Anglicans seeking donation for field

Micki Mott, a member of Anglican Holy Trinity Church, and wife of Win, Anglican bishop of Silver City and Deming Anglican congregations, has spent the past three months in Uganda, training in nutrition at local schools and communities in conjunction with her teaching stay at the Nserester Orphanage in Masaka, Uganda.

The Nserester Orphanage shelters 800 children, the majority who are orphaned due to AIDS. Because of oil price speculation, the price of corn, the mainstay of the community, has doubled, and the children, who are receiving only half of their regular diet, are going hungry.

Mott unhappily reports that the orphans are overly fatigued, falling asleep at their studies, and no longer have the energy to do the shared chores that keep the orphanage's 32-acre farm going.

A 6-acre parcel of land is available, close to Nserester Orphanage, on a river, so that year-round irrigation for the entire farm would be possible, and could alleviate this shortage of food. This plot of land is for sale for $900

To read more, click here.

Archbishop of Canterbury discusses Narnia in Holy Week Lectures

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, has discussed the popular Narnia stories of C.S.Lewis in his 2011 Holy Week Lectures which took place in Canterbury Cathedral over three consecutive evenings leading up to Easter.

In previous Holy Week lectures, Dr Williams has explored the creeds, the Bible, prayer, the role of the saints in spiritual growth and looked in depth at Mark’s Gospel story of Jesus’ life.

This year, Dr Williams, a Narnia fan, has turned his attention to the Christian themes found in the Narnia novels. Dr Williams explained: “The Narnia books of C.S. Lewis continue to intrigue and inspire many, and the recent very successful films have shown that they still have wide appeal. Lewis certainly intended them to be vehicles of Christian teaching. But in an age less familiar with Christian images and ideas than his, how can we best draw out these themes?”

To read more and to hear audio from the lectures, click here.

Counterfeit Gospels Author: Rob Bell Threw Grenade at Evangelicals

Rob Bell wasn’t misquoted or attacked as he claims. Rather, the Michigan megachurch pastor was the one who threw the “grenade” at evangelicals, said the author of the new book Counterfeit Gospels.

For a very popular, charismatic, evangelical pastor to come out and call the traditional view of hell as toxic, misguided, and for him to mock the view of his grandmother – which he admits in the book – he has really thrown a grenade at the evangelical count,” said Trevin Wax in an interview with The Christian Post on Thursday.

Wax, who is also the editor of a small group curriculum developed by the Southern Baptist Convention’s LifeWay Christian Resources, said it is “disingenuous” of Bell to portray himself as “under attack, being misquoted, and being maligned” when his book “is very much an assault on the traditional understanding of heaven and hell.”

To read more, click here.

Anglicans play central role at historic royal wedding

An estimated 2 billion people around the world tuned in on April 29 to watch the historic royal wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton at Westminster Abbey, a ceremony infused with British pageantry and steeped in elements of Anglicanism – past, present and future.

The streets of London bulged with thousands of well-wishers – some who'd camped for days to ensure the perfect spot for catching a glimpse of the happy couple, named just before the wedding as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

Inside the abbey, the Very Rev. John Hall, dean of Westminster, conducted the service according to a 1966 version of the liturgy of matrimony from the Anglican Book of Common Prayer, while Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, as head of the officially established Church of England, presided over the royal wedding and solemnized the marriage.

To read more, click here.

To view Royal Wedding Raw Video: Parade for Couple, click here.

Two Ways to Live

I assume a lot of you are aware of this tract / online presentation of the gospel. But if not, here’s a nice presentation of Two Ways to Live that you can read online or share with others.

(In addition to English, it’s also available online in Chinese [traditional letters], Japanese, French, and Spanish.)

There’s also a kid’s version: Who Will Be King?

In The Gagging of God (pp. 501-504) D.A. Carson wrote:

At the risk of oversimplification, most evangelistic tools in the Western world are subsets of systematic theology. By this I mean that they tend to ask atemporal questions, and give atemporal answers. . . . There is nothing intrinsically wrong with this pattern, as long as the people to whom it is presented have already bought into the Judeo-Christian heritage. . . .

But if you present these atemporal outlines of the gospel to those who know nothing about the Bible’s plotline, and who have bought into one form or another of New Age theosophy, how will they hear you? . . .

To read more, click here.

Videos on the Internet:
Two Ways To Live
Two ways to live training: The Conversation (Before)
Two ways to live training: The Better Conversation (After)

A Protestant Dictionary: Gospel

Gospel--This is derived from two Anglo-Saxon words, god (good), and spell ((news), and therefore is equivalent to the Greek term “good tidings.” The complete revelation of the goodness of God was reserved until in the fulness of time the Lord Jesus Christ appeared. It is in His Person and work that God’s way of salvation, through faith in Him, was made known to men. In that revelation we discover four cardinal and essential features.

(1) His Incarnation, by which God was manifested in human nature, as full of grace and truth.

(2) His atoning Sacrifice on the Cross, by which the barrier between God and sinners was removed, and their reconciliation made possible.

(3) His Resurrection, by which that Atonement was sealed and ratified, followed by His Ascension in our nature to the right hand of God, there to plead the sacrifice offered upon the cross, and to pour down the gifts and graces of His Holy Spirit.

(4) His second coming in power and glory to set up His kingdom upon earth, to gather His living saints to Himself, to raise from death those who are asleep in Jesus, and then finally to call all the buried myriads of mankind from their graves and to judge the quick and the dead, thus to effect the final triumph of good over evil.

Such in the main is the Gospel message on its historical side, and because it is such, it is the “power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth.” [William Burnet]

J. C. Ryle: The Way of Salvation

Where must a man go for pardon? Where is forgiveness to be found? There is a way both sure and plain, and into that way I desire to guide every inquirers feet. That way is simply to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior. It is to cast your soul with all its sins, unreservedly on Christ—to cease completely from any dependence on your own works or doings, either in whole or in part—and to rest on no other work but Christ's work—no other righteousness but Christ's righteousness, no other merit but Christ's merit as your ground of hope. Take this course—and you are a pardoned soul.

Says Peter "All the prophets testify about Him, that through His name everyone who believes in Him will receive forgiveness of sins." (Acts 10:43). Says Paul at Antioch, "Through this Man forgiveness of sins is being proclaimed to you, and everyone who believes in Him is justified from everything." (Acts 13:38). "In Him," writes Paul to the Colossians, "we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins" (Col. 1:14).

The Lord Jesus Christ, in great love and compassion has made a full and complete satisfaction for sin, by suffering death in our place upon the cross. There He offered Himself as a sacrifice for us, and allowed the wrath of God which we deserved—to fall on His own head! For our sins, as our Substitute, He gave Himself, suffered, and died—the just for the unjust, the innocent for the guilty—that He might deliver us from the curse of a broken law, and provide a complete pardon for all who are willing to receive it. And by so doing, as Isaiah says—He has borne our sins. As John the Baptist says—He has taken away sin. As Paul says—He has purged our sins, and put away sin. As Daniel says—He has made an end of sin and finished transgression.

And now the Lord Jesus Christ is sealed and appointed by God the Father to be a Prince and a Savior, to give forgiveness of sins, to all who will have it. The keys of death and hell are put in His hand. The government of the gate of heaven is laid on His shoulder. He Himself is the door, and by Him all who enter in shall be saved. Christ, in one word, has purchased a full forgiveness, if we are only willing to receive it. He has done all, paid all, suffered all that was needful, to reconcile us to God. He has provided a garment of righteousness to clothe us. He has opened a fountain of living waters to cleanse us. He has removed every barrier between us and God the Father, taken every obstacle out of the way—and made a road by which the vilest may return to God. All things are now ready, and the sinner has only to believe and be saved, to eat and be satisfied, to ask and receive, to wash and be clean.

Faith, or simple trust is the only thing required, in order that you and I may be forgiven. That we will come by faith to Jesus as sinners with our sins—trust in Him—and forsaking all other hope, cleave only to Him—that is all and everything that God asks for. Let a man only do this, and he shall be saved. His iniquities shall be found completely pardoned, and his transgressions completely taken away!

Who, among all the readers of this paper, desires to be saved by Christ, and yet is not saved at present? Come, I beseech you! Come to Christ without delay. Though you have been a great sinner, COME! Though you have long resisted warnings, counsels, sermons, COME! Though you have sinned against light and knowledge, against a father's advice and a mother's tears, COME! Though you have plunged into every excess of wickedness, and lived without prayer, yet COME! The door is not shut, the fountain is not yet closed. Jesus Christ invites you. It is enough that you feel laboring and heavy-laden, and desire to be saved. COME! COME TO CHRIST WITHOUT DELAY! Come to Him by faith, and pour out your heart before Him in prayer. Tell Him the whole story of your life, and ask Him to receive you. Cry to Him as the penitent thief did, when He saw Him on the cross. Say to Him, "Lord save me also! Lord remember me!" COME! COME TO CHRIST!

To listen to Bishop Ryle's great gospel tract, click here.

From the Pen of J. C. Ryle: Only One Way of Salvation

Is there more than one road to Heaven? Is there more than one way in which the soul of man can be saved? This is the question which I propose to consider in this paper, and I shall begin the consideration by quoting a text of Scripture: "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under Heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved" (Acts 4:12).

These words are striking in themselves; but they are much more striking if we observe when and by whom they were spoken. They were spoken by a poor and friendless Christian, in the midst of a persecuting Jewish Council. It was a grand confession of Christ.

They were spoken by the lips of the Apostle Peter. This is the man who, a few weeks before, forsook Jesus and fled: this is the very man who three times over denied his Lord. There is another spirit in him now! He stands up boldly before priests and Sadducees, and tells them the truth to their face: "This is the stone that was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved."

First, let me explain the doctrine laid down by St. Peter.

Let us make sure that we rightly understand what the Apostle means. He says of Christ, "Neither is there salvation in any other." Now what does this mean? On our clearly seeing this very much depends.

He means that no one can be saved from sin – its guilt, its power, and its consequences – excepting by Jesus Christ. He means that no one can have peace with God the Father – obtain pardon in this world, and escape wrath to come in the next – excepting through the atonement and mediation of Jesus Christ.

In Christ alone God’s rich provision of salvation for sinners is treasured up: by Christ alone God’s abundant mercies come down from Heaven to Earth. Christ’s blood alone can cleanse us; Christ’s righteousness alone can clothe us; Christ’s merit alone can give us a title to Heaven. Jews and Gentiles, learned and unlearned, kings and poor men – all alike must either be saved by the Lord Jesus, or lost forever.

And the Apostle adds emphatically, "There is none other name under Heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved." There is no other person commissioned, sealed, and appointed by God the Father to be the Saviour of sinners, excepting Christ. The keys of life and death are committed to His hand, and all who would be saved must go to Him.

There was but one place of safety in the day when the flood came upon the Earth: that place was Noah’s ark. All other places and devices – mountains, towers, trees, rafts, boats – all were alike useless. So also there is but one hiding-place for the sinner who would escape the storm of God’s anger; he must venture his soul on Christ.

There was but one man to whom the Egyptians could go in time of famine, when they wanted food: They must go to Joseph; it was a waste of time to go to anyone else. So also there is but One to whom hungering souls must go, if they would not perish forever: they must go to Christ. There was but one word that could save the lives of the Ephraimites in the day when the Gileadites contended with them, and took the fords of Jordan (Judges 12): They must say "Shibboleth," or die. Just so there is but one Name that will avail us when we stand at the gate of Heaven: we must name the Name of Jesus as our only hope, or be cast away everlastingly.

To read more, click here.

Evangelism as Sacrament

Jesus' exhortation to "go and make disciples" might seem daunting to a Christian worried that a Christopher Hitchens is around every corner, eager to debate the existence of God. Jerry Root, associate professor of spiritual formation at Wheaton College, co-authored The Sacrament of Evangelism (Moody) with Stan Guthrie to rethink the nature of evangelism and reassure its anxious practitioners. Owen Strachan, co-author of The Essential Edwards Collection, spoke with Root about recovering the "sacramental" dimension of evangelism.

To read more, click here.

Is Our Group Healthy or Unhealthy?

I received a good question from one of our small-group leaders today. I think this is a critical question that many leaders and groups are asking: "What are the top three things a healthy small group should be doing? Shouldn't it be more than just social, or just project driven?"

I had to think for a while before I responded, and I've written out my conclusions here. Below are the top seven hallmarks of a healthy small group. Note that the first four deal with how a group should be focused and organized; the last three deal specifically with what they should do.

To read more, click here.

Study: Youths' Level of Faith Depends on Community

When it comes to adolescents genuinely committing to their faith, a study found that their social environment determines how strong their faith level will be.

The study, conducted by Professor David Dollahite from Brigham Young University, operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, took on a different approach from simply reporting numbers and statistics on how devout young people are. He reached each teen on a personal level by allowing them to share their views on different variables.

Dollahite took 80 teens, 10- to 20-year-olds of various faith communities, including Christian and Muslim, from northern California and New England and asked for their views on different topics.

For example, a 15-year-old Christian and Missionary Alliance girl shared on religious traditions, rituals and laws that "[Church is] a break in the week. It’s something that’s consistent, that we do every week together. We get in the car and go to church and come home. And it’s nice to sort of step back from the busyness of everything and just have something that we all do together."

According to the study, titled “Seven Anchors of Religious Commitment,” parents, religious leaders, a faith community, rituals and traditions, faith tradition or denomination, God and sacred texts are crucial to a young person's faith.

Emily Layton, who conducted the analysis as part of her M.S. thesis for the study, explained to The Christian Post, “Relationships were extremely important – relationships with parents, with church leaders and relationships with people in their faith community. That was interesting to me, the relationships with other adults in their faith community as well as other younger teens.”

To read more, click here.

Fast-Food Mayhem Signals Need for 'Religion'

Recently, total strangers have been fighting each other, usually in fast food restaurants. These tragic incidents have been caught on video, have been posted on the Internet, and “have gone viral.”
This has happened at McDonald’s, at Burger King, at IHOP, at Denny’s. Even on the subway (not the restaurant-not yet at least-but the underground railway system), total strangers have been fighting each other.

Some of these seem to be racially motivated. Others not.

The ancient Christians used to talk about the Seven Deadly Sins-one of which was anger. Now, this deadly sin is proving deadly or nearly deadly.

Recently, two female teenage patrons of McDonald’s in Baltimore County allegedly beat up a stranger until she was apparently having epileptic seizures. She was rushed to the hospital.

In Panama City, Florida, a patron had it her way at Burger King-and that was precisely the problem.

To read more, click here.

While I believe that the deterioration of the place of religion, in particular Christianity, in US culture may be a significant contributing factor to these outbursts of violence, I do not believe that it is the sole factor behind them.

Nero in Beijing – The Communist Party Declares War on Christians

The news out of China grows worse as reports of the arrest, detention, harassment, and beatings of Christians come from across China. The most publicized case thus far is the repeated oppression against a Beijing congregation which has led to numerous arrests and a crackdown within China’s capital.

Further:

The incident is a microcosm of the wider problems caused by China’s crackdown. Beijing insists it wants to promote a harmonious and stable society. Yet by arresting prominent activists for no apparent reason, the security forces are doing the opposite: Those who were once content to live quietly with the Party’s restrictions on free expression are now compelled to speak out.

Observers warn that China is sending the signal that it will not allow the eruption of protests like those that have spread throughout the Middle East and North Africa.

There is more to it of course. Central to this crackdown is the paranoia of the Community Party. One of the hallmarks of democratic societies is the existence of thriving “mediating institutions” between the individual and the brute power of the state. In the United States these mediating institutions include everything from the PTA to your local church and the neighborhood reading club.

To read more, click here.

Ordinariate Watch: British ordinariate welcomes first members

They were received into full communion not at the Easter Vigil, as normally happens when people become Catholic, but in low-key ceremonies during Holy Week. The first 1,000-odd members of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham — 950 laypeople and 64 clergy in 27 groups across the United Kingdom — are former Anglicans who have responded to Pope Benedict XVI’s historic creation of a means by which former Anglicans can be received as groups, together with their clergy, while retaining their distinctive traditions.

Unifying move

Although described in media reports as “disaffected Anglicans” who are jumping ship in exasperation at divisions within the Church of England over homosexuality and women’s ordination, the members of the ordinariate see themselves very differently — as pioneers of Christian unity.

To read more, click here.

Take note of the description of the disaffected Anglo-Catholics, more accurately Anglo-Papists, who joined the UK Ordinariate as "pioneers of Christian unity"--a reoccurring talking point in Roman Catholic articles on the personal ordinariates--and its reference to the Roman Catholic Church as "the universal church." This article is very revealing of Roman Catholic attitudes toward other Christians, Eastern Orthodox as well as Protestant, as have been a number of previous Roman Catholic articles posted on Anglicans Ablaze.

Archbishop Wabukala Elected GAFCON Primates Council Chairman

GAFCON Primates Council

Statement from the Most Rev’d Eliud Wabukala, Primate of the Anglican Church of Kenya and newly elected Chairman of the GAFCON Primates Council:

Praise the Lord! It is a great joy to greet all of you as we celebrate the Feast of the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. The resurrection of Christ was an event that changed the course of history for good and as a result, my life and the lives of millions of others have been changed for eternity.

Yesterday I was elected Chairman of the GAFCON Primates Council and I am honored to accept this call to serve the Anglican Communion in this special way. Together with 1200 bishops and leaders from around the Anglican Communion, I was privileged to spend a life- changing week in Jerusalem in 2008 as part of the Global Anglican Future Conference.

It reminds me of my roots in the East African Revival when the renewing Spirit of God permeated the Church leading to a confession of sins, a thirst for God’s Word filling the converts with humility, a simple lifestyle and an unquestionable desire for evangelism. It is these qualities that have kept the Church in our region faithful to the Gospel. It is my conviction that this same Spirit is at work in GAFCON.

I am honored, therefore, to join my colleagues in helping lead this movement forward and am humbled by their trust. It is a delight to welcome two new Primates to the Council, the Most Rev’d Tito Zavala, Bishop of Chile and Presiding Bishop of the Southern Cone, and also the Most Rev’d Onesphore Rwaje, Primate of the Anglican Church of Rwanda.

GAFCON is made up of Anglican archbishops, bishops, clergy and laity from around the world. We include Provinces that contain the majority of the active membership of the Anglican Communion. We joyfully acknowledge the Lordship of Jesus Christ, believe in the trustworthiness of God’s Word and the transforming power of God’s Spirit.

■At the heart of GAFCON is the Jerusalem Declaration that gives a theological and historical framework to our faith as Anglican Christians.

■GAFCON is committed to the work of reforming, reshaping and renewing global Anglicanism.

■We are determined to strengthen and support orthodox Anglican Bishops, Dioceses and Provinces in their witness to Jesus Christ and the transforming power of His Spirit.

■We will work to recognize and encourage faithful Anglicans in regions of the world where there is no biblical Anglican voice or presence.

■We are developing theological and other resources to help grow our Anglican family in Biblical faithfulness and practical concern, and

■We are building a global partnership of faithful Anglican churches who are committed to Biblical faith as described in the Jerusalem Declaration.
I recognize that we have set ourselves a truly monumental task but we serve God for whom nothing, not even overcoming death itself, is impossible.

Pray for us. Pray that we will all be faithful to God’s Call.

Alleluia, Christ is Risen!

Nairobi, 28th April, 2011

The Adoption Crusade

An article titled "The Evangelical Adoption Crusade" appeared Friday in The Nation, lodging a hard-hitting critique of Christians and adoption. Those who disapprove of Christian adoption efforts do so for many reasons. Some are troubled by real and perceived ethical concerns. Some feel an orphan's ethnicity matters more than their need for a family. Some have encountered purported Christians who bear little resemblance to Jesus. But whatever the motives, supporters of Christian adoption and orphan care can gain most not by merely dismissing the critics but by learning from them—even when we disagree profoundly with their claims and conclusions.

Such is the case with "The Evangelical Adoption Crusade." Author Kathryn Joyce spent more than a year seeking to find and amplify what she feels are the worst flaws of the Christian adoption and orphan care movement. But while the article may distort as much as it reveals, Christian orphan advocates would do well to listen to Joyce's concerns. Even if mistaken in many regards, a critic will almost always wake us to legitimate issues if we're attentive. Several vital reminders, in particular, can be taken from this article....

To read more, click here.

From the Pen of J. C. Ryle: Having the Spirit

"Worldly people, who do not have the Spirit." Jude 19

I take it for granted that every reader of this paper believes in the Holy Spirit. The number of people in this country who are infidels, deists, or Socinians, and openly deny the doctrine of the Trinity, is happily not very great. Most people have been baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. There are few Churchmen, at any rate, who have not often heard the well-known words of our old Catechism, "I believe in God the Holy Spirit, who sanctifies me and all the elect people of God."

But, notwithstanding all this, it would be well for many if they would consider what they know of the Holy Spirit beyond His name. What experimental acquaintance have you with the Spirit's work? What has He done for you? What benefit have you received from Him? You can say of God the Father, "He made me and all the world." You can say of God the Son, "He died for me and all mankind." But can you say anything about the Holy Spirit? Can you say, with any degree of confidence, "He dwells in me, and sanctifies me"? In one word, Have you the Spirit? The text which heads this paper will tell you that there is such a thing as "not having the Spirit." This is the point which I press upon your attention.

I believe the point to be one of vital importance at all seasons. I hold it to be one of special importance in the present day. I consider that clear views about the work of the Holy Spirit are among the best preservatives against the many false doctrines which abound in our times. Allow me then, to lay before you a few things, which by God's blessing, may throw light on the subject of having the Spirit.

To read more, click here.

2007 UK Evangelical Ministry Assembly

“What does it really mean to live and minister as an Evangelical in our times? Now free for the first time, Defining Times, the 2007 Evangelical Ministry Assembly is available as an mp3 download.”

The complete conference audio is now available as a single 179MB zipped file from The Proclamation Trust.

To learn more about Defining Times, the 2007 Evangelical Ministry Assembly and to down load the file, click here.

Solomon Islands Flooded by Japan Tsunami

Ripples from the powerful March 11 earthquake and tsunami that devastated North East Japan were felt over 3700 miles south in the Solomon Islands, the Church of the Province of Melanesia reports.

Bishop Richard Naramana of the Diocese of Ysabel reports that at approximately 2:00 am local time on March 12, tsunami waves generated by the magnitude 9.0 earthquake hit the Isabel, Malaita, Choiseul and Central Island provinces of the Solomon Islands, seven hours after the quake rocked Japan.

To read more, click here.

Do We Really Pray in Our Churches?

I sometimes wish I could have been there.

The new church at Jerusalem was in its infancy. There was an unmistakable excitement and anticipation among the believers. They began to gather together as a body shortly after Peter preached his message at Pentecost. Luke describes their actions in succinct phrases: “And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to the prayers” (Acts 2:42, HCSB).

I wish I could have been there to see it.

A Desire to Know

You see, I have this curiosity about how they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and, especially “to the prayers.”

What did the gathered church actually do to be so devoted to a ministry of prayer? What forms did it take? Just how did they come together as a group to pray?

To read more, click here.

Five characteristics to model in your congregation

If you want to be a people builder, start by giving people an example to follow. Leadership begins with you and with how you live. At its most basic level, leadership is about being a model for others.

Why? You can only take a person as far as you have gone yourself. That’s why the first audience for your sermons each week isn’t your congregation -- it’s you. You can’t preach what hasn’t changed your life already,

The problem today is we don’t know the difference between being a leader and a boss. They are not the same. Dictators demand. Leaders model. You don’t lead by dictating. You lead by example. The Bible says, “Don't lord it over the people assigned to your care but lead them by your good example.”(1 Peter 5:3 NLT)

To read more, click here.

Francis Chan: Church Today Not What God Intended

Church today has become predictable, says bestselling author and influential preacher Francis Chan.

"You go to a building, someone gives you a bulletin, you sit in a chair, you sing a few songs, a guy delivers maybe a polished message, maybe not, someone sings a solo, you go home," Chan says in his latest "BASIC" video.

The Crazy Love author is concerned about the big disconnect between what the church looks like today and what it looked like 2,000 years ago.

"When you read the New Testament, you see the Holy Spirit was supposed to change everything so that this gathering of people who call themselves Christians had this supernatural element about them," Chan explains in the video series, produced by Flannel. His talk on the Holy Spirit premiered recently on RelevantMagazine.com.

It was the Holy Spirit, which came down after Jesus ascended to heaven, that empowered Christians thousands of years ago. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, people began speaking in different languages, people were being healed, and believers had a supernatural love for one another.

The fire that came down from heaven, that rush of wind, however, seems to have disappeared, Chan points out.

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To read more, click here.

Why Beijing's Largest House Church Refuses to Stop Meeting Outdoors

The global media spotlight has recently centered on the meeting place of Shouwang Church in Beijing. Since April 10, the unregistered congregation of 1,000 mostly young professionals has been forced to worship outdoors after the landlord of its rented conference hall gave in to mounting government pressure and terminated the church's lease.

During the past three Sundays, numerous uniformed and plainclothes police officers were sent to a public square at Zhongguancun, known as "China's Silicon Valley," where Shouwang worshipers were supposed to gather. Hundreds of Shouwang members were detained, from a few hours to 48 hours. They worshiped—reading the Bible, singing hymns, and praying—after being loaded onto buses or held in police stations. Many others have been under house arrest. The church's leaders, including four pastors and three elders, have been under house arrest for most of the past two weeks. Some church members have lost their jobs or rented homes—or both.

On Easter Sunday, more than 30 people were rounded up at Zhongguancun, while many Shouwang members were confined to their homes. A young couple asked the police to drive them to the Zhongguancun square. The police agreed. They sang hymns, read the Bible, and prayed in the police car. They also gave the police officers a copy of the Bible and an autobiography about how a Chinese biologist became a Christian. The police car moved around the square. After the young couple finished worshiping, the police officers drove them home. The young couple shared their experience with fellow Shouwang members through the church's online forum, which was shut down in mid-April but resumed later.

It was not the first time that Shouwang Church made global headlines. In November 2009, when President Barack Obama had just wrapped up his first visit to China, The Wall Street Journal ran an opinion piece entitled "The China President Obama Didn't See." It was about 500 Shouwang members worshiping outside in a suburban park during a snowstorm after being evicted from the office space that the church had rented for three and a half years.

To read more, click here.

Which Medium Is the Message?

Recently I was in the hospital for a few days (I'm doing fine now, thank you), and I couldn't help but notice that my roommate's television was on more than 18 hours a day. All day. Every day. It was an inescapable reminder that we live and minister in an entertainment-saturated world.

Sometimes the most obvious realities are overlooked or taken for granted. But if Max DePree is right and "The first task of a leader is to define reality," then it's important for leaders to address even the obvious realities. One such reality is this: it's an unusual person today who doesn't spend at least four hours a day absorbing TV, radio, iTunes, YouTube, Facebook, sports, movies, video games, or some other form of entertainment. For many, like my hospital roommate, it's a lot more than four hours a day.

What does this constant exposure to entertainment do to a person? How does it influence the way people think? The way they pray? The way they worship? And most important for those of us in ministry, how does it affect the way we encourage people to follow Christ?

When entertainment is perhaps the most prevalent form of communication, what does that mean for preachers, disciplers, worship leaders, and others in positions of Christian influence? Do we become entertainers ourselves? Do we refuse to become entertainers? Or do we land somewhere in between?

My friend Chuck Fromm, editor of Worship Leader magazine (and former president of Maranatha! Music), recently stirred my thinking on this in an email exchange. He pointed out that from the beginning of time, there have been controversies over media (the plural form of "medium") in worship.

To read more, click here.

"I Am Not Ashamed of the Gospel"

In what ways might we be ashamed of the gospel? One way might be to teach part of the gospel message, but not all, that is to leave out or water down those parts which might offend people. Put bluntly it is possible for people to teach the positives of the message about Christ, without the negatives. That is to call people to faith, without calling them to repentance. We declare that ‘God is love’ but are shy of warning of His wrath against ungodliness. We speak about the joy of following Christ, but do not call people to count the cost. Similarly we can lose confidence in the gospel being the power of God unto salvation and instead believe, or at least act as if, people will come to faith through other means. As a consequence other things, such as social action or church events can become seen as the gospel, rather than an opening to make known the gospel. In all these ways, and more, people today do seem to be ashamed of the gospel, and have lost confidence in the power of the gospel. But, what did Paul mean when he wrote the word of our title in his epistle to the Romans?

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Japan's Christians celebrate Easter amid disaster

This Easter, the story of resurrection carried a deeply personal message for the small community of Christians in disaster-hit Japan.

More than six weeks after a massive earthquake and tsunami ravaged the country's northeastern coast, leaving 26,000 missing or dead, the region is trying to clean up and move forward.

"When you're faced with so much death, it really makes you think," said Junko Chiba, 46. "But there are things you realize through suffering. It helps you understand your blessings, more so than if you lead a comfortable life."

Chiba drove all night from Saitama prefecture near Tokyo to join about 20 people to worship and reflect Sunday during Easter services at the Kesennuma Bible Baptist Church. Her family home is in nearby Oshima, and she had been a regular at the church during high school.

The white wooden church, one of a handful in this devastated fishing town, sits atop a hill. It escaped physical damage, but its members lost homes, jobs and neighbors.

Still, they say they are blessed and believe their suffering has brought them closer to God.

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Global Poll: Most Believe in God, Afterlife

A new survey shows that 51 percent of people in the world believe in God. Only 18 percent don’t and 17 percent are undecided.

More than 18,000 people participated in the London-based poll in 23 countries conducted by global research company, Ipsos Social Research Institute.

The Ipsos/Reuters poll also found that 51 percent believe that there is an afterlife while 23 percent believe they will just "cease to exist." Around a quarter (26 percent) simply don’t know what will happen after death.

Bobby Duffy, managing director of Ipsos, told Reuters, "It may seem to many that we live in a secular world but this survey shows just how important spiritual life is to so many global citizens with half saying they believe in a spiritual being and the same proportion in an afterlife of some sort or other.”

"The other really interesting thing is that such a large proportion of the remaining people are just not sure there is a spiritual explanation either for how they got here or what happens after they die."

According to the survey, “definitive belief in a God or Supreme Being" is highest in Indonesia (93 percent) and Turkey (91 percent), followed by Brazil (84 percent), South Africa (83 percent) and Mexico (78 percent). Those most likely to believe in “many Gods or Supreme Beings” live in India (24 percemore, click here.nt), China (14 percent) and Russia (10 percent).

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Why Conservative Churches Are Growing

By the late 1960s, liberal Protestants began asking a rather difficult question. Why were the conservative churches growing? In retrospect, one aspect of the liberal Protestant crisis was reflected in that very question. The mainline Protestant denominations would have been better served by asking why their own churches were declining.

Commissioned by the National Council of Churches, researcher Dean M. Kelley set out to find out why conservative churches were growing, even as the more liberal churches were declining. In his 1972 book, Why Conservative Churches are Growing: A Study in Sociology of Religion, Kelley argued that evangelical churches grow precisely because they do what the more liberal congregations and denominations intentionally reject - they make serious demands of believers in terms of doctrine and behavior.

“Amid the current neglect and hostility toward organized religion in general,” Kelley noted, “the conservative churches, holding to seemingly outmoded theology and making strict demands on their members, have equalled or surpassed in growth the early percentage increases of the nation’s population.”

With amazing insight and candor, Kelley spoke for mainline Protestantism when he noted that it had been generally assumed that churches, “if they want to succeed, will be reasonable, rational, courteous, responsible, restrained, and receptive to outside criticism.” These churches would be highly concerned with preserving “a good image in the world” - and that meant especially within the world of the cultural elites. These churches, intending to grow, would be “democratic and gentle in their internal affairs” - as the larger world defines those qualities. These churches will intend to be cooperative with other religious groups in order to meet common goals, and thus “will not let dogmatism, judgmental moralism, or obsessions with cultic purity stand in the way of such cooperation and service.”

Then, Kelley dropped his bomb: “These expectations are a recipe for the failure of the religious enterprise, and arise from a mistaken view of what success in religion is and how it should be fostered and measured.”

Kelley then presented his considerable wealth of research and reflection on the phenomenon of conservative growth and liberal decline. “Strong” religious movements make demands of their members in terms of both belief and behavior. These churches demand adherence to highly defined doctrines that are to be received, believed, and taught without compromise. They also understand themselves to be separate from the larger secular culture, and the requirements of membership in the church define a distance from secular beliefs and behaviors.

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Ordinariate Watch: The Holy Spirit is at work in the ordinariate

When the Apostolic Constitution Anglicanorum coetibus was first announced I had a few reservations. I was sceptical about the idea of group reception into the Church. My experience as a former Anglican clergyman has convinced me that it is not possible to sugar the pill of conversion. It is a process that involves giving up familiar things for the sake of the truth.

I also wondered if this was an option for the majority of Anglo-Catholics that I knew. The High Church wing of the Church of England has become more Roman in recent years. Many clergy have used Catholic liturgies for the whole of their ministry. It would be ironic if converting to Rome meant adopting Anglican forms of worship for the first time.

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Historic church's future uncertain

Upper Orara’s picturesque and historic All Saints Anglican Church will have its fate decided at a meeting to be held in Nana Glen next month.

The agenda for a special meeting to be held at the Nana Glen Anglican Church at 11am on May 8 is to “review and resolve the matter in regard to the future of the Upper Orara Anglican Church building and land”.

The meeting has been called by the incumbent deacon in charge of the Orara Valley, the Rev Sharon Painter.

All Saints Upper Orara celebrated its centenary last year, but has not been the venue for regular church services since 2006.

But there is no longer a viable local congregation and the insurance and upkeep of the church is costly.

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Related article: Historic church celebrates 100

Truth Professed, or Believed?

The difference is seen in the way we live.

Why are Christians so often so mean to each other?

I think it is because we do not care enough about truth.

I think its because we do not get clear about what we believe.

I think our thinking gets fuzzy, often enabled by the kind of subculture we have created, and fuzzy thinking goes largely unnoticed. I think we need some truth champions.

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The publishing sensation that made England conquer the world

This month sees the 400th anniversary of the publication of the King James Bible. It is the greatest book in the English language. It made English, and remade England.

It has been printed in millions of copies and hundreds of editions. It gives us our most memorable phrases and arresting images – from ‘an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth’ to a ‘sting in the tail’.

Called into being by a king, it has carried ideas of truth and freedom and justice and human dignity to the furthest corners of the globe. Its cadences can be heard in the speeches of Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King and President Obama. It is the spice in the new English of the Indian Subcontinent. And yet, extraordinarily, this supreme achievement was the work of a committee – or so we have always been told.

Closer examination reveals a very different story, which overturns our notions of the chronology of this great book and reintroduces an unjustly neglected name to our pantheon of great writers, William Tyndale.

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Police Block Chinese House Church's Easter Worship

Despite appeals from religious freedom groups, Chinese authorities continued their crackdown on a prominent house church, stopping hundreds of Christians from holding Easter services outdoors on Sunday.

Dozens from the 1,000-member Shouwang Church, one of Beijing's largest unregistered Protestant churches, were detained while at least 500 were confined to their homes, according to China Aid Association.

"We are deeply disappointed that the Chinese authorities chose to disrupt peaceful worshippers who were simply celebrating Easter today," said China Aid founder and president Pastor Bob Fu in a statement Sunday.

"By doing this, Chinese government again demonstrates its total disregard for Chinese citizens’ basic religious freedom and freedom of assembly. We continue to call upon the free world to stand firm in solidarity with the persecuted faithful in China."

This is the third week in a row that Shouwang members were kept from worshipping. Though aware of the risks, the evangelical church began scheduling outdoor services this month after government intervention made it impossible for the church to secure an indoor meeting place. Shouwang has been evicted from several rented locations.

Ahead of Easter services, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom appealed to the Chinese government to allow Christians to proceed with their worship during Christianity's holiest week without harassment or detention.

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4 Reasons I Have Such a HOPE for the Church

AND…in honor of Rick Warren, aka. Mr. Acrostic, I have listed my four reasons as H-O-P-E! Here we go…)

H = Hunger – I am seeing a hunger in pastors and church leaders like I’ve NEVER seen before. There seems to be a willingness to admit among many now that “if we always do what we’ve always done then we’ll always get what we’ve always got” and so, because of that, there is a desire to grow, learn and change. Denomination preferences are being put aside and people who would not even speak to one another 20 years ago are now sitting down at the table together to learn from each other. AND…church leaders are becoming more dependent on REVELATION from God and not just the IMITATION of others!

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'Lord of the Rings' Actor Shares Personal Impact of KJV Bible

He rode with Indiana Jones and battled next to Frodo, now award-winning actor John Rhys-Davies rides along the corridors of history teaching us what the King James Version Bible battled before reaching the homes of millions of people today.

Rhys-Davies, who plays the dwarf Gimli in “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy, explained to The Christian Post his personal appreciation and relationship with the KJV Bible after working on the docudrama, “KJB: The Book that Changed the World.”

While working as the host for the film, now available on DVD, Rhys-Davies became aware of many unanswered questions in his life, such as “What do I really believe? What are my real core values and understanding?”

He confessed “for me, it has been a very personal journey, which I have to tell you is not yet completed spiritually.”

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Historical Note: The Church of England and the Puritans were NOT seperate denominations. Puritanism was a movement WITHIN the reformed Church of England and historic Anglicanism. While a number of Puritan ministers were ejected from the Church of England for non-conformity at the Restoration and established non-conformist "conventicles," a number of Puritan ministers accepted the new Prayer Book and retained their livings.

Of First Importance — The Cross and Resurrection at the Center

The Christian faith is not a mere collection of doctrines — a bag of truths. Christianity is a comprehensive truth claim that encompasses every aspect of revealed doctrine, but is centered in the gospel of Jesus Christ. And, as the apostolic preaching makes clear, the gospel is the priority.

The Apostle Paul affirms this priority when he writes to the Christians in Corinth. In the opening verses of 1 Corinthians 15, Paul sets out his case....

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Archbishop Peter Jensen Interviewed at Easter

Anglican Archbishop of Sydney Dr Peter Jensen discusses his Easter message

A Good Book is hard to find

At 1520 pages, 783,137 words and a retail price of $120, the latest edition of the King James Version of the Bible could be one of the saviours of the Australian bookshop industry.

Too unwieldy to post and too precious to risk losing in the mail, the Bible printed by Oxford University Press to mark the 400th anniversary of the tome, is flying off shelves.

The commemorative edition is entirely faithful to the 1611 original, replete with Jacobean spelling, arcane prose and more than 350 printing errors. The typeface, however, has been changed from Gothic to Times Roman, amid concerns that new readers would be unable to decipher the old font.

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Ordinariate Watch: Anglican Ordinariate adds 900 members

At the reception of some 20 new members on Tuesday at the Oxford Oratory, Monsignor Burnham noted that even 1,000 new Catholics is still not “statistically significant.” The priest is one of three former Anglican bishops who were ordained to the Catholic priesthood in January.

“Every time we hear a set of national statistics,” he said, “even the statistics for rare diseases, the numbers seem to be in the 1,000s and tens of thousands. What significance have 20 or 30, 60, 900 or 1000?”

He warned of a “dangerous” scenario that the “groups of incoming Anglicans will simply melt into the crowd,” and that the “Pope’s imaginative and prophetic gesture in ‘Anglicanorum Cœtibus’ will have come to nothing.”

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He Is Not Here - He Is Risen

Celebrate Easter anywhere except at church

One evangelical pastor and author recommends that Christians celebrate Easter anywhere except at church.

"Lock the front door of the church on Easter morning and post a sign there that says, 'He is not here – he is risen,'" said Eric Foley, pastor of Doers of The Word Evangelical Church, in a statement.

"That's the message the angel shares when the women come to anoint Jesus' body on Easter morning: 'Go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead; and behold, he is going ahead of you into Galilee, there you will see him.'"

Whether it was the disciples who met Jesus on the road to Emmaus or the apostles who were called out of the Upper Room and on to Galilee, Foley states that the Easter message is clear: If you want to meet Jesus, hit the road!

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Triumph over indignity

Archbishop Peter Jensen, has questioned the use of the phrase ‘death with dignity’ and says Easter recalls the humiliating suffering of Jesus and the triumph of his resurrection.

In his annual Easter message, the head of Australia’s largest Anglican diocese says the idea of ‘death with dignity’ seems like a cover up.

“There is nothing dignified about the pain, helplessness, loss and anxiety of death. It is undignified. It takes God’s noble, glorious creation of a human being and turns us back to dust.” Dr Jensen said.

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To view a video of Archbishop Jensen's 2011 Easter Message, click here.

Was Easter Borrowed from a Pagan Holiday?

The historical evidence contradicts this popular notion.

Anyone encountering anti-Christian polemics will quickly come up against the accusation that a major festival practiced by Christians across the globe—namely, Easter—was actually borrowed or rather usurped from a pagan celebration. I often encounter this idea among Muslims who claim that later Christians compromised with paganism to dilute the original faith of Jesus.

The argument largely rests on the supposed pagan associations of the English and German names for the celebration (Easter in English and Ostern in German). It is important to note, however, that in most other European languages, the name for the Christian celebration is derived from the Greek word Pascha, which comes from pesach, the Hebrew word for Passover. Easter is the Christian Passover festival.

Of course, even if Christians did engage in contextualization—expressing their message and worship in the language or forms of the local people—that in no way implies doctrinal compromise. Christians around the world have sought to redeem the local culture for Christ while purging it of practices antithetical to biblical norms. After all, Christians speak of "Good Friday," but they are in no way honoring the worship of the Norse/Germanic queen of the gods Freya by doing so.

But, in fact, in the case of Easter the evidence suggests otherwise: that neither the commemoration of Christ's death and resurrection nor its name are derived from paganism.

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The Summit: A Convergence of Small Group Experts

Ten of today’s most well-known leaders in small group ministry and the next generation’s rising stars come together to discuss the ministry.

To view the video, click here.

15,000 Christians Protest on Good Friday in India

Around 15,000 Christians walked, many barefoot, for six hours in the streets of Mumbai, India, on Good Friday enacting Jesus’ walk to the Cross and condemning growing attacks on the minority community.

This 24th Annual Lenten Walking Pilgrimage was held especially to give hope to and express solidarity with the persecuted Christians, the event’s chief organizer Joseph Dias told The Christian Post.

The gathering comprised of Christians from evangelical as well as mainline Protestant churches “apart from the Catholics, who formed the majority,” said Dias, who leads the organization behind the rally, Christian Revival Oriented Social Service.

“The mammoth serpentine procession of devotees wended its way through the city fasting and praying, some walking bare-foot and thereby embracing pain, to commemorate the first and final walk Jesus undertook over 2000 years ago,” said Fatima Corriea, the media assistant of CROSS.

Dias said around 10,000 Christians joined the march as it began from Sacred Heart Church in Khar in the suburb of Mumbai, India’s financial capital and the base of India’s film industry Bollywood, at 10.30 a.m. (local time). “Christians kept joining along the way and the numbers swelled to around 15,000 at the end.”

The Christians marched acting out the betrayal of Jesus by Judas, his agony in the Garden of Gethsemane and finally His passion at the cross. “The likes of such a penance which normally happens in the Philippines or Latin America, came alive as the Passion Play of Christ was dramatized.”

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Report: Media Biased in Easter, Earth Day Coverage

A study by a conservative media watchdog charges three major network television stations with bestowing a favorable bias on Earth Day while smearing Easter, Christians' holy day, with allegations of pedophilia.

The Media Research Center's Culture and Media Institute examined media reports during the 2010 Holy Week – March 28 through April 4 – and contrasted it with two weeks of Earth Day coverage. The study, "Holy Week: Media Worship Earth Day, Attack Easter," found that last year networks ABC, CBS and NBC's evening news shows mentioned "Easter" primarily in connection to the 2010 pedophilia scandals that swirled around the Vatican, using terms such as "scandal," "sexual abuse" and "crisis." By contrast, coverage of Earth Day received positive attention from the three broadcast media giants.

Highlighted examples include NBC News' discussion of sexual abuse allegations during the network's Easter Sunday coverage.

In a report on the Easter 2010 celebrations in Europe, NBC correspondent Anne Thompson stated, "The traditions of Easter, for just a day, superseded the pain many feel at the disclosures that some priests abused children for decades."

ABC's correspondent Dan Harris also equated Easter with priests accused of sexual abuse. During an Easter Sunday broadcast, Harris said, "This is the holiest weekend in the Christian calendar, but Easter is providing no respite whatsoever from what may be the gravest outrage in the modern history of the Catholic Church."

Easter is a religious holiday revered and celebrated among Christians. However, MRC's vice president of business and culture, Dan Gainor, said little attention was given to Protestant celebrations of the holiday.

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Survey Reveals Decade-Long 'Erosion' of Traditional U.S. Congregations

No faith community was left undamaged by the 2008 recession, a new survey reveals.

More than half (57 percent) of congregations across the spectrum – including evangelical, Protestant, Catholic, Muslim, Jewish, and Baha'i – were negatively impacted, according to The Hartford Institute for Religion Research. But perhaps what is more notable is that the financial health of congregations has been in decline long before the downturn even hit.

Hartford's survey, released Wednesday, found that the percentage of congregations reporting some or serious financial difficulty more than doubled to nearly 20 percent in the past 10 years. And those saying that their financial health was excellent dropped from 31 percent in 2000 to 14 percent in 2010.

The recession only exacerbated their economic situations, said David Roozen, director of The Hartford Institute for Religion Research.

Roozen believes the poorer financial health of many churches is tied to declining membership, particularly among more traditional congregations.

"It seems like over the last decade we've moved into an era of ... kind of an erosion (not a drop-off), certainly of traditional American religious beliefs and practice," he observed.

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Indonesian Police Stop Bomb Plot on Good Friday

Indonesian police foiled Islamic extremists’ plan to bomb a church ahead of Easter celebrations in Serpong, just outside of the Indonesian capital of Jakarta.

On Thursday, authorities discovered about 150 kg (3330 pounds) of explosives not far from Christ Cathedral Church.

Bombs were found beneath a gas pipeline and in bags near the church entrance. Police safely diffused the explosives after 10 painstaking hours, according to officials.

The militant cell had planned to detonate the explosives remotely using a mobile phone at 9 a.m. on Good Friday, just when service at the 3,000-seat Catholic church would begin.

Authorities were led to the bombs’ location after arresting 19 suspects in alleged connection to a suicide bombing in West Java, and parcel bombs mailed to advocates for religious pluralism. Last week, a suicide bombing at a mosque within a police compound left more than 30 people injured, mostly officers – marking the first suicide bombing in Indonesia.

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Ordinariate Watch: Passionate Advocates of Christian Unity

I'm filing for next week's America on the world's first Ordinariate, which is swelling in these days from 20 members to over 1,000 (including 64 priests) as former Anglicans are received into the Catholic Church in England and Wales in low-key ceremonies across the nation. A whole new chapter in the story of Western Christianity -- I've said this before, but I really feel it now -- has been opened, and, having walked a little of the way with one group of 16 received last night in central London, I feel something of the excitement of it.

Part of the joy of journalism is getting behind the tags, monikers and agendas and discovering the "real" story, the one not told in the easy headlines.

Being with these very ordinary but deeply impressive people I've been able to nail three big myths about the ordinariate squarely on the head.

The first is that they are "disaffected Anglicans" -- people switching denominations because they disagree with the Church of England's positions on women priests and homosexuality. In reality they are passionate advocates of Christian unity who have long prayed for corporate reunion between the two Churches. But over the years - since the 1992 decision to ordain women, of course, but more especially following the 2008 General Synod and Lambeth conference -- they've watched that dream vanish. Not only has the Church of England demonstrated that it has no internal mechanism for enabling that corporate reunion, but it has also given the message firmly to Catholic Anglicans that it is no longer willing to make room for them. In the midst of this sad realization, Pope Benedict in September 2009 made his dramatic offer, making possible that dream after all. Many of the central London group spoke of how the offer came as a challenge as much as an invitation: this is what they have been asking for; how could they now refuse?

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