Author Archives: The Briefing

Preaching and pulpiteering

Couldn't Help Noticing

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I’ve never really been comfortable with the evangelical emphasis on preaching sermons, and never quite understood why we make so much more of this form rather than of other forms of teaching. It seems to me that the emphasis on preaching (that is, ‘preaching’ understood as ‘pulpiteering’, as opposed to private and personal ministry through, for example, conversation or Bible study groups) is hard to sustain from the New Testament. (more…)

The ever-flowing river of language

Couldn't Help Noticing

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As a linguistic pedant, I’ve grown to love the precision of Kel Richards and his WordWatch column. As a Bible-believing evangelical, I can see the merit in calling myself a ‘fundamentalist’ in the more literal sense of the word. So imagine my horror when Kel Richards took such a term to task some time ago (Briefing #301, 2003). But he was right that “words don’t stand still… in the ever-flowing river that is the English language”. Hence I have reluctantly relinquished the label—at least for now. (more…)

Look at me! I’m a princess!

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From cinemas to reality TV, the idea of the princess has never been more popular. The world fell in love with Princess Diana, and now Australia has its own fairytale princess: Princess Mary. Tweens (kids aged between 8 and 13—no longer a kid but not yet a teenager) are riveted by the actor Anne Hathaway (The Princess Diaries, Ella Enchanted). Disney brings together seven of their female characters and dubs them princesses, with corresponding merchandise for little girls. The media often uses the term to refer to females who have made an impression on our hearts. We have watched as Australia’s Princess of Pop, Kylie Minogue, battled with cancer, and have followed the grief and heartache of Princess Bindy (Bindy Irwin) as she spoke at her father’s funeral. Our interest with the idea of princesses is such a part of our society, when Granada Productions called for women between the ages of 18 and 30 to be groomed for a reality television show called Australian Princess, more than 4,000 women applied.1

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Here I am, talking about Jesus just the same: Larry Norman at 60

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(Editor’s note: Since this article was written, Larry Norman passed away on 24 February 2008.)

Larry Norman turned 60 in 2007, and with two biographies due to be released, it may be timely to reflect on the life of the person dubbed “the Father of Jesus Rock”. Mention of Larry Norman may draw a blank response from those under 40, although he influenced the thinking of contemporary artists like U2 and many of those working in Christian or Gospel music today. For those over 40, Norman’s name may bring back memories of the long blond hair, the controversial lyrics, and the question posed by the classic song, “Why should the devil have all the good music?”

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