Church Society Podcast: Tim Chester on Psalms
“Tim Chester gives an introduction to his new Hodder Commentary on Psalms 42–89. He talks about praying, and singing the Psalms as Christians and how we don’t do it nearly enough. Also other insights into the purpose and shape of these central Psalms and how they point to Christ.”
– Listen here.
David Moore on Ministry teams: Are they worth the pain?
From The Pastor’s Heart:
“How to best structure ministry teams in your church? And how to equip your team leaders for joyful service?
Team leaders do the bulk of their ministry in between events not at events.
How can someone become a more fruitful team leader?
Why all conversations with your team fit into four categories – and how most team leaders get this wrong.
David Moore is the executive pastor of Hunter Bible Church in Newcastle, New South Wales.
He has written a new book, The Team Leader’s Handbook, which will be widely read by churches and ministry teams all around.”
Weddings and Marriage
“I am currently part of a diocesan committee looking into the issues of marriage, divorce and remarriage. …
Flowing out of these meetings, I have been struck by something.
In some ways it’s a relatively minor point, but I wonder if it reveals more than we realise. What dawned on me was the great disparity nowadays between how we prepare for a wedding, and how we prepare for marriage. …”
– Jay Behan, Bishop of the Church of Confessing Anglicans Aotearoa NZ, writes in his current e-mail newsletter.
Photo: Jay speaking at the ACL Synod Dinner in 2019.
The Good News in the Original Meaning of “Catholic”
“From within seventy years of Jesus’ death early documents show that his followers were keen to call themselves catholic. According to the Vatican in 2021 1.3 billion people called themselves Roman Catholic.
There is a significant difference between what the work originally meant and what it means today. There is good news in rediscovering its original meaning. …”
– At The Gospel Coalition Australia, Mark Gilbert reminds us what being “catholic” is all about.
Masterful exploration of New Testament context
“For several decades, Dr Paul Barnett delivered lectures on the background to the New Testament to first-year students at Moore College. Generations of future ministers have thereby been exposed to his masterful examination of the geopolitical context in which the New Testament came into being.
Now, with the publication of his latest book, The Trials of Jesus: Evidence, Conclusions, and Aftermath, the fruit of his study of the sociopolitical background to the trials and subsequent crucifixion of Jesus is available for all. …”
– Bishop Glenn Davies reviews Paul Barnett’s latest book – at SydneyAnglicans.net. Anything Paul Barnett publishes is worth reading.
Recovering our larger story helps know ourselves and our place in God’s world
From The Pastor’s Heart:
“Historical literacy is a critical tool for Christians, deepening faith and enhancing evangelism and discipleship.
Sarah Irving Stonebreaker says we’ve forgotten how to engage well with the past, we don’t know why the past might be relevant to us today, and we have missed out on being part of a larger story. …”
The Calculus of Christianity — breakfast seminar Oct 30
“For those who are in or can make it to Newcastle, I am speaking at a breakfast seminar on Wednesday Oct 30 (7:30-8:30 am) in the Newcastle CBD (Nuspace, the Uni city campus) x703. The topic is ‘The Calculus of Christianity’! Here is what it is about:
Both professionally and personally, we are constantly making calculations around risk. What would happen if we were to extend those calculations to the claims of Jesus Christ? Join us at our next Newcastle City Legal as Torts Lecturer Assoc. Prof. Neil Foster uses Wyong Shire Council v Shirt to do just that.
What would a “reasonable person” (for local purposes, the user of the Newcastle Light Rail!) make of the claims of Jesus, and how should they respond?
All welcome, but would be especially good to see local lawyers and anyone else interested in the law!”
– Assoc. Prof. Neil Foster writes at Law and Religion Australia.
Sounds intriguing. See this link to register.
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.”
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…