Audio files from the 2016 ACL Synod Briefing
On Wednesday 5th October, the Rev. Craig Roberts, Rector of St Augustine’s Neutral Bay, Standing Committee member, and ACL Vice-President, discussed the main issues coming up at this year’s Sydney Synod.
The event was organised by the ACL as a service to members of Synod.
If you weren’t able to be present, here are the audio files. To listen to each section, click on the link under “Audio file”. Each file will open in a new window.
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Audio file |
Topics |
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Introduction and prayer from the Rev. Jason Ramsay. |
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Schools, Archbishop’s election, Synod membership, Conduct of Synod business, Parental leave for clergy. Requests for something to happen: funding church plants, Licensing incumbents, Professional development. |
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Asylum seekers in detention, Same sex marriage. |
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Our Reformation heritage, Growth in churches, Restoring faith, hope and trust in our society, Thanksgiving motions, Community chaplains, Renumeration of Anglicare, Youthworks, Schools Corporation Chairs, Equipping Rectors in leadership, Restricting the length of sermons. |
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Proposal to fund ministries in new growth suburbs, New churches for new communities fundraising drive, Reinvigorating ministry in small congregations, Funding projects in low socioeconomic parishes, Drawdown of diocesan endowment ($3.5m), |
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Thinking theologically about voting in Synod. |
Jesus Always, the sequel to Jesus Calling
“This book is going to be big. Huge, even. Its predecessor has sold well over 10 million copies and more than a decade after publication has no less than 6 editions on the list of Christian bestsellers.
Today, at last, comes the long-awaited sequel, releasing to great fanfare—a million-copy first printing backed by a huge $300,000 marketing spend. One way or another you will come across this book and so will most of your friends and neighbours. You will see it on Amazon, in Costco, in airport bookshops, and perhaps even at your church’s book table. It’s Jesus Always, Sarah Young’s sequel to Jesus Calling. …
The big claim in her little books is that the words come to the reader from Jesus through her. At least, that was the claim of Jesus Calling and, as far as I know, it has not been retracted. Instead, it has been removed. If you are enthusiastic about Jesus Calling or wondering about Jesus Always, this is the one claim you must face head-on. You cannot treat Jesus Always as just another Christian book when Young herself claims it is so much more.”
– Tim Challies confronts the huge problems caused by a book which seems to claim to contain revelation direct from the Lord Jesus.
Here’s a promotional trailer for the new book.
Authority: God’s Good and Dangerous Gift
Authority: God’s Good and Dangerous Gift – that’s the theme for the latest 9Marks Journal, just released.
ACL Pre-Synod Briefing — TONIGHT Wednesday 5th October
Pre-Synod Briefing, This Wednesday 5th October, 6:30 – 8:00pm at Chapter House.
As a service to the Synod, the ACL is holding a Pre-Synod Briefing for Synod members.
The Rev Craig Roberts, Rector of St Augustine’s Neutral Bay, Standing Committee member, and ACL Vice-President, will discuss the main issues for this year’s Synod.
Download your invitation here.
The Synod Survival Guide — got your copy?
New to Synod? The Synod Survival Guide (4th edition), by Robert Tong is an invaluable help to make sense of it all.
Presented by the ACL as a service to the Synod of the Diocese of Sydney, you can download your PDF copy here.
Confident Disciple Making for Tasmania
The Diocese of Tasmania is running an event to equip church members in Confident Disciple Making – in Hobart, on 29th October. Colin Marshall is the keynote speaker.
From Bishop Richard Condie:
“Making disciples is our great task, set for us by none other than the Lord Jesus himself. But the task is challenging, especially in our present time. We need help and assistance to know how we are going to do it effectively and confidently.”
Why ‘No Creed but the Bible’ is a lousy creed
“First, it’s impossible not to be confessional. Everyone is confessional; now, whether it’s written and whether it’s biblical is another matter. And everyone is a theologian…
It’s always better when we’re clear on our theology, and for that nothing beats writing it down on paper. Writing does not guarantee infallibility, of course, but it does make it easier to determine whether the doctrine we’re confessing aligns with Scripture.
Second, the point of a confession of faith isn’t to put something above Scripture. The point of a confession is to ensure the public teaching of the church is as close to the teaching of Scripture as possible. When we don’t write down our theology and confess it publicly as a church, it leads not to healthy freedom but to unhealthy restriction.”
– Is it biblical for the church to use confessions of faith? How should a confession be used? What makes a good confession of faith?
At The Gospel Coalition, Jeff Robinson put these and other questions to Ligon Duncan, Chancellor of Reformed Theological Seminary.
Sadly, many churches seem to think creeds are outdated. It’s not too late to repent – check out:
Creeds and other affirmations of faith – from the Diocese of Sydney’s Better Gatherings.
The Athanasian Creed – from Church Society’s An English Prayer Book.
No need for a censor if we censor ourselves
“It happened again this week. It will doubtless happen many times in the weeks and months and years to come.
A Christian dared to elaborate publicly on why he thought homosexual practice was morally wrong, and was greeted not with counter-argument or rebuttal, but outpourings of abhorrence and anger, as well as regret and apology on the part of the event organisers (that such a view had come to be to be expressed on their platform)…”
– At Moore College’s Centre for Christian Living, Tony Payne writes about the strong temptation for Christians to ‘self censor’.
Related: “Can we talk about same-sex marriage?” – Wednesday 19th October at the Centre for Christian Living.
Inboxes. Getting all the stuff out of them. Every day.
“This post is about a core habit that helps me to reduce everyday stress: emptying inboxes. I’m not just talking about getting my email to ‘inbox zero’ every so often. I’m talking about identifying all my inboxes in life, and daily emptying them. That means getting all the vaguely undefined and stressful “‘stuff’ out of those inboxes and into my trusted system, where they can do some good.”
– At Forget the Channel, Lionel Windsor continues his series on “sustainable sacrifice” in Christian ministry.
John Howard and the Myths of the 2004 Marriage amendments
“The debates over redefining marriage in Australia have acquired in recent years some high profile “myths” or, to use the modern parlance, “memes”, which are regularly repeated.
One of the most enduring is that the battle for same sex marriage is impeded by a supposedly shocking set of amendments to the Marriage Act 1961 which were made by conservative Prime Minister John Howard in 2004.
To take some recent quotes which illustrate the points:
“It was the Howard Government that in 2004 changed the Marriage Act to specifically refer to marriage being “the union of a man and a woman,” locking out any possibility to include gay couples in the definition without a change in the law.”
“[T[his weekend marks the twelfth anniversary of John Howard’s amendments to the Australian Marriage Act. You know, those amendments that didn’t require a plebiscite? Those amendments that made it a legal requirement for celebrants to remind champagne-tipsy wedding parties around the country that marriage was between a man and a woman at the exclusion of all others?”
There are two ‘myths’ being presented here…”
At Law and Religion Australia, Neil Foster tackles two oft-repeated myths –
“Myth 1: the 2004 amendments redefined marriage” and “Myth 2: Celebrants reading out the words”.
New website for Moore College’s Centre for Christian Living
Moore College’s Centre for Christian Living has a new website, with easy access to resources and recordings of past events.
See it here – including news of the upcoming ‘Can we talk about Same-Sex Marriage?’ on Wednesday October 19.
What to look for in a theological college
Moore Theological Principal Mark Thompson was asked what people should look for in a theological college. It’s a good question. He begins his answer by speaking about Moore –
“Moore College exists for one reason: to see Christ and his gospel proclaimed in all the world. We want everyone in this city to hear what God has done in Christ and have an opportunity to respond with repentance, faith and a new life. We want to see them knit into local churches and built up in the faith. We want to see them being shaped in the way they think and the way they live by the Bible’s message about God and his purpose, with its focus on his Son.
But there’s more than that. Our vision is not limited to one city or one denomination. We want to see men and women in every nation and people-group on this planet hear the good news of Jesus and be brought from darkness to light. So at the heart of what we do is a message: God’s message about his Son. And that message gives us the twin priorities of mission and ministry.”
Mark goes on to outline what people should look for in any theological college:
“Without doubt the first answer is ‘Look at the faculty’. Don’t just ask whether they are clever, well-qualified, skilled in teaching, with a long list of publications to their name, and all of that. No doubt at least some of that’s important. You want to be taught by people who will stretch you and help you grow in the knowledge of God. But more important is the orientation of the faculty…”
Read it all here at Moore’s ThinkTank blog.
The good God who speaks
“It is a sad feature of our moment in time that Christians are ridiculed for their confidence in the Bible as the word of God and that this ridicule has an edge of suspicion about it. Our appeal to the Bible is understood by some as a personal power-play. We are simply trying to impose our own opinion or our own religious preferences.
Others suggest even darker motives. Five decades ago a visiting American evangelist could repeat ‘the Bible says …’ and Sydney took notice. Hundreds of thousands wanted to know what the Bible says, what God says. What he has to say changes everything for good. Today, however, the response is more often ‘How do you know?’ or ‘Why should I listen to your inhumane religious bigotry?’…”
– Posted back in 2014, Moore College Principal Mark Thompson writes with a reminder that genuine Christian discipleship involves a serious commitment to the Bible as the word of God.
Related:
A Small Alteration, A Significant Statement – Change To Ordination Vows – Gary Ware on a proposal to change the ordination vows of Ministers and Elders in the Presbyterian Church of Australia.
Moore College School of Theology 2016
This year’s Moore College School of Theology is planned for Thursday 15th September.
“Come with us on a journey from sin and death to redemption and new life, in a series of master classes on the value of theology for the life of the church at the 2016 Moore College School of Theology.”
Some Kindle deals worth checking
Tim Challies writes, “Today’s Kindle deals [12 September 2016] include a bunch by Matthias Media! I don’t think I’ve ever seen deals from them before. …
The Trellis and the Vine and The Vine Project by Colin Marshall & Tony Payne; How To Walk Into Church by Tony Payne; The Archer and the Arrow by Philip Jensen & Paul Grimmond.”
These deals generally don’t last long. (Some seem to have disappeared already, so be quick.)
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…