ANiC ordinations
Posted on November 22, 2010
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On Sunday (November 21), Anglican Network in Canada Bishops Don Harvey and Trevor Walters ordained four deacons (the Revs Keith Ganzer, Aaron Roberts, Doug Beattie, and David McElrea) to the priesthood. The service was held at the Broadmoor Baptist Church in Richmond, British Columbia.
Ed Hird has posted some brief segments of Dr J I Packer’s ordination sermon on his YouTube channel.
It’s a good reminder to pray for all affected by last week’s court decision.
People learn what I’m excited about
Posted on November 21, 2010
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“If I have learned anything in 35 or 40 years of teaching, it is that students don’t learn everything I teach them. What they learn is what I am excited about, the kinds of things I emphasize again and again and again and again. That had better be the gospel.
If the gospel—even when you are orthodox—becomes something which you primarily assume, but what you are excited about is what you are doing in some sort of social reconstruction, you will be teaching the people that you influence that the gospel really isn’t all that important. You won’t be saying that—you won’t even mean that—but that’s what you will be teaching. And then you are only half a generation away from losing the gospel.
Make sure that in your own practice and excitement, what you talk about, what you think about, what you pray over, what you exude confidence over, joy over, what you are enthusiastic about is Jesus, the gospel, the cross. And out of that framework, by all means, let the transformed life flow.”
– Don Carson.
From Middle East to Home
Posted on November 19, 2010
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“I have just finished my Middle East deployment after six months.
When I arrived in May 10, Nov 10 seemed a long way off but now it is here. I have moved out of my permanent room and into the Transit accommodation. I am finishing up my work here and cleaning my gear in preparation for the plane trip home. I can’t wait and am looking forward to being with my wife and adult sons and daughter again…”
– Moore College graduate Peter Friend is now back in Oz after being the Australian Coordinating Chaplain in the Middle East. Read his reflections at Defence Anglicans – and then for those concerned.
Festschrift for Bill Dumbrell
Posted on November 19, 2010
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Last Friday, Bill Dumbrell was presented with a copy of a Festschrift, An Everlasting Covenant: Biblical and Theological Essays in Honour of William J. Dumbrell, at a dinner at the Presbyterian Theological Centre.
Details at Steven Coxhead’s blog, Berith Road.
Evangelical Courage
Posted on November 18, 2010
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“It is one of the many great sayings attributed to Luther, one which is often quoted in times of controversy or simply as an antidote to the loss of nerve that seems to overcome so many. It is quoted in popular magazine articles, posted on websites, and even referenced in more scholarly work. I know people who have it framed on their wall. If you are a fan of Luther at all, I’d be surprised if you haven’t read or heard of these words. Luther’s famous saying goes like this…”
– Mark Thompson writes about some great quotes, real and imagined, from Martin Luther.
SMBC 2011 Preaching Conference
Posted on November 18, 2010
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Learn about plans for the 2011 SMBC Preaching Conference, May 2–5.
Ligon Duncan reflects on the Lausanne Congress
Posted on November 18, 2010
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Watch Ligon Duncan’s interview on the Lausanne Congress on World Evangelism. He argues for much greater engagement with Christians in the Global South.
Runs for 9’47”, he was interviewed by Derek Thomas and Jeremy Smith at Reformation21.
A Fatal Blend
Posted on November 17, 2010
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“…the Presiding Bishop will be acting on her own in assuming the mantle of a metropolitan, with absolute authority over her fellow bishops. The Canons purporting to confer such powers are a nullity, because they contravene the powers given to the Presiding Bishop by the Constitution. They thus cannot be the source of any such claimed powers; the Presiding Bishop, if she so acts, will simply have assumed them by force of her will.”
– A S Haley at The Anglican Curmudgeon writes about two very different leadership styles – those of the Archbishop of Canterbury and the TEC Presiding Bishop.
(Photo: Jim DeLa, ENS.)
‘Dissident Anglican priests have to move — but not before Christmas’
Posted on November 17, 2010
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“Neither side in a long, bitter war over Anglican Church property in Vancouver and Abbotsford expects any Christmas services will have to be moved elsewhere this December.
But Vancouver-area Anglican Bishop Michael Ingham began moving Tuesday to replace the dissident priests at four congregations that have failed to obtain legal control of Anglican Church properties valued at more than $20 million…”
– report from The Vancouver Sun on how the court decision will affect ‘dissident priests’ and their congregations. Your prayers would doubtless be appreciated.
(Statement from the Diocese of New Westminster here.)
BC Court of Appeal dismisses appeal
Posted on November 16, 2010
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From The Anglican Network in Canada –
“The congregations have always said that if they are forced to choose between their buildings and their faith, they will choose their faith. That position remains unchanged.”
15 November 2010
In a decision released today, the BC Court of Appeal has dismissed an appeal by four Anglican Network in Canada churches in the Vancouver area.
The four parishes – St John’s (Vancouver), St Matthews (Abbotsford), Good Shepherd (Vancouver), and St Matthias & St Luke’s (Vancouver) – had appealed a November 25, 2009 decision of Mr Justice Stephen Kelleher awarding beneficial ownership of church properties to the Diocese of New Westminster in the case involving the split in the Anglican Church. The Diocese of New Westminster’s counter appeal of Mr Justice Kelleher’s decision granting a sizeable bequest to the ANiC congregation of the Church of the Good Shepherd was also dismissed. Read more
Christians flee Iraq
Posted on November 16, 2010
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ABC Television’s Ben Knight reports from Amman, Jordan on “a frightening picture” for Christians in Iraq.
New book on The Thirty-Nine Articles
Posted on November 16, 2010
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Available now from Moore Books.
A new book: Defining Convictions and Decisive Commitments: The Thirty-Nine Articles in Contemporary Anglicanism – by Michael Jensen of Moore Theological College and Tom Frame St Mark’s National Theological Centre in Canberra, is now available.
They write:
“We firmly believe that the Articles have a continuing place in the life of the Anglican Church of Australia because they deserve such a place. In our view the Articles are a treasury of wholesome doctrine and ought to serve as the basis for assessing new thinking and novel customs. We are convinced that the Articles point to a distinctly Anglican approach to theology and ecclesiology, and are worthy of close attention and sustained study. Rather than have the Articles overlooked in the hope that they might quietly fade from view, we argue that Anglicans ought to pay closer attention to the Articles. Read more
Heidelberg Conference on Reformed Theology audio
Posted on November 15, 2010
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The 2010 Heidelberg Conference on Reformed Theology was held (in Heidelberg, of course) October 27–29.
Speakers were Derek Thomas, Carl Trueman, Jon Payne and Sebastian Heck.
The audio of the talks (and some video) is now available on their website.
Very helpful in thinking about what we do in church. h/t Thabiti Anyabwile.
Social Media and Digital Discernment
Posted on November 15, 2010
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“Almost overnight, the budding world of social media has revolutionized the way our culture communicates. Even our vocabulary has been affected. Suddenly, people are “tagging” each other, “tweeting” about themselves, and “liking” everything they see.
For the first time, it’s possible to have “friends” you’ve never even met. Those conversant in the language of social media rarely use complete sentences or even complete words (since they are limited to 140 characters). All the while, words like “screenager,” “vlog,” and “cyberslacking,” are finding their way into dictionaries like Oxford and Webster’s. It’s funny to consider that, not too long ago, surfing was just a water sport and a yahoo was a crazy person. But not anymore…”
– John Macarthur has some very sensible advice.
‘Diocese of Niagara litigation costs’
Posted on November 11, 2010
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“For the first time that I’m aware of, the Diocese of Niagara has included the cost of suing ANiC parishes in a financial statement. You can find the statement here and the relevant line shows that in 2009 the diocese, while not preoccupied with distributing free hugs, spent $395,895 on lawsuits…”
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…