ACL Emeritus Vice-president Dr Paul Barnett recognised in Queen’s Birthday Honours

Posted on June 10, 2019 
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“Among many worthy recipients of honours in this year’s Queen’s Birthday Honours list is the Right Reverend Dr Paul Barnett, New Testament scholar and former Bishop of North Sydney.

The ACL joins with Christians across denominations and around the world in congratulating Paul and giving thanks to God for his many years of faithful ministry.

Paul has published extensively in the area of New Testament history. His confidence in the gospel, his careful attention to historical detail, and his clear and winsome writing style have been a great encouragement to many. His years of teaching at Moore College and his pastoral work as the Rector of Broadway, Rector of Holy Trinity Adelaide, Master of Robert Menzies College and Bishop of North Sydney have been a rich gift to many of us.

The AM he has been given is a recognition that his long service within an Anglican setting has made a significant contribution to wider community. We are grateful that his faithful ministry has been exercised among us.”

— Moore College Principal, and former President of the Anglican Church League, Dr. Mark Thompson, has written on behalf of the ACL’s Council.

Frances Whitehead, John Stott’s ‘right hand’, ‘promoted to glory’

Posted on June 10, 2019 
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“On Saturday 1 June Frances Whitehead, John Stott’s secretary of nearly 60 years, died peacefully at home at the age of 94.

Frances served John Stott throughout his whole ministry, as Rector of All Souls, Langham Place, and then in his wider global ministry. …”

– from The Langham Partnership.

See also: The incomparable Frances Whitehead:

“Despite the relative freedom that singleness brought him, John Stott would never have achieved everything he achieved in his 90-year life were it not for one person: Frances Whitehead. Her legacy is truly unique…”

Sydney theologian and author among Queen’s Honours

Posted on June 10, 2019 
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“The former Bishop of North Sydney, theologian and author Dr Paul Barnett is among Sydney Anglicans on the Queen’s Birthday Honours list. … He was made a Member in the General Division of the order of Australia (AM) for significant service to the Anglican Church of Australia.”

– Full story at SydneyAnglicans.net.

Grounding fellowship in truth

Posted on June 10, 2019 
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“Paul’s final words to the church of God in Corinth are well known to all Christians. They are simply referred to as ‘The Grace’, though not to be confused with giving thanks before meals!

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all (2 Corinthians 13:14).

The apostle’s prayer is both simple and profound, trinitarian in character as it reflects the commitment of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit to all believers. …”

– Archbishop Glenn Davies writes, in a very practical way, about genuine fellowship. Published in the June 2019 issue of Southern Cross.

‘Israel Folau launches extraordinary attack on Rugby Australia’

Posted on June 9, 2019 
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“Just days after Israel Folau launched legal action against Rugby Australia the fallen rugby star has hit out at the entire RA board.

In a scathing letter that has been published by The Daily Telegraph, Folau has demanded answers on how intimate details of his Code of Conduct hearing, which was meant to be private, came to fall into the hands of prominent rugby journalist Jamie Pandaram.

Ironically that letter has now made its way into the hands of The Telegraph and been published for all to see. …”

– Story from News.com.au.

How Anglicans in Canada found New Life after their Eviction

Posted on June 8, 2019 
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“You’d be hard pressed to find anyone more Anglican than David Short – which just made everything worse.

The 61-year-old is a fourth-generation Anglican minister, born in Africa while his parents were missionaries. He can even top that – his father was also born in Africa to missionary parents.

Home was Sydney, Australia…”

– This article from The Gospel Coalition tells the story of David Short and other faithful men and women in Canada.

Related: Many earlier posts mentioning Vancouver.

Folau test case expected to set a precedent for workplaces

Posted on June 8, 2019 
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“A senior Sydney Anglican Bishop wants Wallaby Israel Folau’s unlawful dismissal test case to challenge whether workplace code of conduct agreements impinge on employees’ expression of religious beliefs.

Bishop of South Sydney Michael Stead, said religious leaders were closely watching the Folau case in the Fair Work Commission which he said had implications for workplaces nationally. …”

– Story from The Sydney Morning Herald.

Walking in The Light: A Study In Contrasts

Posted on June 7, 2019 
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“Two weeks ago I wrote about how Biblically faithful Anglicans are flourishing at All Saints Cathedral in Nairobi Kenya. Shortly after this article was published, the Primate of Kenya, Archbishop Jackson Ole Sapit, announced that he would not be attending the Lambeth 2020 conference of Bishops.

Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby then requested 1) a meeting with Archbishop Ole Sapit and 2) that he might be allowed to preach at All Saints Cathedral in Nairobi…

Immediately following the Archbishop of Canterbury’s visit to All Saints Cathedral, the Primate of Kenya in this video (with the Provost of the Cathedral standing in the background) restated with equal clarity the Biblical position of the Anglican Church of Kenya (ACK) …

Beginning at 3:56 Archbishop Welby says ‘the Bible is clear,’ and that ‘my own personal view, which I have stated on numerous occasions in public…is the traditional view of Christian marriage…which has always been the view of Christian marriage…’

But note what else he says and what he does not say …”

– At The American Anglican Council, Canon Phil Ashey speaks about, and shares a video of, the Archbishop of Canterbury speaking outside All Saints Cathedral in Nairobi.

See also this post by David Ould, who has video from another angle, covering more of the press conference.

Pentecost is this Sunday: Did you know?

Posted on June 6, 2019 
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Rick Phillips“The Christian calendar practiced by most evangelicals today is extremely illuminating. What it shows is our generally weak appreciation for the fullness of Christ’s saving work. Two big holidays occupy our minds completely: Christmas and Easter. So we focus on the birth, death, and resurrection of our Lord. So far as it goes, that is perfectly wholesome. But what a huge event Pentecost is in the life of the Christian church (not to mention the Ascension)!

There can be little doubt that while most of our churches faithfully observe Mother’s Day… most will completely ignore our Lord’s great redemptive-historical gift of the outpoured Holy Spirit. …”

– Back in 2008, Rick Phillips at Reformation21 wrote to challenge churches to take Pentecost seriously.

Audience of one

Posted on June 5, 2019 
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Do you (secretly) want to be the hero of the story?

Do you want praise and recognition?

Jane Tooher shared these encouraging words at Moore College Chapel.

Quick wrath, quick atonement; stored up wrath, planned atonement

Posted on June 4, 2019 
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“Let’s step into dangerous territory and speak directly about the anger of God.

Our own worldly hearts testify with the liberalism entrenched in Western churches: speaking on this topic is both dangerous and unpalatable. Preachers, including this author, dance around hell when speaking to a friendly congregation, let alone the outside world. A colleague answering a work-mate during a smoking-break waters-down God’s wrath to make Christianity seem almost acceptable.

We never quite succeed, but we do our best to make God more like us, or at least how we like to project ourselves. …”

– Andrew Barry calls for serious thinking about the wrath of God. At The Australian Church Record.

Gafcon’s Australian Chair explains why we need Gafcon in the Australian Church today

Posted on June 3, 2019 
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Bishop Richard Condie, Chair of Gafcon Australia, writes:

“The recent Gafcon Australia tour with Archbishops Foley Beach and Ben Kwashi, was the perfect opportunity to introduce people to the Gafcon movement, and what it is trying to achieve. As Chairman of Gafcon Australia, I was able to give this short introduction to the origins of the movement in Melbourne and Hobart.

After hearing the Archbishops speak so many people said words to me like: ‘I had no idea this was going on in our church’. Here is a great opportunity for us to spread the word. I hope you find it helpful.”

Watch the 13-minute video at the GAFCON Australia website.

Further reflections on the Israel Folau affair

Posted on June 3, 2019 
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“In a previous post I commented on the events surrounding celebrity rugby player Israel Folau’s posting on social media of a meme stating that various groups of sinners, including ‘homosexuals’, were destined for hell unless they repented and put their trust in Jesus Christ. He was immediately threatened with dismissal by his employer, Rugby Australia (‘RA’), a threat subsequently implemented through an internal tribunal finding that he was guilty of a high level breach of the RA ‘code of conduct’.

It seems an appropriate point to comment on recent developments and to clarify what it seems Mr Folau’s legal options are. …”

– At Law and Religion Australia, Neil Foster, Associate Professor in Law, looks at some of the options which might be available to Israel Folau, should he wish to pursue them.

Sydney Rector elected Bishop of The Murray

Posted on June 2, 2019 
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Announced in churches across the Diocese of The Murray today, this news from Dr Robert Tong AM, Chair of the  Bishop Election Committee and Chancellor:

“Following the retirement of Bishop John Ford, the Bishop Election Committee of the Diocese of The Murray is pleased to announce the election on 25 May 2019, of the Reverend Keith William Dalby to be the 5th Bishop of The Murray.

The bishop-elect is the Rector of St John’s Gordon in the Diocese of Sydney. He served his curacy at Mitcham (Adelaide Diocese) and then ministered in the Diocese of Ballarat as Rector of Timboon and then Rector of Warracknabeal before moving to Sydney.

Prior to ordination Keith spent 12 years as a submariner in the Royal Australian Navy. His theological training was at St Barnabas Theological College (BTh) and during his time in Gordon he completed the requirements for the award of MA in Theology from Moore Theological College. Keith is married to Alice and they have five children.

Arrangements for Consecration and Installation will be advised later.”

From The Murray diocesan website:

“The Anglican Diocese of The Murray is located in the south-eastern region of South Australia, taking in the Fleurieu Peninsula, Riverland, Adelaide Hills, Murraylands and the southern suburbs of Adelaide. The Diocese has 16 parishes or pastoral districts. The cathedral church of the Diocese is the Cathedral of St John the Baptist, Murray Bridge.

The Diocese is one of three in the Province of South Australia.”

(Photo via Twitter.)

Folau’s faith compelled him to shout a warning: repent

Posted on June 1, 2019 
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“Folau’s employment looked so unfair to him that he bypassed their internal appeal process as pointless and announced his intention to test them in the courts. So Rugby Australia now will either lose the court battle or lose its major sponsor. It has already lost its best player.

This is no storm in a tea cup: this is central to Australia’s character as a nation and raises three questions:

Let’s tackle them. …

He is drawing attention to the fact that classical Christianity is certainly about judgment, but it is also about sacrifice and forgiveness. For 2000 years Christians have been calling it “good news” because the news that God loves you despite your behaviour and offers forgiveness can only count as very good news, indeed.”

– Kel Richards writes a very helpful article in The Weekend Australian. (Subscription.)

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