George Whitefield College newsletter April 2025

Posted on April 17, 2025 
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The latest newsletter from George Whitefield College in Cape Town, South Africa, is now available on their website.

It’s downloadable as a PDF file – or readable online.

Here’s an encouraging article from the newsletter:

“REACH-Namibia: ‘A Time of Spiritual Revival’

Pastor Nelson Ndakevondjo, who was elected as assistant bishop of REACH-Namibia in 2024, visited GWC recently. While REACH has a long history in Namibia, there are currently approximately 40 new churches, with new churches being planted at a rapid rate.

‘The work of God that is happening in the country right now is quite amazing; the congregations are growing and people are hungry for the gospel and for solid doctrine – it is a time of spiritual revival,’ said Pastor Ndakevondjo.

‘The challenging part is that now that you have people who desire the gospel and who desire to preach, you need to equip them with knowledge and material. Our greatest need at the moment therefore is teachers – those who are equipped with both adequate training and resources. We currently have two students at GWC; please pray with us for God to open doors for further students to be able to receive theological training, as now is the time when there is a hunger – and it is good to be able to satisfy that and supply well-equipped teachers to our churches,’ he said.”

– It would be good to pray ‘for God to open doors for further students to be able to receive theological training’ – and to pray for the continued work of George Whitefield College.

Are we post Christian or post Secular? – with Mark McCrindle

Posted on April 16, 2025 
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From The Pastor’s Heart:

“The new McCrindle report ‘An undercurrent of faith’ says:

Founder and Principal of McCrindle research, Mark McCrindle, says his report shows a new search for purpose and meaning and asks is ‘Australia Post Christian or are we now Post Secular?’

Plus we compare the findings of the national McCrindle report with the recent Sydney Anglican report on Church attendance.”

– Watch or listen here.

The Problem of Sextortion: A Message for Parents and Pastors of Teenage Boys and Young Men

Posted on April 16, 2025 
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A special edition of Albert Mohler’s The Briefing:

“It’s a special edition of The Briefing for the parents of teenage boys and young men. Not only parents, but the pastors and youth pastors and those who are directly concerned with teenage boys and young men. And this is going to be material I wouldn’t discuss in the way I’m going to discuss it today, in the normal edition of The Briefing.

This is a privileged conversation, but it’s an urgent conversation for the parents of teenage boys and young men, and others ministering to them and who love them, and it’s that love and concern for them that leads to this special edition today. It’s about the problem of sextortion. …”

– Watch, listen, or read the transcript here.

Now is the time to find forgiveness through Jesus

Posted on April 15, 2025 
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Archbishop Kanishka Raffel’s Easter message 2025.

Good to watch – great to share.

UK: The casual tyranny of banning silent prayer

Posted on April 15, 2025 
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“Pro-life activist Livia Tossici-Bolt was convicted earlier this month for standing outside an abortion clinic with a sign reading: ‘Here to talk, if you want.’ She was fined £20,000 for twice breaching the clinic’s ‘buffer zone’. …

Her arrest and conviction was a result of Public Spaces Protection Orders (PSPOs). These are powers that allow councils to restrict just about any activity of their choosing. …

Freedom cannot be protected with tyranny. Once the state is given the power to police our thoughts, that knife will fall on us all – whatever our views on abortion.”

– Civil-liberties campaigner Josie Appleton writes at Spiked Online. (Link thanks to Anglican Mainstream.)

Photo: ADF International, where there is more background.

The Best Friday

Posted on April 15, 2025 
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From Phillip Jensen:

“Holidays are always marvellous opportunities to relax and catch up with friends, but the Easter holiday is even better because it gives us time to think about the greatest weekend in human history: when our Lord and Saviour died and rose again. The death of Jesus was so great that I would call Friday not just good, but the best Friday.”

– Hear Phillip and Peter Jensen in the latest Two Ways News podcast. Well worth listening and sharing.

Conversion Act protest needs to be targeted carefully

Posted on April 15, 2025 
Filed under Culture wars, NSW, Opinion Comments Off on Conversion Act protest needs to be targeted carefully

“NSW has now joined Victoria in having a Conversion Act come into operation that bans some forms of Christian ministry. The Conversion Practices Ban Act 2024 No 19 aims to “aims to “ban practices directed to changing or suppressing the sexual orientation or gender identity of individuals”,” and created a civil penalties scheme.

Victoria’s act goes further than the NSW one. Despite the NSW Premier Minn’s promise not to ban prayer, certain types of prayer are now against the law in NSW following Victoria. The Other Cheek reported the then-opposition-leader’s promise: “Labor’s Chris Minns promises no ban on preaching, prayer in conversion therapy bill.“

But the prayer promise was not kept. Prayer with an LGBTQIA individual with the aim for them to be celibate or change orientation is clearly defined as illegal in the NSW Act. In the case of sustained prayer, definitely so. …”

– John Sandeman at The Other Cheek adds more on the ‘Conversion Act’ in NSW.

The NSW Conversion Practices law, religious freedom and Government “guidance”

Posted on April 14, 2025 
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From Associate Professor Neil Foster at Law and Religion Australia:

“The Conversion Practices Ban Act 2024 (NSW) (“the Act”) is now in force, having commenced operation on 4 April 2025. I have previously posted a paper expressing concerns about the operation of the Act in relation to religious freedom. In this post I want to re-iterate briefly some of those concerns, and comment on “guidance” on the operation of the Act provided by NSW government officials.

I commend the previous paper to readers for more details. But the following are some extracts which may help to set the scene for my comments on the NSW government guidance. Below I will be referring to the “Frequently Asked Questions” (“FAQ”) page produced by “Anti-Discrimination NSW” (ADNSW)- the version I am commenting on was dated 7 April 2025. (ADNSW is the “online identity” of the body formally known as the “Anti-Discrimination Board” established under the Anti-Discrimination Act 1977 (NSW); the President of the Board receives initial complaints under the Act- see s 14- and the Board has a number of other functions under the Act.) …”

– Read it all here.

Do note his comments about the guidance published by Anti-Discrimination NSW.

Don’t let prayer be our last resort

Posted on April 14, 2025 
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From Archbishop Kanishka Raffel:

“On Sunday, May 4, I have invited all of our churches to share in a day of prayer for the spread of the gospel across our Diocese – from the Hawkesbury to the Blue Mountains, the Southern Highlands to Wollongong and the South Coast, and Greater Sydney. A day of prayer for our friends, family, neighbours and colleagues who don’t know Christ, to come to know him and his redeeming love. …”

– Read it all at SydneyAnglicans.net.

Ministry opportunities expand in Bathurst

Posted on April 13, 2025 
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From the Diocese of Bathurst Facebook page:

“Back in August when our bishop wrote an article for Southern Cross, he said we needed just 11 more ministers, so that each of our 28 parishes might just have one! As of now, we need 15! Two of our ministers have moved to Sydney multi-staffed parishes, one has retired, one moved to another role, and another had to leave ministry for personal reasons.

Perhaps if you’re in a multi-staffed city parish, you might consider our situation and the tremendous opportunities which await. Please email our bishop: bishop@bathurstanglican.org.au.”

– Facebook.

See also:

Bathurst Diocese Ministry Opportunities.

“Folded and complied” — Conversion Laws Dilemma For Melbourne Anglicans

Posted on April 12, 2025 
Filed under Australian dioceses, Culture wars Comments Off on “Folded and complied” — Conversion Laws Dilemma For Melbourne Anglicans

“Melbourne Anglicans face a dilemma. They must decide whether to obey state laws or the teachings of the Bible.

Their diocese demands that members sign a Code of Conduct that among many other rules, agrees not to seek to change or suppress a child’s gender — as dictated by Victoria’s conversion laws under the Change Or Suppression (Conversion) Practises Prohibition Act 2021.

Those who don’t sign the Code are banned from serving in the church or attending synods.

They include religious liberty analyst Elizabeth Kendal who laments that many church members have folded and complied with the code of conduct, ignoring Biblical teachings on gender and sexuality. …”

– Report from Vision Radio.

See also:

A Canary In The Anglican Coalmine – Mark Durie.

(Photo: St. Paul’s Cathedral Melbourne is the backdrop for an evangelist’s sign on Princes Bridge.)

Midwife to a Movement: The Legacy of Trinity Evangelical Divinity School

Posted on April 12, 2025 
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“This week, TEDS [Trinity Evangelical Divinity School] announced a merger with sister school Trinity Western University in British Columbia. And the TEDS campus, 2,147 miles away in the Chicago suburbs, will close after the 2025–26 school year.

Select faculty and staff may follow to Canada. But a long and illustrious chapter in one of the most prestigious seminaries in the United States has come to a close.…”

– At The Gospel Coalition, Collin Hansen reacts to the news.

Image: TEDS announcement webpage.

Religious Activities by Foreigners in China: New Restrictions from May 1

Posted on April 11, 2025 
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“On April 1, the State Administration for Religious Affairs published its Order no. 23, which offers a new comprehensive regulation of the religious activities of foreigners in China.

Most of what is included in Order no. 23 confirms provisions that were already in force …

Bringing books and religious materials from abroad is severely limited. If foreigners preach sermons in China, even if duly invited in accordance with the regulations, they should submit their ‘main content’ beforehand to Chinese authorities for approval. …”

– From Bitter Winter via Anglican.ink.

Moore College Missions 2025

Posted on April 10, 2025 
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From Moore College:

“As the year begins students from all year groups in the Bachelor of Theology and Masters of Theology are preparing to go on mission together across Sydney, across Australia and overseas. We thank you for your prayers as the students and the receiving congregations plan for great opportunities of connection and sharing of God’s word.

The 2025 Moore Mission teams will be out in the field from 6 – 13 April.

To pray and keep up to date join the Moore Mission Missions Facebook and Instagram for regular prayer updates prior to and during mission. …”

– See the full list of teams here – and pray as the missions continue this week.

Photo from the team working with Cudgegong Valley Anglican Parish – from the Diocese of Bathurst Facebook page.

Using Artificial Intelligence

Posted on April 10, 2025 
Filed under Resources Comments Off on Using Artificial Intelligence

“The [British] Prime Minister said recently that ‘Artificial Intelligence will drive incredible change in our country’ and that he wants to ‘turbocharge’ the industry and make Britain a world leader in this area.

Growth in this arena has really taken off and caught the public imagination in the last few years, and naturally that has led many Christians to be curious and ask questions about it.

So I decided to dig into AI, and did a bit of training…”

– At Church Society’s blog, Lee Gatiss looks at AI.

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