The two resolutions you need and the 65 you don’t

Posted on January 16, 2024 
Filed under Encouragement Comments Off on The two resolutions you need and the 65 you don’t

“ ‘The 65 best New Year’s resolutions for 2024’ shouted the headline on the internet site I was surfing. I was intrigued. Mainly because 65 seemed such an odd number. The suggestions included drinking less alcohol, drinking more water, exercising more, reading more and 61 other things – usually with the word ‘more’ attached.

If you are a Christian, chances are your resolutions would include reading the Bible more and praying more. I’m reluctant to write about the quiet time because it has always seemed that most other people were more ‘spiritual’ than me (as measured by the time they spent in Bible reading and prayer).

Guilt trips aside, out of the 65 (or more!) New Year’s resolutions you could make, none will be more beneficial than …”

– At SydneyAnglicans.net, Russell Powell suggests two resolutions (New Year or not) which will be a blessing.

While you might guess what they are, he also shares some practical help, so do read away.

Why CPAS is wrong on conversion therapy

Posted on January 16, 2024 
Filed under Church of England, Culture wars Comments Off on Why CPAS is wrong on conversion therapy

“Following a large amount of criticism on social media for having declared its support for the Evangelical Alliance’s ten affirmations on human sexuality, the trustees of the Church Pastoral Aid Society (CPAS) issued a clarificatory statement last Thursday in which they declared, among other things, that ‘CPAS is opposed to conversion therapy, and seeks to uphold the highest standards of safeguarding and pastoral best practice.’

This declaration by the CPAS trustees was an attempt to distance themselves from number eight of the Evangelical Alliance’s affirmations which states …”

– Martin Davie responds to the ‘clarification’ issued by the trustees of the Church Pastoral Aid Society in the UK.

2024 Armidale Preaching Conference

Posted on January 16, 2024 
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Here’s a great resource for friends within striking distance of Armidale – The Expository Preaching Trust is holding a Preaching Conference on May 6 and 7 2024.

– Details from the Trust and also from the Diocese of Armidale.

Pray for Dr. Siegfried Ngubane as he prepares to become REACH-SA Presiding Bishop

Posted on January 15, 2024 
Filed under GAFCON, People Comments Off on Pray for Dr. Siegfried Ngubane as he prepares to become REACH-SA Presiding Bishop

Here’s today’s GAFCON prayer request:

“Rev. Dr. Siegfried Ngubane is the Presiding Bishop elect for the Reformed Evangelical Anglican Church of South Africa (REACH-SA), a welcomed new Gafcon province. Pray for Dr. Ngubane as he prepares to assume the role from Presiding Bishop Glenn Lyons.”

Related: REACH SA website.

Photo: Dr. Ngubane with Bishop Glenn Lyons.

Launch 2024 bookings close this weekend

Posted on January 15, 2024 
Filed under Resources Comments Off on Launch 2024 bookings close this weekend

Phillip Jensen writes (15th January) –

“Next Sunday, 21 January, is the deadline for your budding uni students to register for Launch Camp. That means they have 6 days left.

Launch 2024 is filling up quickly now that the deadline is close and our Launch leaders are looking forward to welcoming many school leavers this year!”

“Launch is the camp for school leavers keen to live for Jesus. It is where you will

29th January – 1st February 2024, Stanwell Tops.”

– Be encouraged to share the link and to pray for those attending.

10 books to add to your Summer reading list

Posted on January 15, 2024 
Filed under Resources, Sydney Diocese Comments Off on 10 books to add to your Summer reading list

From SydneyAnglicans.net:

“The days are long, the breeze is cool, we’ve got a good book and we’re lounging by the pool. Sounds like a perfect summer day to me!

Here’s a short list of great books from the past 12 months that are worth stashing into your suitcase this season, as reviewed by our team and invited guest writers. …”

– See the list here.

How I rely on God with motor neurone disease

Posted on January 15, 2024 
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“My name is Gill Truman. I live in Bowral, I’m married to Matt and we have two boys – Charlie is 13 and Art is 11.

I have a jazzy computer that talks for me. Why? Because I have motor neurone disease. It is a progressive, terminal neurological disease with no known treatment or cure. …”

– In the latest (December – January) Southern Cross, Gill Truman shares her story to remind us all where we must put our trust.

Remembering Broughton Knox after 30 years

Posted on January 13, 2024 
Filed under History, People, Sydney Diocese Comments Off on Remembering Broughton Knox after 30 years

David Broughton Knox, Principal of Moore College 1959–1985, was called home 30 years ago, on January 14th 1994.

Who was Broughton Knox? Take the time to read these two tributes:

Sir Marcus Loane, Archbishop of Sydney 1966 – 1982, preached at his funeral at St. Andrew’s Cathedral:

“There were many strands in Broughton’s complex make-up as husband and father, teacher and friend. But all who knew him know that his life was ruled by a profound faith in God. That life was to span just a shade over seventy seven years from the time of his birth. And they were years crowded with quiet achievement as well as moments of high drama.

It was a life rich in friendship, in world-wide contacts, and in special fields of service. And it has left a mark for God that will endure in and beyond his own generation. …”

And Donald Robinson, Archbishop of Sydney 1982–1993, wrote a tribute for ACL News in 1994:

“It is no doubt too soon to estimate Broughton’s full contribution to the Australian Church. We can note something of its character, its thrust, and its scope, and we can voice our gratitude where we have personally been its beneficiaries.

Broughton was a theological person, whose mind and heart was focussed on the living God as He has made himself known. …”

See also:

Broughton Knox: servant of Christ Jesus – Dr Mark Thompson, May 15, 2017.

The Legacy of David Broughton Knox – October 24th 2018.

Expository Preaching on the wane? — David Cook, August 20th 2020.

Man articles by D B Knox – at Matthias Media’s The Briefing website.

A quote from Dr Knox’s address at the Annual General Meeting of the Anglican Church League in July 1993:

“We mustn’t limit the gospel to the feudalism of the past. Our present territorial boundaries, like a diocese or a parish, are feudal. … where the gospel is needed to be preached, we ought to be preaching it.”

Shortly before he and Ailsa left to help establish George Whitefield College in Cape Town in 1989, he spoke at Moore College on “What is a Christian?” – and prefaced his address with some comments on what he hoped to do in South Africa. (While the Vimeo page has the date as 12/10/1980, the year is almost certainly 1988.)

Thanks to Moore College’s Donald Robinson Library for making this available.

William Ansdell Leech (1842-1895) and the Fresh Air League

Posted on January 13, 2024 
Filed under History, Parishes, People Comments Off on William Ansdell Leech (1842-1895) and the Fresh Air League

“On 25 September 1890, in his parish of Bong Bong in the Southern Highlands of NSW, the Rev William Ansdell Leech, an Anglican clergyman, formed a Ministering Children’s League (MCL) group from which the NSW Fresh Air League (FAL) would arise.

Initially, the activity that gave rise to the FAL was Leech’s particular way of fulfilling the ideals of the MCL. It soon became apparent that providing holiday accommodation for poor children and families in a healthy mountainous environment was a ministry deserving of its own name. …”

– Paul Cooper, Research Fellow at Christ College, Sydney, provides another fascinating window in to the (not-so-distant) past at Philanthropists And Philanthropy In Australian Colonial History.

Image: colonialgivers.com

The crisis of episcopal leadership in the Church of England

Posted on January 13, 2024 
Filed under Church of England, Opinion Comments Off on The crisis of episcopal leadership in the Church of England

“We have a serious crisis in the episcopal leadership of the Church of England. It has more than one dimension to it, and, as with any crisis, it has been a long time coming. If your ceiling caves in because a water leak has weakened the structures, you can be sure that the water has been leaking for some while (as we found out in our kitchen a couple of years ago!). The dimensions of this crisis include questions of role, training and education, and selection and appointment—but also more fundamentally of theological vision.

These questions have been brought into sharp focus by the news, leaked to the BBC, that Paula Vennells, chief executive of the Post Office during the Horizon scandal when 700 postmasters were wrongly convicted of fraud, was shortlisted for the role of Bishop of London, historically the third most senior post after the two archbishops. …

She trained part-time on what was then the Oxford and St Albans course, and appears to have undertaken no further theological study. The idea that someone with so little theological understanding, and absolutely zero experience in stipendiary ministry, could be considered as a candidate for the third most senior position in the Church, is quite astonishing. It indicates a complete loss of faith in the importance of either ministerial experience or theological depth on the part of someone. And it does seem clear that she was put on the short list by Justin Welby…”

– Ian Paul pulls no punches at Psephizo.

Image: Ian Paul speaking at the Church of England’s General Synod in February 2023.

Gafcon Australasia Conference 2024

Posted on January 11, 2024 
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The Gafcon Australasia Conference is coming up in Brisbane at the start of July.

Details here.

Reformational Anglicanism and a New Global Communion — Dr. Ashley Null

Posted on January 10, 2024 
Filed under Anglican Communion, GAFCON, Global South Comments Off on Reformational Anglicanism and a New Global Communion — Dr. Ashley Null

Dr. Ashley Null gave the Inaugural John H. Rodgers Lecture at the Trinity School for Ministry in Pennsylvania on Reformation Day 2023.

“At the first Gafcon conference in Jerusalem in 2008, the Rt. Rev. John Hewitt Rodgers, Jr., in whose beloved memory this new, annual lecture series is now held, gave a landmark address entitled Where do we go from here?

In his Zoom Memoirs, recorded with the Rev. Dr. Stephen Noll, who is with us tonight, John commented that he considered this address to be the high point of his ministry in the wider Anglican Communion after retirement. High praise indeed for its message to which we should pay attention.

John began by noting a need to define what authentic Anglicanism actually is. Here is his brief description …”

The American Anglican Council has now published his address here.

Photo: GAFCON.

Reaching female university students for Christ

Posted on January 10, 2024 
Filed under Encouragement, Evangelism Comments Off on Reaching female university students for Christ

“Instant gratification is attractive. Especially to our Gen Z friends, with their supposed attention span of a mere 8 seconds.

Add to that the widely prevalent social anxiety – experienced by 90% of Gen Z according to one workplace study – and many of the ways that we come to Christ or grow in him are looking quite difficult. Anything that takes a long time, or involves other people. Concentrating for a 30min Bible talk. …

Each one, and the many not listed, presents some difficulty, and therefore invites both the evangelist and the evangelised to save their effort and just give up.

What are the implications of this for our evangelism, particularly to young people, and especially given the urgency of the task? Perhaps there are two broad approaches. …”

– At the Moore College website, Marlee Knight shares words of encouragement.

What to do about threats and weaknesses – with David Rietveld

Posted on January 9, 2024 
Filed under Evangelism, Resources Comments Off on What to do about threats and weaknesses – with David Rietveld

From the Pastor’s Heart at the start of their fourth year –

“The massive drop in church attendance is a crisis facing churches across the Western World and there are external pressures and internal weaknesses that need to be addressed at every level of the church. …

Even allowing for a covid factor, even assuming some sort of bounce back, these are figures that we should talk about.”

– An important topic. Watch or listen here.

See also:

After COVID: The Deepening Decline of the Church of England – The Living Church.

Nigeria – Christian Christmas massacre continues

Posted on January 9, 2024 
Filed under World news Comments Off on Nigeria – Christian Christmas massacre continues

“Attacks against Christian communities in Nigeria have continued into the new year, following a coordinated massacre of civilians over Christmas.

Partners of Release International, which serves the persecuted Church around the world, say 238 people were killed in attacks by Fulani militants between the 23rd of December and December 30. More have been killed since.

The governor of Plateau State has declared a week of prayer and mourning and there have been international calls to designate Nigeria as a country of particular concern…”

– Anglican.ink has this report from Andrew Boyd.

(Boyd also wrote the book Neither Bomb nor Bullet on Archbishop Ben Kwashi.)

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