Essentials
Life of Brian
- Written by: Brian Rosner
The Revd Dr Brian Rosner, Principal of Ridley Melbourne, speaks to EFAC.
EFAC: Brian, why did you apply for and accept the role of Principal at Ridley?
Brian: I knew of Ridley’s fine reputation as an evangelical college committed to effective training for a range of gospel ministries under the leadership of Peter Adam. To be honest, I wasn’t looking for such a role myself, but was encouraged to apply by a couple of friends whose opinion I respect. So it was a matter of exploring the possibility with the Ridley Board and praying for God’s guidance, and eventually a new measure of faith and courage.
EFAC: A year into the job as principal of Ridley Melbourne, what have been your highlights?
Brian: The biggest highlight has been the people. I am happy to report that Ridley has delightful students, a strong faculty with diverse gifts, warm and able administrative staff, passionate stakeholders, and a competent and supportive board, not to mention excellent food! There is a genuine team spirit around the college, springing from our common commitment to Jesus Christ. The warmth of the gospel is evident everywhere you look.
It’s been a busy year, with three faculty appointments, the Marketplace Institute and Ridley Certificate getting up and running, and the development of a strategic plan for the next five years in the mix. We have a slew of visiting speakers this year, including Paul Barnett, Tom Wright and Mark Dever. And we are exploring some partnerships with organisations like the Centre for Public Christianity and Gordon-Conwell Seminary in the USA.
The job comes with an abundance of exciting opportunities and also significant challenges.
Four by Four
- Written by: Wei-Han Kuan
Wei-Han Kuan explains why evangelicalism has survived in the Anglican Diocese of Melbourne.
I remember being completely astounded when I was first told that the Diocese of Melbourne was originally the most vigorously evangelical of all the Australian Anglican dioceses. This piece of information was passed on to me some time in the 1990s, when I was actively considering signing up to the said Diocese as a candidate for ordination. To my historically naïve mind, nothing could seem further from the truth! I was weighing up the pros and cons of committing to a lifetime of ministry in a diocese whose true character—it seemed patently obvious to me at the time—was mixed and even majority Anglo-Catholic in ritual and probably liberal in theological emphasis. Evangelicals, it seemed to me, were a minority either concentrated in a few flagship parishes such as St Jude’s Carlton, St Hilary’s Kew and St Mark’s Emerald—the domain of the three Peters: Peter Adam, Peter Corney and Peter Crawford—or huddled in outposts such as St Paul’s Glen Waverley, where I lived; or St Matthias’ North Richmond, where I attended.
Fourteen Incontrovertible Arguments in Favour of Expository Preaching
- Written by: Peter Adam
Revised 2008
[If John Maxwell can be incontrovertible about Leadership I don’t see why I shouldn’t be incontrovertible about Preaching!]
In his book “The Contemporary Christian”, John Stott describes the preacher’s task as follows: “To preach is to open up the inspired text with such faithfulness and sensitivity that God’s voice is heard and God’s people obey him”. I want to argue that best [but not the only] way of preaching is Expository Preaching – that is preaching and teaching through books of the Bible one by one.
I’m not arguing for boring Expository Preaching, nor do I think that the expository method will by itself ensure that the full message of the Bible is heard. I am arguing that as a general practice Expository Preaching makes sense and is of great value to the preacher and the congregation.
Read more: Fourteen Incontrovertible Arguments in Favour of Expository Preaching
The PEACE Plan
- Written by: Beverley Churchward
Pastoral care by everyone for everyone. Jill McGilvray shows the way.
God’s Love in Action: Pastoral Care for Everyone
Jill McGilvray
Acorn Press 2009
ISBN 9780908284849
‘A new commandment I give to you: that you love one another as I have loved you’ (John 13:34). Caring for others is not an optional extra. Jill McGilvray’s booklet God’s Love in Action is a relevant and valuable resource. It is the culmination of a pastoral journey undertaken by McGilvray and the people of St Matthew’s Anglican Church, West Pennant Hills, Sydney.
It has been written for use by individuals who want to develop their skills in caring for others within the church context, but also by small groups or as part of a weekly training course over four weeks or as a seminar.
In section one McGilvray looks at the concept of God as our shepherd and people appointed by God, as shepherds of one another. She also reflects on the ‘one another’ verses in the New Testament as a hallmark of Christian community as well as on the ‘God of all comfort’ from 2 Corinthians 1 and 7. Personal bible studies and reflections are included and her suggestions on ways to practically show love are especially worthwhile.
Youth ministry that lasts
- Written by: Lisa Brown
According to Mark DeVries, to build a lively youth ministry you first have to get the boring stuff right.
Sustainable Youth Ministry: Why Most Youth Ministry Doesn’t Last and What Your Church Can Do About It
Mark DeVries
InterVarsity Press 2008
ISBN 9780830833610
If a strong, healthy, sustainable youth ministry was a product you could buy at a Christian bookshop it would be in the ‘most popular’ section. Most churches would love to have one but the sad reality is that there are many youth ministries that are unsustainable in the long term.
While this may be attributed to the person in charge of the youth ministry, Mark DeVries points out that the longevity of a youth ministry has a lot more to do with the church as a whole. A common misconception is that if you want young people in your church then the first step is to employ a good youth minister. Unfortunately this quick fix solution can be just that, a quick fix without lasting impact or results.
DeVries’ accurate diagnosis is that the strength of a youth ministry has a lot more to do with overall leadership and structures within the church rather than just the youth minister. He points out that growing a sustainable youth ministry and discipling the next generation of young people is the responsibility of the entire church.
DeVries does not offer any quick ‘fix it’ solutions but his years of church consulting experience says that ‘building a sustainable, thriving youth ministry is not only possible, it’s actually predictable’ (page 11). He highlights key structures and patterns for success in youth ministry; noting two key components of systems thinking:
Architecture: the structure of sustainability; and
Atmosphere: the culture, climate and ethos that sustain the health of an organisation or ministry.
Most youth ministers will not be too excited to hear that creating a strong foundation for a sustainable youth ministry comes through establishing sustainable systems: i.e. by doing a lot of administration! This book is an encouragement to work ‘on’ the youth ministry to make sure the foundation is healthy, rather than putting out fires ‘in’ the youth ministry. A great tip for producing a strong foundation is to ensure that clear vision documents have been developed for the youth ministry; a mission statement, measurable goals, statement of values. This will produce a purposeful structure and clear direction to start building upon.
DeVries likens the foundation of the ministry to a dance floor. If it is repaired and maintained then the talented, trained dancer will be able to succeed. Often churches blame the lack of success in youth ministry on the ‘dancer’ or youth minister rather than looking at the dance floor which is often in disrepair. DeVries points out the reasons why many dance floors in are in disrepair and gives practical steps to help the foundation become strong. A great place to start is by making sure that the youth minister has a clear job description and by ensuring that there is a documented process for recruiting volunteer leaders.
An excellent read for anyone who is interested in seeing their church’s youth ministry flourish over the long haul.
Lisa Brown is a faculty member of Ridley Melbourne, where she trains youth ministers. Lisa is married to Phil, lives in Maribyrnong and has recently discovered the joy of growing things in her garden.
They don’t get along
- Written by: Wayne Schuller
Peter Hitchens, brother of the famous anti-theist, Christopher Hitchens, describes how atheism led him to faith.
The Rage Against God: How Atheism Led Me to Faith
Peter Hitchens
Harper Collins 2010
ISBN 9780310320319
Peter and Christopher Hitchens have a shared heritage of British nominal Christianity and the embracing of atheism as a form of intellectual emancipation. ‘I set fire to my Bible on the playing fields of my Cambridge boarding school one bright, windy spring afternoon in 1967. I was 15 years old’ (page 7).
Peter has since returned to an active Christian faith after decades of leftist-atheism, whilst his brother Christopher has become a great preacher of the new atheism. This book is a banquet of biography, a prophetic evaluation of 20th Century Western Christian culture, a defence of common objections to the
Christian faith, and an undressing of self-assured anti-theism.
Peter has written this book as a record of his own journey, and also to help those who might be potentially ‘enchanted by the arguments of the anti-religious intellects of our age’ (page 2). Having been on the inside, he is able to shine a light on the motives and arrogance that makes up much of popular atheism.
Peter argues that the biggest weakness of his brother’s ‘faith’ is that ‘he often assumes that moral truths are self-evident, attributes purpose to the universe and swerves dangerously round the problem of conscience—which surely cannot be conscience if he is right—he is astonishingly unable to grasp that these assumptions are problems for his argument. This inability closes his mind to a great part of the debate, and so this makes his atheist faith insuperable for as long as he himself chooses to accept it’ (page 3). This inability is revealed with insufferable repetition in the 2009 documentary Collision—which narrates a string of public debates Christopher Hitchens held with the American Christian pastor and writer, Douglas Wilson. This DVD is highly recommended as both entertaining and thought-provoking viewing (see www.collisionmovie.com).
Peter puts forward a cogent case that the decay of 21st Century Western societies is due to the 20th Century decay of credal Christianity. He is scathing of Church of England nominalism in the last 100 years, especially in relation to English patriotism and the two World Wars. His reflections on the ‘national cult’ of British patriotism also critique our own Anzac traditions and loyalties.
As a professional journalist, Peter’s observations of the 20th Century have a breadth of wisdom and evidence, not least his insights comparing five years of living in Russia and his return to London at the turn of the century. As part of his spiritual journey he observes what effect predominant belief systems have on the virtue of any society: ‘I also concluded that a high moral standard cannot be reached or maintained unless it is generally accepted and understood by an overwhelming number of people. I have since concluded that a hitherto Christian society which was de-Christianised would also face such problems, because I have seen public discourtesy and incivility spreading rapidly in my own country as Christianity is forgotten’ (page 66).
Peter knows 20th century history exceedingly well. He was thoroughly versed in and supportive of leftist atheistic regimes, and of the excuses required to maintain this ideology in the face of repeated atrocity after atrocity. He is now ‘baffled and frustrated by the strange insistence of my anti-theist brother that the cruelty of Communist anti-theist regimes does not reflect badly on his case and his cause. It unquestionably does. Soviet Communism is organically linked to atheism, materialist rationalism and most of the other causes the new atheists support. It used the same language, treasured the same hopes and appealed to the same constituency as atheism today’ (page 100).
The biographical elements are sparse but riveting. The poetic majesty of the KJV and traditional Anglican 1662 Book of Common Prayer liturgy connected and awakened suppressed beliefs for Hitchens. In fact his journey back to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ came in part through his wife and children’s baptism in a traditional Church of England parish. As Anglican Evangelicals, what does it say of us that should we be surprised by this? There is more than one way to skin a secularist cat—of his brother he suggests that ‘it is my belief that passions as strong as his are more likely to be countered by the unexpected force of poetry, which can ambush the human heart at any time’ (page 3).
At 160 pages this is a concise book, eminently readable and well worth giving to our atheist friends. It represents a challenge to evangelicals who, being weak on history and aesthetics, are often left to debate on the narrow turf of Enlightenment categories. It highlights Christian failures but it also offers philosophical and historical ways forward from our Anglican heritage.
As a weakness, presentation of the person and work of Jesus Christ is significantly absent in this book. But it is a penetrating critique of the spirit of our age and I pray it opens eyes for many to consider the ascended Saviour-King.
Wayne Schuller is Vicar of Berwick Anglican Church in Melbourne’s booming south-eastern growth corridor.
Leviticus for Lent II
- Written by: John Wilson
John Wilson responds to Andrew Malone’s introduction to Leviticus.
Andrew Malone in the last issue of Essentials has provided us with a helpful introduction to the book on Leviticus with the aim of getting it, along with other neglected parts of the Old Testament, back on the agenda. He sees it as fertile soil for nurturing believers in biblical theology. He has listed five possible themes to be explored.
‘Lectures for Lent’ assumed that Leviticus could form a sermon series in Lent. How will the congregation know what Lent is? How will they be reminded that the weeks of Lent have traditionally been set aside for congregations to do some extra study? Will there be a clear linking between Jesus’ 40 days being tested in the wilderness and the period between Ash Wednesday and Good Friday as the church has traditionally done, so that people see this period as an opportunity for reflection on their own progress and purpose as Christians and also the opportunity to do some extra Bible study?