In these Sola Saturday posts, we’ve been looking at past contributions to the old Briefing ‘People in Ministry’ column, which focused on evangelical ministry worked out in practice. Firstly, David McDonald told us about the impetus behind Canberra Christian Youth Convention. Last week, Ken Simpson talks about ministry to doctors. This week, Michael Blake explains how he uses school Scripture to reach parents:
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Author Archives: The Briefing
Forgiveness and repentance (part 5): The pastoral dimension (iii)
Thought
Forgiveness and repentance (part 4): The pastoral dimension (ii)
Thought
We’ve been considering the question of whether forgiveness can or should occur without repentance. Last time around, we looked at family life. Let’s turn from the everyday to the extreme. What do we say to the person who is outrageously sinned against? What do we say to the person who was abused as a child, the person who has been raped, the person who survives a murder attempt from a loved one, the person whose spouse commits adultery (and while we’re at it, given that many people think that adultery is not sufficient grounds for divorce, the view that forgiveness can only occur when there has been repentance means that we’re then left with the position that a spouse must not forgive an unrepentant adulterous spouse, but must not divorce them either—a view that people may want to champion, but they should still recognize it is somewhat weird pastoral advice), and the person who has been betrayed by someone close to them? (more…)
Fellowship of Medical Evangelism
Everyday Ministry
Unravelling the timing of truth
Everyday Ministry
Once upon a time, way back at the beginning, the Christian movement was charged with novelty. Nowadays, it is charged with antiquity. In both cases, its ‘timing’ apparently shows it is wrong.
The message of Jesus’ resurrection was launched into the Graeco-Roman world, in which the antiquity of classical culture was paraded as a demonstration of its truth and a guarantee of the future of the Empire. The Christian message was criticized for being ‘novel’, and so a troublesome threat for the stability of that world. One of the charges levelled at Jesus before the Roman governor Pontius Pilate was that he had misled the Jewish nation by claiming to be a king (Luke 23:2). When Jesus rose from the dead, he was proclaimed far and wide as ‘Lord and Christ’. When this new message about a king other than Caesar came to Thessalonica on its way to Athens, the crowds rioted, saying its preachers had “turned the world upside down” by this novelty (Acts 17:6).
Forgiveness and repentance (part 3): The pastoral dimension (i)
Thought
In this meta-series, we have been exploring the question of whether we (and God) can or should forgive someone when they have not repented. This time around, we are going to turn our attention to some difficult pastoral situations and ask how they work when we hold that forgiveness can only take place when there has been repentance. (more…)
Forgiveness and repentance (part 2): Forgive as Christ in God forgave us
Thought
(Read part 1.)
As we head into the issue of whether we should or even can forgive someone who has sinned against us but hasn’t repented, let’s begin with one of the key principles that people raised in our first post—that we forgive others as God in Christ forgave us. As it is stated in Colossians 3:13, we are to put on compassionate hearts, kindness, humility and so on while “bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive”. (more…)
Forgiveness and repentance (part 1): A survey of the landscape
Thought
Many moons ago, my wife wrote a post on forgiveness. One of the issues that it raised for people was whether forgiveness could take place in the absence of repentance by the offender. My dear wife kindly semi-promised people that I would one day blog on the topic :). So here we are, with a series of posts designed to unpick why I am convinced that forgiveness must take place in the absence of repentance and that this issue goes to the heart of a Reformed understanding of the biblical gospel. (more…)
Review: “You are the treasure that I seek” by Grey Dutcher
Review
You are the Treasure that I Seek (But there’s a lot of cool stuff out there, Lord)
Greg Dutcher
Discovery House, Grand Rapids, 2009, 208pp.
Do you have a sinful habit you long to be done with? Do you have a particular sin you keep on confessing to God and others? Do you have a sin that blots your conscience, leaving a stain that fades gradually, only to receive a fresh splotch of guilt the next time you fall prey to it? You hate it, and yet you are caught in it. It seems to be a sin you cannot live without. In fact, it feels bigger than that; it feels like a sin that cannot live without you. Perhaps in answering these questions you thought about pride, greed, envy or lust. Did the word ‘idolatry’ come to mind? (more…)
Review: “The ordinary hero” by Tim Chester
Review
The Ordinary Hero: Living the cross and resurrection
Tim Chester
Inter-Varsity Press, Leicester, 2009, 224pp.
When asked to review The Ordinary Hero, I imagined an inspiring biography—a tale of bravery or of remarkable achievement by someone like you and me. I was mostly wrong. This is not a biography; it proclaims the meaning of the cross and resurrection for our lives. It’s a tale of bravery, but not in the third person; it’s about you and me. It calls on us all to “live the cross and resurrection” (p. 12). For Tim Chester, this is what an ‘ordinary hero’ does, and he challenges those who claim to be Christian to live out the implications of that claim. I found his book challenging and insightful in its application of the events of the cross to our lives. (more…)
The unhelpful solitude of preaching
Pastoral Ministry
The practice of preaching is a lonely and solitary one. A certain amount of solitude is necessary for study and creativity. But for most of us, preaching has become a strikingly individual and secluded exercise. (more…)
How to avoid persecution (according to Screwtape)
Life
Our subject today, my novice fiends, is ‘How to help the Enemy’s urchins avoid persecution and suffering’. Now, hush your maggoty howls and listen to your Uncle Screwtape! Our Father didn’t promote me to Professor of Persecution for nothing, so listen and learn. (more…)
Evangelizing Muslims
Everyday Ministry
I was on the train the other day when I heard a man chanting in Arabic. I thought he must be Muslim, so after a few minutes of building up my courage, I went and said hello. Fortunately for me, he was keen to talk. But what was I going to say to him?
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Sacrifice: Have we given up?
Life
For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it. (Mark 8:35).
A layperson’s guide to giving up your life
Everyday Ministry
Have you ever felt like you’re headed in a certain direction and then the door you’re poised to walk through suddenly slams in your face? That’s how I felt at the end of 2004. I had just completed a two-year part-time ministry apprenticeship with the Christian group at the University of Wollongong alongside my husband, Ben. Although the time I had spent working with students and children had been encouraging and eye-opening, it had also been draining and often discouraging. During the apprenticeship, I had led and co-led Bible study groups and training courses, I had organized a women’s retreat, I had discipled girls, I had taught and coordinated Sunday school, and I had given my first evangelistic talk to an audience of 60 women (none of whom became Christian). But as it ended, I realized that working in people ministry was not something I could sustain full-time. (more…)