In November 1967, a group of young feminists met in an apartment in New York City. It became a regular meeting with the aim of discussing the ways in which they had been oppressed and taken advantage of by the men in their lives. The idea was that by hearing the other women complain about these issues, the participants’ ‘consciousness’ about the same issues would be raised, and they would begin to see their own lives in the same light.
Monthly Archives: February 2009
Media to blame, says Angry Middle-Aged Man
[A news item from a parallel universe]
Prominent media outlets are denying today that their recent reporting of comments by NSW Greens MP Sylvia Hale contributed significantly to her tragic strangulation at the hands of an outraged reader.
Training for frustration
January has been a somewhat hilarious month in the Grimmond household, although I use the word ‘hilarious’ loosely. It was one of those bizarre chains of events.
Some thoughts on friendship
Atheism must advertise (Part 2)
(Read Part 1.)
We now turn to the final and most disappointing part of the whole bus advert soundbite: its complete lack of moral vision—‘Now stop worrying and enjoy your life’.
Actually do it
I was tempted to call this post ‘J*st do it’, but I’m told that those three words are owned by Nike Corporation, and I am worried that their use one after the other, beginning with ‘just’ followed immediately by ‘do’ and ‘it’, in any context whatsoever and for any purpose whatsoever, might now be illegal in all jurisdictions. I am a little anxious that even the judicious use of asterisks might not protect me from prosecution, and so ‘Actually do it’ will have to do.
Cold Turkish evangelism
Everyday Ministry
The phrase ‘walk-up evangelism’ stirs up, in most Christians, feelings of dread. But, as Ben Pfahlert points out, at the heart of all evangelism lies extremely good news. (more…)
Making trainees of all people
What is training and what does it involve? As David Shead argues, it is all about discipleship. (more…)
Son of encouragement
Resource Talk, Sola Panel
In late 2003, when we were talking to Gordon Cheng about coming to work at Matthias Media, I remember asking him casually about how many of our resources he had used in his many years of ministry up to that point.
A truly reformed pastor
Up front
The word ‘pastor’ comes from the word ‘shepherd’. Someone is considered a good ‘pastor’ if they are skilled and compassionate in dealing with the issues facing Christian believers. That is, the job of the pastor is primarily to care for Christians. (more…)
Sunday school gone postal
Pastoral Ministry
I’m the children’s worker at St Mark’s Anglican Church in Oakhurst, in Sydney’s western suburbs. I don’t see my role as a job; I see it as a wonderful God-given opportunity to support the other people in our children’s ministry team and to share the gospel with people in my parish. (more…)
Review: “Preach the Word: Essays on expository preaching”
Review
Preach the Word: Essays on expository preaching: In honor of R Kent Hughes
Edited by Leland Ryken and Todd Wilson
Crossway, Wheaton, 2007, 304pp.
Review: “The Gospel and Personal Evangelism” by Mark Dever
Review
The Gospel and Personal Evangelism
Mark Dever
Crossway, Wheaton, 2007, 128pp.
There is much to commend about The Gospel and Personal Evangelism. It is warm, engaging and theologically accurate, and it left me encouraged to speak to friends about Jesus. However, it also left me with questions about the best way to mobilize us for this task. (more…)
A biblical theology of response
Up front, Sola Panel
I listened to a fascinating sermon recently on Jonah chapter 2. The preacher taught us about God and his awesome sovereignty, and about Jesus and how the patterns and promises of Jonah looked forward to him. But he also preached about Jonah himself. He talked about what it meant to be chastised by the Lord—to be brought low. He talked about Jonah’s experience of God’s judgement and discipline, and what we might learn from that as we experience God’s chastisement ourselves. (more…)
Job and prayer
Up front
What is the book of Job about? What do Job’s friends get wrong? What does Job do right? Job’s friends seem to be giving him some very good answers, and Job responds with some very strange ones. Do we go back and analyze everywhere Job gets it right and everywhere Eliphaz, Bildad, Zophar and Elihu make theological mistakes? Let me suggest the answer to that is ‘No’. (more…)