When Bec and Anton Visited Church (a Parable)

“‘This is it,’ she said. ‘Quick, turn left!’”

Bec had spotted the parking sign for Hope Church and was pointing at it as her husband turned on the indicator and started to turn.

As they drove slowly into the carpark she started to feel her stomach churn. She hadn’t been to church since she was a child more than 20 years earlier. …”

– Published last year – but with Easter fast approaching – here’s encouragement from Steven Kryger at Communicate Jesus.

Sunday morning Encouragement

After September 11 2001, Colin Buchanan wrote a song he has sung over and over again: The Lord is King. Always relevant.

And read Psalm 2.

“Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth.” – Psalm 2:10

Colleague Critiquing

“In 2019, Dr. William S Dobbie, Professor of Public Policy of the Harvard Kennedy School in Cambridge, MA, USA, visited Australia to speak to the Independent School’s Association.

Dr. Dobbie spoke about the factors which encourage academic progress in students in middle teenage High Schools in the US.

A prominent factor was the availability of experienced colleagues to observe and give feedback to younger, newer teachers. Colleague feedback according to Dobbie was the best use of extra funding for education and did more to accelerate academic progress in students than many other more expensive options. …”

– At The Expository Preaching Trust, David Cook has further opportunities for growth and encouragement.

2022 — Year of 5fish

We’ve previously mentioned the Australian-produced 5fish app and website for sharing the news of Jesus in thousands of languages.

To mark the tenth anniversary of the app, GRN (Global Recordings Network) is calling 2022 “the year of 5fish” to help get the word out about these wonderful tools.

They are also looking for help in increasing the user interface translations from 19 to over 40. (The page linked above has a list of the user interface translations needed. Can you help?)

The 5fish app is a terrific resource to have on your device.

Church Society podcast — Reading the Bible Better

Here’s the latest podcast from Church Society in the UK –

“In this week’s episode, Chris Moore and Lee Gatiss discuss how we can read the Bible more and better. They talk about different Bible translations, how to establish a good routine, listening to audio Bibles, using devotional resources, singing and saying the Scriptures aloud. …”

– Listen here.

Dual Citizens podcast

David Ould has recently started a podcast which many will find of interest –

Dual Citizens is “a podcast analysing current affairs, informed by the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Covering various topics weekly, Dual Citizens explains how Christianity holds an important sense of relevancy in contemporary society, and how all Christians are ‘dual citizens’ belonging to two places; their country, and Jesus’ heavenly kingdom.”

Check it out here.

Down Under Theology podcast

“Down Under Theology” is a relatively new podcast featuring two lecturers from Christ College at Burwood.

In Season 1 they explored the Westminster Confession of Faith.

Season 2 has just begun and sees them walking through each book of the Bible, “bringing out the big ideas, themes, and implications for the life and mission of the church”.

Worth checking out. Listen here.

Men Meeting the Challenge conference online Saturday 26th March 2022

The organisers of the Men Meeting the Challenge conference on Saturday 26th March 2022 have announced that this year it will be online.

“The aim of this conference is to allow God’s mighty word to transform men from the inside out as we hear the Bible taught. Our prayer and our goal is to see men equipped for the service of God, his people and the world through knowing Jesus and understanding what it is to be a man who belongs to Him in this world. Our desire is for men to know and to proclaim the true gospel message that is faithfully recorded in the Scriptures.”

See the details and register at menforchrist.asn.au.

Three Reasons to Read the Letters of John Newton

“Over the course of 2021, I slowly worked my way through Letters of John Newton. Some of us may know that name, and if not the name, most of us will know the lyrics he penned in the song Amazing Grace. 

As the near year begins, I would like to encourage you to read the Letters of John Newton. Here are three reasons I would commend the letters of this brother of old to you. …”

– Here’s some encouragement from Sean Sheeran at The Gospel Coalition, Canadian edition.

Related: The John Newton Project.

‘Red light’ ministry conversations – the who, when and how?

From The Pastor’s Heart –

“How to have the hard conversation with someone who is enthusiastic about why they shouldn’t go into professional Christian ministry?

How do you make the decision to raise a ‘Red light’ or an ‘Orange light’?”

– Paul Grimmond and Rowan Kemp discuss with Dominic Steele questions of discernment and wisdom.

Southern Cross magazine, February 2022

Anglican Media Sydney has just released Southern Cross magazine for February 2022.

Printed copies will be available in parishes from this weekend, but you can download a PDF version now at magazine.sydneyanglicans.net.

Performance & Conflict Management and Servant Leadership – with Vikki Napier

This week on The Pastor’s Heart:

“We address the big HR questions faced by senior pastors in leading our ministry teams?

How can we do performance management best among our varied team members?

What is the difference between conflict and bullying and abuse?

Is it possible for a senior minister to be too conflict averse and not give needed ‘tough love’? Conversely where do senior ministers get this wrong?

What difference does it make if one is an ‘office holder’ vs a ‘fair work employee’?

What does Jesus’ teaching on servant leadership mean for staff management?

Vikki Napier is the Sydney Anglican Human Resources Parish Partner.  She advises senior pastors and parish councils on how to manage clergy and other ministry staff.”

– Watch or listen here.

World Watch List for 2022

Open Doors has released their list of the countries where it is most dangerous to be a Christian.

Fuel for prayer.

Gary Millar’s “Read This First”

“As our culture continues to become less ‘Christian’, more and more people are becoming less and less familiar with the Bible – in some cases, they have never actually seen a Bible, let alone read it. I’m convinced that we can do a better job at helping people to get started.

Personally, I’ve often wanted to be able to hand something to people which helps them to get into the Bible, rather than just giving them a gospel (or a whole Bible) and expecting them to make sense of it. This is a very simple ‘primer’ to help people do just that. …”

– At The Gospel Coalition Australia, Jacob York asks Gary Millar about his new book, Read This First.

Anglican Aid — Tonga: Volcano Emergency Response

From Anglican Aid:

“Anglican Aid and the Anglican Relief and Development Fund Australia have partnered with the Evangelical Wesleyan Church in Tonga to distribute urgently needed relief to the people impacted by the recent volcanic eruption.

We are also working with Missions New Zealand to provide supplies to four Anglican Churches in the capital, Nuku’alofa, to distribute among their local communities.”

– Details of the appeal here.

Resources for churches to publicise the appeal. Top image: JMA.

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