Essentials
Friendship
- Written by: Peter Brain
Bishop Peter Brain proposes friendship as the challenge to our idolatrous exaltation of sex.
‘Friends will go anywhere with you, friends share the good and the bad,’ is a truth that resonates with us all.
Kenny Marks’s song squares with God’s intention, ‘It is not good for man to be alone’ (Gen 2:18), the proverbial wisdom ‘there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother’ (Prov 18:24), and the longing of every human heart for a ‘kindred spirit’.
My reason for writing this article on friendship is the long held conviction that friendships are the antidote to loneliness and the means by which God would meet our deep longings for intimacy and by so doing keep us from adopting the wrong strategy of seeking this intimacy in sexual relationships prior to or outside of marriage.
If we are to win the battle of encouraging sexual fidelity, we must demonstrate the wonderfully positive benefits of a whole range of friendships given to us by our loving Creator. In so doing we will understand the God given purpose of our sexuality, and the restraints he has put on it.
Homosexuality
- Written by: Ben Underwood
Ben Underwood asks how Christians will respond to the way our society is thinking about homosexuality.
The youth minister at my church invited me to talk to the youth group about homosexuality from a Christian perspective. I think this is a serious topic, and since it is difficult to turn on the TV or read the paper without encountering something to do with homosexuality at the moment, it also seems to me that we should be thinking and talking about it in our churches. So, having done some renewed reading in the area, I went along to then youth group and talked for just under an hour about homosexuality to the upper high schoolers. Apparently they had never been so attentive. The following article is a (grown-up) version of that talk.
What is homosexuality?
Editorial
- Written by: Dale Appleby
Marriage and sexuality are still in the news. The same-sex lobby has not slackened its pace. One by one governments are changing the laws about marriage. Christians may feel they are fighting a rearguard action. Maybe we are. Certainly our place in society is changing. The hostile parts of our community seem to be getting bolder in mockery and insult. Some of it, no doubt, the church community has asked for. One of the difficulties is to be heard. Rational discussion seems quite difficult.
So this issue of Essentials attempts to discuss some of the matters again for the sake of our EFAC community. Ben Underwood examines homosexuality from a number of angles and has a very helpful set of responses to it. Peter Brain reminds us of the biblical foundations of sexuality and marriage. He also proposes friendship as a challenge to the continuing idolatry of sex.
Same-sex friendship is one of the rallying cries of the debate. But Christians don’t have any problem with same-sex friendships. These, together with opposite-sex friendships, are the stuff church is made of. The problem is the sexualising of such friendships—a grievous matter being highlighted in the Royal Commission and in various news reports of pastors who have affairs with members of their congregations.
Ministering among those who have same-sex attraction is provocatively discussed by Haydn Sennitt. Issues in ministry among heterosexual teens is helpfully canvassed in a review of Patricia Weerakoon’s book Teen Sex by the Book. Four new books on sex and marriage are reviewed by Cailey Raffel—and there are other interesting bits in this issue as well.
For a complete change, Tony Nichols reflects on his second visit to China after 50 years and observes significant changes both in the country and the church.
Dale Appleby is the
rector of Christ the King Willetton in the Diocese of Perth, and the new editor of Essentials
New Archbishop of Sydney
- Written by: Dale Appleby
A former chair of EFAC Australia has been elected as the twelfth Archbishop of Sydney.
The Most Reverend Doctor Glenn Davies was born in 1950. He grew up on Sydney’s Northern Beaches and was educated at Sydney Church of England Grammar School. With a BSc from Sydney University, he worked as a mathematics teacher. Since coming to faith during his high school years, he was actively involved in Christian ministry, including youth and campus ministry, before deciding to enter the ministry full time.
He studied at Moore Theological College (DipA) and West-minster Theological Seminary (MDiv, ThM) and was ordained by the then Archbishop of Sydney, Sir Marcus Loane, in 1981. He gained a PhD from Sheffield University in 1988.
Essentials Spring 2013
- Written by: Chris Appleby
Essentials Spring 2013
Bullish about Lausanne
- Written by: Douglas Birdsall
As he departs the chair, Doug Birdsall reflects on the Lausanne Movement.
These are encouraging days for the Lausanne Movement, as we see the momentum from Cape Town 2010 continue. Let me tell you why I am bullish on Lausanne, why I believe it should command the respect of Christian leaders around the world and why I believe The Lausanne Movement should attract the generous investment and financial support of churches, foundations, ministries, and individual donors.
1. Legacy of truth and trust. Billy Graham and John Stott were two of the greatest evangelical leaders of our time. They shaped the Lausanne Movement and have personified its vision and values. They summon us to be our best selves.
2. Authoritative documents that provide wisdom for the global church: The Lausanne Covenant; Manila Manifesto; and The Cape Town Commitment.
3. Grandeur of vision: The whole church taking the whole gospel to the whole world.
On Your Toes
- Written by: Sam Oldland
Youth Ministry on the Front Foot
Edited by Zachary Veron
Youthworks Press 2012
ISBN 9781922000125
Put the ‘ministry’ back into youth ministry with Sam Oldland.
Whether you are a novice youth minister (the position I find myself in), a seasoned veteran or a member of a team, ‘Youth Ministry on the Front Foot’ provides a refreshingly practical and reader-friendly guide to the complex world and responsibilities of youth ministry.
’Youth Ministry on the Front Foot’ is written from (and for) the Australian context. Thirty-five chapters by thirteen contributing authors are collected under four broad themes: youth ministry, the youth leader, youth ministry principles and developing youth leaders. The bite-sized chapters cover a variety of topics including: developing youth leaders,
engaging with social media, managing issues of gender and sexuality and running a youth camp. Each chapter is accompanied by an application guide which poses questions to challenge readers. The structure helps readers to engage with each principle and not be overwhelmed by the book’s breadth.
It seems immensely popular in youth ministry today to espouse a foolproof strategy for exploding numbers and assured salvation while condemning competing models or strategies. ‘Youth Ministry on the Front Foot’ engages with programming elements of youth ministry (particularly in chapter 3 ‘Putting the horse before the cart’ and chapter 13 ‘How to make your youth group fun and fulfilling’) without campaigning for any specific model of ministry. Graham Stanton asserts that, ‘strategy must come second, but it must come second’ (page 37). Always in first place is the discipling of young people and the proclamation of the gospel.
‘Youth Ministry on the Front Foot’ puts the ‘ministry’ into youth ministry (chapter 1 is titled ‘It’s all about Jesus’). An array of instructions are presented for communicating Jesus and the Word to young people and empowering youth to be the primary ministers of the gospel in their context rather than volunteer or paid leaders. I found this one of the most encouraging and exciting themes of the book. Cameron Hyslop calls out the all-too-common approach of encouraging youth to invite their friends along to hear the gospel when we should be equipping the saints for works of ministry, to share the gospel themselves (chapter 16). Mike Everett urges leaders to encourage and unleash the passion and gifts that youth possess, refusing to buy into the cultural lie that teenagers have nothing to offer (chapter 10). Reading ‘Youth Ministry On The Front Foot’ has challenged me to reconsider how I view the youth I lead and how I will spur on my leadership team to equip and encourage teenagers as ministers of the gospel.
The authors are to be commended for their focus on Scripture. They repeatedly place the Bible at the centre of their teaching and implore youth leaders to teach faithfully. Perhaps lacking though is a chapter on other forms of worship for youth (such as singing praise as a community, acts of service beyond evangelism or the importance of praying together). The brevity of each chapter meant that I was often left wanting more, but there is always sufficient to prompt further thinking or reading. The application guide at the conclusion of each chapter makes the book a reflective tool for groups. I will be putting it to good use with my leadership team.
‘Youth Ministry on the Front Foot’ left me encouraged and strengthened. It serves as a concise and insightful reference for youth ministries of all shapes and sizes.
Sam Oldland is finishing his first undergraduate degree and is the rookie part-time youth minister at St Alfred’s Blackburn North.