Fire extinguishers

Thought, Sola Panel

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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?

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Does their worm really die?

Thought

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Hell isn’t something many of us like to ponder in our spare hours. However, sometimes its horror is hard to get out of our heads. Concern for the dreadful fate of the unsaved, or a simple fear of our own destiny can, at times, be overwhelming. The topic of hell and punishment has arisen with considerable frequency in the last six months. Dr James Packer chose to speak on this in his public lecture at Enfield. At the second Katoomba Youth Convention weekend in January, question time was filled with inquiries about this very issue. Although unmentionable in most secular circles, Christians sense a need to understand this aspect of eschatology.

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The pornography of church growth

Pastoral Ministry

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A postcard from America.

Dear Tony,

How are you doing? That’s what Americans keep asking me. Not ‘how am I going’, but ‘how am I doing’. I have a theory that the difference between American and Australian culture is encapsulated in those simple phrases. The US variety is dynamic, assertive, achievement-oriented. It’s all about who is trying harder, doing better. The Australian equivalent seems more laid-back—a reference to sort of wandering along, taking it easy and seeing what happens along the way.

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Undressing pornography

Life

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Pornography is a $7 billion-a-year industry worldwide. Pornographic films outnumber other films by three to one, and gross $1 million a day in the USA alone. British pornographic magazines sell 20 million copies a year. One American man in 10 reads Playboy, Penthouse or Hustler each month. Italian men spend $640 million on pornography a year, with pornographic videos representing 30-50 per cent of all Italian video sales. All that pornography, yet no-one talks about it. It’s like an unacknowledged cancer that metastasizes best when no-one goes for x-rays or feels for lumps. What is pornography and is it anything to get steamed up about? David Miles reports.

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Loving the sinner but hating the sin

Thought

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A lot of the time, we explain our way through the world with a set of sayings. They tumble off our lips and seem to make sense, and they help us feel like we know what’s going on and how we should act. But often, when I think I am understanding or explaining the world, I am merely reassuring myself by using a safe but misleading label. It pays to ponder these everyday experiences, and look beyond the cliche.

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Did Satan Win?

Pastoral Ministry

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A postcard from America

In October this year, nearly 100 Sydney pastors and elders visited the USA to attend conferences on church growth and observe patterns of church life. One of them, Ed Vaughan, gives us his impressions of life (Christian and otherwise) in America.

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The Relationship Between the Testaments: Church

Thought

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What should Christians do when they meet together? What relationship should there be between the leaders of a congregation and the flock? What is the essence of Christian ministry? What place should ‘worship’ have in the Christian meeting?

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How to read the Bible

Life

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A few words need to be said about the nature of Scripture. This is not an article on exegesis. Nevertheless, because the issue of women in ministry is one that we need to solve by looking at the Bible, we need to be clear about how we are going to read Scripture. Two points may be made.

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Lead balloon: Motherhood and Apple Pie

Life

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Lead balloons: ideas only slightly too outrageous to be taken seriously.

Recently, Mr Hawke has passed Mr Fraser as the second longest-serving Prime Minister in the history of Australia. It has not been as tumultuous a reign as Mr Whitlam’s, but Mr Hawke has led our nation through a time of rapid social change. Some of it has been for the better and some for the worse—as is the character of social change—but we can rejoice that we continue to be governed in peace and quietness, and are free to meet and to get on with our work of preaching the gospel. It is important that we follow the injunction of the apostle and continue to pray for those in authority.

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Are You Ready, Mr Music?

Everyday Ministry

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As I move from conference to convention, from houseparty to church, and as we try and select music for our own church meetings, I am consistently left with a sense of dissatisfaction about our present music.

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Where have all the false teachers gone?

Life

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At the Last Supper, Jesus warns his disciples that there will be constant conflict between those who are his and those who are of “the world”. He reminds them through his prayer that “the world has hated them because they are not of the world any more than I am of the world” (John 17:15).

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Heroes

Everyday Ministry, Sola Panel

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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.

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