A Moderate Argument for Paper Bulletins
“For many, the idea of paper bulletins in church is archaic. …. Yet the mediums we choose can shape our worship in subtle ways.
Here are six reasons paper bulletins, while far from essential, are useful in corporate worship.
It’s been well-documented that reading something on a page rather than a screen encourages clarity of thought and greater comprehension. When we hold a book (or bulletin) in our hands, it engages more of the senses and helps us remember what we read or sing. …”
– At 9Marks, Mike McGregor suggests some advantages in taking a step back to printed church bulletins and orders of service.
Who am I? The search for identity
At Moore College on Wednesday, 23 October 2024:
“Our culture is obsessed with identity: we’re often told, ‘You do you’ and encouraged to live according to our ‘true and authentic self’, expressing publicly how we feel about ourselves internally.
However, the very concept of personal identity is inherently slippery. It encompasses things like ethnicity, class, gender, sexuality, religion, belief, educational background, profession and personality, but it’s not fixed: it can change through time, circumstance and even self-invention.
How should Christians regard identity? …”
Anglican Aid’s 2023-24 Annual Report
The Archbishop of Sydney’s Anglican Aid recently published their 2023-24 Annual Report.
If you haven’t already seen it, download your copy here – food for your prayers and cause for thanksgiving.
Parenting in God’s family
From The Pastor’s Heart:
“What is Christian parenting? How do we do family Bible time well?
How can we prioritise church, even when it’s hard? Navigating social media with teens?
And how to parent teens who are doubting, drifting or deserting?
Parenting is joyous, magical, tiresome, boring, stressful and complicated.
Harriet Connor is editor of ‘Parenting in God’s family: Biblical wisdom for everyday issues.’. Kat Ashton Israel is a contributing author.”
Writing an Article
“Here is some advice from an editor who does not quite fit E.B. White’s double-sided definition: ‘An editor is a person who knows more about writing than writers do but who has escaped the terrible desire to write.’
What follows is just some thoughts about escaping the desire to write terribly.
Your aim is to write an article for your monthly parish paper, or for AP, or for your local newspaper, or even for your own website. The length might be about 1000 words. How do you go about it? J. I. Packer called himself ‘an accidental author’. He was never taught how to do it. He was asked to do it, and he kept doing it. …”
Preaching illustrations to win Muslims — with Samuel Green
From The Pastor’s Heart:
“How to preach to build confidence so members want to invite Islamic friends and workmates to church and better educate our Christians for conversations with Muslim friends.
What topics might we address? How to best engage with the authority and authorship of the Bible vs the Qur’an, plus Jesus and Muhammed, the Trinity, Incarnation, Sin and human nature, Judgement and Salvation.
Sam Green works for the Australian Fellowship of Evangelical Students and is the author of ‘Where to start with Islam.’”
What not to say at the beginning (or end) of a church gathering
“The fact is, many leaders do not attach great significance to the opening and closing elements of their services and, therefore, do not adequately prepare themselves for what they will say …
The result is words or phrases that may be empty, distracting, or just plain silly. …”
– Some wise (and encouraging) words from Tim Challies.
Leading up as a ministry team member — The Pastor’s Heart
From The Pastor’s Heart:
“How do you work in a team excellently with those above you in ministry?
How do you as a team member take responsibility for the success of your church?
What can ministry team members do well to help the whole team function better?
What mistakes do team members make? And what about confidentiality on team?
Michael Davies is associate pastor of Lighthouse Church in Gorokan, NSW.
Megan Stevens serves at Vine Church in Surry Hills in Sydney.
Peter Blanch is a ministry consultant with Reach Australia.”
AI as God, Deepfakes, and The Resurrection — John Anderson speaks with John Lennox
From JohnAnderson.net.au:
John Anderson “… speaks with Oxford Professor John Lennox about the intriguing connections between science, religion, and modern cultural shifts.
Lennox reflects on how figures like Jordan Peterson have opened the door for renewed dialogue between Christianity and science. He argues that historical scientific pioneers were driven by their faith in a divine lawgiver, a perspective that has regained traction in modern intellectual discussions.
The conversation also touches on the ethical challenges of artificial intelligence and society’s growing struggle with truth in the age of deepfakes. \
Lennox emphasises the unique hope Christianity offers through the resurrection of Jesus, contrasting it with secular movements like transhumanism, which promises immortality but fails to address deeper human questions.”
– The video on YouTube has timestamps for ease of navigation.
The death of Jesus — Matthew 27:1-66
St. Helen’s Bishopsgate in London has published a new audio reflection by Dick Lucas – on The Death of Jesus – from Matthew 27:1-66. It was recorded in March this year.
In discussing the passage, Dick seeks to prepare Christians for what happens when the gospel is proclaimed, and shares a sobering story of his first days at St. Helen’s in 1961. (Dick served as Rector from 1961 to 1998.)
We can give great thanksgiving to the Lord for Dick. Born in 1925, Dick attained the age of 99 on Tuesday (September 10). St. Helen’s posted this Happy Birthday message on their Facebook page.
St. Helen’s has more than 1700 talks by Dick available on their website.
The purpose of the Lord will stand — Australian Church Record Journal for Synod 2024
The Australian Church Record has published a special edition of their Journal to coincide with the meeting of Sydney Synod starting this weekend.
Whether or not you are a member of Synod, this is well worth downloading, reading and sharing.
Highlights include interviews with Robert Tong and Laurie Scandrett, but much else to see too.
Coercive control in Christian families and the impact on children – with Jenni Woodhouse
From The Pastor’s Heart:
“How do we help children in Christian families escape and recover from the devastating effects of domestic abuse?
Pastoral consultant Jenni Woodhouse says there is a hidden epidemic of coercive control where a parent with narcissism or borderline personality disorder makes life impossible for their both their spouse and children.
We also explore the impact of domestic abuse on children of all ages, from teenagers to toddlers.
What responsibility does the church have? What should a church leader do?
How can we as church leaders detect and address these issues in the congregation?
Jenni Woodhouse is a pastoral care consultant with the Church Missionary Society.”
Paul’s prayer for the persecuted
“Christians need the spiritual and moral strength for which the Apostle Paul prayed in the Prayer Book Epistle reading for today, whatever the political conditions of the nations in which they find themselves.
Paul, a prisoner for proclaiming Christian truth, was writing to the Christians in 1st Century Ephesus …”
– At The Conservative Woman, Julian Mann reminds us that we need to be praying for the persecuted church too.
Why read John’s Gospel?
“I hope to remind us of old truths, perhaps prompt some new thoughts, but above all stimulate us to read and preach this wonderful part of God’s word.
Here are five reasons to read John’s Gospel for your consideration.…”
– St. Andrew’s Cathedral is hosting a reading of the entire Gospel of John, and AFES is using that Gospel in its Meet Jesus campaign.
Helpfully, Bill Salier shares the first in a series of reflections on the Gospel of John, at The Gospel Coalition Australia.
CLASS and the Evangelical Church in England
From Church Society:
“Evangelicals in Britain are overwhelmingly white and middle class. Of course, it is always good when any group of people come to know the living God and worship him in church; and it is good that the intense efforts to evangelise the university-educated over the past century have borne fruit.
However, there are problems. When any group is dominant in any setting, it easily assumes that its own way of doing things is normal. The way things are done becomes not just the right way, but the only way. It is very easy in such contexts to be oblivious to the way in which the majority way actually excludes people who come from a different group.
Many evangelicals are aware of this, and in some cases actively fight against it. Yet despite understanding all this, and despite their determination for class not to be an issue, evangelicals seem to have been singularly ineffective in eliminating the boundaries.
Class and the Evangelical Church in England by Kirsten Birkett surveys recent research on this topic and discusses some of its implications. We want to reach the whole country with the gospel: what can we do to prevent class from being a barrier?”
– Ordering details for Kirsten Birkett’s new book here.
She spoke about her research in this Church Society podcast in June 2024.
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…