A deep and abiding passion to see our churches grow is a very dangerous thing. That may seem an odd observation to make, but it is a critical one. If we run with a passion to grow things without at… (more…)
This article is an edited transcript of a talk given by Phil Colgan at the 2014 Nexus conference in Sydney, written up and edited by Sam Freney. Personal references throughout are therefore applicable to Phil, not Sam. In my… (more…)
Tony Payne talks with Phillip Jensen about the history of The Briefing—how it began, what its aims have been, and where we stand now. ~ Tony Payne: Phillip, The Briefing was really your idea. You drew together the resources to… (more…)
I suppose it’s like looking at old baby photos, but over the past month or so I’ve been browsing through some of the classic early articles in The Briefing. I chuckled over some of the ‘Lead Balloons’ we ran in… (more…)
This article is an edited transcript of an address given at the 2014 Nexus conference in Sydney. ~ And when [Paul] had said these things, he knelt down and prayed with them all. And there was much weeping on the… (more…)
“What do you do for work?” is one of the most common questions that we ask when we meet someone new. For most of us, work is right at the heart of how we see ourselves and how we explain… (more…)
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?
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?
I am happily married, a mother of two healthy little people and I suffer depression.
In hindsight, I realize I have always had more ups and downs than most people. When my second child was three weeks old, I became extremely anxious and depressed. There was one moment when, because of its sudden severity, I am aware that it started. It was two years before I had a day free of it.
A black and white view across La Perouse Bay on a gloomy evening, the sea vast and incomprehensible, the shoreline harsh. The old photo on Professor Philip Mitchell’s wall in his office at the School of Psychiatry, Prince Henry Hospital in Sydney, reflects something of the experience of being depressed. The future seems bleak, dark, vast and unreachable; the situation seems hopeless; loneliness presses in.
In September 1992, I scribbled on a piece of paper, “It’s so difficult to hang in there. I’ve lost control of my life. It’s impossible to think positively. Will things ever change for the better? I’m not sure I’m able to continue, to keep going. I’m lonely, unhappy, scared, guilt-ridden, a failure. What can I do to change the situation? It’s hard to see where God is involved. What else do I have to lose? I’m sure I’m gradually giving up. It has been such a long time.”
Derek Hopgood was a lovely, humble Christian man. He was a good husband to his wife in every way and a caring father to his two teenaged girls. He was also an excellent deacon of our congregation. One of his hobbies was photography and often we have used his photographs in the pages of Evangelicals Now.
There is a large number of self-help books for people coping with depression. These books use approaches ranging from psychoanalysis and dream therapy to diet-based programs of rehabilitation. Beating the Blues is one of the better books, using a well-regarded approach which aims to give sufferers more control over their thoughts and feelings (it’s known as cognitive-behavioural therapy). (more…)
This article was adapted from a talk entitled ‘A Christian Man Gives Spiritual Leadership’, delivered at a Katoomba Men’s Convention.
Some men spend their lives waiting for the approval of their fathers, or trying to walk in their footsteps. But perhaps we need to learn the lesson that the Pharisees never learnt: to be satisfied with the approval of our Father in heaven.
I want to put a flea in your ear. Some of you will hate me; it’s irritating and distracting to have a flea in your ear. You can’t quite concentrate on the immediate tasks before you.
For over a century now, belief in the devil has seemed to be on the way out. The toothy red imp with the tail and the trident has become a secular figure of fun, while Protestant theologians generally have banished the personal devil of the Bible to the lumber-room reserved for broken-down myths. No doubt this state of affairs is just what the devil has been working for, since it allows him to operate now on the grandest scale without being either detected or opposed. Nor has he wasted his chances. During the past hundred years, he has engineered a world-wide collapse of evangelicalism in all the older Protestant denominations. The present spineless, powerless, unevangelical state of these churches, as compared with what they were a century ago, gives heart-breaking proof of the skill and thoroughness with which he has done his job. The Bible is no longer fully believed, the gospel is no longer thoroughly preached, and post-Christian paganism sweeps through the world like wildfire. Not for centuries has Satan won such a victory.
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 …
A significant percentage of the Australian population cannot sing. We can’t carry a tune to save our lives. How many of us are there? Based on the singing voices I hear around me in church, I would guess we account for at least half the population.
Speaker at men’s function: You really must be aiming to lead your family spiritually. Get the Bible out after dinner, and work through a passage with your wife and kids. Make every effort to teach them the things of God.
We evangelicals ought to face fairly and squarely the uncomfortable truth that we are not good at disagreeing with one another.