How do we diagnose complex problems within our church?
Posted on July 3, 2024
Filed under Resources
From The Pastor’s Heart:
“All the time in church there are unexpected things happening. We or someone else makes a decision to change something which then relationally or missionally impacts another area of church life that we didn’t expect. …
Whatever size your church is – the church system is complex, interdependent and interconnected.”
– Dominic Steele speaks with Greg Lee from Newcastle’s Hunter Bible Church.
Made in Our Image
Posted on July 2, 2024
Filed under Resources, Theology
Recently, on The Pastor’s Heart, Dominic Steele interviewed Stephen Driscoll about the coming AI tsunami.
Stephen’s book Made in Our Image, is now available from Matthias Media.
“Artificial intelligence is coming. And this tech revolution, perhaps more than any such revolution that’s gone before, will change the world. No life will be left untouched.
How do Christians navigate their way through these momentous changes? What does Christianity have to say about this brave new world? What will living for Jesus look like in a world where humans, made in God’s image, coexist with intelligent machines made in our image?
Author, pastor and self-confessed ‘tech realist’ Stephen Driscoll sets out to answer those questions with a deep dive into the intersection of faith and technology. Avoiding the extremes of both the tech worshippers and the ‘doomers’, Driscoll offers accessible and illuminating insights into the nature of AI, along with practical tips on how Christians might use this technology for good. Most of all, he shows how the deepest structures of biblical thought will equip Christians to live with AI.
This book is a must-read for tech-savvy optimists and sceptics alike.”
You can watch the promo video above – and order the book here.
Root Not Fruit
Posted on July 2, 2024
Filed under Encouragement, Evangelism
“The news that the prominent Atheist Richard Dawkins is now claiming to be a cultural Christian, should not surprise.
Many of us know parents who send children to Christian schools because they like the product of such schools, yet insist they don’t want their children to be religious.
In my first parish I would meet C.E. Christians. I was told I could only expect to see them at Christmas (C) and Easter (E). So called ‘cultural Christians’ see no need to believe the supernatural elements of the Faith, they are Christians without the C and the E. …”
– At The Expository Preaching Trust, David Cook reminds us why we must keep on preaching the Word.
Photo: David Cook preaching at St. Helen’s Bishopsgate in 2022.
GAFCON Australasia Conference 2024 underway
Posted on July 1, 2024
Filed under GAFCON, GAFCON Australia
“Starting with a children’s song and an Anglican confession in a large Baptist auditorium in Brisbane before an audience of people from across Australia, guests from the Pacific and South East Asia and including sixty under 18s, signals the comprehensiveness of GAFCON Australasia’s second conference. …”
– The GAFCON Australasia Conference is underway, and Russell Powell has this report.
Nungalinya College seeking new Principal
Posted on July 1, 2024
Filed under Australia
Nungalinya College, the Theological and Training College for Indigenous people, in Darwin – set up by the Anglican, Uniting and Roman Catholic Churches more than 50 years ago, is looking for a new Principal.
“The College is looking for a Principal who will lead a Christ-centred educational vision that respects Indigenous Languages and cultures and seeks to empower Indigenous Christians at every level of the College. …
Closing Date – 26th July 2024.”
– Details at the College website.
Why share Jesus? You have the best news possible.
Posted on July 1, 2024
Filed under Australian dioceses, Encouragement, Evangelism
Mark Calder, Bishop of the Diocese of Bathurst, reminds us Why we share Jesus. He turns to 2 Corinthians 5:11.
Part 2 in a 4-part series reflecting on the Diocesan strategic plan, “Sharing Jesus for Life”.
Week 1 – Compassion, Week 2 – Reverence, Week 3 – Love, Week 4 – Courage.
Encouraging – but also sobering.
Watch here. A very good way to start a new month.
Moore College Sunday 2024
Posted on July 1, 2024
Filed under Moore College
Moore College Sunday 2024 is coming up on 4th August.
The College has made available some resources to help you pray for and be aware of what’s happening at Moore.
A Paper Province or a Proper Province?
Posted on June 30, 2024
Filed under Church of England, Culture wars
“With the announcement of a ‘Parallel Province’, Anglican Futures asks, has The Alliance found the answers to the intractable problems of providing orthodox episcopal oversight within the Church of England? …”
– In the latest post at Anglican Futures, the question is asked how a ‘Parallel Province’ might actually work. The post reminds us how important it is for members of The Alliance to tease out how their goal, if it is needed, would be achieved.
It’s also a good reminder that wisdom would be a good thing to pay for.
A Theology of Reproductive Technology
Posted on June 29, 2024
Filed under Resources, Theology
“For the last few decades, Oliver O’Donovan’s Begotten or Made? has been difficult to find and expensive to buy. Thanks to the foresight of the Davenant Institute, an organization aimed at renewing the intellectual life of contemporary Protestantism, that’s no longer the case.
This ‘New Edition for the 21st Century,’ published some 38 years after the original, is now both readily available and affordable – at least on Kindle, and also in paperback for those in the U.S. and Canada. What’s more, it comes with a new introduction by Matthew Lee Anderson, which helpfully highlights the significance of the work, and a fresh afterword from O’Donovan himself.
Begotten or Made? is the published version of the London Lectures in Contemporary Christianity delivered by O’Donovan in 1983. …”
– At The Gospel Coalition, Rob Smith and Andrew Spencer provide an introduction to the second edition of “this increasingly important work”.
From the page for this book on Amazon, Carl Trueman writes:
“Though written decades ago, this little book by O’Donovan is a masterpiece and still one of the best reflections on what it means to be human in our modern world. It transformed my own thinking on key issues and deserves to be widely read by a new generation of theologians, philosophers, and pastors.”
Albert Mohler comments on the first US Presidential debate
Posted on June 28, 2024
Filed under Opinion
Dr Albert Mohler comments on today’s US Presidential Debate under four headings –
“A Human and Political Tragedy: President Joe Biden’s Underwhelming Performance in the First Presidential Debate Last Night
‘Aggressive Panic’: Democrats Respond to President Biden’s Debate Performance — The Democrats are in Major (And Complicated) Crisis
Both Candidates Flopped on Abortion: Presidents Joe Biden and Donald Trump Disappoint on the Sanctity and Dignity of Human Life
Credibility in Leadership and Abortion: Americans Face Two Huge Issues in the Aftermath of Last Night’s Presidential Debate.”
– Whatever our interest (or lack thereof) in US politics, the Bible calls on Christians to pray for those in authority –
1 Timothy 2:1-4
“First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Saviour, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” – ESV.
“The Alliance” coalition writes to the Archbishops of Canterbury and York
Posted on June 27, 2024
Filed under Church of England, Culture wars
The Alliance – “a broad coalition of leaders of networks across different traditions supported by more than 2,000 clergy within the Church of England” has written to the Archbishops of Canterbury and York outlining their plans to form – if necessary a “parallel Province”.
“…we want to inform you that we are now proposing a positive way forward to allow those churches who support the Church’s teaching to carry on their mission and pipeline of ministry securely, founded on the Church’s doctrine.
If the further departure from the Church’s doctrine suggested by the Synod papers does go ahead, we will have no choice but rapidly to establish what would in effect be a new de facto ‘parallel Province’ within the Church of England and to seek pastoral oversight from bishops who remain faithful to orthodox teaching on marriage and sexuality.
We will encourage all church leaders who are in sympathy with The Alliance to join the parallel Province.
We will take action with immediate effect to open up a new pre-ordination stream for potential ordinands, in partnership with orthodox bishops, to reverse the decline caused in part by this unconstitutional and unorthodox process.
We are not leaving the Church of England or the Anglican Communion. We wish to stay loyal to the one holy catholic and apostolic Church throughout the world rather than be part of a schismatic move which departs from the teaching received…”
They conclude,
“We urge you, even at this late stage, to honour your oaths as archbishops and bishops in England and to follow the lawful constitutional path to preserve the unity of the Church throughout the Anglican Communion.”
Download the full letter (PDF file) from The Alliance website.
Bishop Stephen Hale’s EFAC Global message after the GFSA Conference
Posted on June 27, 2024
Filed under GAFCON, Global South
“Message from Bishop Stephen Hale, Chairman of EFAC Executive Committee
Greetings in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
This EFAC Global report has been written while I’ve been in Cairo participating in the Orthodox Leaders Meeting (AOL) organised by the GSFA and GAFCON Global. It is a new meeting that arose out of the Ash Wednesday Declaration of the GSFA in 2023 and the Kigali Commitment also in 2023. Its purpose is to connect the Primates with the many mission partners and groupings who are involved in conversations about resetting the Anglican Communion. A Statement from this meeting will be issued in due course.
The background to all of this for EFAC Global is a remarkable journey from the Lambeth Conference in 2022 to today. …”
– Read it all, via Anglican Mainstream.
CEEC welcomes orthodox bishops’ statement ahead of Synod
Posted on June 27, 2024
Filed under Church of England, Culture wars
“CEEC is grateful to the group of 11 bishops who have today published* a warning, ahead of General Synod, that the LLF proposals currently on the table would go against church doctrine, further endanger the unity of the church and by-pass proper canonical process.
We commend the courage of these bishops as they write, ‘we are among a number of bishops unable to support the direction of travel presented to the bishops at our most recent meeting, or the proposals to be brought to General Synod later this month.’
We support the assertion of this group as they state that while they support the emphasis on and importance of unity highlighted in the proposals, they believe that the proposals will not ‘protect our unity in mission to the nation or our partnerships within the wider Church.’…”
– Read the full Statement from The Church of England Evangelical Council.
Gospel ministry in winter
Posted on June 27, 2024
Filed under Encouragement, New Zealand, Resources
Bishop Jay Behan writes in the latest Ministry Matters of the Church of Confessing Anglicans Aotearoa NZ –
“Back in late 1996, my wife Jaimee and I moved to London for me to study. We had only been married a few months, so arriving in England was a time of great change in our lives. We had only been there a short time, and autumn was just starting to change to winter, when we found ourselves listening to a radio programme which described something else that was new to me: Seasonal Affective Disorder, with perhaps the most appropriate acronym of all time—SAD!
What was described was a significant change in mood and behaviour brought about by the change of season, particularly the change to winter. Seasonal Affective Disorder apparently caused “winter depression”, marked by low energy and generally feeling down as a lack of sunlight and increased time indoors took effect. I remember listening to the programme and not only completely rejecting this thing called ‘SAD’, but also ridiculing the English for making up things and not being able to cope with the cold and dark.
Needless to say, a few weeks into the English winter and after many days of no sunshine, not only did I believe in SAD; I was convinced it was the root of all the problems people living in the UK experienced!
As I write this, we in Aotearoa have arrived in winter, which seems an appropriate time to consider the way the winter season can affect life and ministry. …”
– Read the full newsletter here.
“ Winter may seem like a time to batten down the hatches, but it’s also a season ripe with evangelistic opportunities. As always this requires thought, intentionality, courage and clear-mindedness. But the best day for gospelling is today. God will give us opportunities we did not have yesterday and may not have tomorrow.”
Ministry families and adopting and foster care
Posted on June 26, 2024
Filed under Resources
This week on The Pastor’s Heart:
“How do you balance the instability and chaos of external ministry with adding a foster child or adopted child to a ministry family?
What are the implications of taking children in crisis into the ministry home? What motivates ministry families to become foster parents or to adopt? How do older children and the church respond?
Sarah and Mat Yeo serve at Hurstville Grove Anglican Church in Sydney.
Matt Wilcoxen pastors St John’s Darlinghurst in inner Sydney.”
Update:
See also “Creating a circle of support for foster children” – SydneyAnglicans.net.
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…