Rick Warren’s prayer at Barack Obama’s inauguration seemed excellent. I could certainly say “Amen”. Al Mohler has written a more extensive prayer for this most important and powerful man—full of thanks, yet also asking for him to be sensitive in areas where he seems weak from a Christian point of view (e.g. on preventing abortion and defending marriage).

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Today we speak to some of our Panellists about their highlights of 2008.

What are the top three reference or ‘standard work’ books you would recommend for the basic Christian library? That is, what would you want a new and thoughtful Christian who is committed to growing to have on their shelf?

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Today we interview Nicole Starling.

How did you come to Christ?

I first heard about Jesus through my Scripture teacher at school when I was five years old. My parents weren’t Christians, but were happy for me to attend Scripture, and even started sending me along to Sunday school (at the local Baptist church) at about the same time. I decided when I was about six that I wanted to follow the example of my Scripture teacher and become a Christian. I don’t think I understood everything at the time, but I know my decision to love and follow Jesus was genuine. By God’s incredible grace, it was only a couple of months after that that my parents were invited along to a Sunday school service at church. (They used to just drop me off and leave, so they hadn’t attended the church up to that point.) My father was an atheist, but miraculously God used a verse quoted from the Bible during the sermon to convict him of his sin and need for Jesus. There was a complete turnaround for him from that day on. My mother wasn’t sure what was going on at first, but a friend (who had originally invited us along to playgroup, Sunday school, church, etc) followed her up by dropping a Bible off at our house one day and telling her to read John’s Gospel. She became a Christian as she read through it. From that point, my faith grew as I was raised in a Christian family, with my parents discipling me and teaching me how to follow Jesus.

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Today we interview Jean Williams.

Jean, how did you come to Christ?

It’s not an exciting story, but in some ways, it’s the most exciting of all! Like Timothy, I knew the Bible from infancy (2 Tim 3:15). I was brought up by faithful, godly parents who read the Bible and prayed with us, who trained us to live God’s way, who talked about Jesus during the day (Deut 6:6-7), and who loved, disciplined and cared for us. They never talked down to us, and were always willing to discuss difficult doctrines like the Trinity, predestination and judgement, as well as God’s love and grace. I have no idea why we prefer dramatic conversion stories to the profound blessing of being brought up in a godly home where we’re faithfully taught God’s word; this is just as great a miracle!

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I was really glad that my colleague, Dr Michelle Gajus Read, successfully gave notice of motion on the topic of abortion at the recent Synod of the Anglican Diocese of Sydney to which I belong. I was especially pleased because it was Michelle’s very first time at our Synod, and it takes some courage to get up and speak in front of 500 or so Synod reps. As it turned out, in the end, I had to move the motion in Michelle’s absence, since the matter came up for debate on the last day, when she was unavoidably absent due to family concerns.

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Challenged by Tim Challies, today’s post simply links to some of the best resources I’ve seen for preaching and writing on the Reformation. It’s nothing too creative; it’s more like me trying to bring some old gems to light.

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Following on from Gordon’s post on ‘Why Pray?’, I have found it incredibly important pastorally—especially in ministry to the frail and aged—to help people see that when they pray, they are really making a difference.

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When I first attended our diocesan Synod (= denominational ‘parliament’) 10 years ago as a new Anglican Parish Rector (= Senior Pastor), I expected to sit quietly and get a feel for how things worked, reading the business papers and listening to speeches from ‘old hands’ to shape how I’d vote on the various motions and ordinances (= denominational laws).

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Today we interview one of our newer panellists, Paul Grimmond. Paul recently concluded his ministry as pastor of Unichurch at the University of New South Wales.

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Today’s ‘blast from the past’ will pick up on Mark Driscoll’s recent comments where twice he said that it’s “the Holy Spirit who calls people into ministry” (see points 8 and 11 of his critique).

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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.

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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.

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