hymn Now thank we all our God, and the prayers –
or download the 12MB mp3 audio file by right clicking on the book cover.
Photo: The cover of Howard Guinness’ autobiographical book Journey Among Students, published in 1978 by the Anglican Information Office, Sydney.
Is taking over Calvary Hospital a religious freedom breach?
“There has been a lot of controversy around the recent decision of the ACT government to compulsorily acquire Canberra’s Calvary Hospital.
One question that is worth asking is this: could this move be an unlawful breach of religious freedom rights? In this post I want to consider the possibilities. …”
– At Law and Religion Australia, Associate Professor Neil Foster suggests some avenues which could be explored.
Image: Diocese of Sydney.
The Gender Revolution – with Patricia & Kamal Weerakoon and Rob Smith
From The Pastor’s Heart:
“What is meant by each of the terms biological sex, gendered behaviours or expressions, sexual orientation and gendered identity? How do the various terms relate?
We talk to former director of Sydney University’s Graduate Program in Sexual Heath, Dr Patricia Weerakoon, Rob Smith, who is head of doctrine at Sydney Missionary and Bible College and Rev Kamal Weerakoon, who has done masters studies in this area.
Rob, Patricia and Kamal are encouraging us to treat with love and compassion those with gender dysphoria or gender incongruence. …”
King’s Birthday Conference 2023 Talks now available
The first King’s Birthday Conference from Two Ways Ministries was held at Moore College on 12th June.
Peter Jensen spoke on True Government and Philip Jensen spoke on Long Live the King?
– Watch or listen to the whole conference via this link.
The Peace-Maker
“Alienation is a word often used to describe our human plight. Everywhere relationships are broken – between or within nations, in the workplace, between friends and within families. The phrase ‘the power of love’ or ‘love is everything’ is said to be the cure-all for brokenness and division. But what do these expressions really mean? What does real love look like?
Throughout the Bible, especially as it relates to God and his relationship with us, we find a radically different way that love is understood.…”
– At the Anglican Connection, John Mason doesn’t want us to forget the wonder of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…