Should I Choose a Church for its Pastor?

“If you are looking for a good church, the role of the preacher of God’s Word is the most important thing to consider.

I don’t care how friendly you think the church members are. I don’t care how good you think the music is. Those things can change.

But the congregation’s commitment to the centrality of the Word coming from the front, from the preacher, the one specially gifted by God and called to that ministry, is the most important thing you can look for in a church. …”

– In this extract adapted from Nine Marks of a Healthy Church, Mark Dever shares some advice on choosing a church. At Crossway.

Launch 2022 — A camp for School Leavers keen to live for Jesus

This is a great time to urge school leavers who are planning on going to university next year, to consider Launch 2022.

Dates: 31 January — 3 February 2022
Venue: KCC Conference Centres.
Speakers: Phillip Jensen and Richard Chin.

The main aims of the Launch conference are:

See all the details and registration at phillipjensen.com/launch.

(Do you know someone who would benefit from going to Launch 2022?)

Recruiting women for vocational Christian ministry – with Kara Hartley and Jane Tooher

“How are we going as a network of complementarian churches at raising up women for ministry?

How do you develop a culture in your church that is really positive to women exercising their gifts and hence stepping forward for full time ministry roles?

What should our vision be for raising up women in ministry?  What progress has been made?  What are next steps? …”

– Here’s the latest from The Pastor’s Heart.

Preaching Clubs — update from the Expository Preaching Trust

David Cook shares some details of the Expository Preaching Trust’s Preaching Clubs for 2022 –

“If you are a preacher do come along and join in the supportive fellowship, you will get to preach twice each year and have your sermon critiqued.

The size of the club is limited to 14 members, we enjoy good coffee and food. …”

– Read all the details here.

Remembrance Day resources

Running a Remembrance Day service?

Here are some resources you might find helpful – from Defence Anglicans.

Should Pastors Today Care about the Reformation?

“Pastors devoted to their ministry have so many things to do. …

So, why should I set aside valuable hours to read up on the Reformation, usually thought to have kicked off about 500 years ago?…”

– In this 2017 article at 9Marks, Don Carson has answers to the question “Should Pastors Today Care about the Reformation?”.

The Path to Life…

“Have you ever been resentful of people whose lives seem successful? They’ve achieved recognition; they have beautiful children, and they enjoy material riches. The very thought of them strips any sense of happiness from you.

Now there’s nothing wrong with being successful, having a great family or having money. The question is how do we value them? Do they represent what life is about or is there more to life?

Today we come to a second Reflection on Psalm 1. The Psalm is important for it lays the foundation for the whole Book of Psalms. As it progresses it identifies our two life-choices – a road to nowhere, or a path to life. …”

– John Mason continues to publish helpful and encouraging reflections for Anglican Connection. Here’s the latest.

From Meat to Meta: Facebook’s Disincarnate Dreamworld

“I knew that I found something about Zuckerberg’s invitation to the metaverse profoundly disturbing, but I couldn’t put my finger on what it was about Facebook’s new incarnation that made me so uneasy. Then I realized: the problem is that it is not an incarnation at all. …

Zuckerberg’s utopia is one without bodies, without the material, without weight. It is Exhibit A in what Charles Taylor calls the modern prejudice for ‘excarnation,’ the idea propounded by Descartes and others that we need to distance ourselves from embodiment in order to arrive at a clear understanding of things.…”

– The Gospel Coalition Australia has published this thoughtful piece by Chris Watkin reflecting on last week’s announcement from Mark Zuckerberg.

(Image: Practical Wireless, July 1974.)

Bishop Grant Dibden on Defence Sunday

From Defence Anglicans – and a great reminder to pray.

Related:

Running a Remembrance Day service on Thursday?

Here are some resources.

Maxims for Maximum Impact: ‘Maxims of Conversation’ and Preaching

“In theory, preaching is easy. Just get two things right: truth and clarity. But, as with many things, the practice is harder. …

I recently came across ‘Grice’s Maxims of Conversation’. Paul Grice (1913-1988) was a British philosopher of language, best known for his ‘co-operative principles’. Simply stated, these insist that people should communicate in a co-operative, helpful way. While Grice was applying them to everyday conversation, his maxims apply to any speech act – including preaching. …

As I work through my sermon and, again, when I’ve finished, I continue to ask myself important questions. Grice’s four maxims would be four good questions for us preachers to ask ourselves:”

– At The Gospel Coalition Australia, Mike Raiter has some real help for preachers.

(Image: GAFCON.)

The Church has something distinctive to say about climate change – if only it would say it

“It’s only day one of COP26 and I suspect many people are already fed up of the endless news, constant commentary, and, to be frank, all the depressing ‘doom and gloom, turn or burn, end of the world is nigh’ rhetoric. …”

– In a piece he wrote for Christian Today, David Robertson highlights the emptiness of the message of COP26, and the glorious message Christ’s people have. He sees that Romans 8 has the perfect message for COP26.

Friendship: The Foundation of Paul’s Global Ministry

“One of Paul’s most consistent values may surprise us: friendship. Paul valued friendship with fellow Christians. He worked to establish and maintain friendships.

Consider how often Paul says something like: ‘I thank my God always when I remember you, because I hear of your love for all the saints’ (Gal. 1:15, Col. 1:4, 2 Thess. 1:3, Philemon 4).

Consider how in nearly every letter, inspired by the Holy Spirit, he devotes space to greeting specific believers, who are by now long dead. In what sense are those names useful to the man of faith today, if not to teach us the importance of Christian friendships?…”

– Here’s encouragement from Caleb Greggsen, writing at 9Marks.

The Reformation of English

“In the late summer or fall of 1525, sheets of thin sewn paper bounced across the English Channel, hidden in bales of cloth and sacks of flour.

They passed silently, secretly, from the Channel to the London shipyards, from the shipyards to the hands of smiths and cooks, sailors and cobblers, priests and politicians, mothers and fathers and children.

De-clothed and un-floured, the first lines read,

I have here translated (bretheren and sisters most dear and tenderly beloved in Christ) the new Testament for your spiritual edifying, consolation, and solace.

And then, a few pages later:

This is the book of the generation of Jesus Christ the son of David, the son also of Abraham . . .

Here was the Gospel of Matthew, translated from the original Greek into English for the very first time. The entire New Testament would soon follow, and then portions of the Old Testament, before its translator, William Tyndale (1494–1536), would be found and killed for his work. …”

– At Desiring God, Scott Hubbard gives thanks for William Tyndale and his influence on all who speak English.

Defence Sunday 7 November 2021

This Sunday is Defence Sunday, and Grant Dibden, Anglican Bishop to the Australian Defence Force, has recorded a 3’30” video message.

A copy can be downloaded from the Anglican Media Sydney Vimeo account for use in church services – and do pray for this important ministry.

Southern Cross November 2021

In December, printed copies of Southern Cross, the magazine of Sydney Diocese, will again be available in churches.

The November issue is online-only, and is now available. Download your copy at magazine.sydneyanglicans.net

Be sure to read “Christians speak out against assisted suicide” –

Archbishop Kanishka Raffel has urged Christians to speak up against the assisted suicide bill, which he calls “a momentous shift in medical practice and community expectation”

The bill, introduced into the NSW Parliament in October, uses the terminology of “voluntary assisted dying” but the Archbishop says it goes beyond the physician-assisted suicide it would legalise.

“It marks the final abandonment of one of the cornerstones of Western civilisation: the sanctity of life,” the Archbishop says. “Advocates of Voluntary Assisted Dying – a deeply misleading cluster of words – have emphasised not the sanctity of life, but quality of life as subjectively experienced, and the primacy of autonomous choice.”

The Archbishop, senior bishops and Christian medical groups have pointed out several ways the bill would not provide extra choice, as proponents argue, but would have a flow-on effect to all those battling terminal illness. …

– Read it all on page 5.

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