National
National
New Westminster – New Gospel; the ANiC trial
- Written by: Charles Raven anglicanspread.org
Court cases between orthodox parishes and revisionist dioceses have, sadly, become something of a commonplace in North America, but the current court battle in the Supreme Court of British Columbia between four Anglican Network in Canada parishes, including St John’s Shaughnessy, and the Anglican Church of Canada’s Diocese of New Westminster led by Bishop Michael Ingham is proving to be very revealing.
This is the first time a Canadian court has been asked to rule on the question of overall control of Anglican church property. The trial itself began on 25th May and has some time to go, with judgement not expected until late summer, but whether they win or lose, the Anglican Network in Canada (ANiC) has already done orthodox Anglicans – if they take notice - a great service by this bold decision to take a legal stand.
Moore College confronts turbulent future
- Written by: John Woodhouse courtesy Sydney Anglican Network
John Woodhouse
April 27th, 2009
It is a privilege greater than I can put into words to share in what the Lord our God is doing at Moore College. The Lord continues to send to the College the finest body of Christian men and women it has ever been my privilege to meet, to study and prepare for a life of Christian ministry. What is happening at Moore College is extraordinary.
Of course there is a foolishness in this kind of talk. But there is a time for us to soberly recognise the goodness of God’s work among us, and its importance for the cause of Christ, for the cause of evangelical Christianity in this city and around the world, for the cause of growing and planting churches, for the cause of the light of the gospel shining in the darkness of this world, for the cause of sinners being saved.
The heart of Moore College is evangelical faithfulness, joined to theological seriousness, expressed in mission-mindedness.
By evangelical faithfulness, I mean a deep and personal commitment to the evangelical faith expressed in a real love for the Lord Jesus Christ and trust in his sin-bearing death, a firm confidence in the written word of God and a whole-hearted desire for Christ to be made known in all the world and that many might be saved.
Locals complete Driscoll boot camp
- Written by: EFAC Aust
Locals complete Driscoll boot camp
By Natasha Percy
An Australian church-planting network is in the wings after Bishop Al Stewart and four other Australian church-planting enthusiasts attended a boot camp and international church-planting conference in Seattle last month. The event was run by Acts 29, a network founded by Mark Driscoll and supported by Mars Hill Church, which provides friendship, coaching and resources to church planters. The network currently includes over 130 churches from nine countries.
Bishop Stewart, along with Andrew Heard from Central Coast Evangelical Church, Steve Chong from Kirkplace Presbyterian Kogarah and RICE, Guy Mason from Docklands Church, Melbourne and Mikey Lynch from Crossroads Church, Hobart had been planning the trip for some time. To build momentum and gauge the interest in an Australian church-planting network, they held a conference in Sydney in February. “We would have been happy with 40 people; we had approximately 160 turn up,” Bishop Stewart says. This included people from different denominations, but also men from Brisbane, Melbourne, Hobart, and Adelaide.”
The March 9-11 boot camp and conference drew 800 people from across the US and nine other countries. Key themes at the conference were taking risks to engage with non-believers and tell them the gospel, and the need for endurance and hard work.
As all five planters look towards the formation of this network, Bishop Stewart says the Seattle experience has yielded wisdom in crucial areas:
Encouragement from the booming church China
- Written by: EFAC Aust
One billion souls to save
March 28- Jane Macartney
Christianity in China is booming. With 100 million believers, far more than the 74 million-member communist party, Jesus is a force to be reckoned with in the People’s Republic. We talk to the new faithful who love China – but love God more
A murmur of “Amen” echoes softly down a corridor in a luxury Beijing hotel. Dozens of young Chinese are gathered in a beige-carpeted conference room to listen to the word of God. After helping themselves to hot water or tea at the back of the room, they find a seat and chatter with friends. They tuck Louis Vuitton and Prada handbags under their seats, switch their mobile phones to silent and turn to listen to a young woman who takes the microphone to ask for silence and recite a prayer.
A casually dressed, grey-haired Chinese man takes to the podium. “Let us begin with a look at the Gospel of Saint John.” There is a rustling of pages as converts and curious open their Bibles. Almost everyone in the room is scarcely a day over 30. Most look as if they are in their early twenties. They are fashionably dressed – girls with high-heeled boots, men sporting trendy knitted hats. This is Friday night Bible class in Beijing. And it is a weekend venue of choice for growing numbers of well-off middle-class city sophisticates.
The fact that this class is technically illegal, run by pastors lacking approval from the state-sanctioned Protestant church, is not the attraction. These are not young people seeking a frisson of excitement from some underground activity. They are at the forefront of a movement sweeping China – the search for spiritual satisfaction now that Marx is démodé.
John Dickson speaks at EFAC VIC AGM
- Written by: EFAC Aust
Recently John Dickson from the Centre for Public Christianity, gave an excellent address to the EFAC Victoria Dinner & AGM. Over 100 people heard John speak
on the topic of promoting the Gospel- How to encourage our people in Evangelism without disheartening them. An audio of his talk is here.
Photos of the evening are here. </p