The Anglican credibility crunch
Posted on March 19, 2009
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“Institutional complacency is still widespread in England where the momentum of the past is especially strong. Despite the additional strains that General Synod’s move towards the consecration of women as bishops has introduced, there is a tendency to think that on the whole the Anglican crisis is something which is being played out in Africa and on the other side of the Atlantic…” – Charles Raven writes at SPREAD.
Never let the gospel get smaller
Posted on March 18, 2009
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“Here is a simple exhortation that I have been trying to implement in our family: Seek to see and feel the gospel as bigger as years go by rather than smaller. …”
– John Piper has encouraging advice – at Desiring God.
Gambling on Good Friday a ‘terrible desecration’
Posted on March 17, 2009
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From Anglican Media Melbourne:
Anglican Archbishop of Melbourne, Dr Philip Freier, today described Tabcorp’s proposed move to allow gambling on Good Friday as a “terrible desecration.”
“Good Friday is a day of profound significance for many Australians because it’s the day we remember Christ’s suffering and death on the cross. Read more
Latest 9Marks eJournal: Advice for young pastors
Posted on March 16, 2009
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The latest 9Marks eJournal has been released – with a focus on help for ministers who are new to a church. Topics include:
Is this a hill worth dying on? – Matt Schmucker
What I can and cannot live with as a Pastor – Mark Dever
Love the church more than its health – Jonathan Leeman
Should Pastors change anything in the first year? – Phillip Jensen
Worth downloading – from 9Marks (592kb – pdf direct link).
Tim Keller in London: videos
Posted on March 16, 2009
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Tim Keller recently spoke at the Newfrontiers Conference in London. Video of his three talks is now available on Vimeo. (h/t Adrian Warnock.)
1. Preaching the Gospel – 77 minutes.
2. The City – 65 minutes.
3. Cultural Transformation – 52 minutes.
Niagara to begin same-sex blessings
Posted on March 16, 2009
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The Bishop of Niagara has informed the Archbishop of Canterbury that his south central Ontario diocese will begin blessing same-sex unions. Writing in the March issue of his diocesan newspaper, the Rt Rev Michael Bird said that in January he met with Dr Rowan Williams at Lambeth Palace to brief the archbishop … that it was his intention to authorize gay blessings…
– Report from George Conger at Religious Intelligence. (Photo: Diocese of Niagara.)
Dallas and Sth Carolina question process
Posted on March 14, 2009
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Kendall Harmon reports that the Executive Council of the Diocese of Dallas and the Convention of the Diocese of South Carolina have questioned the ‘election’ of a single candidate, the Rev. Kevin Thew Forrester, as the bishop of the Diocese of Northern Michigan.
(h/t Stand Firm.) See also Bishop-elect Forrester’s answer to critics of his Buddhist practices (pdf file – direct link). Photo: Episcopal News Service.
How to save an empty church building
Posted on March 14, 2009
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Alpha’s Nicky Gumbel is the darling of the London diocese. Vicar of Holy Trinity Brompton, the Golden Goose of London with all its rich, young and beautiful worshippers in Knightsbridge, Kensington and countless “planted” offshoots, the Bishop of London Richard Chartres is fulsome in his praises of the merits of this evangelical stronghold. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, speaks there often.
So what has inspired the star of numerous Alpha videos to weigh in against the diocese? It is, as we report, the proposed sale of St Mark’s Mayfair to the developer of Covent Garden’s Sanctuary, to be turned into an alternative health centre.
– Ruth Gledhill at The Times writes on London Diocese’s decision to sell off a church building. (Photo: Save St Marks.)
Lessons from Little Rock
Posted on March 13, 2009
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On the 6th April 1998 TJ Johnston, an Episcopal priest and senior pastor of an unofficial church plant in Little Rock, Arkansas, became a missionary priest of the Province of Rwanda under the oversight of John K. Rucyahana, Bishop of Shyira. …
Though growing, the church was small and did not have much in the way of financial or social muscle, but this courageous stand set off a chain of events which was to lead to the formation of the Anglican Mission in America and create the precedent for other African jurisdictions which are now coming together in the emergent Province of the Anglican Church in North America with over 100,000 regular Sunday worshippers. …
– Charles Raven writes at SPREAD.
Theology at the Keyboard: an idea for Connect09?
Posted on March 13, 2009
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Recently, Capitol Hill Baptist Church ran one of its Henry Forums – and pianist Jennifer Jackson spoke on ‘Bach and the Goldberg Variations’.
Sound a bit high brow? Listen to her talk and consider how something similar (yet on a completely different topic!) might be a helpful avenue of gospel outreach for your church.
Breaking up hard to do
Posted on March 12, 2009
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“The Anglican Church of Canada has reached the point where its bureaucracy has outlived its compassion. There. I said it. And I can speak with at least some small authority, considering that I was once an Anglican myself, although my observations led to enough disillusionment to see my departure from the Anglican Church. …”
– Walker Morrow writes in The Citizen. h/t Anglican Essentials Canada blog. (Crest: Diocese of British Columbia.)
Investing in bookshops
Posted on March 11, 2009
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“A personal theological library is a vital tool for anyone serious about serving the gospel. It is important to invest in good Christian books. But have you ever considered the importance of investing in good Christian bookshops? …”
– At the Sola Panel, Lionel Windsor exhorts Christians to think about where they buy their Christian books.
Carson on ‘How to wait for Jesus’
Posted on March 10, 2009
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Don Carson preached Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis (where John Piper serves) several weeks ago. He spoke in two sermons on ‘How to wait for Jesus’.
They are now available as mp3 downloads – direct links here – Talk 1, Talk 2. (Thanks to Desiring God.)
Suddenly it’s over for the Anglican Communion
Posted on March 9, 2009
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“Like a dam that has been under pressure for some time, the Anglican Communion has, I believe, suddenly and irrevocably broken. They think its all over? It is now. …
In short, at the structural level in North America, the revisionist ‘Liberals’ have won. …
If the election of a Buddhism-practising bishop can be accepted without a whimper both within TEC and beyond, then clearly the end of the moratorium on consecrating those in active gay relationships cannot be far off.”
– John Richardson on the state of the Communion.
Another Vancouver Island parish leaves diocese
Posted on March 9, 2009
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The congregation of St Matthias Anglican Church, in Victoria, British Columbia voted decisively on Sunday, March 8, to come under the episcopal oversight of Bishop Donald Harvey, Moderator of the Anglican Network in Canada (ANiC)… St Matthias, which is one of the largest Anglican parishes on Vancouver Island, is the 16th former Anglican Church of Canada parish and the third on Vancouver Island to join ANiC in the past 13 months … 94.4 per cent in favour of realigning with ANiC…
– news from the Anglican Network in Canada.
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…