Recovering the priority of relationships

Posted on July 5, 2010 
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“Some recent conversations to which I have been a party suggest we talk a good game when it comes to the priority of relationships while our practice is practically indistinguishable from the relational desert inhabited by those around us.

Is there, as some people are beginning to suggest, a sad disconnect between our confession and life at this point?”

– Mark Thompson asks some fair questions at Theological Theology.

Call for Prayer from Anglican Mainstream

Posted on July 5, 2010 
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This just in from Canon Chris Sugden, Executive Secretary of Anglican Mainstream. –

“Reports in the press over the weekend indicate the urgent need for prayer with regard to the nomination of a new Bishop of Southwark. They follow earlier reports about the timing of the proposed changes to the Church of England’s discipline with regard to divorce being driven by the need to consider a particular candidate for Southwark.  Read more

Corroborating Evidence

Posted on July 4, 2010 
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From The White Horse Inn:

“If Jesus was a real historical individual, then do we have any confirming evidence for his life and ministry from sources outside the New Testament? Some point to the writings of Josephus, but isn’t it true that his famous passage about Jesus was proven to be a fabrication? Interacting with the hosts on this topic is historian Paul L. Maier, author of In The Fullness of Time, and editor of Josephus: The Essential Works.”

– broadcast on June 20, 2010, Paul Maier’s interview is well worth hearing.

A Dangerous Structure: Can General Synod Stave Off Collapse?

Posted on July 3, 2010 
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“London’s Lambeth Council has some helpful advice on its website  about dangerous structures: ‘If you notice a building or structure that appears to be in a dangerous condition, or in serious neglect, an engineer will inspect the problem and take the necessary action. If the structure is unsafe, but there is no immediate danger, then the owner will be contacted to make it safe – if they don’t, they may face enforcement action.’

There is no question of course that the material fabric of Lambeth Palace, the historic London home of the Archbishop of Canterbury, is in good order. In fact, the Archbishop’s website  reassures us that there are ’plans for future work to upgrade the fabric of the Palace’, but the spiritual fabric of the Church over which he presides is looking increasingly precarious.…”

– Charles Raven observes how quickly the Church of England is losing the plot.

Latest 9Marks eJournal: Pastoring Women

Posted on July 2, 2010 
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Jonathan Leeman, editor of the 9Marks eJournal, writes about the latest issue:

“There’s safety in homogenization. If you treat men and women as the same, you don’t risk offending anyone. Or limiting anyone. Or hindering anyone.

But what if God created men and women differently? What if it’s not a question of limitations but a matter of distinct divine purposes for different parts of the body? I guess you could say that the eye is limited because it cannot hear. Or that the ear is limited because it cannot see. But that would be missing the point, wouldn’t it?

The egalitarianism of Western culture, for all its good purposes, leads to the homogenization of men and women. To unisex clothes, colognes, roles, and lifestyles. The lovely and distinct color palettes of men and women mush together into a gray-brown muck.

You can have that if you want it. But we think God intends something better. That’s why this issue of the 9Marks eJournal is dedicated to how to distinctly pastor women. We want to reflect on what he uniquely and wonderfully intends for women in the life of the church, and how to specially pastor them.”

Grab your copy at 9Marks.

The Pursuit of God by A. W. Tozer — free audiobook

Posted on July 2, 2010 
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This month’s free audiobook from ChristianAudio is The Pursuit of God by A. W. Tozer. (July 2010)

Don’t know Tozer? J. I. Packer is quoted as saying: “Through all of Tozer’s books and articles there shines a passion for God that puts our shallowness to shame. Reading him is like drinking at an oasis in the desert.” Details of the audiobook at ChristianAudio.

Reformed Evangelical Anglican Library

Posted on July 2, 2010 
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Lee Gatiss writes about a new series – The Reformed Evangelical Anglican Library.

“By constitution the Church of England is a Reformed, Protestant, and Evangelical denomination. In its original foundation it was never intended to be merely the religious expression of changing English culture; nor was it designed as a pluralistic melting pot of various contradictory persuasions. As John Stott rightly asserted in 1970, ‘according to its own formularies, this church is reformed and evangelical’ (in Christ the Controversialist).   Read more

Shedding some Light on Twilight

Posted on July 1, 2010 
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“The highly anticipated third film in the wildly popular Twilight series opens today. … The first two movies — Twilight and New Moon — took in a sensational $1.1 billion at the box office. In 2009 and 2010, the movies topped the teen choice awards, and swept virtually all the categories at the MTV Movie Awards.  Twilight has become the hottest love story of our time. It’s a teen rage, and a significant cultural phenomenon.

The question that I always ask, when I see something so grip the hearts and minds of women, is “Why?”. And it was this question that was foremost in my mind when I finally sat down a couple weeks ago to watch and analyze the first two movies…”

– Helpful analysis from Mary Kassian. (h/t Tim Challies.)

ESV Bible Atlas

Posted on July 1, 2010 
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The Crossway ESV Bible Atlas has been released in the US. Details – and links to a 45 page preview – at Between Two Worlds.

Italy seeks to end classroom crucifix ban

Posted on July 1, 2010 
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“The Italian government is appealing to the European court of human rights to overturn a ban on classroom crucifixes. … If the government loses, it would mean that all religious artefacts in classrooms across the European Union could be outlawed.”

– report from BBC News.

Presiding Bishop welcome in Brisbane, says Primate

Posted on June 30, 2010 
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“The Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United States, Katharine Jefferts Schori, is welcome to visit the Diocese of Brisbane, according to Dr Philip Aspinall, Archbishop of Brisbane and Primate of the Anglican Church of Australia…”

– Report from Anglican Media Melbourne. Related: ACL Statement on visit.

(Photo taken at the November 2008 JSC meeting: ACNS Rosenthal.)

Jefferts Schori in Canterbury

Posted on June 29, 2010 
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Not that Canterbury. TEC Presiding Bishop Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori spent Sunday evening in the Canterbury region of New Zealand, preaching at St. Michael and All Angels in Christchurch.

Sermon here. Also, Episcopal News report. (Photo: Anglican Taonga.)

The ACL protests Katharine Jefferts Schori’s visit to Australia

Posted on June 26, 2010 
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The President of the Anglican Church League, the Rev Dr Mark Thompson, has issued this statement on behalf of the ACL’s Council:

We note with profound sadness that the Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church, Katherine Jefferts Schori, has been invited to preach in a Brisbane church in early July. This invitation shows an appalling lack of judgment and contempt for those who have suffered at the hands of the revisionists in The Episcopal Church.

The Presiding Bishop has defied the vast majority of the Anglican Communion, and even the Archbishop of Canterbury, by pursuing a program of moral and doctrinal revision, endorsing homosexual behaviour and approving the appointment of a lesbian bishop. Her actions have been taken in full awareness of the widespread international concern which has led to an official call for a moratorium on any such measures.

As recently as April 2010, the Statement issued at the end of the 4th Global South Encounter spoke of TEC’s ‘total disregard for the mind of the Communion’ and the way these churches ‘continue in their defiance as they set themselves on a course that contradicts the plain teaching of the Holy Scriptures on matters so fundamental that they affect the very salvation of those involved’. The statement continued, ‘Such actions violate the integrity of the Gospel, the Communion and our Christian witness to the rest of the world’.

This alarming behaviour has been compounded by a virulent attack on Anglicans in America who wish to remain faithful to the teaching of Scripture. The Presiding Bishop has been responsible for pursuing, in the secular courts, those who oppose her program of revision, as her agents seek to remove orthodox clergy and take over the property of faithful, Bible-believing congregations.

Katherine Jefferts Schori bears a great deal of responsibility for the current turmoil, division and anguish in the Anglican Communion. It is entirely inappropriate that she should be welcomed into any diocese in the Anglican Church of Australia.

Faithful Anglicans throughout Australia will be offended by this decision. The Council of the ACL calls on Archbishop Aspinall to reconsider and rescind the invitation.

Mark Thompson
President, Anglican Church League,
on behalf of the ACL’s Council,
26 June 2010.

Updated 9Marks website

Posted on June 25, 2010 
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The 9Marks website has been updated recently. New sections include Answers for Church Members and Answers for Pastors. Well worth a look.

Katharine Jefferts Schori heads Down Under for ‘conversations around human sexuality’

Posted on June 25, 2010 
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From the Episcopal News Service:

“The Anglican churches in Australia and New Zealand are hosting Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori for an informal two-week visit to the two provinces.

‘I’m to speak with people there about their conversations around human sexuality and also about their missionary development work…’ Jefferts Schori told members of Executive Council during their June 16-18 meeting in Maryland…

During her visit to Australia, the presiding bishop will preach July 4 at Christ Church St. Lucia in the Diocese of Brisbane, where Archbishop Philip Aspinall of the Anglican Church of Australia serves as bishop.…”

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