Anglican TV interviews J I Packer
Kevin Kallsen at Anglican TV has posted an interview with Dr J I Packer.
Topics include the role of the Archbishop of Canterbury in the problems in the Anglican Communion; the ‘episcopal autocracy’ in the Canadian dioceses; and the so-called ‘Instruments of Unity’.
Recorded at the Anglican District of Virginia second annual Synod Council earlier this month. The video interview runs for 16 minutes and is available at Anglican TV.
Jim Packer on the ESV Study Bible
Dr Jim Packer, Theological Editor of the forthcoming ESV Study Bible, speaks about the project in this 5 minute 38 second promotional video – at YouTube.
(hat tip: Justin Taylor.)
Dr J I Packer on lessons to be learned
The audio files of Dr James Packer’s talk and question time at Holy Trinity, Eastbourne, last Tuesday are available at the Holy Trinity website.
Dr Packer spoke on “Lessons to be learned from the Canadian church experience” – and stated that the issues which prompted GAFCON are the most serious since the Reformation. Very helpful talk.
The meeting was widely reported when – 3 minutes into the question time – Dr Packer was asked what he would say to the Archbishop of Canterbury given the opportunity.
Links to the mp3 files – talk (55 min / 9.5MB) – question time (32 min / 5.6MB).
(Photo: Ed Hird.)
Short and Packer threatened by Bishop Ingham with charges of trespassing
Former Sydney Anglican, the Rev David Short, who has been charged with abandoning Anglican doctrine, has now been threatened with charges of trespassing if he sets foot on the property of St John’s Shaughnessy, in moves which could see more Canadian churches forced from their properties.
Mr Short, who is the rector at St John’s, and all other clergy belonging to the Anglican Network in Canada in the Diocese of New Westminster received letters outlining the charges from Bishop Michael Ingham on Monday.
The letters also advised that the clergy were forbidden to ‘trespass’ on the church properties, exercise any ministry and remove anything from the properties, including books. …
– Read the full report from SydneyAnglicans.net. Emphasis added.
(Photo: David Short and James Packer.)
Up, Down and Out in Canada: J I Packer
My wife and I moved from England to Canada in 1979. Principal James Houston has recruited me to teach theology at Regent College, which, though over age, I still do. God’s call was clear, and our only uncertainty was where we might find a spiritual home. New Westminster Diocese, of which Vancouver is the see city, was decidedly liberal, and its few evangelical clergy seemed to be keeping their heads down lest they be noticed.
But in 1978 my oldest friend among Canadian clergy, Harry Robinson, became rector of St. John’s Shaughnessy, only a mile and a half from where God, by a happy providence, gave us a place to live, so that problem was solved. Called as I am to be a pastor, I had found fulfillment before in an honorary parish appointment alongside teaching duties, and I became Harry’s honorary assistant the moment we arrived. …
– Dr Jim Packer tells his story – at VirtueOnline. (Photo: Ed Hird.)
Faith Today Interviews J.I. Packer
Faith Today, the magazine of the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada, has interviewed Dr J. I. Packer for its current issue –
I could have said ridiculous. I could have said fantastic. I could have used other adjectives but I’ll stick with grotesque. I do not think a bishop who has not convicted me of grave moral or heretical practices is in a position to revoke my spiritual authority in Word and Sacrament. The most he can do is withdraw my permission to minister in The Anglican Church of Canada.
Since the thing that has occasioned this is the decision St. John’s and other churches have taken to leave The Anglican Church of Canada, revoking my authority to minister in the ACC changes absolutely nothing.
So I’m not losing sleep over it. Though over age, I am still a professor at Regent College and director of the Anglican studies program at Regent. No action on Michael Ingham’s part can change either of those things.
It’s worth reading the full interview here. (Photo: Ed Hird.)
Dr J I Packer re-licensed to Southern Cone
Dr J I Packer is one of those re-licensed as an Anglican minister, under the jurisdiction of Archbishop Greg Venables in the Province of the Southern Cone, after he had resigned from the Anglican Church of Canada last week.
Ed Hird, Communications Director for the Anglican Coalition in Canada (and minister of St. Simon’s Anglican Church in North Vancouver), has posted a ‘visual reflection’ on this weekend’s Anglican Network in Canada national conference. (Photo: Ed Hird)
J I Packer at “Compelled by Christ’s love”
Dr Jim Packer has spoken on the first day of the “Compelled by Christ’s love” conference currently being held in Vancouver.
“May I begin by saying where I come from. If a certain dignitary kept his word and threat, I am here under false pretences. Two days ago I will have been deprived of the ministry to which I was ordained in 1952 and I ought not to be wearing a clerical collar. It is utterly tragic. This led me to resonate deeply with the way Archbishop Venables presented in his talk. I have a joyful heart. …
God is preparing and toughening us for specially demanding conflict. In our call to mission, I suspect that over the next generations it is going to be exceedingly tough as we face secularism and ethnic religions surge which do not tolerate Christianity. The pressure is on and increasing. God is toughening us for mission. …”
Reform Chairman on J.I. Packer
Rod Thomas, the Chairman of Reform has written this letter to the Editor of The Church Times –
“The threat by the Bishop of New Westminster in Canada to suspend the Revd Dr Jim Packer from ministry because his church has sought the oversight of the Primate of the Southern Cone has rightly created a huge sense of outrage across the Communion and especially among evangelicals in the Church of England. …”
Read the full letter at VirtueOnline. (Photo: Reform.)
On Life and Ministry with J.I. Packer
In October 1999, Mark Dever spoke with Dr James Packer about life and ministry.
Well known to many as the author of Fundamentalism and the Word of God, Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God and Knowing God, Dr. Packer is a member of St. John’s Shaughnessy which has recently voted to break ties with the Anglican Church of Canada.
This fascinating and informative interview sheds light on the recent history of evangelical Christianity and its continuing battle with liberalism.
The 64 minute audio (mp3) file is available here as a 29MB download.
(Photo: Martin Dee / Regent College, Vancouver.)
Professor J I Packer: Anglican Church League Statement of Support
Anglican Church League President Dr Mark Thompson has released this statement in support of Professor J I Packer:
The ACL notes with alarm the Bishop of New Westminster’s threat to revoke Professor J I Packer’s ‘spiritual authority as a minister of Word and Sacraments’.
Professor Packer, one of the leading Christian voices of the twentieth century, is amongst those who have voted to stand with authentic and orthodox Anglicans rather than those who have undermined biblical truth over many decades and most recently by their innovations regarding homosexual practice. As one of these he has now become a target for revisionist aggression. Once again the intolerance and anti-liberal heart of liberal Christianity has been exposed. Read more
David Short, J I Packer face legal action
Ecclesiastical charges have been filed by a Canadian Bishop against former Sydney Anglican, the Rev David Short and one of the world’s top Anglican theologians, Dr J.I. Packer.
Bishop Michael Ingham has launched legal action over the vote by their congregation in Vancouver to seek alternative oversight from a South American bishop. …
The charges not only involve revocation of licence, but also seek to nullify the ordination of Mr Short and Dr Packer. …
Full story by Russell Powell from SydneyAnglicans.net. (updated)
J I Packer on the state of the Anglican Communion
Widely respected theologian J I Packer has spoken about the current state of the Anglican Communion in an interview with VirtueOnline.
“I expect congregations in TEC and the ACIC being fed on liberal theology will continue to wither on the vine as they have done for the last half century. Liberal theology, without the gospel, proves to be the smell of death rather than of life.”
J I Packer – A History of the English Puritans
Reformed Theological Seminary in Jackson Mississippi is placing online a great deal of free sermon and lecture audio through iTunes U. Recently added are their recordings of J. I. Packer’s 1988 lectures on the English Puritans.
What did the much-maligned Puritans believe and what can we learn from them about ministry? These lectures provide a valuable insight into the Puritans and are well worth hearing.
To access the material, go to the RTS website (it has a link to download iTunes if you need it) and then select the ‘Click to Launch iTunes’ button. Once there, click on ‘Courses in Church History’. On the next screen, go to ‘History and Theology of the Puritans’ – and you will be able to download all 16 lectures and the syllabus.
Writing an Article
“Here is some advice from an editor who does not quite fit E.B. White’s double-sided definition: ‘An editor is a person who knows more about writing than writers do but who has escaped the terrible desire to write.’
What follows is just some thoughts about escaping the desire to write terribly.
Your aim is to write an article for your monthly parish paper, or for AP, or for your local newspaper, or even for your own website. The length might be about 1000 words. How do you go about it? J. I. Packer called himself ‘an accidental author’. He was never taught how to do it. He was asked to do it, and he kept doing it. …”
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…