Latest issue of Themelios (49/2) now available
The latest edition of Themelios (volume 49, no. 2) is now available for download – or to read online – from The Gospel Coalition.
Includes a book review by Moore College’s Lionel Windsor (that’s also available here).
– Download or read online the full issue here.
A prayer for the displaced
“I’m sure that, like me, many of you are deeply concerned about the ongoing civil war in Sudan, which is being increasingly covered by the international news media.
The deteriorating situation means the country is facing what the UN has described as “one of the worst humanitarian disasters in recent memory.” There are now 10.5 million internally displaced people (IDPs)* in Sudan, making this the largest displacement crisis in the world. Almost all of these IDPs are in areas with acute levels of food scarcity.
And it’s not just Sudan that is seeing an increase in IDPs.…”
– Canon Tim Swan, CEO of The Archbishop of Sydney’s Anglican Aid, writes to encourage you to pray – and offers a prayer you could use.
Keith Green, Bill Hybels, and the Loss of Steeples and Bells
“I used to love Keith Green’s music and singing when I was a younger Christian. Not to say I don’t still retain some warm memories of his songs. But in my early twenties I found him to be the one singer who spoke to me. And he was already dead by the time I first heard of him. A big influence in my early Christian walk.
Okay I loved Larry Norman and his lyricism and irreverent attitude (I once saw him play live in Belfast and he was scarier than a paramilitary with a few pints in him). And I enjoyed early Randy Stonehill (especially the Welcome to Paradise classic).
But there was something sincere and deep and otherworldly about Keith Green. I still find myself singing those songs in my head from time to time. …”
– Here’s a thoughtful piece by Stephen McAlpine.
The terrible scourge of Female Genital Mutilation and what Christians are doing about it
From The Pastor’s Heart:
“The terrible scourge of Female Genital Mutilation and what Christians are doing about it.
Plus how the Tanzanian Church has been built through the labors and prayers of Australian Christians, and why prosperity gospel preachers are as wicked as witch doctors!
We are joined by Bishop Mwita Akiri from Tarime in rural Tanzania, Judith Calf who served as a missionary in theological education in Tanzania for 20 years, and Tim Swan who leads the Anglican Aid Ministry here in Australia.”
Singleness book wins Christian book of the year
From SydneyAnglicans.net:
“The SparkLit Australian Christian Book of the Year for 2024 has been won by Sydney Anglican the Rev Dr Dani Treweek for her book The Meaning of Singleness: Retrieving an Eschatological Vision for the Contemporary Church. …”
– Read here.
Related:
Singleness in the Church Today: An Interview With Dani Treweek – Jacob York speaks with Dani Treweek for The Gospel Coalition Australia.
The book is available now from The Wandering Bookseller.
Lead us not into temptation
“Is not Britain an example of a nation in which the decline of self-control has led to a massive increase in the power of the State?
The permissive society of the 1960s gave permission to throw off the internal moral restraints that a broadly Christian country had encouraged. But when people cannot or will not control themselves, does that not provide a plum opportunity for authoritarians to take over? …
Today’s Book of Common Prayer Epistle reading is from the Apostle Paul’s New Testament letter to the Christians in 1st Century Galatia. It is a call to Christian people to exercise self-restraint in dependence upon God’s Holy Spirit. …”
– At The Conservative Woman, Julian Mann reflects on the Epistle for today.
Also at The Conservative Woman:
The Sunday Hymn: Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus – Margaret Ashworth.
Epic Reading of the Gospel of John coming to St. Andrew’s Cathedral
From the Cathedral:
“On Saturday 7th September, at 3:30pm, St Andrew’s Cathedral will host an ‘Epic Reading’ of the entire Gospel of John, in our atmospheric Chapter House, off Bathurst Street, Sydney.
The expert reader will be Melbourne actor and author, Simon Camilleri, well known already for illuminating various books of the Bible by his public readings.
Thirty years ago, reading the Gospel of John was part of what changed Simon’s life.
In the same way that you can’t really understand the Lord of the Rings by watching a few short YouTube clips of the movie, Simon says some things can only be appreciated by seeing and hearing the whole. …”
– Read it all here – and see a video of Simon Camilleri with a sample.
And the Dean of Sydney, Sandy Grant, invites you to be there:
Review – Darkness: The Conversion of Anglican Armidale
Presbyterian Minister Graham Barnes reviews Darkness: The Conversion of Anglican Armidale, 1960-2019, by Thomas Fudge.
“Darkness is Professor Fudge’s ‘accidental (p.1)’ book on the history of the Anglican Diocese of Armidale from 1960 to 2019, and the battles between theological liberalism and evangelicalism. The book is thirteen chapters long, 800+ pages, and for the most part theology and history are interwoven.
For Fudge, the watershed moment was the 1964 Election Synod where the evangelical Clive Kerle was elected Bishop of the Diocese. …
Not being an Anglican, and not knowing the individuals nor the events that Fudge seeks to describe, I will try limit this review more to Fudge’s theology, focusing on the earlier and later parts of his book. In truth, many of his comments, in particular about individuals, were poor to say the least.”
– Read the full review at AP.
Related:
Responses to a new book about the recent history of the Diocese of Armidale – 09 April 2024.
“John Chapman led a diocese to go evangelical, and outrage lingers still” – 17 June 2023.
Chappo’s contribution to the Anglican Diocese of Armidale – Tim Stevens, 2014.
John Chapman touched on his time in Armidale several times in this 2012 interview with Richard Chin (on Vimeo). If you only have time for one segment, you may want to jump to 1:13:27. (He recalls events around the 1959 Billy Graham Crusade.)
Freedom for Faith 2024 Conference
Videos of the talks given at the Freedom for Faith 2024 Conference, held earlier this month, have now been made available at the Freedom for Faith website.
Do check them out.
Growing Up in the Pastoral Spotlight: Insights into the lives and wellbeing of Ministry Kids – with Valerie Ling
From The Pastor’s heart:
“What impact does growing up in a pastoral family have on ministry kids?
Valerie Ling from the Sydney Centre for Effective Living joins us to unpack the ‘Ministry Kids Wellbeing Survey,’ revealing what Australian ministry children, say about their upbringing.
They tell of heightened responsibilities and an acute awareness of adult realities plus concerns about feeling different from their peers.
We explore the broader impacts of pastoral life on children, and explore displacement, constant mobility, difficulties in forming lasting friendships and achieving a sense of belonging.
Comparisons are made with the experiences of diplomats and defence ministry kids, emphasizing the common struggles and the critical role parents play in providing stability.
Plus we talk the importance of empathy and creating safe spaces for doubts.”
A Missed Opportunity: The Benefits of Bivocational Ministry
“Since February of this year, I have had the great joy and privilege of studying at Bible College. Initially, I enrolled to equip myself to serve faithfully as a layperson in a church – a role I greatly admire. However, after much consideration, I have decided to pursue chaplaincy work at the completion of my Diploma – rather than returning to my previous work or pursuing ordained church-based ministry (I’ll save this story for another day).
During this time, as I considered vocational ministry for myself, something has been bothering me… Why does Australia have so few bivocational ministry workers? Along with many others, I have been growing increasingly convinced that we should consider this more seriously. I am not saying this is a silver bullet to our problems, nor that I want to see fewer people in full-time gospel ministry. Rather, my question is: are we missing out on something good and helpful by failing to equip and support bivocational ministry workers?…”
– Cooper Rispin, who is studying at Moore College, wants to help us consider the value and appropriateness of bivocational ministry. At AP, the Australian Presbyterian online journal.
(You can read about Cooper, and his fellow Moore College students, in the 2024 issue of Societas.)
Fearing God Our Creator
“When was the last time you heard a sermon about the fear of God?
My guess is that if you have, it was a long time ago. But the Scriptures teem with references to the fear of the LORD. Most famously: “the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom” (Prov 9:10). Or again, from the great Psalm 2: “Serve the LORD with fear and rejoice with trembling” (Ps 2:11).
Yet one of the most frequent commands in Scripture is “do not be afraid”. So are we to fear, or not to fear?…”
– Richard Chin begins a series of articles on the fear of God – at The Gospel Coalition Australia.
Image: Richard Chin speaking at Moore College earlier this year.
How Long, O Lord…?
“In April 2017, The Spectator (UK) carried an article by Douglas Murray who asked, ‘Who Will Protect Nigeria’s Northern Christians?’ Murray pointed out that the Fulani (militia) are watching everything closely from the surrounding mountains. Every week, their progress across the northern states of Plateau and Kaduna continues. Every week, more massacres – another village burned, its church razed, its inhabitants slaughtered, raped or chased away…
‘For the outside world, what is happening to the Christians of northern Nigeria is both beyond our imagination and beneath our interest…’ …”
– In his Word on Wednesday at The Anglican Connection, John Mason draws us back to Palm 13.
The battle for the truth of the gospel — with Thomas Schreiner
From The Pastor’s Heart:
“One of the world’s leading New Testament Scholars Thomas Schreiner is in Sydney for the Moore College Lectures on ‘The Battle for the truth of the gospel.’
At the centre of his attention is NT Wright and the New Perspective on Paul, a debate that questions whether ancient Judaism was legalistic.
Schreiner tells of his roots in Roman Catholicism, a transformative evangelical faith, and the enduring importance of the Reformation perspective of justification by faith alone.
Schreiner, who chairs the Christian Standard Bible translation committee, takes us behind the scenes of the Christian Standard Bible’s translation process, revealing the rigorous debates and decisions that shape how we read that translation.
He outlines how denominational diversity influences translation accuracy.
Plus we unpack the profound need to teach biblical gender roles in contemporary culture.
Thomas Schreiner is professor of New Testament at Southern Baptist Theological College in Louisville, Kentucky.”
– Thirty-two minutes well worth watching / hearing.
Societas 2024
The latest issue of Societas, the wonderful magazine produced annually by the students at Moore Theological College, is now available.
If you can’t get hold of a printed copy via your church, you can read it online here.
Related:
Book Recommendations (mentioned in Societas)
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…