Increasingly for many Christian parents, THE question is: to Ezzo or not to Ezzo. The parenting material written by Gary and Anne Marie Ezzo is causing passionate discussion in many churches. What are we to make of it?
Archives: tony-payne
Have evangelicals lost their way?
Thought, Sola Panel
Originally published in Briefing #1 (April 1988).
We live in an age of change. Evangelicalism, as much as anything else, is going through transformation, but are the changes for better or worse? For some, Evangelicalism is maturing and evolving into a responsible contribution to Christianity. Others see the changes as a sell-out of principles, and a denial of the faith of our fathers. Whither Evangelicalism?
To whom shall we go?
Life, Sola Panel
Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” Can we say the same? Or do our evangelical heroes carry more authority than we care to admit?
He’s out there
Thought, Sola Panel
As Hank neared the main business district he paused on a corner to look up and down the street, watching old cars, new cars, vans and fourby-fours, shoppers, walkers and bicyclers stream in all directions …
The rags of time
Life, Sola Panel
No, there never seems to be enough time
To do the things you want to do…
Jim Croce must have had me in mind when he wrote Time in a Bottle. It’s the story of my life—ideas to chase through, books to read, people to see, and letters to reply to. And some day, I promise myself, I’ll learn how to chip and putt. I even have an ‘ideas’ book in which I jot down all the things that I want to do. Reading back through it is a depressing experience. It is a catalogue of unfinished schemes and dreams.
Work: the big picture unfolds
Life, Sola Panel
The story so far
At the end our last article (Briefing #180), the picture regarding work was still fairly grim. Adam’s sin had lead to mankind’s loss of dominion in the world, with the result that work—which was an expression of his dominion—had become painful, difficult and frustrated. It was toil. (more…)
Prayer, praise and singing in church
Everyday Ministry, Sola Panel
Our series of articles on prayer and praise stimulated a number of responses, the majority of them being short notes and calls about how helpful the material had been.
Confessions of a teenage praise junkie
Life, Sola Panel
The scene remains vivid in my memory, though it is nearly 20 years ago now.
I am sitting in my bedroom at the side of our big old farmhouse, a teenager, listless at that time of the evening when anything is better than homework. It is a warm summer night and the cicadas are belting out their chorus like an army of protesters with whistles. Into my little Sanyo cassette player I insert a tape borrowed from a friend. The latest Christian singer-songwriter—well, ‘latest’ as far as Lismore was concerned anyway— Keith Green.
From Euthanasia to the Gospel
Everyday Ministry, Sola Panel
You’ve invited the neighbours over for dinner. Dessert has been successfully concluded, and the kids have retired to their bedroom where they are conducting experiments in paint durability under various impact scenarios. The coffee orders are being taken. As it so often does, the conversation is meandering down loosely connected paths and byways, and your dreams of perhaps talking about the gospel (or even something vaguely Christian) seem to be fading faster than the paint in the kids’ bedroom.
No Laughing Matter
Rodney Howard-Browne walked slowly down the aisle in my direction. He was a a bull of a man, short, thick-necked and tremendously broad across the shoulders.
The alternative society
Thought, Sola Panel
In a recent Briefing, Sandy McMillan encouraged us to take Christ’s love commandment seriously. He urged us not to so overreact to the wonky theology of some that we retreat into loveless, blinkered inactivity when faced with the pressing needs of those around us. Put simply, we need to love our neighbours in word and deed, as Christ has done, and as he has commanded us to do.
Is homosexuality next?
Life, Sola Panel
It was the speed at which it happened. That’s what surprised most people.
For quite some time, when the talk over coffee drifted towards the O-debate, there was always someone who said, in a knowing voice, “And you know what the next thing’ll be?”
Fire extinguishers
Thought, Sola Panel
There is a growing consensus that prayer (or lack of it) is a real problem for modern western Christians. The questions is “Why?” Why does prayer seem to be so lacking in emphasis amongst Australian evangelicals? There are great things happening in ministries all over the country, but why is concerted prayer generally not one of them?
Heroes
Everyday Ministry, Sola Panel
There are some questions that make us think about our priorities and values. You know, the “What three things would you take with you into the bomb shelter?” sort of question.
An apologetic armoury
Everyday Ministry, Sola Panel
In our last issue, we looked at two approaches to apologetics—the Presuppositional and Evidential methods—typified by Francis Schaeffer and Josh McDowell. We saw that both approaches have their problems, while being useful in different contexts. (more…)