So GAFCON have released their statement here, which basically just affirms that which the Anglican church has always believed.

Rowan Williams has responded to it in his own statement.

Firstly, it smacks of arrogance to say this is not ‘colonialism’ but at the same time to assume he has authority to speak on behalf of the whole Communion, and with more authority than African Bishops who have more Anglicans under their oversight.

Second, the quote below highlights the difference between Williams viewpoint and Biblical Christianity:

A ‘Primates’ Council’ which consists only of a self-selected group from among the Primates of the Communion will not pass the test of legitimacy for all in the Communion. And any claim to be free to operate across provincial boundaries is fraught with difficulties, both theological and practical – theological because of our historic commitments to mutual recognition of ministries in the Communion, practical because of the obvious strain of responsibly exercising episcopal or primatial authority across enormous geographical and cultural divides.

Williams speaks of theological problems, but notice he does not appeal to Scripture, or even to the Creeds or the Articles. He appeals to historic traditon, this is not a theological argument!!

So it seems my post reporting on Jim Packer’s comments while speaking at Holy Trinity Eastbourne have caused a little bit of a stir in the virtual and real-life press. Few people were interested with Packer’s insightful analysis of Liberalism, or his thoughts on the future of the Anglican church, but on one sentence - “I would say with great respect Archbishop, I believe that the way of wisdom is for you to resign.”

The story has been mentioned by Martin Beckford in the Telegraph, Ruth Gledhill in The Times and on the Church Times Blog. It’s also been discussed on Peter Kirk’s blog. Now personally I don’t think it’s a huge story by any means, but it just goes to show how the media has changed, I can blog something which otherwise would go unheard outside its original audience, isn’t technology good?!

You can listen to Dr. Packer’s talk yourself, and the question time.

How he’s been enjoying GAFCON and why he won’t be going to Lambeth…

Video on SydneyAnglicans

There’s loads of other videos there, little snippets from the conference including Vaughan Roberts.

The future of the Anglican church is uncertain, but it seems inevitable that in the coming months things will start to move… the Lambeth Conference happens next month, but happening right now is GAFCON - Global Anglican Future Conference! This is essentially an ‘alternative Lambeth’, for 300 orthodox Bishops from the Anglican Communion.

Colin Slee (Liberal, gay-agenda-pushing, Very Revd.) described GAFCON on Radio 4 as a “a very small group” - Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Southern Cone, Sydney, plus others - this represents at least half of the Anglicans worldwide.

Wallace Benn, Bishop of Lewes, and Michael Nazir-Ali, Bishop of Rochester are members of the GAFCON leadership team and are there in Jerusalem now. You can watch events unfolding at GAFCON as they are streamed live, see below…

In other news Wallace Benn has been very rude to me, he said in reference to my lovely girlfriend, and I quote - “It’s obvious that God must have given her to you… there’s no way you could have got her yourself!”

Tonight was the first in what will hopefully be a long-term series of cafe nights at BH. I was a bit frustrated with the cafe nights that happened in the past, because it was the same as a normal service, just with chairs set out differently and some nibbles… but tonight we got rid of songs, prayers, any kind of liturgy or service order and I ad libbed at the front.

Povey spoke on the subject of exclusive beliefs and absolute truth, essentially just a rip off of Keller… speaking of which, after a review by me I managed to flog some cut-price copies of Reason for God, I have two copies left if anyone is interested. You can get Povey’s talk here…

Last month I posted something about Jim Packer and his proposed de-licensing by Bishop Ingham, I was a little ungracious to Ingham (not without reason)… but the recent response by Packer and others to Ingham has been both firm and gracious, it seems a good model for dealing with heretical Bishops, here’s an extract…

…However, with deep reluctance and regret we have concluded that we cannot continue the Anglican ministry to which we were ordained under your jurisdiction. The Diocese, under your leadership, has departed from historic, orthodox Anglican teaching and practice. It has departed from what the Primates have unanimously recognized as the standard of teaching of the Anglican Communion. The Diocese is in a state of broken or impaired communion with the majority of Anglicans worldwide. Sadly, it appears the Anglican Church of Canada has now similarly departed from Anglican teaching and practice…

They’re going to continue to be Anglicans, but get their licences and Bishoply (is that a word?) oversight from a guy in the Southern Cone called Donald Harvey. You can read the full letter here.

Let me ask a question… have you heard of Michael Ingham? I’m guessing probably about 40% at most of the people reading this will have. Second question (if you answered yes to the first one), before he started causing trouble by having gay weddings and such had you heard of Michael Ingham? We’re probably down to 5% or less now…

Third question, for everyone… have you heard of Jim Packer? I’m guessing we’re at 90% plus now… that’s because this man has actually contributed something positive to the Church. And it’s not going to be up at 90% because all the people who read this blog come from a similar theological persuasion (although that’s probably true), but I’ve met Anglicans, Baptists, Charismatics, non-Denominationalists, Emergents, Free Churchers, (can’t think of a G)… Liberals, Pentecostals… who’ve all heard of, and at the very least respect Packer, and more likely will speak of how his writings have been of great help to them.

You may or may not know that there’s some rumblings going on in the Anglican church, particularly with stuff going on in the USA and Canada… essentially it’s all about Liberal Bishops denying the authority of Scripture, and the recent outworking of that has been the appointment of practising homosexual Bishops, women Bishops and the blessing of gay marriages. Anyway, Packer and others thought it better to have some oversight (Bishop = overseer) from some Bishops who are actually Christians and actually believe the Bible… their Bishop (Michael Ingham) didn’t like that and wants to remove their licence to be a Vicar. Justin Taylor gives a better explanation here.

Packer and David Short (another vicar facing his licence being removed) have put their thoughts into a DVD and on Youtube, you can see them here… See this one below - Who’s leaving who?

Also, you can see some videos made by Ingham, these make me quite sad, Packer says it makes him “sick”. These videos show some fairly clueless supporters of the Diocese along with the biblically inept Bishop giving some answers… the first thing that makes me sad is the way he misinterprets then along with the audience laugh at Leviticus 20.

Second thing that is sad is that they’re greedy, they’re worried about loosing land and buildings, that seems more of a concern than repairing the schism.

Came across this little guide, 40 tips for ministry, aimed at young pastors (by Craig Groeschel):

1. Life is short. Make every day count for God’s glory.
2. Don’t take yourself too seriously.
3. Ministry is a marathon, not a sprint.
4. Jesus cares more about the church than you do.
5. You can’t please everyone…so why try?
6. People will criticize you. Quit whining. Get used to it.
7. Three months from now, you won’t even remember most of the things that are bothering you today.
8. You can’t do it all. Stop trying.
9. God called you because He is good, not because you are.
10. If you blame yourself for the bad results in ministry, you’ll likely also take credit for the good results.
11. Become close friends with other pastors in your town (as many as you can).
12. Your kids will be grown before you know it. Don’t sacrifice them on the altar of ministry.
13. Your ministry isn’t your god. God is your God.
14. You know how to give and how to minister to others. If you don’t learn how to receive, you’ll burn out and/or die.
15. Studying for sermons doesn’t replace your personal time with God and in His Word.
16. Err on the side of generosity.
17. Believe in people that others overlook.
18. If you’re going to reach people that others aren’t, you’ll have to do things that others won’t.
19. Your integrity matters more than you can imagine.
20. Hire staff members that you like.
21. When you have a tough decision to make, but you know it’s right, make it immediately. (Like pulling off a Band-Aid: do it fast, and all at once.)
22. Hire slowly. Fire quickly.
23. You can’t change people. Only God can.
24. Don’t criticize others’ ministries. Yours isn’t nearly as perfect as you think it is.
25. Take care of yourself. Eat right. Rest. Exercise. Take time off. No one else can do that for you.
26. If you don’t take much time off, it’s because you’re proud, and you think you’re more necessary than you really are.
27. Don’t just delegate responsibility. Delegate authority.
28. Laugh frequently.
29. People will leave your church. People you love and trust will leave your church. Don’t take it personally.
30. When you suffer and hurt because of ministry, worship Jesus all the more.
31. Talk about Jesus every time you preach.
32. Be careful what you say. You’re being watched (and recorded).
33. Don’t return emails when you’re angry.
34. Check to make sure your microphone is turned off before you use the bathroom. Double-check.
35. Check to make sure your zipper is zipped every time before you preach. Double-check.
36. Love your wife more than you love the church. The church is Jesus’ bride, not yours.
37. Always be caught speaking well of others.
38. Compliment, encourage, and build up your staff and volunteers.
39. Hand write thank you notes.
40. Smile and look people in the eyes when you talk to them.

So here’s where I’m going on Sunday morning…

Setting the scene
Jesus has been teaching parables about the Kingdom of God around Galilee… last week, we saw the parable of the net and the sobering picture of the separation of righteous and wicked at the end of the world… now Jesus travels 20 miles south to his home town of Nazareth… this section seems a little out of place (it’s not a parable) but it’s here for a reason…

What’s going on here? - People don’t recognise who Jesus is!
v54 - he’s just a man… the people can’t see the source of his power
v55-56 - the people are blinded by his humanity… they think they know who he is, they know his family
v.57 - they took offence… no surprise, in Luke 4 they tried to throw him off a cliff!… ‘Familiarity breeds contempt’ - he’s the boy from next door, why should they listen to him?

Same situation today… Jesus is a prophet, great example, good teacher… and if he says anything offensive (like last week… weeping and gnashing of teeth) then we just ignore that…

C.S Lewis “Either this was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronising nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”

Have you fallen at his feet and called Him Lord and God?

Why is this section here? - to show that the word of God divides
We know that’s true because it says so… Hebrews 4:12
Matthew 13 = division… seeds that grow and seeds that don’t… wheat and weeds… good fish, bad fish

Matthew 13:11-17… Jesus quotes Isaiah 6… v.15 “Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.”
v.58 “And he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith.”
This section shows us what Jesus was talking about… the people don’t see, don’t hear, don’t understand, don’t have faith… hence v58, no miracles

The word of God divides… some believe, some don’t
Origien (early church father) put it like this… “The same sun that melts wax hardens clay”… God’s word provokes a response!
Psalm 95 “Today if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts”
BHMC SofFaith… Bible is supreme authority in all matters of belief and behaviour

So… when we hear God speak in his word… let us not harden our hearts… but let us trust and obey
As the hymn says… “Trust and obey, for there’s no other way. To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.”

What about us? - Do we have a right view of Jesus?
Have you fallen at his feet and called Him Lord and God? Maybe you have, and have continued to do so for many years…
But let us not forget Jesus’ humanity… Hebrews 4:15 – “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin”

Let’s have a right view of Jesus…. Lord and King and Eternal God… yet personal, one who has known the pains and struggles of this world, one who left the joys of heaven, who humbled himself, becoming obedient to death on a cross, so that we might live!

…was good. Yes the actions are cheesy, and we didn’t actually open a Bible which seems bad… but the actions mean that it was easy to remember all these things…

Creation, Fall, Flood, Nations, 4000 years ago.

Ur, Persian Gulf, SALT, Sarah, Abraham, Lot, Terah

Tigris, Euprates

Haran, Terah dies

Sea of Galilee, Jordan River, Dead Sea, Mediterranean

Israel, Ishmael, Isaac, Esau, Jacob

Joseph, Egypt

Jews, Egypt

400 years of bondage, Moses Let my people go, No

1o plagues, Passover, Red Sea, Mount Sinai, Law, Tabernacle