This Sunday, on February 19, two very different anniversaries occur.
Because Australians are not always very good at history and The Briefing originates here, I think they are worth noting. They may be of interest to others too. (more…)
New Atheism (4): Different strokes for different folks—Ground zero
Thought
The third group New Atheism has an effect on is Christian believers. It seems to have some success in persuading some people to abandon their faith. My impression is that the numbers involved are fairly small, and New Atheism’s effect is usually only one of a constellation of factors; there’s usually a number of other things going on in that person’s life. Nonetheless, given New Atheism’s weaknesses and flaws it’s a bit surprising it has any effect at all. (more…)
Two Ways to Live app
Resource Talk
Available now on the App Store ($0.99/£0.69/€0,79)
Last year I attended the Oxygen conference in Sydney for ministry workers. During one of John Piper’s talks, he got to a point where he realized he had been talking about ‘the gospel’ as foundational to the Christian life without ever telling us what he thought that gospel was. So he told us he was about to outline ‘John Piper’s gospel’, which had six points to it. (more…)
Once more, with any feeling
Life
By the time you read this I will have dispensed with a house of belongings, left the best job I’ve ever had (enjoy, new assistant Briefing editor!), kissed my nephews goodbye, and cried all over my parents at the airport. My husband and I are moving from Australia to Mongolia, to join with the body of Christ in Ulaanbaatar. And the question on the lips of most people I meet is “Wow, are you excited?” (more…)
Gospel speech at our school
Everyday Ministry, Life, Sola Panel
Late last year I wrote about praying for our school and loving people at our school. Today I conclude my mini-series with the bit I find the hardest: gospel speech.
flickr: activefree
I’m no saleswoman. I don’t have the thick skin, the showmanship, or the gift of the gab. But apparently, that’s not what I need to help people get to know Jesus. The best salespeople, I’m told, show genuine concern and sympathy, and believe in what they’re talking about.1 That sounds a bit more like me. I can love; I can believe; I can pray. But I also have to open my mouth and speak.
That, I’m not so good at. (more…)
New Atheism (3): Different strokes for different folks—The enemy of my enemy mightn’t be my friend but boy is he useful!
Thought
The second main group relating to New Atheism is ‘Joe and Jill Average’. This is the average Aussie or English or American, etc. They are not signed up members of New Atheism, but they aren’t signed up believers in anything in the way of organized religion either. They’re the bread-and-butter target of our evangelism. (more…)
Judgment Wins
Thought, Sola Panel
Love and judgment are not opposites. Love and indifference are opposites. Those ideas are well-known but still worthwhile to state. Connecting love with judgment helped me work through some of the theological obstacles I had when I was a younger Christian (i.e. the “how can a loving God judge people” ones). (more…)
New Atheism (2): Different strokes for different folks—The true believers
Thought
[This is the second article in a series on New Atheism. Read part 1.]
So, if New Atheism is a passing fad, what kind of impact should we expect while it’s around, and where should we expect it? I’ll suggest three main areas over the next three posts, acknowledging that they’re broad categories and there’ll be a fair-sized assorted grouping of people that don’t fit in these three broad categories. (more…)
But is Matthias Media really worth supporting?
Inviting discussion
One of the neat things about the web is the way that (almost) instantaneous communication can take place. Someone makes a statement, and you can not only find out about it on the other side of the world but you can say your own thing as well. Here at The Briefing we value the input that many of you make to critique, sharpen, and refine the thinking presented in our articles by way of feedback, in all its kinds. (more…)
New Atheism (1): Sound and fury, signifying nothing
Thought
Over the next several posts I’m going to outline some of my thoughts about the relative strengths and weaknesses of New Atheism, and things I think people should keep in mind as they think about addressing its claims and its criticisms of God’s self-revelation in Jesus Christ. This series is aimed primarily at Christians who have some sort of public evangelistic or teaching role. It’s not a ‘how to’ guide on dealing with specific New Atheist positions—there’s a lot of great material around that does that, and it would be highly unlikely I could offer anything that hasn’t already been done much better by someone else. As a consequence I don’t really address any of New Atheism’s truth claims; I focus more on the reasons why I think it has the influence it does, reasons that are generally irrespective of its truthfulness or falsehood. (more…)
A thematic Bible reading plan
You might recall my post late last year, Reading the Bible in a year (or two). Recently, I came across another excellent Bible reading plan: one that opens up thematic connections between different parts of the Bible. So I’ve added a bullet point to the list in my post:
(more…)
Something important to share with your group leaders
My intentions to write more short pithy posts notwithstanding, this post is a little longer because it basically consists of part of an email that Sandy Grant recently sent round to the small group leaders and youth leaders at his church. For reasons that will become obvious as you read, Sandy is saying things that I strongly endorse! Can I suggest you follow his lead, and give some encouragement in this vein to your leaders? (more…)
The opposite of faith
Thought, Sola Panel
We know that the much-misunderstood word ‘faith’ basically means to trust in or rely upon someone or something. And many of us have heard (and used) the ‘chair illustration’ as a neat way of explaining this; that you demonstrate your faith (or ‘trust’) in a chair when you sit on it. Likewise, you only really have faith in Jesus (‘trust in Jesus’) when you rest your weight upon him. (more…)
Re-booting for 2012
A new year dawns. Time to re-boot the exercise plan (for at least the next three weeks), the diet (I’ll give it four weeks), the regular Bible reading and prayer (no comment), and of course contributing to the Sola Panel. (more…)