I believe in stranger evangelism.
Over the course of 2009, my own denomination in this part of the world is mounting a concerted campaign to make meaningful, relational connections with everyone in our area, thus helping them to come into a relationship with God through his word. (more…)
WordWatch: Jeremiah
Word Watch
If someone accuses you of being ‘a real Jeremiah’, what are they saying about you? Is it a compliment or an insult? Last year, Anu Garg had a go at offering a definition. For the uninitiated (i.e. the non-word-obsessives), Anu is the Indian-born, American computer and word geek who runs ‘A Word a Day’ (http://wordsmith.org/awad), a free daily email newsletter with 600,000 subscribers in 200 countries. What did he make of ‘Jeremiah’? Here’s his explanation:
(more…)
No use crying
Up front, Sola Panel
I have a reputation both at home and at work for being affable—imperturbable—phlegmatic, even. However, like most people of serene disposition, there are some events guaranteed to perturb my phlegm—three-putting from ten feet, for example, or spillages at the dinner table—particularly those involving milk. (more…)
A practical guide to fending off non-Christian men
What do you do if you’re a single Christian woman and a non-Christian man is attracted to you? What do you do if you’re attracted to him too? In this frank and helpful article, an anonymous Briefing reader shares some advice. (more…)
From homosexuality to the gospel
Up front
Have you noticed how often non-Christians raise the issue of homosexuality with us these days? “Why is the church so anti-gay?” “What do you think about gay marriage?” “How can you be against two people being in a long-term, loving and supportive relationship? Why should it matter what gender they are?” (more…)
A truly reformed pastor
Interchange
In Briefing #365, Gavin Perkins wrote an Up Front piece which argued that “the good pastor is actually primarily an evangelist”. He argued for this on the basis that Jesus’ parable in Luke 15 talks about a shepherd who leaves the 99 in order to find the one who is lost, and on the basis that Jesus saw the helpless crowds in Matthew 9 as “sheep without a shepherd”. He also reminded us of the example of our hero Richard Baxter in this regard (author of The Reformed Pastor). (more…)
Creating the right question
Up front
I’ve heard it said that, in terms of relating the gospel to culture, the mistake that traditionalists make is that they give the right answers to the wrong questions; they’re answering questions that no-one is asking anymore. They’re tackling issues and fighting fights that belong to a previous generation. (more…)
An interview with Andrew Barry
Everyday Ministry, Sola Panel
How did you come to Christ?
I grew up in a Christian family. Thanks be to God for giving me such a great Mum and Dad! Although I went to church throughout my childhood, I don’t think the penny dropped until I was in Year 10. I just moved to St Matthias (the original home of The Briefing), and three things happened:
- I heard an amazing sermon series on the book of Ecclesiastes by Ken Simpson, and I understood for the first time that I couldn’t hold onto everything else, but I could hold onto Christ.
- I was discipled by Martin Pakula (whom I hold in the highest regard) and a brilliant group of youth leaders. They pushed us so hard. I went out with them sharing Two Ways to Live on a university campus when I was in Year 12. They put flesh and blood on to what it was to live for Christ.
- When I joined St Matthias, I met Christians my age who actually wanted to talk about God and who actually wanted to pray. I liked them so much, I ended up marrying one of them!
Reflections on reading the Bible with my kids
Everyday Ministry
For the first 15 years of my life, I thought of the Bible as bizarre, and I thought of Jesus as existing in the same realm as the tooth fairy and Santa Claus. God did amazing work in my life to show me how true the Bible is, but my old self lingers on. I find it particularly hard to make sense of the cultural foreignness of the Old Testament.
I have been reading through Genesis with my nine-year-old daughter for the past couple of months, and it’s been a lesson in humility. I come to Genesis with all of the questions of my old life: did the flood really happen? Did Abraham and Isaac really pass their wives off as their sisters, or did people just get the story confused and tell it twice? (I would have been a good liberal.) So it fascinates me the kinds of questions Anna chooses to ask.
A cure for gospel tongue-tie
Everyday Ministry, Sola Panel
Tongue-tied adj. unable to speak. Synonyms: aghast, amazed, astounded, at a loss for words, bashful, choked up, dazed, dumbfounded, dumbstruck, garbled, inarticulate, mum, mute, shocked, shy, silent, speechless, stammering, uncommunicative, voiceless, obstructed.
I know people who talk about the gospel in a relaxed, friendly, winsome way. I’m not one of them.
Timothy: timid or tough?
Thought, Sola Panel
Recently, in our staff meetings, we discussed John Stott’s excellent book The Living Church: Convictions of the lifelong pastor. I say ‘excellent’ despite Stott’s fondness for citing former Church of England Archbishops—not all of whom were uniformly reliable guides to the truth. I must admit that Stott’s love of ‘balance’ reminded a colleague of the old joke
Q. Why did the Anglican cross the road?
A. To get to the middle! (*Groan*)
An abominable word
Thought, Sola Panel
When I hear the word ‘abomination’, a vivid image comes to mind. Perhaps it was from a comedy sketch on TV. I see a man dressed in old-fashioned black clothes, with a black hat and, in reference to some aspect of modern culture (perhaps homosexuality), he declares in a slow, but passionate voice, “It is an abor-min-ay-shon”.
‘Abomination’ is not a nice word. It reeks of censoriousness and wowserism.
But then Jesus had to go and say this: “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God” (Luke 16:15).
How to steal another man’s wife
Thought
It’s not so hard to steal another man’s wife if you’re a king:
And Abner sent messengers to David on his behalf, saying, “To whom does the land belong? Make your covenant with me, and behold, my hand shall be with you to bring over all Israel to you.” And he said, “Good; I will make a covenant with you. But one thing I require of you; that is, you shall not see my face unless you first bring Michal, Saul’s daughter, when you come to see my face.” Then David sent messengers to Ish-bosheth, Saul’s son, saying, “Give me my wife Michal, for whom I paid the bridal price of a hundred foreskins of the Philistines.” And Ish-bosheth sent and took her from her husband Paltiel the son of Laish. But her husband went with her, weeping after her all the way to Bahurim. Then Abner said to him, “Go, return.” And he returned. (2 Sam 3:12-16; emphasis mine.)
I put it to you that King David ended up as a nasty, sleazy piece of work because he always was (1 Kgs 1:1-4, 2 Sam 11). (more…)
An interview with Peter Sholl
Everyday Ministry, Sola Panel
Pete, how did you come to Christ?
I grew up in country New South Wales in a Christian household. As a family, we’d head off to church and Sunday school every Sunday without fail. I knew Jesus personally, and I trusted that he knew what was best for my life.
When I was 17, I moved to Sydney to study engineering at the University of New South Wales, living in New College. The first night I was there, an upper year student (who is now the rector of All Saint’s Petersham in Sydney) stood up and announced that a group was going to church and that anyone was welcome to come. This was a significant moment for me as my family wasn’t with me any more; I could do what I liked!
I went to church, and over the next four years as a student, was fed a hearty diet of Bible at church and in small groups. These were very important years for me; they gave me a great grounding for Christian growth as I moved into my 20s and beyond.
Reading the Bible with your ears open
Life
You read what you hear. Even with the Bible. You read what you hear.
Let me explain. Study leave got me to England in 10 inches of snow. Beautiful. Because it closed the airports, it almost got me to France. How would I have explained that to the college board? Then driving around a country other than mine just confused me; so many signs supposedly telling me what to do, but I didn’t have the right framework to assimilate them so that they could actually make sense.