Evangelism in Tough Times?
His topic: “Evangelism in Tough Times”.
Looking at our context in Australia, he argues –
- These are not tough times.
- The has been no substantial change, and
- The difficulty evangelism faces is seduction and persecution.
It’s a challenging talk and is very much worth your time. Good to share too.
Recorded at Moore College, 22 November 2022.
Successful religious discrimination claim in foster-carer case
“Just before Christmas, a significant religious discrimination decision was handed down in the Western Australian State Administrative Tribunal. …”
– At Law and Religion Australia, Neil Foster gives background to a decision handed last week.
(Image: Assoc Prof. Foster at a Sydney Diocese training day.)
Archbishop Foley Beach’s 2022 Christmas Message
Archbishop Foley Beach – Chairman of the GAFCON Primates Council – shares his 2022 Christmas Message.
Anti-Conversion Coercion in Tasmania
At AP (The Australian Presbyterian), David Robertson shares his thoughts on what he calls “The Canary in the Coal Mine” –
“The Tasmanian Law Reform Institute (TLRI) have produced a report for the Tasmanian government recommending new laws to deal with sexual orientation and gender identity conversion practices (SOGI). This doesn’t sound as though it would be riveting reading – and for many people within and without Tasmania, it hardly seems relevant to their lives.
I read the report, mainly to prepare a short response. However I found it so disturbing and revealing that I have taken some time to respond in more detail. Why? Because it is a great example of how progressive ideology takes over the basic civic institutions of Western societies. To be forewarned is to be forearmed.
The report itself is 332 pages long. Which itself is a statement. Who is going to be bothered to read a report of that size on a subject which seems so inconsequential to most of us? If people bother with it at all it is likely to be within the comfort zones of their own interest groups – or they will just skim read it – note the various buzz words and either agree with the conclusions of the report, or just shrug their shoulders and walk away. Who cares? I do.
And so I thought I would share with you the main lessons to be learned from this report – lessons that can apply in many situations (e.g. The GRA reforms in Scotland, the compulsory trans ideology in the US, or the ‘diversity’ managers being imposed on the NHS in the UK, and corporations throughout the world). The message and the methodology is the same.
One of the main problems is the use of language. I am totally opposed to any form of conversion therapy which is coercive and harmful. Arguing against this report is not the same as arguing for conversion therapy. It is ironic that an ideology which is supposed to be against binary choices – only offers a binary choice. You are either on the ‘good’ side, the ‘right side of history’, the progressive; or you are an evil, hateful regressive. Although the report doesn’t put it in that language, the implication is the same. But life is much more complex than such simplistic binary views.
First, we will look at the sections of the report that deal with pseudo-science, the need for new legislation and the question of harm. Part two will look at the confused language, the question of consent and the definition of conversion. Part three looks at who the report is really aimed at and what its effect will be. …”
Part One: Pseudo-Science and Pseudo–Needs.
Part Two: The Emperor Has No Clothes.
Part Three: The World Turned Upside Down.
Global South Fellowship of Anglican Churches Christmas message 2022
“I am the LORD; I have called you in righteousness; I will take you by the hand and keep you; I will give you as a covenant for the people; A light for the nations, …” (Is 42:6).
“The above words from Isaiah give the GSFA its self-identity as a ‘servant of the Lord’ in these troubled times. We thank God for our roots that go back to the first Anglican South-South Encounter in Limuru, Kenya in 1994. We marvel at how God has built up our ecclesial grouping since then through successive cohorts of Global South Primates. …”
– Archbishop Dr Justin Badi has released this Christmas message on behalf of the Global South Primates.
No more long grass for the Church of England. Repent or Differentiate.
From The Pastor’s Heart –
“One of the most respected voices in the Evangelical world, the senior minister of St Ebbes in Oxford, Vaughan Roberts, is calling on his own bishop and many of the leaders of the Church of England to repent and return to the Apostolic Christian Faith – or failing that, pursue a provincial-level split.
He says Church of England Bishops, who spent last week in meetings, have run out of long grass to hide in and says the Church of England is sleep walking towards the same disaster that has happend to the Episcopal Church in America, losing 100,000 members and seeing hundreds of clergy leaving or deposed. …”
– Watch or listen at The Pastor’s Heart.
Resistance and fidelity – Munro’s choice
“As the new conservative evangelical ‘flying’ Bishop of Ebbsfleet launches off, the Bishop of Rochester’s written answer to a question from a General Synod member shines a light on the Church of England’s direction of travel. …”
– At Anglican Ink, Julian Mann points out the difficulties facing an evangelical bishop in the Church of England. Also a good reminder to pray for wisdom for those in such positions.
(Photo: Church Society.)
Christmas 2022 message from Dr Peter Barnes, Presbyterian Church of Australia
“In the din and distortion of a modern Christmas, it can be easy to miss the claim that the Child in the manger is the Saviour, the Messiah, and the Lord. …”
– See the full Christmas message from the Rev. Dr Peter Barnes, Moderator General of the Presbyterian Church of Australia.
New ‘flying bishop’ for Church of England
From Church Society:
“We are delighted on behalf of Church Society to welcome Rob Munro as the new bishop of Ebbsfleet.
We have greatly appreciated serving with Rob in Church Society, and, as fellow Council member Amanda Robbie comments, ‘I am so pleased that Rob will be the new Bishop of Ebbsfleet. His wisdom, wide experience, and warm pastoral heart will be a great blessing to the many parishes he will serve.’
We look forward to working with Bishop Rob in the coming years.”
– Revd Dr Lee Gatiss, Director of Church Society.
And see the announcement from the Church of England.
The Status Quo Is The Only Option
“Following the last meeting of the College of Bishops to consider the next steps in the Living in Love and Faith process, it was reported that there was general agreement that simply restating the existing ban on same-sex marriages or blessings in church was not an option.
Sadly, I agree. It will not be enough merely to restate the ban. Clearly there are large numbers of people in the church, in General Synod, and even in the College of Bishops, who will need to have the biblical and theological basis of the ban explained to them. They will need what the Living in Love and Faith resources have consistently failed to provide: teaching about the historic, orthodox position of the church, as evidenced in Scripture, and outlined in the formularies of the Church of England itself. …”
– Ros Clarke at Church Society’s blog looks at what is needed in the Church of England.
Are We Really A Communion?
“Over the decades, and on many occasions, we Anglicans gave thanks to God for the ‘gift of the Anglican Communion’. Yes, we saw the Communion as ‘a gift’ because we enjoyed being a family of churches. A global family of Anglican churches of diverse nations, living in different countries, speaking a variety of languages and yet we are in full communion with each other.
…
I am deeply saddened to say that the Anglican Communion we have loved, though it has kept its name, yet has lost its heart; which is the interdependence. Provinces taking unilateral decisions without consideration ‘how it might harm the mission of other Provinces’, or how it might cause divisions, or disruption of fraternal relations with other provinces.
None of us forget the appeal made by the Anglican Primates during their meeting in 2003 in regard to the consecration of Gene Robinson in The Episcopal Church USA (TEC) [5]:
“If his consecration proceeds, we recognise that we have reached a crucial and critical point in the life of the Anglican Communion and we have had to conclude that the future of the Communion itself will be put in jeopardy. …. This will tear the fabric of our Communion at its deepest level and may lead to further division ….”
When TEC ignored that appeal and went ahead with its unilateral decision to consecrate the practicing gay Gene Robinson as bishop, our mission here in Egypt within the Islamic world was badly affected in the following way …”
– The Global South Fellowship Of Anglican Churches has released this message from the Archbishop Emeritus Dr Mouneer Anis.
Remembering Bishop John Rodgers
“The Rt. Rev. Dr. John H. Rodgers, Jr., much beloved and respected Anglican theologian, seminary dean, bishop, father and grandfather died at UPMC Passavant Hospital, Pittsburgh on November 23, 2022 from natural causes. He was 92 years old. …”
– Dr. Stephen Noll gives thanks for Bishop John Rodgers – one the founders of the Anglican Mission in America.
Baptists haven’t sold their soul, they are following God’s heart
“No, Baptists have not sold their soul over same-sex marriage. What they have chosen is faithfulness to God and upholding gospel unity.
New South Wales Baptists have reaffirmed the Bible’s teaching on marriage and are following Jesus’ teaching on human sexuality. They have also reaffirmed the importance of the Baptist doctrine basis by requiring accredited pastors and churches to affirm these statements. …”
– At the time, we missed this development from the week before last. Murray Campbell in Melbourne looks at news from NSW.
The Bishop of Southwark’s Presidential Address – An intial response
“The Presidential Address given by Bishop Christopher Chessun to the Southwark Diocesan Synod last Saturday has now been published online.
In his address the bishop sets out his view of what the outcome of the LLF process should be both for the Diocese of Southwark and for the wider Church of England. The purpose of this paper is to give an initial response to what the bishop has said, explaining why it is problematic from the perspective of traditional Anglican theology. …
If the Church of England were to adopt either or both of the bishop’s suggestions this would mean that it had ceased to uphold Christian orthodoxy with regard to sexual ethics.”
– Dr Martin Davie takes a look at the Presidential Address (PDF thanks to Anglican Mainstream,) given by the Bishop Southwark.
When Mother loses her mind
“Over the last two weeks, several bishops in the Church of England have publicly endorsed the Bishop of Oxford’s booklet, Together in Love and Faith, which he sets out his thinking about same-sex relationships. He proposes that the Church of England should provide public services for the blessing of same-sex civil partnerships and marriages but allow a conscience clause for those who dissent. Barbara Gauthier has done a superb job chronicling all of the statements and rebuttals by Vaughan Roberts, and others.
As one of the senior Bishops in the Church of England, Steven Croft (the Bishop of Oxford) has proposed nothing less than a sea-change in the teaching of the Church of England. It will divide the Church of England and further harden the divisions within the Anglican Communion. …”
– At The American Anglican Council, Canon Phil Ashey asks, “When Mother loses her mind, what can we do?”
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…