Church Society Podcast: Kirsten Birkett on Class
Posted on June 18, 2024
Filed under Resources
From Church Society, an Australian looks at Class:
“In this week’s podcast, Lee Gatiss chats to Kirsten Birkett about her new book on class in the evangelical church in England. English evangelical churches are overwhelmingly middle-class – but why is the gospel of Christ not bringing in people from all walks of life? The issue of class is a challenge for all biblically-minded churches.”
– Very English – and yet, which people groups in Australia are not being reached with the gospel? And how can we reach them?
Alistair Begg on 2 Timothy 4:1-8, Fulfil your Ministry
Posted on June 17, 2024
Filed under Encouragement, Resources
At a Truth for Life conference for pastors last month, Alistair Begg spoke on 2 Timothy 4:1-8, “Fulfil Your Ministry”.
A great encouragement on a Monday morning, especially for pastors.
This link seems to default to an audio recording. If so, click on the toggle switch just above the Player window to Watch.
Let there be light in Coonabarabran
Posted on June 16, 2024
Filed under Australian dioceses
Bishop of Bathurst Mark Calder was in Coonabarabran today, preaching and dedicating a new window.
He asks,
“Will Coonabarabran be the next church you lovingly pastor? These lovely saints say ‘come over and help us’. Today their final window was dedicated ‘to all who serve Christ with love and loyalty’.”
– Food for prayer at the diocesan Facebook page.
Moore Matters Winter 2024
Posted on June 16, 2024
Filed under Encouragement, Moore College
Moore Matters magazine for Winter 2024 is now up on the Moore College website.
If you miss out on getting a printed copy at your church, you can download it as a PDF file or view online.
Much encouragement.
Two updates from the GSFA Assembly
Posted on June 15, 2024
Filed under Anglican Communion, Global South
Two reports from The American Anglican Council’s Canon Phil Ashey:
“Last night, we crossed an important finish line! The members of the Global South Fellowship of Anglicans (GSFA) formally and unanimously ratified the Cairo Covenant and its covenantal structures. Among the most important sections are those that define how Anglicans read the Bible and what authority we give to its reading. …”
– Ratifying the Cairo Covenant.
and then a further update via Anglican Mainstream:
“The Global South Fellowship of Anglicans (GSFA) achieved their third objective of Assembly 2024: the election of godly leaders among the Primates Council, the Council of Bishops, and the Assembly.”
– Global South Assembly – The Structures come together.
Final Communique expected tomorrow.
Can the GSFA help the CofE bishops tell right from wrong?
Posted on June 14, 2024
Filed under Church of England, Global South
“Church of England bishops are not known for their transparency – but sometimes there is a rare glimmer of honesty, particularly when a journalist is prepared to ask the right question.
This week, Dave Piper, a radio journalist, used Facebook to ask Rt Revd Martyn Snow, the Bishop of Leicester a simple question and wonderfully he received an honest answer. …”
– This post at Anglican Futures looks at the dilemma facing the Church of England Bishops who want unity over truth.
By way of answer, it draws attention to the address at the GSFA Assembly by the Rev. Sam Ferguson, Rector of The Falls Church Anglican in Virginia:
“Living up to the challenge, in less than an hour, he set out three of the unarticulated assumptions which shape the world in which we live and are seen in the LGBT movement. He then offered a glorious, biblical alternative to each one.”
Preaching Mentoring
Posted on June 14, 2024
Filed under Encouragement, Resources
“Part of the ministry of the Expository Preaching Trust is to provide preaching mentors.
The Trust has five experienced preachers who offer mentoring on a regular, usually weekly, basis.
The mentor usually listens to the mentee’s Sunday sermon and then they reflect together on the sermon’s engagement with the Bible text and the people. …”
– Read about this extraordinarily gracious offer to preachers from The Expository Preaching Trust.
Related:
David Cook speaks with Mark Powell on Preaching, for the AP’s Australian Christian Life Podcast.
Really encouraging.
Book Review: Against the Sexual Revolution
Posted on June 14, 2024
Filed under Culture wars
“Review of Louise Perry, The Case Against the Sexual Revolution, Cambridge: Polity Press, 2022.
Some sort of reality may be attained in incremental steps, and Louise Perry’s critique of the sexual revolution of our times could be placed in a category of ‘A Half-Return to Sanity’. It is not a Christian critique, and ultimately may achieve little, but Mrs Perry, who gave birth while she was writing this book, has made some cogent points in speaking into our times.
In eight clear chapters Perry sets out her case:
- Sex must be taken seriously;
- Men and women are different;
- Some desires are bad;
- Loveless sex is not empowering;
- Consent is not enough;
- Violence is not love;
- People are not products;
- Marriage is good.…”
Also from Peter Barnes at AP:
Shining as Lights Amid the Encircling Gloom:
“…the Biden administration has waged war on the pro-life cause. In mid-May in Washington DC seven pro-lifers were jailed under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act. If only they had burnt down buildings, looted property, and threatened lives under a BLM banner, they would have fared better. But they protested peacefully against the practice of abortion. Lauren Handy, aged 30, was sentenced to 57 months (nearly five years!) while a 76-year-old grandmother and a 69-year-old man were among the other six to be jailed, albeit for shorter terms.”
Walk for Life – notice of Love Sydney’s Walk for Life on 21 September 2024.
And another contribution from our Presbyterian friends:
Who has the last laugh? – David Burke reflects on Psalm 2:
“It is easy to slip into human defaults of fight, fright, or flight. It is especially easy to be despairing, pull up the bridges and take the Benedictine option of retreating to our equivalent of desert caves and putting the light of the gospel under a bushel. The nett result of that is to deny our God-given gospel mission.
Psalm 2 gives a different frame.…”
Can the Global South Fellowship of Anglicans chase the snakes out of the Anglican Communion?
Posted on June 13, 2024
Filed under Anglican Communion, Global South, Opinion
“Yesterday, in a monastery in the Egyptian desert, the Global South Fellowship of Anglicans (GSFA) met for their first Assembly, under their new covenantal structures. Their purpose? To reset the Anglican Communion.
In his keynote address, the current Chair of the GSFA, the Primate of the Episcopal Church of South Sudan, Archbishop Justin Badi, set out their plan. …
The Global South Fellowship of Anglicans has waited twenty-five years for the Instruments of the Anglican Communion to bring order to the divided church community, but they will wait no longer.”
– Susie Leafe writes at Christian Today.
The Assembly videos can be seen here.
Strategies to increase the retention of the children of members
Posted on June 12, 2024
Filed under Resources
From The Pastor’s Heart –
“There are three different ways that the adult population of churches can grow:
- Adults being saved.
- Christians transferring from another congregation within your denomination of switching from another denomination.
- Children of members growing up in the church and taking on their parents faith for themselves.
Most evangelical churches – even growing churches – are underperforming in the first and third ways. …”
– At The Pastor’s Heart this week, Dominic Steele speaks with Al James from Sydney Anglican Youthworks.
Make the Main Thing the Main Thing on Sundays
Posted on June 12, 2024
Filed under Encouragement, Resources
“If everything in a church needs to change, where should a pastor start? I want to offer a convictional testimony for making the Bible the main course on Sunday. Every other change should follow. …”
– At 9Marks, Bret Capranica has encouragement for pastors.
Southern Cross magazine June — July 2024
Posted on June 12, 2024
Filed under Sydney Diocese
The latest issue of Southern Cross magazine from the Diocese of Sydney is now out.
Copies will be available in churches – and also here online.
Report from Global Assembly of Global South Fellowship of Anglicans, Egypt
Posted on June 11, 2024
Filed under GAFCON, Global South
From the American Anglican Council’s Canon Phil Ashey:
“Dear friends in Christ,
I am writing from the St. Mark’s Coptic Monastery in Khataba, Egypt, where almost 200 delegates from 11 Anglican Provinces, 3 ‘Provinces-in-formation’ duly constituted by Gafcon and recognized as such by the GSFA, and numerous mission agencies from over 40 countries are gathering for the first Global Assembly of the Global South Fellowship of Anglicans (GSFA). This Global Assembly marks an historic ‘reset’ of the Anglican Communion with regards to:
1. What Anglicans believe (a common confession of faith based on Biblical faith, Apostolic tradition and the Anglican formularies);
2. A true and genuine Communion of Anglican Churches based upon covenantal structures that provide clear and fair criteria for membership– with mutual accountability and discipline within the boundaries of Reformational Anglicanism; and
3. A passionate commitment to Christ’s Great Commission to make disciples of all nations (Matt. 28:16-20) – undeterred by false teaching – through mission partnerships that will enable Anglicans to proclaim Christ faithfully to all nations…”
– e-mail, via Anglican Mainstream.
Fact-Checking a popular story of Christian origins
Posted on June 11, 2024
Filed under Culture wars, History, Resources
“The latest book by bestselling author and controversial Australian feminist Clementine Ford is I Don’t: The Case Against Marriage (Allen & Unwin, 2023).
She wants this book to not only dissuade people from getting married but also ‘to end marriages’, because of the harm they bring to women.
This article isn’t about her main thesis, but the striking way she begins her case against marriage. The very first step Ford takes is to outline the history of Christianity and so discount the moral authority of the church. …”
– Robert Martin at Northcote Baptist Church in Melbourne does a spot of fact-checking for The Gospel Coalition Australia. This could be helpful if you have friends who are reading the book.
Related:
Who will champion marriage? – Marriage Foundation via Anglican Mainstream. The linked story includes some interesting charts.
GSFA takes on the challenge of resetting the Anglican Communion
Posted on June 10, 2024
Filed under Anglican Communion, Global South
Anglican Futures has published the second of three posts on the aims of this week’s Global South Fellowship of Anglicans Assembly in Egypt:
“The GSFA are resetting the Anglican Communion by creating a means of global accountability and discipline.” (Emphasis added)
– Read the second post – though you might want to begin with the first in the series, “The GSFA – a potted history”.
Image: GSFA leaders at Lambeth in 2022.
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…