The Importance of Fellowship

“In Sydney, our evangelical theology is one where we treasure the local parish and congregation. This is an absolutely right thing to do at a scriptural level but we need to recognise that there is also a bigger fellowship that occurs between like-minded people.

So, one of the things that the diocese has been, really since Bishop Barker, is a movement. That is, we are not just a group of people, nor just as a denomination, nor just people who share a common ordination, but we have been a movement of Anglican evangelicals.

Indeed, this movement is about wanting to see the glory of the Lord cover the earth as the waters cover the sea. That is really what we are about as a diocese, and it has been the beating heart for a long time. …”

– In this piece which was first published in the latest ACR Journal, Autumn 2021, Archie Poulos has a challenge for parishes great and small.

Palliative Care and The Art of Dying Well

“Modern palliative care emerged in the late 1960s through the work of Dame Cicely Saunders, widely acknowledged as its founder, in the United Kingdom. She believed that caring for people requires caring about them. She combined the tradition of hospitality in medieval religious communities (hospice) with modern medical techniques for treatment of symptoms.

She studied the stories of terminally ill patients and found that their suffering involved, not just physical pain, but also had social, emotional, psychological and spiritual aspects. …”

– At The Gospel Coalition Australia, palliative care doctor Megan Best writes during National Palliative Care Week (23-29 May 2021).

By contrast:

A media release from the Australian Christian Lobby:

South Australian Parliament votes to end life during Palliative Care Week – Australian Christian Lobby.

This week is National Palliative Care Week in Australia. It is a time that the nation’s mind should be focused on supporting and caring for the terminally ill.

Instead, the South Australian Parliament last night voted to progress the physician assisted suicide bill.

Christopher Brohier, SA Director for the Australian Christian Lobby said, “It is evident that government resources are being used to further the physician assisted suicide bill.

“The Health Minister last week released an anonymous paper from Wellbeing SA arguing against institutional conscientious objection rights. The government is therefore putting itself in direct conflict with Calvary Hospitals, one of the state’s largest palliative care providers.

“The Parliament and the Health Minister must take into account the views of Calvary Hospitals,” said Mr Brohier. “The bill must be amended in the committee stage to provide for institutional conscientious objection rights.”

The ACL urged the South Australian Parliament to reject the bill or significantly amend it when the third reading vote occurs.

ENDS

The Reformanda Initiative — in conversation with Mark Gilbert

In a recent podcast from The Reformanda Initiative in Rome, Mark Gilbert from Certainty4Eternity shares his own story about how he came to Christ.

He also has some practical advice on sharing the saving gospel with Roman Catholic friends. He says that genuine love is a key.

Very good to share (and to pray about).

Also see these books by Mark at Matthias Media.

The Importance of the Gospel

“Where would you be without the gospel? I shudder to think of where my life would have headed without it, and it horrifies me to hypothesise about a future without it.

Wonderfully, I am not weighed down by such thoughts. For I love to remember when I came under the sound of the gospel, and I am enthusiastic and excited (sometimes nervously!) at the prospect of ministering the gospel wheresoever the Lord takes me, and howsoever long the Lord grants me. The gospel matters to me. And I strongly suspect the gospel matters to you, in much the same way. …”

– This piece by Dr Mark Earngey at Moore College was first published in the latest ACR Journal, Autumn 2021.

Five Key Distinctives of Anglican Worship

“That’s not really very Anglican.

I can’t tell you how often I’ve heard someone talk in this way about a particular church service.

What do they mean by not very Anglican?

Usually, they mean that it isn’t liturgically formal. Perhaps there are no clerical vestments on display, or the service does not have a particular form to it. Perhaps there are no responsorial prayers. Perhaps the church building does not look like a classic church, or maybe it is plainly rather than ornately decorated…”

– Dr Michael Jensen shares the heart of Anglicanism – at Crossway, who have also published his book Reformation Anglican Worship.

And another quote:

“…Anglican worship is distinct not because of its form, but because of its content. The genius of the Book of Common Prayer is not in dictating a particular style of worship but in the way it does two things: first, it makes Scripture the centerpiece of the Christian gathering, and secondly, it enfolds the worshiping community in the theology of grace.”

Preaching Mentoring

“This year, quite by accident, I have been involved in a number of preaching mentorships.

These mentorships are one on one, held on a weekly basis, and focus on preaching rather than other aspects of pastoral leadership. The sessions are held for half an hour and focus on either the next text to be preached or as a review of the last sermon preached.

Consistently, as with all Trust activities, there is no financial charge for any of our services or resources. The Trust is dependent on donors who meet all the costs of the ministry so that there is no financial pressure on those accessing any of our resources.

At the moment we are assembling a group of experienced preachers who will be available to mentor preachers via Zoom. …”

– A very practical and generous offer from David Cook at the Expository Preaching Trust.

How to reach Australia + The Queensland Presbyterian crisis

On the latest edition of The Pastor’s Heart, Dominic Steele speaks with Queensland Theological College Principal Gary Millar at the Reach Australia conference on the NSW Central Coast.

As well as sharing from his keynote addresses on Holiness and Hope, Gary is asked about the problems facing Queensland Presbyterians and the College he leads.

Watch or listen here.

Does the Church of England deserve to survive?

“Let me tell you a story. Once upon a time, not so very long ago, a business enterprise decided to sponsor an educational establishment.

The business made widgets, and at the time everyone thought that widgets were just the bees knees. People bought the widgets; they learned about how widgets were made; they visited widget shops and even widget museums, dedicated to understanding all about the history of widgets. …”

– British theologian Ian Paul is bemused by the silence of Church of England bishops when a Church of England clergyman is attacked for teaching Church of England doctrine.

PrayerMate celebrates ten years

PrayerMate is ten years old, and has been a blessing to so many. It may help your prayer life.

The Equality Act, other symbols of a new era, and the church’s response

“Phil Ashey of ACNA’s American Anglican Council has written with customary clarity about the implications of the Equality Act for Christian life and witness in the US.

Behind the (as many see them) apparently reasonable laws to prevent egregious and unjust discrimination are assumptions contained in the Act about belief and worldview.

It is not just actions which will now be policed (for example, refusing to bake a cake celebrating a same sex wedding,), but words. It seems that to express publicly a view derived from the bible about binary genders and a heterosexual norm might become ‘legally discriminatory’. Canon Ashey shows how the definition of ‘public space’ has been widened specifically to include churches. …”

– Andrew Symes writes at Anglican Mainstream.

Out-Thought or Out-Discipled? Mission and Ministry in 2020s Australia

“In 1901 about 96 percent of Australians identified themselves as Christian. By the 1950s this had hardly moved, with a good 89 percent nominating Christian on the census.

The big change has happened in the last half-century. It began in about 1963, and it has accelerated in the last ten years. The next census, due this August, is almost certain to mark a significant milestone: the first time fewer than fifty percent of Australians identify as Christian. …”

– At The Gospel Coalition Australia, Rory Shiner helps us understand the context in which we preach the gospel to Australians today.

His article was first published in the recent ACR Journal.

Image: The Pastor’s Heart.

Religious Freedom Weekend June 11-13, 2021

Neil Foster, at Law and Religion Australia, writes,

“Let me commend this event, the ‘Religious Freedom weekend’ to be celebrated over June 11-13, 2021; details available at this website: religiousfreedomweekend.com.au.

The weekend is being sponsored by Freedom for Faith, a legal think-tank supporting religious freedom in Australia which I am proud to be associated with. This is not a conference, but simply a weekend where we are encouraging believers all over Australia, and those who just support the important human right of religious freedom, to celebrate religious freedom and consider what they can do to support this right.

There is a Resource Pack outlining some current challenges, with some suggestions for prayer for churches and other religious groups. There is a call which can be sent to Members of Parliament to support proposals to protect religious freedom, especially through laws prohibiting religious discrimination. Church leaders can also email for further resources.

I think this is a great resource and encourage all those who read this blog to support it and share it with others!”

Sydney’s almost unnoticed Archbishop-elect: The challenges facing Kanishka Raffel and the Anglican church

“Sydney’s Anglicans have just elected a new Archbishop — the current Dean of Sydney, Kanishka Raffel. You may not have noticed. Only two decades ago, the election of an Anglican Archbishop in Sydney was not just news, it was a matter for critical commentary in the opinion pages of the Sydney Morning Herald.

Earlier this year, the retirement of the previous holder of that office, Archbishop Glenn Davies, was not even mentioned in the secular press. The death of former Archbishop Donald Robinson, Archbishop from 1982 to 1993, likewise scarcely caused a ripple.

All this tells you something about the current cultural moment into which the new Archbishop of Sydney must step. …”

– In an opinion piece for ABC Religion and Ethics, Michael Jensen concludes,

“If Sydney Anglicans can catch something of the character of Christ as it has been refracted in their new leader, and imitate him as he continues to imitate and serve his Lord, then who knows what the Spirit of the living God may do?”

Anglican Aid Update for Churches – May 2021

At last week’s Diocese of Sydney Synod, this short video from Anglican Aid was screened. It introduces their partnership with the people of Madagascar. and would be ideal to show in church or to small groups.

A downloadable version is available via the website where there’s also an update in the situation in India.

Women Pastors, Women Preachers, and the Looming Test of the Southern Baptist Convention

“In truth, the issue of women serving as pastors fuelled the Conservative Resurgence in the SBC. The question was instantly clarifying. The divide over women serving in the pastorate served as a signal of the deeper divide over the authority and interpretation of the Bible. …”

– Southern Baptist Theological Seminary President Albert Mohler sees a fresh test coming to the Southern Baptist Convention.

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