“Equality” Bill threatens religious freedom in NSW

Posted on January 22, 2024 
Filed under Australia, Culture wars Comments Off on “Equality” Bill threatens religious freedom in NSW

“Independent MP Mr A H Greenwich last year introduced a private member’s bill called the Equality Legislation Amendment (LGBTIQA+) Bill 2023 (“the Bill”) into the NSW Parliament. It is understood that time will be allowed for debate on the Bill on February 8, 2024.

Freedom for Faith has an excellent overview of the many areas covered by the Bill and why the Bill should not proceed. Most private member’s Bills are not approved, but there is a danger that some MP’s might support some of the provisions of this Bill.

In this post I will focus on some of the dangers to religious freedom in NSW if the Bill were passed. (There are so many that I may not cover them all in one post, and if I can I will try to pick up those I miss here in a later post.)

… the amendments to s 56, if enacted, would radically undermine the freedom of religious groups to operate in accordance with their faith. They, along with the other proposals in this Bill, should be rejected if they come to a vote in the Parliament. As noted above, Freedom for Faith has provided a summary of the other proposals in the Bill, and links at that website will allow those who want to, to write to their MP to let them know their views.”

– Neil Foster draws attention to an alarming development in New South Wales.

Do take the time to read it all – and consider contacting your MP.

(Image: Assoc Prof. Foster at a Sydney Diocese training day.)

Three Lessons from 234 Pastors’ Libraries

Posted on January 22, 2024 
Filed under History, Resources Comments Off on Three Lessons from 234 Pastors’ Libraries

“One of the most common assumptions about pastors throughout church history is that they are men of books – that reading is central to a pastor’s ministry. If you walk into your pastor’s office – he might even call it his ‘study’ – it will almost surely be full of books (2 Tim. 4:13).

But it wasn’t always this way. From our perch in 2023, we easily forget how significant the introduction of the printing press was to the history of the church. Prior to its invention, books were rare, usually only owned by wealthy men and women or tucked away in a monastery. Hardly any ordinary Europeans would have owned more than one book prior to 1450. …”

– At 9Marks, Forrest Strickland shares three lessons from history.

GAFCON Australasia plans a youth-focussed conference

Posted on January 22, 2024 
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“GAFCON Australasia’s second conference has set its sights firmly on the future of the church in Australia, for the first time welcoming youth to be fully involved in the movement.

GAFCON, the Global Anglican Future Conference, began as a meeting in Jerusalem in 2008 and grew into a movement for reform and renewal in the Anglican Church across the world. The Australasian branch held its first conference in Canberra in 2022, where it announced the formation of the Diocese of the Southern Cross to cover congregations that had to withdraw from the Anglican Church in various parts of Australia because of teaching that went against the Bible.  …”

– Russell Powell reports at SydneyAnglicans.net.

Photo: GAFCON Aust 2022 conference in Canberra.

Victorians gather to lift their eyes at Summer Under the Son

Posted on January 21, 2024 
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“Hundreds of people have gathered to lift their eyes to God’s work throughout the world at CMS Victoria’s annual Summer Under the Son conference in Melbourne. …”

– The Melbourne Anglican.

Bishop of Newcastle to attend International Ecumenical Gathering

Posted on January 21, 2024 
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“The Bishop of Newcastle is packing his bags for a religious journey of the highest order in Rome and Canterbury next week. …”

– Report from The Newcastle Weekly.

Photo: Diocese of Newcastle.

Post-Restoration Reformed Anglicans

Posted on January 20, 2024 
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Church Society’s Lee Gatiss shares some history about Post-Restoration Reformed Anglicans –

“The ejection of many of the Puritans from the Church of England in 1662 was not the end of the story for Puritanism, for Reformed theology, or for the gospel in the established church.

This lecture looks at a common tendentious reading of church history and by examining the lives and teaching of three significant Anglicans in the later Stuart period …”

– See it at Church Society.

Plans for Consecration of GAFCON General Secretary Paul Donison announced

Posted on January 19, 2024 
Filed under GAFCON, People Comments Off on Plans for Consecration of GAFCON General Secretary Paul Donison announced

Here’s an Announcement from The Most Rev. Dr. Laurent Mbanda, Chair, Gafcon Primates’ Council, Primate & Archbishop of Rwanda:

“Dear Brothers and Sisters within our Gafcon family,

On behalf of the Gafcon Primates, it is my joy to announce the upcoming consecration of our General Secretary, the Reverend Canon Paul Donison, as a Bishop in our Lord’s one, holy, catholic and apostolic church on 4 February 2024 at Holy Trinity Cathedral in Kigali, Rwanda.

At our November 2023 meeting in London, the Primates passed a resolution asking that Dean Donison be consecrated, as the role of General Secretary is episcopal in nature: guarding and expanding the mission and unity of the Church, and helping to convene the Councils of the Church.

In December 2023, the House of Bishops of the Anglican Church of Rwanda agreed to consecrate Dean Donison as Bishop if the ACNA College of Bishops approved. Furthermore, in January 2024 the synod of the Metropolitan Diocese of Gasabo unanimously resolved that Dean Paul be consecrated as assistant Bishop of Gasabo Diocese.

On 9 January, 2024, the College of Bishops of the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA), consented to the proposal that following his consecration, Bishop-elect Donison will be transferred to the Anglican Church in North America, and Invested as Vicar General (Area Bishop) of the Texas Deanery of the Anglican Diocese of the South. A service of Investiture and Celebration of his New Ministry as Gafcon General Secretary will be held at Christ Church Cathedral, Plano, Texas, USA, on 17 February 2024.

One of Gafcon’s priorities is to raise up a next generation of global leaders, and the Primates are unanimous in our conviction that Paul is the right person to assume this office “for such a time as this” (Esther 4:14).

I ask your prayers for Bishop-elect Paul, his wife, Monika, their daughters, and for our whole Gafcon movement. …”

– Source: GAFCON.

The T. B. Joshua Story points to a problem in many churches

Posted on January 18, 2024 
Filed under Opinion, Resources Comments Off on The T. B. Joshua Story points to a problem in many churches

“The recent expose by the BBC on the late prophet T. B. Joshua is heart rending.

The reports and eyewitness accounts point to what is without a doubt a massive tragedy on many levels. To witness someone in authority in a church be able to perpetuate so much abuse for so long with complete impunity makes your blood boil. To see the lives of so many people scarred, perhaps for the rest of their lives, cuts to the heart. It puts on full display the ugliness of sin or evil and its power to hide and grow. It should make us all long ever more eagerly for the day of our Lord’s return to judge every lawbreaker and to make all things new.

However, to my mind, one of the greatest tragedies from this saga is that countless similar scandals have happened before in the African church. More so, they’re almost certainly going to happen again. Soon. …”

– At The Gospel Coalition Africa, Oyewole Akande in Lagos (pictured) speaks of a problem which is not always confined to Africa.

Five lessons I learnt this summer

Posted on January 17, 2024 
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“CMS Summer School 2024 helped me grow in my faith and challenged me in how I approach my own partnership in cross-cultural mission.

At great conferences like Summer School, I can feel overwhelmed by so much deep and wise insight.

I appreciated the chance to reflect for a couple of minutes after each of the Bible talks from Galatians, while still sitting in the auditorium. And with some more time to reflect in the days since, here are five lessons from the conference that stood out to me – a mix of new challenges, as well as much-needed reminders of gospel truth. …”

– CMS’ Naomi Jones reflects on what she learned at CMS Summer School at Katoomba this year. At Eternity News.

Riding the wave of significant growth — with Indian Ocean Archbishop James Wong

Posted on January 17, 2024 
Filed under Anglican Communion, GAFCON, Global South, People Comments Off on Riding the wave of significant growth — with Indian Ocean Archbishop James Wong

From The Pastor’s Heart:

“Gospel ministry in the Indian Ocean is growing rapidly.

Anglican Primate James Wong leads the ministry in Seychelles, Madagascar and Mauritius and is visiting Sydney, on a speaking tour of the Church Missionary Society Australian Summer Conferences.

Archbishop Wong charts a course for further growth in ministry in his region.

Plus he outlines the detailed back room work taking place to reset the Anglican Communion, following the failure of the Church of England leadership to repent, ahead of the significant Global South meeting in Cairo in June.

Archbishop Wong is an advisor to the Gafcon Primates Council and serves on the leadership group of the Anglican Global South Fellowship.”

– Watch or listen here.

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

Posted on January 16, 2024 
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“ ‘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.

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