Interview: The Christian Church and Porn
From AP, the national journal of the Presbyterian Church of Australia –
“In this episode of AP’s Profiles in Christian Living, host Mark Powell sits down with Dr. Marshall Ballantine-Jones to discuss the sensitive and pervasive issue of pornography.
Dr. Ballantine-Jones, who holds a doctorate on the societal impacts of pornography, shares his personal faith journey and presents alarming statistics about the prevalence of pornography in the Church and wider community.
The discussion delves into the harmful effects of porn on individuals, relationships, and society, and offers hope through practical solutions and spiritual guidance. Learn more about the Resist program, a course designed to help people break free from pornography addiction.”
– Watch here.
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.
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.
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:
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.”
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.
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)
Blow up your Church Newsletter
“Rewind to 2019 and our church email newsletter looked like most. It was a highlight reel of upcoming events and advertisements, suffering from abysmal open rates and even more abysmal click-through rates. If it hit the inbox of 1000 people, fewer than 10 would click on anything. And those who read it were our most insidery insiders who love being in the know.…”
– Patrick Miller (via Tim Challis) has some worthwhile thoughts on your church newsletter.
A Short History of Linking Jesus and Dionysus
“Controversy was stirred by a tableau vivant (‘living picture’) in the Paris Olympic Games Opening Ceremony that performed (or parodied) da Vinci’s The Last Supper. The scene was enacted by a cast of drag queens and a peculiar near-naked man painted head to toe in blue. Enough has been said about the event itself; I want to talk about that man in blue.
The Opening Ceremony’s creative director has since explained that this man represented none other than the Greek god of wine, Dionysus. It raised the question, what was this scene? A mockery of the sacred, or a celebration of the pagan?
I find myself oddly well placed to talk about this.
Two years ago, I completed my doctorate at Cambridge University. My thesis? A contrast between the Gospel of John and the portrayal of Dionysus’s opponents in Euripides’ tragedy, The Bacchae. For three years I immersed myself in this play and took as many classes as I could on Dionysus. And now I discover that my thesis on Greek poetry has real-world application! It’s every doctoral student’s dream come true!…’
– Moore College’s Tom Habib writes at The Gospel Coalition Australia.
It just might be something you could use in conversation.
He notes:
“Two millennia ago, the ancient world began to exchange Dionysus for Jesus. And it seems as though the world now wants to swap back. The tableau vivant at the Opening Ceremony was indeed a living picture of our world today.”
Visit the Sick!
“Friends in Christ, in Matthew 25:31-46, Jesus taught us via the parable of the sheep and the goats.
It reminds us that heaven and hell are on the line in our response to Jesus’ teaching. The evidence of our faith in King Jesus and his message will be revealed by how we treat others, especially brothers and sisters in Christ.
Today I want to focus on one example from this parable in Matthew 25 …”
– In his Cathedral Newsletter, Dean of Sydney Sandy Grant has some simple, practical, encouragement.
Good to read and good to share with others in the church.
On use of the Lectionary
“Way back when I was 10 (55 years ago), I used to grab dad’s lectionary before we went to Evening Prayer on a Sunday so that I could bookmark the readings in my Bible and have them ready to find during the service.
I recall even then that there were many Sundays where the readings used were different from those in the lectionary. ‘Why don’t they use the set readings dad?‘ ’Because Mr Goodhew (our rector), likes to work through a whole book at a time.’…”
– In an “From the Bishop’s Desk” article (PDF file), Bishop of Bathurst Mark Calder explains why some churches use the Lectionary, and some don’t. Which might be most helpful?
It might not be a question you are asking – but, then again, it might be! And it is an encouragement to all of us to treasure God’s word and to seek to grow to maturity in Christ.
A wonderful gospel resource you might not have seen
We first posted this in 2022, but it’s worth revisiting since so few people seem to know about this valuable (free) resource:
“Have you ever been in a situation where you would love to leave a gospel message with someone but had nothing with you to give? Or the person didn’t read English and that’s the only language you have available?
Global Recordings Network has a unique solution to this dilemma: 5fish! …
The International Orality Network tells us that 4 out of 5 people in the world communicate primarily or exclusively through oral, not textual means. This means that only 1 out of 5 people are happy when you give them something to read – regardless of whether it is a book, magazine, or tract. Everyone else wants to listen or watch!
The Australian Bureau of Statistics conducted a survey in 2006 that informs us that approximately 7 million (46%) Australians aged 15 to 74 years did not reach the minimum standard required for individuals to meet the complex demands of everyday life and work in the emerging knowledge-based economy. Almost half of the Australian population would struggle to read and understand the Bible if you handed them one.”
– At AP (The Australian Presbyterian), Global Recordings Network’s Christine Platt makes a case for 5fish.
Watch the 75 second video below to see how 5fish works.
Consider sharing the video, and links to 5fish, with members of your church.
(We understand the app will soon be updated to add even more functionality.)
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…