Where to from here? Assembly of Confessing Congregations national conference meets in Sydney

Posted on September 16, 2018 
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This week (Monday 17th – Wednesday 19th September 2018) the National Conference of the Assembly of Confessing Congregations within the Uniting Church of Australia meets in Sydney.

The most important business will be a response to the Uniting Church’s decision in July [earlier related posts] to have two different and contradictory doctrines of marriage, thus allowing for same-sex marriage while pretending to have not changed anything important.

Doubtless, all attending the conference would value your prayers for godly wisdom.

In the September 2018 issue of their ACCatalyst magazine, The Rev Dr Tim Patrick, Principal of the Bible College of South Australia, writes (“Uniting Sin & Farce”),

“So where to from here? I am incredibly encouraged by the evangelical Uniting Church ministers who have called their congregations to forty days of prayer as they discuss next steps. I have no privileged inside knowledge, but I know they are talking together about the best group action that can be taken. There could perhaps be a fellowship established within the Uniting Church that parallels the GAFCON movement in the Anglican Communion. Or maybe a mass exodus to another denomination or accrediting body. Or something else. This is not my decision to make, but I do think that a coordinated approach will best serve the evangelical churches and congregation members far better than if each just independently started heading off in different directions.

There are, however, two possibilities that I would particularly love to see explored. The Uniting Church as a whole could turn back to its historic doctrine and thus abandon the sinful and absurd outcome of the recent Assembly. This would bring real joy to so many as the great desire of our hearts is to experience that unity for which the church is named with those whom we dearly love as our sisters and brothers. However, if this cannot happen, perhaps those who are so keen for the change should consider leaving the denomination. …” (pages 32 and 33).

The same edition of ACCatalyst notes (page 4) that the Assembly of Confessing Congregations was granted observer status at GAFCON 2018 in Jerusalem.

Of possible interest for ACC members is “The Crisis of ’77” by The Rev. Bob Thomas, on the 1977 decision by some in the Presbyterian Church to ‘continue’.

Why Millennials ARE coming to church

Posted on September 15, 2018 
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“There have been plenty of articles about why Millennials – those twenty somethings – are not coming to church. Plenty of time and attention towards what would bring them back.

Well, in our church at the moment plenty of Millennials ARE coming. It’s been noted by the older crowd that they’re starting to get outnumbered by that particular cohort this year. …”

– Here’s an encouraging article by Stephen McAlpine.

Why the Welsh Bishops are calling evil good

Posted on September 15, 2018 
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“ ‘Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.’ (Isaiah 5:20)

These words were addressed by the prophet Isaiah to the people of Judah as part of his warning of forthcoming divine judgement. They warn that God will judge those who seek to justify sin by arguing that it is not really sinful at all because good is evil and evil is really good. They came to mind this week following the announcement this week that the Governing Body of the Church in Wales had voted to support a proposal from the Welsh bishops to explore ‘formal provision for those in same-gender relationships.’

In this post I shall explain why the words of Isaiah apply to the Welsh decision. …”

– At his blog, Reflections of an Anglican Theologian, Martin Davie considers this week’s announcement by the Bishops of the Church in Wales that “it is pastorally unsustainable and unjust for the Church to continue to make no formal provision for those in committed same-sex relationships”.

Photo: Archbishop of Wales, John Davies (courtesy The Church in Wales.)

2018: Now is the Time for Evangelism

Posted on September 14, 2018 
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“I was born in 1975, and I would go so far as to say this is the best evangelistic environment in Australia in my lifetime.

We should be proclaiming the gospel with confidence. We should expect fruit. And we must not allow our fear about the institutional and legal environment to bleed into a pessimism about evangelism as such.”

– At The Gospel Coalition Australia, Rory Shiner writes to encourage you to expect fruit from evangelism.

Church in Wales to explore formal provision for same-sex couples

Posted on September 13, 2018 
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“The Bishops of the Church in Wales have been given the go-ahead to explore formal provision for same-sex couples in church. …

They voted with a clear majority in favour of the bishops looking at new approaches which could be brought back to the Governing Body for approval at a later date.

The private ballot followed a presentation to the meeting from the Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church, Bishop Mark Strange…”

– Report from The Church in Wales. (Graphic: The Church in Wales.)

Eucharistic Signalling

Posted on September 13, 2018 
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“You may not have heard of a Rainbow Eucharist. But the idea has been around for a while, and is celebrated in the gay press.

Sometimes it might be called a Pride service, and the Lord’s table can be draped in the Pride flag. The associated rhetoric is usually of inclusivity, diversity, and equality (and who wants to argue against those nowadays?).

There is a service like this planned for 22nd September at Wells Cathedral. …”

– Church Society Director Lee Gatiss comments on the use of the Lord’s Supper for virtue signalling.

Related:

Rainbow revolution progresses as Bishop of Taunton announced as celebrant at Cathedral LGBT Eucharist.

D.W.B. Robinson and the puzzle of Sydney Anglicanism

Posted on September 13, 2018 
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“Donald Willian Bradley Robinson, AO (1922-2018), Bishop in Parramatta (1973-1982), Anglican Archbishop of Sydney (1982-1993), could appear to observers as something of a puzzle.

Not that he was complex or difficult personally. On the contrary, Robinson was famously measured and straightforward in his dealings with people – able to play the ball and not the player to an almost superhuman degree. Rather, his life and work puzzled observers by holding together a suite of commitments and values often assumed to be at odds. This is true of Sydney Anglicanism itself, which is more complex and more interesting that either its distractors or its partisans tend to realise.

To crack this puzzle is to understand one of the most profound developers of religious thought in Australia. And it is, in turn, to understand something important about the diocese of Sydney. …”

– The ABC has published this piece by Rory Shiner, who also supplied the photo. Read it all here.

Evangelical protest: Its cause and content (Galatians 2:11-21)

Posted on September 13, 2018 
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“Those who know the truth of the gospel may find themselves compelled within the professing Church to become outspoken ‘protestants’, and to give their positive witness to the gospel in order to counter practical abandonment of its truth, and that sometimes on the part of acknowledged leaders or so called ‘pillars’ of the Church.

Since the need for such protest occasionally recurs, it may well be profitable for us to learn from the New Testament its adequate cause and its essential content.

Such a situation is brought before us in Galatians 2:11-21, where Paul indicates how he had publicly to withstand even Peter to the face. …”

– The Rev. Alan Stibbs’ July 1960 column has been republished by The Australian Church Record.

Melanie Phillips in conversation with John Anderson

Posted on September 12, 2018 
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In seeking to share the gospel, Christians are concerned with objective truth and reasoned argument.

Former Deputy Prime Minister John Anderson recently spoke with British journalist, author and broadcaster Melanie Phillips about the tumultuous changes taking place in western society, including the death of reason and absolute truth.

The interview runs for 56 minutes.

The Slow Killing of Congregational Singing

Posted on September 12, 2018 
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“Here is a great historical irony.

Fifty years ago choirs ruled the church. Usually, they were supported by a very loud organ. To be frank, many choir members were performers, and when the choir was large they drowned out the singing of the congregation. So, sadly, the very people appointed to help the congregation sing actually smothered congregational singing. Bit by bit, choirs disappeared. I think most churches didn’t mourn the loss.

Here’s the irony: we then replaced the choirs with song leaders (or, what we inaccurately call ‘worship leaders’). Over time the number of song leaders grew and grew until they became as big as a choir. Then …”

– There is both challenge and encouragement in this Gospel Coalition Australia post by Mike Raiter.

(Photo courtesy GAFCON.)

GAFCON Chairman’s Letter September 2018

Posted on September 12, 2018 
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GAFCON Primates Council Chairman Archbishop Nicholas Okoh turns to the situation in New Zealand in his latest pastoral letter:

“This realignment of the Anglican Communion will undoubtedly continue. Compromise leads to more compromise, but can there be a better way forward than the aggressive legalism practised in the Americas?

New Zealand will be a test. Following the decision in May by the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia (ACANZP) to allow for the blessing of same sex relationships, contrary to Resolution I.10 of the 1998 Lambeth Conference, a number of parishes in New Zealand have announced that they can no longer in conscience remain part of the Province, but Gafcon is proposing a fresh approach in order to minimise conflict.”

– Read it all here.

Rainbow revolution progresses as Bishop of Taunton announced as celebrant at Cathedral LGBT Eucharist

Posted on September 11, 2018 
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“Wells Cathedral in Somerset is the latest to show its allegiance to the cause of LGBT ‘radical inclusion’.

The What’s On section of its website advertises a “Rainbow Church Eucharist”, under the banner of a stylised rainbow coloured cross …”

– Andrew Symes at Anglican Mainstream highlights the latest white flag of surrender to the popular culture.

A man of words and a man of his word – Bishop Donald Robinson

Posted on September 11, 2018 
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“The ninth Archbishop of Sydney, Donald William Bradley Robinson, has been laid to rest after a funeral service in St Andrew’s Cathedral which he helped write 40 years earlier.

Bishop Robinson died early on Friday morning, 7th September. He was 95.

A renowned New Testament scholar, Bishop Robinson was a lecturer and Vice-Principal at Moore College, before becoming Bishop in Parramatta and later Archbishop of Sydney and Metropolitan of New South Wales from 1982 to 1993.

Among his achievements was the production of An Australian Prayer Book (AAPB), highlighted in the eulogy by his daughter Anne. …”

– At SydneyAnglicans.net, Russell Powell reports on today’s funeral service for a dearly loved and respected Christian leader.

See also:

Servant of the Church of God: Donald William Bradley Robinson, 1922–2018 – by Rory Shiner at Shenton Park, who recently completed a PhD on the life and work of Donald Robinson.

Remembering Donald Robinson – The Gospel Coalition Australia has assembled a number tributes.

The Rev. Peter Robinson spoke about his father’s legacy on 2nd September 2018, as part of the Australian Legacy series at Holy Trinity Wentworth Falls.

(Photo courtesy Ramon Williams.)

Funeral service for Bishop Donald Robinson Tuesday 11:00am

Posted on September 10, 2018 
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The funeral service for Bishop Donald Robinson will be held at 11:00 am on Tuesday, September 11, at St. Andrew’s Cathedral in Sydney.

Church leaders: realistic idealists

Posted on September 10, 2018 
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“Here’s a thought I’ve been musing over: leaders in ministry need to be realistic idealists. Primarily, we need to be idealists because we are gospel people. We are people of God’s word who seek to do all we do through the lens of Scripture.

However, secondarily, we also need to be realistic. We need to remember that we operate in a fallen world, full of sinful people, where the first heaven and the first earth have not yet passed away, and when God has not yet made everything new (Revelation 21). …”

– Mike Leite explores how this looks in Christian ministry – at The Australian Church Record.

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