Before Christmas,Tim Thornborough got together with three stalwarts of the UK evangelical scene to gather their views on the past and future of Evangelicalism. (more…)
Author Archives: The Briefing
What can we learn from Francis Schaeffer?
Life
Francis Schaeffer is still a revered name in many evangelical circles. In others, he is now hardly known. Ranald Macaulay, who knew and worked with Schaeffer, summarizes his legacy.
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Review: “The Old Evangelicalism”
Review
The Old Evangelicalism: Old truths for a new awakening
Iain H Murray
Banner of Truth Trust, Edinburgh, 2005, 226pp.
Recent debates in my circles (about the nature of the Trinity, and about who is suitable to be ordained or to preside at the Lord’s Supper) show an uneasy footing with regard to theologians of the past. Sometimes we are keen to legitimate our standing in the apostolic tradition, and so we selectively cite those earlier divines who shared our opinions. Sometimes we confer on some past thinker a godlike authority, and then proceed to marry our thoughts precisely to theirs. Sometimes we are so convinced of an historically eccentric view, we ignore all our forebears, rebuffing them with a cry of “Sola scriptura!” (more…)
Starting with God: The Bible’s guide to ministry training
Everyday Ministry
There are a range of different opinions on how people should be trained for gospel ministry. But, as Gordon Cheng reveals, the right starting point for ministry training is God and his gospel.
How should Christians be trained in gospel ministry? Some churches are happy to leave the details of this and all related questions to their denominational authorities. As long as their minister is duly appointed, the manner of his training is of secondary interest. Whether it has involved Bible college, some other theological training, or just a lot of practical experience, the question of how they are trained is not an issue that raises a lot of concern. As for going further and training the non-ordained church members, the very suggestion seems alien and out of place. On this view, the job of church members is not so much to be trained as to turn up at church, receive ministry and contribute money. (more…)
Back to mission
Couldn't Help Noticing
How times have changed. When I first went on beach mission *umphh-murmur-cough* years ago, we lived in tents, built a beach pulpit, put up with an appalling ‘amenities block’, got washed away when the inevitable rain came, and spent at least some part of every day whooping and hollering through the caravan park dressed in weird costumes to ‘scoop’ in the kids. That was then. After a very lengthy break, Ali and I have recently gone back to beach mission—this time with a family in tow. Now I am that old guy who used to hang around the place, and try a little too hard in the competitive games: the Camp Dad. And that’s not all that’s changed: the mission we are part of now runs in mid-January rather than straight after Christmas, it is located in a school rather than a caravan park (there’s covered concrete walkways and carpet on the floor!), and it is aimed at the locals rather than the holiday-makers. However, even though some of the surface details have changed, in all other respects everything that was wonderful about beach mission in the old days still applies—even for the Camp Dad. There’s the fun, challenge and joy of mucking in together and working hard with 40 or so other keen Christians for a week; the priceless opportunities for training younger Christians to have a go at things they never would have dreamed of doing at home; and the scary but vastly encouraging experience of telling kids and adults about Jesus. And here’s the kicker: you get to do all this alongside your own kids. It’s tiring (of course!), and Camp Dads don’t sleep as easily on camp mattresses as they once did. But let me testify to the fact that it’s one of the best Christian things we’ve done as a family in years. If you’re keen to give it a go, it’s not hard to sign up. Just let it be known quietly that you’re thinking of going back to beach mission. Word will quickly reach the ears of a Team Member near you. You will be pounced upon! (more…)
Nine reasons to work at one-to-one ministry
Couldn't Help Noticing
With the help of The Reformed Pastor (written by Richard Baxter) and the Bible (written by God), and in no particular order, I have thought of nine good reasons why Christian leaders and preachers should work hard at one-to-one ministry.
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WordWatch: Evangelical
Word Watch
Is it time for us to stop using the word ‘evangelical’ as our primary self-label?
We have long been used to the media being thoroughly muddled about those who count as ‘evangelicals’ and those who don’t. Odd American televangelists (even the use of that word is a bit of a give away, isn’t it?) and people we would regard as full-on heretics are labelled in the popular media as one of us— as ‘evangelicals’. More recently (over the past six months or so), I have noticed more and more people from a very wide spectrum calling themselves ‘evangelicals’: when asked, charismatics, pentecostals, fundamentalists and others (some from the fringe of their movements rather than centre) identify themselves as ‘evangelicals’. (more…)
Emoting about idols
Couldn't Help Noticing
They say that the psalms are the hymnbook of Israel. I don’t know if this is true, but if it is I sometimes wonder what the atmosphere in ‘church’ was like back then. (more…)
Dying alone
Couldn't Help Noticing
A recent news item was profoundly sad and troubling. A man who had died in his bed possibly as long as a year ago, has only just been discovered. (more…)
Who is a Jew?
Who is a Jew? And why does this distinction still matter? Martin Pakula investigates. (more…)
Your welcome
Everyday Ministry
Welcoming is one of those areas in which churches can always improve. Kel Richards talks to Jim Ramsay of Evangelism Ministries about a new resource that aims to help churches do just that.
Preaching the Cross
Review
Sometimes it can seem futile preaching the Bible week in and week out. But, as Gary Koo discovers, it’s the most important thing God wants you to do as a pastor. (more…)
How should we think Christianly about ‘online’ church?
Introduction: The phenomenon of online church
The topic this essay will consider is the phenomenon of online church. In this new age of online networking and communication, some Christians have begun to regularly meet online in various ways and call it ‘church’. For example, St Pixels is a text-based ‘church’ meeting facility. There are different areas in the church you can go to: the sanctuary, the lobby, the prayer room and even a bar. Once there, you can see little cartoon faces depicting other real people who are online in that room with you, and whatever you say can be read by anyone in that area. They have two regular services every week, with Bible readings, sermons, songs, prayers. I had a conversation with one of the ladies there who told me that this was her ‘church’. She hasn’t been to a real-life church for a few years, and loves the openness and fellowship at St Pixels.
Getting to the heart of the Hillsong worship ‘revolution’
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Extravagant Worship
Darlene Zschech Bethany House, Ada, 2004, 224pp. |
You may not recognize her name (or have a clue how to pronounce it) and you may not know her face (or her distinctive retro chic outfits). But, like presidents and popes, you will have almost certainly sung one of her songs. She is Darlene Zschech, the woman who wrote the song ‘Shout to the Lord’. And chances are, it is not simply her melodies and poetry that have influenced you, for not only is she an accomplished songwriter, Zschech has been the head of the Worship and Creative Arts Department at Hillsong Church in Australia since 1996. (more…)