I got plenty of food for thought from Mark Driscoll’s two lectures at the Sydney Ministry Intensive conference the other week. As he was requested, Mark delivered what he called “the wounds of a friend” (Prov 27:6) who shares many theological convictions with us Moore College-types. Much of his analysis was penetrating. Again, I was impressed with how hard and well he has tried to understand Sydney’s cultures—both church and pagan.
Monthly Archives: September 2008
Mark Driscoll rolls grenade down aisle
Mark Driscoll recently addressed 600+ Christian leaders at St Andrew’s Anglican Cathedral (1 September, 2008) about ‘18 obstacles to effective evangelism in Australia’. Below is a summary of the address taken from Gordon’s blog (after me cleaning up the text a little):
The Word and the Bible
In our last two classic Briefing snippets, we’ve looked at how Christianity is essential a word-centred faith, and also at how that focus relates to the Spirit. In this third and final snippet (from the third and final article in the series), we turn to this question: When we talk about the centrality and importance of the ‘Word of God’ are we simply talking about the Bible, or something different or more than that? (more…)
Server troubles
Apologies for all the server troubles. We are now back online and have fixed the problem with the redirect to Ben’s blog.
You need more money, and other false teaching
Here is a quote from what I was reading on the bus yesterday.
I’m going to get straight to the point: YOU NEED MORE MONEY!
Is church for evangelism?
Apologies for posing what, at first glance, may seem an obvious and even silly question, but it’s one I’ve pondering lately: is evangelism a key purpose of Christian assemblies (or ‘churches’)?
All the way to 11 …
“The numbers all go to 11. Look, right across the board, 11, 11, 11 and …” Nigel Tufnel, the lead guitarist for the fictional rock band Spinal Tap, is explaining to the reporter that unlike other rock bands who only have amps that go to 10, theirs go all the way to 11. When the reporter stops and asks, “Why don’t you just make 10 louder and make 10 be the top number and make that a little louder?” there is a long pause followed by “These go to 11”.
Driscoll’s word of knowledge
Like hundreds of others (no doubt), I recently watched this interview with Mark Driscoll regarding his visit to Sydney. Unlike some, I haven’t been very interested in Driscoll— I’ve only heard the audio of one conference and none of his sermons. But I really liked the effort he made to try and understand Sydney culture, and his commitment to missionary effort. Alongside his reformed theology, there’s clearly lots to like.
Mission in the 21st century
Everyday Ministry
A friend of mine is a missionary. He is working on the African island of Madagascar, serving the local Anglican diocese in a church planting initiative, which they hope and pray will see many thousands of people come to know the Lord Jesus. He is helping to train evangelists, and is investing much time and energy in learning the local language so that he will be able to teach the good news of the Lord Jesus properly. His home churches are supporting him, giving generously and sacrificially to a mission agency that is coordinating his financial and prayer support. (more…)
Is the gospel still first for the Jew?
With so much gospel need in the world today, it can be hard to know where to begin. But, as Martin Pakula argues, the Bible makes it very clear: mission starts with the Jews.
There are a billion Chinese people in the world, more than a billion Indians and a billion Muslims. There are also many courses, books and seminars on how to reach them, and the church is right to make mission to them a high priority. In contrast, there are only 14 million Jews in the world. Evangelical Christians may be convinced that Jewish people need to hear and believe the gospel. But when we do the math, Jewish mission often falls at the end of the queue. Well, not if you believe your Bible! (more…)
The church on the move: An interview with David Cook
David Cook, Principal of Sydney Missionary and Bible College (SMBC) in Croydon, NSW, Australia, recently authored an excellent guide for those wanting to preach through the book of Acts: Teaching Acts (Christian Focus, 2007). Peter Hastie speaks to him about preaching, mission and what the book of Acts has to say about church growth.
Peter Hastie: The book of Acts is said to be a ‘tonic for the soul’. What are some of the things that Luke says are crucial for our spiritual strength and vitality? (more…)
Dive into a book
Resource Talk, Sola Panel
“I enjoyed your sermon this morning, but it was just too long. In this day and age, with shorter attention spans, you just can’t preach for longer than 20 minutes. For all our sakes, you just have to make it shorter. Anything longer than that is counter-productive!”
Oops! Did we just start a denomination
David Shead tells the story of how he was forced to change tactics while doing ministry in Slovenia.
“We got more than we bargained for”. It’s a lovely phrase, conjuring up images of unsuspecting tourists trying their hand at a bit of marketplace haggling. However, when they examine their purchases later, they get a nasty surprise: weevils in the food or a visit from the constabulary about stolen goods. Getting ‘more than you bargained for’ pinpoints that sobering moment when your lack of control is exposed: you planned and prepared well, but somehow—and you’re not too sure how—things didn’t turn out the way you expected. (more…)
Finding Jesus at GAFCON
Up front, Sola Panel
The buses left early for our trip (or pilgrimage, as it was styled) to the Mount of Olives. It offered a strange mix of experiences: joy at the extraordinary singing of the African choir, who led us in a brief prayer service on the mountain; fascination at seeing the places where Jesus walked and talked and prayed and was betrayed; eye-rolling distaste for how it all has been turned into a site for religious tourism and idolatry (the Franciscan church at Gethsemane being an extraordinary example of both); and above all, a strange blankness at not feeling even one little bit closer to Jesus through the whole experience. (more…)
Virtues we dislike: dignity
Up front, Sola Panel
We shouldn’t be shocked when non-Christians find Christian virtues out of date, incomprehensible or just plain hateful. The natural person, Paul reminds us, “does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him” (1 Cor 2:14). (more…)