Relationships, Results and Rhythms of Ministry Teams – with Grahame Fuller and Jo Gibbs
This week from The Pastor’s Heart:
“As we head to 2024 most of us are recasting ministry teams for the new year.
But how can we do this without making some of the mistakes that we have made in 2023?
How do we do better with staff teams and all the various volunteer ministry teams across our church?
And even in the best places – there’s an inertia that we will slip back to functioning as rosters… How do we fix that?
Grahame Fuller is a long term senior leader at EV Church on the Central Coast. Jo Gibbs is the Effective Teams consultant for Reach Australia.”
A Harmony of the Birth of Jesus: Matthew and Luke
From Justin Taylor at The Gospel Coalition:
“Here is a simple chronology to show how the events of Matthew 1–2 and Luke 1–2 fit together and what each of the gospel authors emphasize.
Matthew tells things more through the eyes of Joseph and Luke (who perhaps interviewed Mary) tells the events largely through her eyes.”
– See it here.
Bathurst Christmas Reflection – Bishop Mark Calder on Finding Permanence in a World of Change
Bishop Mark Calder’s Christmas message for 2023:
“In a world where everything bears the label ‘temporary,’ the Christmas season invites us to discover the enduring permanence found in Jesus Christ.
Imagine labelling the items in your life – microwaves, cars, homes – as either ‘temporary’ or ‘permanent.’ The result is confronting: almost everything is temporary, except for Jesus.
As we celebrate his birth, we’re not just commemorating God stepping into our world as one of us; we’re affirming the timeless reign of a permanent King. Jesus is the exception in a world of transience, offering reliability, dependability, and lasting hope.
This Christmas, amidst the chaos of life, run to Jesus. In him, find not only help but a source of unwavering hope, strength, and inner transformation. Amidst the temporary, Jesus stands as the permanent promise of a Kingdom that never ends.
May this Christmas be a reminder that, in Jesus, we discover hope and help and strength in the face of our world – and our lives – which are often confusing and uncertain.
Bishop Mark Calder
Anglican Diocese of Bathurst, covering central and western NSW.”
Improving your Christmas service and talk – with Dave Jensen and James Galea
News you can use – from The Pastor’s Heart:
“How can we make our Christmas Services better?
With just a few days to Christmas, and while some of us are well planned, some of us are still scrambling around putting things together.
Whether it’s Christmas Day or Christmas Eve, or a kids gathering, carols or Gingerbread and Wreathmaking…
What are the pitfalls we can fall into? How do we avoid them?
James Galea is senior minister of Freshwater Anglican Church.
Dave Jensen will be working next year with the Sydney Anglican Churches Evangelism and New Churches team to encourage best practice evangelism.”
Why Jesus Came — Devotional from John Piper
Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. (Hebrews 2:14-15)
“This, I think, is my favorite Advent text because I don’t know any other that expresses so clearly the connection between the beginning and the end of Jesus’s earthly life — between the incarnation and crucifixion.
These two verses make clear why Jesus came …”
– A wonderful reminder, via John Piper.
Image: Ornaments by Lacewing Creative in Sydney.
Collect for Advent 2
Via GAFCON:
“Blessed Lord, who caused all the holy Scriptures to be written for our learning: Grant that we may so hear them, read, mark, learn and inwardly digest them, that through patience, and the comfort of your holy Word, we may embrace, and forever hold fast, the blessed hope of eternal life, which you have given us in our Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen.”
See also:
The Bible: Read, learn and digest – Julian Mann at TCW.
Investing in our Kids — “Taste the New Testament” by Noble Bereans
“Any investment made in our children’s knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, his word and his gospel is an eternal treasure of great value. Noble Bereans have made this kind of investment.
Taste the New Testament is an album of kids’ songs for use in our homes and kids’ ministries. Noble Bereans is a music ministry helping kids connect with God through Scripture. A noble aim indeed! Kingsley Davidson, the artist behind Noble Bereans, has primary-school-aged kids and this is the demographic his album is aiming for. …”
– At The Gospel Coalition Australia, Nicky Chiswell commends the album “Taste the New Testament”.
Expository Preaching Trust Activities 2024
From The Expository Preaching Trust:
“In 2024 the Trust will sponsor Preaching Clubs in Abbotsford, Armidale, Sutherland and Wahroonga.
These meet quarterly mostly on Mondays. There is no charge, please contact the coordinator of each Club to register your interest: …
Two of these Clubs, Armidale (May 6-7) and Wahroonga (August 5-6) will be holding two day Preaching conferences. The visitor for the conferences will be Simon Manchester and he will be assisted by David Cook, David Burge, Jim Mobbs and Janet Riley. …”
– See the details from the Trust.
How youth ministry is changing and needs to change – with Andy Stevenson and Ruth Lee
From The Pastor’s Heart:
“Cultural changes and increasing push back against churches are impacting youth ministries. It is getting much harder for Christian Teenagers to be Christian among their secular peers.
Teenagers don’t just walk in the door of a church.
What are latest youth ministry trends and opportunities? How can we do youth ministry on the front foot?
Andy Stevenson is Director of the Sydney Anglican Youthworks’ youth & children’s ministry division and Special Religious Education (Scripture Ministry).
Ruth Lee is Youth worker at Cornerstone Presbyterian Church in Sydney.”
The Christmas Countdown: from Speak Life
Speak Life in the UK has released this year’s Christmas video – The Christmas Countdown.
It’s something you could share with a friend, and then encourage them to consider the 321 course –
“321 comprises of 8 interactive video sessions designed to be completed at your leisure. Each session is around 20 min long and can be played, paused and accelerated to suit.
Presenter Glen Scrivener leads each session and offers the opportunity to think, question and test different worldviews.”
See also the Speak Life Christmas Video Rewind where Glen Scrivener and Nate Morgan Locke take a look at Speak Life’s previous Christmas videos.
Truth Be Told — Lionel Windsor on God’s Story Podcast
With current world events, there’s a great need for truth, and plenty of propaganda to mislead.
Moore College lecturer (and ACL Council member) Lionel Windsor speaks with the God’s Story Podcast about his forthcoming book Truth Be Told: Living Truthfully in a Post-Truth World.
“How do we live truthfully in a post truth world? Why are we in a post truth world and what is a post truth world anyway?”
Among other things, Lionel explains why the printing of his book has been delayed. It illustrates the theme of the book!
– Listen here. 30 minutes.
The Bible’s answer to poverty – with David WIlliams
A thought-provoking episode of The Pastor’s Heart:
“Poverty is fundamentally relational says David WIlliams.
What might a theology of caring for the poor look like?
The Bible’s terms for the poor (widow, orphan and alien) are all relational terms which describe someone who has lost relationships and as a result have lost connection with the land.
David and his wife Rachel started serving as missionaries in Nairobi, Kenya in 1999. David now serves as Principal of the Australian Church Missionary Society Training College St Andrew’s Hall, where Australian missionaries are trained for six months, before heading out to the field.
David has just given a provocative paper at the Anglican Aid conference at Sydney’s Moore Theological College and has agreed to come in and discuss it.
The issue for David is not just academic, with his first significant engagement with poverty, starting when working in the slums of Nairobi 20-plus years ago.”
Related:
Iron Sharpens Iron: An Anthology of Wise Quotations
“Sentences have the power to stay with us. They can come to mind, even years later. As I’ve prepared various talks and lectures in the last few months, I’ve been struck by this, reminding me of the power and beauty of words to deliver truth, to help us feel the truth. In God’s kindness, we can learn from the wise words of Christian brothers and sisters.
Here are some of the one-liners and longer quotations that I’ve benefitted from recently and would like to pass on to you—‘[a]s iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another’ (Prov 27:17). …”
– At The Gospel Coalition Australia, Jane Tooher shares some wise and encouraging quotations.
New NSW “Religious Vilification” law
From Associate Professor Neil Foster at Law and Religion Australia:
“An amendment to the NSW Anti-Discrimination Act 1977, making certain types of speech connected with religion unlawful, commenced operation on 11 November 2023.
The amendment, made by the Anti-Discrimination Amendment (Religious Vilification) Act 2023 (No 15 of 2023) (‘the ADA’), is a form of ‘religious vilification’ law which has not previously been in force in NSW. It is not as bad as some forms of such laws in terms of its effect on religious freedom, but it is worth being aware of its potential operation. It will be important, for example, for those preaching and teaching the Bible (or other religious texts) to understand what the law does, and perhaps more importantly, does not, prohibit. …”
The Priscilla & Aquila Annual Conference 2024 – Following Christ as men and women
From Moore College:
“Our 2024 P&A annual conference theme is ‘Following Christ as men and women’. Moore faculty member Andrew Leslie will unpack this topic in our morning plenary sessions. Understandably, much of our interest in the Bible’s teaching about men and women is centred on what it means in practice. In the morning plenary sessions, Moore College faculty member Andrew Leslie wants to take a step back from these practical concerns and reflect on the wisdom of this teaching. He’ll begin by exploring how the depiction of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden echoes the pattern of creation itself set out in Genesis 1. Reflecting on this pattern will shed much light on the nature of God and the complementary vocation he has given us as his image bearers. In his second talk, Andrew will take us to the New Testament where the same pattern underlays its description of Christ’s relationship to his people and the life of the church itself.
Our afternoon electives will further unpack the theme of ‘Following Christ as men and women’, with Clare Deeves sharing her PhD research about things to consider when men and women work together on a ministry team. Moore’s dean of Women Susan An and Senior Pastor of The Bridge Church Paul Dale will look at when we disagree with each other about complementarianism while being on the same staff team. Other electives include gender considerations in South Asian ministry; fatherhood; teaching the woman at the well in John 4; and if there are reasons for making different theological decisions than the Apostles.”
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…