Category: From Nigel Fortescue

Dear friends, 

Keeping track of everything that happens in and around our church is a challenge. Our core business is to be a growing Christian community devoted to maturing in Jesus to the glory of God. But the way that works out day by day are multiplying all the time!

 One of the ministries that has at its heart the desire to connect with new people (to help us be growing) is our food ministry that runs out of our St Andrew’s building.

Every second Wednesday Anglicare send their Mobile Community Pantry (think big van full of non-perishable food items) to the church. Local people can then come and purchase a bag full of items for a few dollars. At the same time that is happening, there is a team of Church people who provide some perishable items that have been collected from local bakeries and supermarkets. And at the same time that is happening, there is a chance for people to sit and chat about what really matters in life.

 I caught up with Jason Moss about this opportunity this week and he said that every time he has been there he has about 5-6 really great spiritual conversations with people about what matters in life and he is able to share the forgiveness Jesus offers from the cross. There is a real opportunity here to be sharing the Gospel with our local community so they might hear for Jesus and be saved and join our Christian community.

One of the current problems is that there are just not enough people to have those conversations.

So here is the opportunity.

Would you like to join the team every second Wednesday to sit with locals and share the good news of Jesus with them? 

Or, some of the team who are currently working on logistics would be happy to join the conversation tables. Could you come and be involved in logistics? 

You would need to be available from 11am-2pm every second Wednesday but I can’t think of a better way to spend a few hours than to be taking the opportunity to share the faith with others. 

The next time the van will be around is Wednesday 26th September. If you are interested in being involved, contact a member of staff and we will arrange for a “taster” opportunity for you. 

There are also opportunities to assist on a Friday when food parcels are delivered to various homes throughout Airds. Leftover food is put into parcels and dropped to connected locals around the neighbourhood. Another great chance to make connections and issue invitations.

So please be in contact and we would love to unleash you into this great opportunity.

In Christ,
Nigel

Dear Friends, 

In 1 Thessalonians 2 Paul describes his ministry as being like a mother and father to the Thessalonians. He cared for them like a mother cares for her children, loving them and sharing his life with them. He dealt with them like a father deals with his own children, encouraging, comforting and urging them to live lives worthy of God. It is a remarkable and challenging image – not just for the way it describes a parents’ task but for the way it describes the ministry task. 

As parents (and aunties and uncles and grandparents) there are moments of joy and celebration and moments of instruction and discipline. The ministry task is the same and equally important, exciting and draining. 

This speaks of course to the expectations you might have as a church member.

The Anglican Church takes ministry seriously and works hard to ensure its staff and all church members who are involved in ministry to young people and the vulnerable are trained and held accountable for doing their work safely.

We share this commitment and eagerly encourage all our church members to do the Safe Ministry Course – it is simple, cheap, online and engaging. You can sit at home in your PJ’s and complete the most important course you will do this year! If you have never been trained or it is three years since your last training, please do the course. Find it at www.safeministry.training.

All our staff, parish council, ministry leaders and growth group leaders are bound by the Anglican Church’s protocol for behavior in ministry called Faithfulness in Service. You can find copies of it on the Safe Ministry Page of the church website. But safe ministry stretches beyond people to property and programs too.

Parish Council have responsibility for all our church sites including St Andrew’s, St Peter’s and other locations where ministry takes place and seek to ensure that the risks associated with using those spaces are managed well. They are currently working on upgrading all our policies in this area.

As a member of church, you are responsible to ensure you are trained in appropriate ways for the ministry you are doing – particularly with children where you must undertake safe ministry training and also obtain a Working With Children Check clearance. 

Additionally, we would love you to speak to the Wardens or ministry staff when you see things that are not quite right; that is, people acting strangely, buildings looking unsafe, or programs of concern. As a community we want to work together to have increasingly safe ministry through which we can honour and speak of Jesus to see the world won for Christ. 

In Christ
Nigel

Dear Friends,

At the end of Jesus’ earthly ministry, after his resurrection, he said to his disciples: 

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.’” Matthew 28:19-20

One of the things that disciples of Jesus do is get baptised as a public and visible sign of the grace of God that is towards them in Jesus. Simply, people who are Christian get baptised.

For many people, we were baptised (christened) when we were children as we gathered with the church to hear the Word of God. And this is a good and right thing! As a child of Christian parents you are introduced to Jesus in the same way you are introduced to your grandparents. Jesus is not an optional extra, he is real and he is your King and you are his child who will get to know him more and more each day.

I was baptised as an infant and I thank God that all the time and effort I put into that special day serves as a memory of all the time and effort I put into being saved by Jesus. Perhaps you have the same memory! Sola Fide, Sola Gratia, Solis Christus!! Of course, baptism doesn’t save you but it is a moment to look back on and give thanks for as it reminds us of the grace of God. Somewhere I have a silver baptism mug. I was also baptised in a dress! The dress was used for our three girls as they too were baptised as infants. We spared our last born from wearing the dress!

For many others, you were not baptised as an infant and having become a Christian as an adult, perhaps you would like to be baptised. We would love to give you that chance.

On Sunday 18th November, we are holding a Baptism Sunday. This is an opportunity for anyone who has never been baptised to declare their faith publicly before their church and family and friends.

If you are keen to be baptised, please contact a member of staff or speak to your Growth Group leader. We would love to rejoice in the work of God in your life with you in November.

Some people wonder if they can get baptised a second time or wish they had the opportunity to be baptised as an adult. I respond to these enquiries by asking, “How many times did Jesus die for you?” I do understand the appeal of being able to declare your faith publicly and going through Confirmation is one option for people baptised as children.

I look forward to a great Sunday rejoicing in the grace of God.

In Christ
Nigel

 

Dear friends,

Imagine you are driving down the freeway towards home. It is a wet day but the roads are good and the traffic is light; having driven the road a 1000 times, you feel safe. The expectation of returning into the arms of loved ones wells up in side you and you can begin to feel that welcoming cup of tea in your hands.

Suddenly, as you cross a bridge, the road beneath you collapses and you are no longer driving towards home but plummeting towards death. You will never be held by those arms again. You will never savour a cup of tea again. Your time on earth has quickly come to an end.

This was reality for dozens of Italian citizens this week on the Morandi Highway in Genoa. The bridge they were travelling on collapsed. While some are arguing it was expected, those driving along the road clearly did not expect to meet God in that moment.

But this is what life is like. One minute you have a fully functioning right shoulder, the next, not so much. One minute you are driving home, the next, you are meeting Jesus.

And this is why you need to ensure that you have your relationship with God right.

Psalm 90 confronts our mortality. It starts with a reminder that God is eternal and we are those who will return to the dust. It moves on to acknowledge that every breath we take is in the hands of God and that our years pass like a flash in the pan, often filled with sorrow and trouble. Coupled with this is the reality that our years are (ironically) characterised by secret sins that God knows completely and that his wrath will be poured out on all such sins. The picture if that of hopelessness.

And yet, the Psalmist turns that hopelessness on its head saying, “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” The call is to recognise every day as a divine gift and to turn to God, fearing him, and glorifying him, for in such things is wisdom. Wisdom is not found by sucking the marrow out of life or by seizing the day; wisdom is found by knowing the one who controls the days and life itself. By knowing God and knowing his favour.

The Psalm finishes with the assured hope that the favour of the Lord may rest upon us as we number our days.

Expect the unexpected: it’s a good motto for life. But in the midst of that life, cling to and trust in the mighty Saviour, Jesus. Then whatever happens, you’ll be safe and secure for eternity.

In Christ
Nigel

Dear friends,

Over the past few weeks I have been listening to some podcast stories while walking the dog or doing exercise. It’s been a delight to delve into the world of creative imagination again but it has also made me sharply aware that the world we live in is lost and confused. Couple this with some recent hospital trips to visit people who are in the last moments of life and I have come to a fresh appreciation that many are searching for something that is clearly available in plain sight.

In Lif-e.af/ter we meet a man who desperately wants to reconnect with his dead wife. He gets through his days only by listening to old voice messages and cannot cope when they are disconnected. Through the story he is offered entirely fictional pathways of hope to find everlasting life and in his grief and pain he is more than willing to risk it all to take them.

In Limetown a whole community just disappears; 327 people, into thin air. An investigative reporter tries to tell the story of what happened and as she does she discovers a web of pain, deceit and lies that flow from a lost utopia. Survivors were promised a life that was to provide meaning and a connection to the afterlife but what they found was vacuous and dissatisfying.

In the hospital, I am reassured by a person I visit that no one can know what lies beyond and all that matters is that you’ll be reunited with loved ones later. Noting the irony that he somehow knows what he claims no one can know, I ask if he would like to meet the man who has been beyond and returned. He’s disappointed when I tell him the man’s name is Jesus.

Our temporary and finite existence as humans appears to me to be increasingly present in our minds at this time. Over time you can track movements in human thought through fictional writing (think George Orwell’s writing) and whether it is coincidence or not, I feel that this is the time when people are searching for something permanent. Searching for life beyond this life. Searching for something that can make sense of the way life is now.

That something is Jesus. And he is clearly available in plain sight. And yet, people ignore him.

Jesus promises permanence.
Jesus promises life after.
Jesus promises meaning in life.

The Jesus you know is the Jesus the searchers around us need to know.
He’s lord of the world even though the citizens of the world appoint their own kings and rulers.
He loves the world even though the citizens of the world ignore him.

If you’re a citizen of heaven, please take the opportunity to point someone to Jesus this week. Your friends are lost and confused without him and he’s available in plain sight.

In Christ
Nigel

Dear friends, 

Sosthenes was a synagogue ruler. He was in charge of the building, the activities that went on inside it and it was his job to ensure that all the arrangements for worship were made ahead of time. He was the manager or in Anglican speak, the verger.

Synagogue rulers were tough nuts. They had to be disciplined in their management of affairs and often discipline others who were not following the rules or compromising Jewish worship. They were exactly the sort of people who (you would expect) would not become Christians.

Sosthenes predecessor became a Christian. 

You can imagine that the teachers and elders of the synagogue would have been outraged at this and may have been determined to appoint a new ruler who had greater conviction in Jewish belief. History does not tell us exactly what sort of man Sosthenes was but we might imagine he was a man of greater conviction. 

One day a Christian preacher came to his town and began calling on people to worship God through Jesus Christ. This upset the Jews in that town and they tried to have the preacher charged on the grounds of preaching false religion and encouraging false worship. But their legal challenge failed and in the process of looking for someone to blame, they turned on Sosthenes. Perhaps they expected he would have kept this preacher away or perhaps he was the one who lead the failed charge against the preacher. Either way, Sosthenes was beaten and the government did nothing about it. 

You might know some hard nuts like Sosthenes; people who you think might never become Christians. Your mum or dad? A neighbour? The Muslim man down the road? It is hard to pray for people like Sosthenes but you should. For God is faithful to his word, he breaks hard hearts through his Spirit and he opens the eyes of unbelievers that they may see the Glory of Christ. 

History only tells us one more thing about Sosthenes. He became a Christian. More than that, he co-authored a book with that same Christian preacher. The book is called 1 Corinthians. 

How wonderful and powerful is the grace of God!
How low are our expectations of God? 

How easily do our hearts think negatively about the likelihood of hard nuts becoming Christians?
And yet God is more powerful than their unbelief and our lack of faith. 

Sosthenes was the sort of person you would expect would never become a follower of Jesus but he did.

Is there a Sosthenes in your life you should be praying for? 

In Christ
Nigel

Dear friends,

Often at the start of a new term, there are a myriad of things happening and we want to ensure we communicate broadly and clearly. To this end, here are 8 things it would be good for you to know!

1. We will be studying 1 Corinthians 1-10 together for the remainder of this year. It promises to be a wonderful series that will drive us further towards Christ. The church in Corinth appears to have gone wild and Paul is seeking to draw them back to the faith. There are encouragements and warnings for us to hear and heed. We will turn our minds to chapter 11-16 in 2019.

2. Now is a great time to consider joining a Growth Group. The start of a new term and a new series provides a nodal moment to join a small community and begin doing life together with others. Speak to a member of staff or a friend if you are interested. If you are in a group, why not invite others along?

3. There are a few changes happening at 8am Church. We are changing the Prayer Book we use and we are establishing a new Care Team that will seek to provide ongoing support to the congregation. Please make sure you have picked up a letter from Leanne about the Care Team.

4. You may have noticed that we have become more present on social media. We are seeking to catch up with the technology in use around us to improve our mission all engagement with the community around us. You can help us do this by sharing posts, checking in to church and events and using church related hashtags for your posts. We’re seeking to reach the community where they are.

5. We have had a significant problem with parking around St Peter’s Church over the last 12 months. New signs are going up saying “Private Property – No Parking”. Church members should feel free to ignore those signs as you are welcome to park on church grounds for church activities at any time.

6. During this term we will send out information for children in Year 2 and 6 about transitions to new ministry activities. Our Afternoon Kids Club is for children in Year 3-6 and Youth Group for children Year 7-12. We transition both groups in Term 4.

7. We have some very specific serving opportunities available right now. We need someone who is comfortable with uploading files and navigating WordPress. We need a few people with a keen eye for photography. Contact a member of staff!

8. There are a myriad of ways to serve week by week in church. From casual cleaning to handyman work, picking up parcels and gardening, paperwork and filing. And more. In our community, the spirit of volunteering is diminishing but God has gifted us all to serve and calls us to. We’d love to set you free to serve but sometimes the roadblock is the first conversation. Why not email or leave a message for a staff member and line up a chat?

There is always lots going on but more than anything, we urge you to pray.

With thanks for our partnership,
Nigel

A friend of mine who has lived with the crippling results of childhood meningitis says that in his experience, Christians seem to have difficulty accepting the reality that life is hard. Life has excellent moments, but the overwhelming reality is, life is hard.

Of course, we know this because this is what the Bible teaches! Our world is broken. People are flawed. Relationships are a mess. There are glorious moments – but the trajectory of all things is hardship. This began when Adam and Eve were expelled from the garden. Work became hard. Childbirth became hard. Marriage became hard. Life became hard. And death became our only certainty.

Life outside the garden is characterised by death. But this is not what God intended. He wanted us to live eternally and peacefully with him, and the Bible makes it very clear where the responsibility for death and all this brokenness lies – it lies with us. This is the world as we have made it.

No matter how fervently we may wish it were not so, life is hard.

Thankfully, Jesus deals with all the consequences of our sin and brokenness in his death but there is for us only a slow-release of the enjoyment that flows from the cross. While we are forgiven and presently God’s children we are not yet free of the world or our bodies. Despite being sinless in the eyes of God because we are in Christ, we still sin. Despite being a new creation in Christ we still get sick and die.

Jesus says…..
25 Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies;  26 and whoever lives and believes in me will never die”.

If we had it all now then we wouldn’t sin and we wouldn’t die but sin and bodily frailty are still part of this life. The clearest demonstration of the reality that we do not yet enjoy the full fruits of Christ’s death is the fact that a Christian still dies bodily. We eagerly await the fullness of our inheritance – the resurrection of the dead.

It will not be until our Lord returns that sickness will finally be done away with and at that time there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain (Revelation 21:1-6). As Glenn Davies, our Archbishop said to me once, “the ultimate act of healing is death!”

Many in our community are grieving and suffering. Our prayers of comfort and hope are with you. Our arms are around you.

Prayerfully,
Nigel

Dear friends,

I vividly remember my mum taking me to see the 1980 South African comedy film The God’s Must be Crazy. When the Coke bottle landed in the sand and was picked up by a Kalahari Desert bushman I giggled. It felt like a simpler time – not just because I was young but because the movie captured the wonderful cultural naivety of Africa’s tribes who were immune from the ills of the West and the complications of a capitalist driven economy.

But we all grow up and life never stays simple. Suffering and sadness will be the lot of all who draw breath in this world. So what is God/s doing about it?

I was fascinated by the comments made by Thailand’s Army Commander this week about his prayers for the boys and the rescue mission. He said he was praying to Phra Pirun, the “rain god”, but only for three days of no rain at a time for “if I ask for more, he may not grant it”. A more indulgent prayer could upset this “god” and he may not grant any dry spell at all. You may be right to ask, what sort of God would send rain when the world is “praying” for their survival? A crazy one?

We pray to the one true God of the universe and yet, sometimes there is rain when we don’t need it, suffering when we can’t deal with it and sadness when we can’t overcome it. We know God is sovereign over us but what do we do when it doesn’t feel like he is sovereign for us?

I want to encourage you to look to Jesus as he enters Jerusalem. Read Luke 19:28-48 again. Jesus’ eyes are full of tears. He is the Son of God. He knows he is about to die a painful death but he will come back to life again. He knows this is God’s plan and he has willingly chosen to be a part of it. He knows this is the outworking of the love of God and that God is in control but he weeps for those who will be lost and later for his own plight.

This is a wonderfully helpful picture. Your belief and trust in our sovereign God doesn’t mean you can’t cry or cry out. It doesn’t mean the pain isn’t real. It doesn’t mean you have to ignore the pain and suffering of life. And it doesn’t mean God has stopped loving you or gone mad.

What we see in Jesus is that even in suffering, God’s love and compassion is not overridden or eliminated by his sovereignty. Jesus both knows God’s love, trusts God plans and weeps. It’s a picture of the reality that God is good and cares for and loves you even when life is no longer simple. So what do we do? We keep walking, with tears in our eyes, trusting in the love and sovereignty of God.

Many in our church are struggling – life is not simple – please know you are not alone. Our staff are only too willing to visit and pray, to read the scriptures with you and remind you of the love of God and to weep with you as we give thanks for the love and sovereignty of God. Please, just ask.

With prayers,
Nigel

Dear friends,

Over the last 50 years, the word Worship has been taken hostage by some of the Christian world and unhelpfully redefined. These days, when we speak of Worship what most readily comes to our minds is singing in church; and yet, according to the Bible, our Worship of God is to be so much grander.

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God – this is your true and proper worship.” Romans 12:1 

“Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice (worship) of praise – the fruit of lips that openly profess his name. And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.” Hebrews 13:15-16

Submission to Jesus as Lord and Saviour is the fundamental act of worship. Attending and participating in congregational gatherings is a necessary ongoing expression of that but we also need to see afresh that sharing the gospel with unbelievers is worship, financially supporting gospel work is worship, offering help (physical, material etc.) to those in need is worship and serving God in the workplace or wider community is worship.

In this context you can understand why I have a gut-wrenchingly negative reaction against the wrong use of the word. Our lives are to be lived in worship of God and there is no compartmentalisation of our lives into worship (90 mins on Sunday) and life (166.5 other hours).

Of course, this does not mean we undervalue our congregational gatherings – they are an earthly expression of our future heavenly reality and provide us with the best opportunity in a week to submit to and learn from Jesus and to love, learn from and encourage each other. Church is a weekly treasure with vertical and horizontal dimensions!

At Campbelltown Anglican we seek to express that treasure in different ways, recognising that people are different and if you do the “same old” things in the “same old” ways you just keep reaching the “same old” people. That is why all our gatherings are different. Some use a Prayer Book, some don’t; but they are all Anglican because the reading of God’s word and communal participation in prayer and praise are at their heart.

As I am sure you know, from August we will start using a new Prayer Book at church. This change will be felt most profoundly at St Peter’s 8am and Wednesday 9.30am but the prayers we say together at other services will change too. The use of a Prayer Book helps us ensure orderly worship and right doctrine and provides for unity with those around us. This new (to us) Prayer Book is already used in the majority of Anglican Churches in our Diocese and is the 5th one authorised for use since 1962. As language changes we need to provide for fresh expressions of the truth found in our foundational Book of Common Prayer (1662).

Thankfully, neither God nor His Word ever change!

In Christ
Nigel

 

Greetings from the land of the birth, ministry, death, resurrection and ascension of our glorious Lord Jesus Christ. The third Global Anglican Future Conference (Gafcon) was held in Jerusalem in June 2018, a decade after the inaugural Gafcon in 2008. Gafcon 2018, one of the largest global Anglican gatherings, brought together 1,950 representatives from 50 countries, including 316 bishops, 669 other clergy and 965 laity. A unanimity of spirit was reflected throughout the Conference as we met with God in the presence of friends from afar. We celebrated joyful worship, engaged in small group prayer and were inspired by presentations, networks and seminars.

We met together around the theme of “Proclaiming Christ Faithfully to the Nations”.  Each day began with common prayer and Bible exposition from Luke 22-24, followed by plenary sessions on God’s Gospel, God’s Church and God’s World.

We renewed our commitment to proclaim the gospel of the triune God in our churches and in all the world. Our Chairman reminded us in his opening address: “God’s gospel is the life-transforming message of salvation from sin and all its consequences through the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is both a declaration and a summons: announcing what has been done for us in Christ and calling us to repentance, faith and submission to his Lordship.” It involves the restoration and reaffirmation of God’s original creative purposes. It is addressed to men, women and children and it is our only hope in the light of the final judgment and the reality of hell.

Yet faithful proclamation of this gospel is under attack from without and within, as it has been from apostolic times (Acts 20:28-30).

External attacks include superstitious practices of sacrifices and libations that deny the sufficiency of Christ’s sacrifice. Some religions deny the unique person and work of Christ on the cross, and others are innately syncretistic. Secularism seeks to exclude God from all public discourse and to dismantle the Christian heritage of many nations. This has been most obvious in the redefinition of what it means to be human, especially in the areas of gender, sexuality and marriage.

Internally, the “prosperity gospel” and theological revisionism both seek in different ways to recast God’s gospel to accommodate the surrounding culture, resulting in a seductive syncretism that denies the uniqueness of Christ, the seriousness of sin, the need for repentance and the final authority of the Bible.

Tragically, there has been a failure of leadership in our churches to address these threats to the gospel of God. We repent of our failure to take seriously the words of the apostle Paul: “Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers.” (Acts 20:28-30).

We dedicate ourselves afresh to proclaiming Christ faithfully to the nations, working together to guard the gospel entrusted to us by our Lord and his apostles.

This is an excerpt from the Gafcon Letter to the Churches from the Conference. The whole letter can be found at gafcon.org.

Rwanda was the home of a powerful revival in 1929 which spread spontaneously during the 1930’s and became known as the East African Revival. So it would seem to be an unlikely place for terrible violence. Archbishop-elect Mbanda, himself forced to flee his homeland as a child after a massacre broke out in 1959, has reflected deeply on this paradox.

A particularly shocking feature of the genocide was that many were murdered in churches. ‘Rwanda now has a history of bloody sanctuaries,’ Mbanda writes. ‘Pastors, influential lay people and top denominational leaders were often implicated in the tragedies.’ But the core of the problem was a widespread failure to nurture converts so that they become disciples. This inadequate understanding of mission was to have tragic consequences; too often, the killers were church attenders who would even perform rituals intended to stop the spirits of their victims disturbing them in future.

In other words, if converts do not become disciples, they will drift into syncretism. Mbanda writes: ‘We must remember that the impetus of the Great Commission is to make disciples. An initial commitment to Jesus Christ is crucial, but it is an early step in fulfilling the Great Commission; the church’s task demands comprehensive discipleship’.

The Rwandan Church has learned from its history and its leaders have a particular sharpness of spiritual insight. It is not coincidental that Bishop Mbanda’s predecessor as Bishop of Shyira, John Rucyahana, was the first to ‘boundary cross’ in 1998 when he took an orthodox Episcopal church plant, St Andrew’s Little Rock in Arkansas, under his wing. As Rucyahana once explained to me, the West stood by as genocide devastated Rwanda, but the Rwandans were determined not to stand by as spiritual genocide took hold in the West.

The parallel may seem extreme, even offensive, but it does capture the determination of Anglican revisionists in North America to rid their churches of those who would not accept their agenda. A veneer of civility has masked the process on this side of the Atlantic, but it is wearing thin. As Anglican church leaders increasingly accommodate to the post-Christian culture of British society, the lesson of Rwanda is that we need to form Christian disciples who love Jesus enough to resist the challenge of syncretism, whatever form it takes and even when it becomes established in the church.

Despite the failings of church leadership, there were ordinary Rwandans at the time of the genocide who were deeply committed disciples of Jesus and their living faith shone brightly as they died. Mbanda recounts that ‘Those who survived church slaughters testify that the victims often spent time in prayer and adoration. They gave their lives to Christ and died’. The Anglican future belongs to such as these.

Article written by Canon Charles Raven, Membership Development Secretary for Gafcon.

Dear friends,

Gafcon’s mission is to ‘Restore Anglican Commitment to Biblical Truth’ and the way we do that by guarding and proclaiming the unchanging truth in a changing world. The authority of the Bible is under attack from aggressive secularism outside the church and progressive groups within, determined to ‘revise’ God’s revealed will in Scripture. Gafcon, therefore, is committed to guarding the truth of the Gospel by challenging the error of false teaching particularly on issues where salvation is at stake.

Gafcon is equally committed to Gospel Mission. We recognise the purpose of our shared lives as Anglicans is to fulfill the Great Commission by proclaiming the Good News of Jesus Christ to all nations. The size, strength, experience and world-wide presence of the Anglican Communion means it still has the potential to be a powerful and effective agent for global mission. But nothing can happen without God being at work so we pray.

I invite you to pray with us as below:

Give thanks for:

• Two previous Gafcon Conferences; Jerusalem 2008 (where over 1,000 attended) and Nairobi 2013 (where 1,300 were present).
• The Jerusalem Statement and Declaration, our basis of faith, which unites the movement.
• The Primates who lead the movement and the ‘Panel of Assistance’ who support them.
• The launch of Gafcon Ireland in April and the creation of the new province of The Anglican Church in Brazil in May led by Archbishop Miguel Uchoa.
• The growing resources available on the website and the recent launch of the Gafcon YouTube channel.
• The ‘Caminemos Juntos’ program which links the ACNA and the Anglican Church in Brazil in a joint evangelistic and church planting initiative.

GAFCON in Jerusalem starts next weekend and your prayers are hugely valued. Please pray for the program of events:

• For Dr. Peter Jensen, the Gafcon General Secretary and convener of the conference who is responsible for the program as a whole and organising plenary sessions and speakers.
• For those giving talks, making presentations and leading sessions that they would prepare well.
• For fellowship: that delegates from 50+ countries would be united in Christ and would form lasting friendships.
• For the launch of 9 key networks in Jerusalem: Global Mission Partnerships, Church Planting, Theological Education, Bishops Training, Youth and Children’s Ministry, Women’s Ministry, Sustainable Development, Intercessory Prayer, Lawyer’s Task Force.
• The imminent launch of the Gafcon Church planting network in Jerusalem
• The focus on outreach in the forthcoming conference with the theme: ‘Proclaiming Christ Faithfully to the Nations’
• For the outcome of the conference: that it would be clear what Gafcon needs to do next.
• For Canon Daniel Willis, the Conference Director, charged with pulling the whole thing together.
• For last minute arrangements with flights visas and hotel accommodation
• For security and safety in Jerusalem and the Middle East as a whole
• For the chairman of the Primates Council, Archbishop Nicholas Okoh and deputy chairman, Archbishop Stanley Ntagali.

In Partnership in prayer for the sake of Christ.
Nigel

Dear friends,

The need for Gafcon is increasingly clear. The Gospel is being lost throughout the Western world and Anglican Church leaders are becoming increasingly litigious towards churches who want to maintain their orthodox theology as expressed in the Scriptures and the Book of Common Prayer.

Let’s start with the recent Royal Wedding. If nothing else, it was a celebration of “love”. The words of the prayer book were used expressing the biblical truth that marriage is between a man and a woman. Strangely, however, neither celebrant nor preacher believe that definition of marriage anymore and the preacher is busy removing people from their churches and suing them if they disagree with same-sex marriage and want to distance themselves from leaders who do. That doesn’t sound loving does it?!

One classic example from a decade ago is that of Church of the Good Shepherd in Binghamton, NY. They could no longer agree with their diocese’s unbiblical stance on marriage and decided to leave the diocese and join a Gafcon group. The diocese repossessed their building through the courts but the congregation offered to buy it back at market rates so they could keep meeting. The diocese refused to sell it to them and instead sold it to a Muslim Outreach Centre for one-third of what the Church offered and added a caveat in the contract saying it could never be sold to the church again.

This same story is being repeated throughout the USA right now under the power and authority of the loving, powerful wedding preacher. He is suing congregations out of their buildings because they no longer want to accept the authority of those who deny biblical truth.

What is even more devastating is that the wedding preacher and his church are currently in a three year exclusion from International Anglican affairs as a disciplinary measure for their unbiblical stance on marriage and their open acceptance of actively homosexual clergy. But don’t worry about that, we will invite their most senior leader to preach at the world’s biggest Anglican event this year. It’s a farce.

The spread of this litigious liberal theology in aggressive pursuit of marriage equality in the Anglican Church is continuing – most recently in Scotland and New Zealand. There are rumblings of it on our own shores.

Anglicans wanting to stick to the bible need a place to call home. That place is Gafcon.

Prayerfully
Nigel

There are two things that stand at the heart and soul of the GAFCON Movement that its members cling to: biblical authority and orthodox Anglicanism.

Biblical Authority
GAFCON is a Bible-based movement which submits to the authority of the Scripture.  The Apostle Paul reminded Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:16-17 that:

‘All Scripture is God-breathed, and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.’

Paul was making it clear to his young protégé that although written by men, the words in Scripture were originally breathed out through God’s lips into the writers’ hearts and the Bible is therefore God’s written Word. And because God is sovereign and incapable of error, so is his Word. It contains the key principles and teaching for mankind to be fully ‘equipped’ to live the way God wants.

As well as the Bible, God has given humans reason and the historical witness of the church to discern matters of faith but GAFCON believe that Scripture is the higher authority.  It is the final court of appeal for doctrine because it is His revealed will.  All the foundational documents of Anglicanism, the Thirty-Nine Articles, The Book of Common Prayer and the Homilies all insist on this supreme authority.

Sadly, there are those within the Anglican Communion, including whole Provinces, who have rejected the authority of God’s written Word and have put their trust in their own reason.  This has been most evident in the area of sexual ethics and human sexuality.  And it is for this reason that GAFCON was formed; to restore the Bible to heart of the Communion so that the Gospel of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ might not be compromised.

Orthodox Anglicanism
GAFCON is steadfastly orthodox.  We stand by the founding principles and doctrines of the church which are rooted in Scripture as affirmed in the Jerusalem Statement and Declaration which states: “The doctrine of the Church is grounded in the Holy Scriptures and in such teachings of the ancient Fathers and Councils of the Church as are agreeable to the said Scriptures. In particular, such doctrine is to be found in the Thirty-nine Articles of Religion, the Book of Common Prayer and the Ordinal”.

Revisionists within the Communion would have the church move away from its Bible-based orthodox roots. They have ignored Paul’s warning not “not conform to the pattern of this world” (Romans 12:2) and have allowed western secularism to dominate their world view.  GAFCON is here to gather faithful Anglicans around the world to contend for the truth as passed down from the apostles.

I’m looking forward to gathering with more than 2000 people in three weeks in Jerusalem who have these dual commitments that lead to a passionate desire for ministry and mission!

In Christ
Nigel

Dear Friends,

We were pleased to announce at the AGM that we will be supporting Jim and Tanja French and their family as they go to do mission in Spain with CMS.

Here is some more information about Jim and Tanja….

Jim and Tanja are seeking to serve in theological education in Spain. While the majority of Spanish people identify as Christians, for many this is more about culture than conviction. They have no personal relationship with Jesus. Many described themselves as ‘non-practicing’ and have no contact with the church.  A growing number are rejecting the church completely. The small evangelical church in Spain is in desperate need for Christian pastors who are trained to teach God’s Word and equip others.  They are excited about the possibility of serving in Spain through theological education and training.

“We (Tanja & Jim) met and married in Spain. We have a daughter Evie (b. 2009) and a son Silas (b. 2010). As a family, we are actively involved at Bulli Anglican Church in Northern Wollongong.  Tanja has been involved in Playgroup, Women’s Bible Study, Crèche, teaching and coordinating SRE and is on the missionary support committee.  Jim regularly preaches, leads the gatherings, and leads a weekly Men’s Growth Group.  The children are active participants in church, kid’s church and kid’s club and they bring their friends along.

Tanja was born in Germany and converted at 16. With an interest in overseas development work, her Christian faith moved her interest toward mission work. She became convinced that knowing Jesus changes hearts and can change societies.  After completing school Tanja began a traineeship in banking in Spain and joined a church plant in Madrid.  She then completed theological study in the US before returning to Spain to serve with a German Mission organisation in church planting, children, youth and women’s ministry.

Jim is an electrician by trade and studied full time ministry at Moore Theological College, Sydney (1992-94). He served in parish ministry for 13 years before moving back to Sydney to work with Anglican Youthworks College. For the past 11 years Jim has lectured in OT, NT and Ministry subjects and more recently served in the role of Vice Principal. Prior to Youthworks College, Jim spent a year as short-term missionary in Spain.

Evie and Silas are a great blessing to our family with their different personalities. Both children are being raised bi-lingual and enjoy different cultures and countries. Evie is very social and enjoys singing, playing keyboard and speaking in public but also quietly reading books. Silas is social and quietly confident. He works hard at reading and swimming, but his great passion is the ‘world game’: Soccer! Both children enjoy bike riding, circus (fun gymnastics) and friends.

After prayerful consideration, we trust that God has suitably positioned us to do cross-cultural mission as a family. We believe God has prepared us for a place like Spain, given our backgrounds, experience and personalities.  We’re excited at the possibility to be doing in Spain what we are doing here: training & equipping, leading & learning, mission & discipleship, church planting & growing people so that they too can do what we do.”

In February 2018, Jim and Tanja French began their 6 months training at St Andrew’s Hall.  They will spend the rest of the year building relationships with their link churches and partners before going overseas early 2019.  We are excited to be partnering with them as they seek to serve and encourage God’s church in Spain?

Jim and Tanja will be visiting us from 4th November and we look forward to sharing the week with them.

In Christ,
Nigel

Dear Friends,

The Annual General Meetings for our Church were held late last month and they were well attended and stimulating meetings. Thanks to everyone who came and participated and for all the recommendations that were made to Parish Council and the ministry team to follow up.

We are particularly engaged in the areas of seniors’ ministry, SRE and Property infrastructure.

I want to commend Arya Darmaputra, Kevin Hines, Chris Main and Andree Holloway for their work in managing and presenting the finances. At both our churches (St Andrew’s and St Peter’s) we have significant financial challenges pressing upon us for the year ahead and I encourage you to read the reports that were given out and consider your own personal response to the information given and the grace of God. Throughout this year, I will be asking the wardens of both churches to make regular reports on finances.

We had a number of elections at both meetings and I am thankful to all who stood for election. So to the results!

Wardens are actively involved in ensuring the proper management of property and finances on at least a weekly basis. They also assist in managing ministry and staff.

At St Peter’s, Barrie Atkins, Kevin Hines and Jason Manning will be our 2018 Wardens.

At St Andrew’s, Ian Bannerman, Margaret Hiron and Jack Starmans will be our 2018 Wardens.

Parish Council make decisions on how money and property should be spent and used in light of the church strategic plan. They also assist the minister and staff in directing the ministry.

Our elected Parish Councillors are John Brackenbury, Bek Culbert, Arya Darmaputra, Kerry Olsen, Sharon Richards and Lindsay Schroder. There are two people prayerfully considering my invitation to join this group.

Parish Nominators are the people who select a new Senior Minister for the Parish if the current one leaves. Our elected nominators are Sarah Manning, Nicole Schroder, Derek Poole, Chris Main, Cameron Jansen.

We did not elect Synod Representatives this year as they are elected for a three-year cycle so David Busutel and Sarah Manning will continue in that role.

So we are now into the work of governing and managing our church together. Our Parish Council meetings, to which all 6 wardens and 8 Parish Councillors are invited, are shared opportunities to think, talk and pray. Our first meeting is next Wednesday and I ask you to pray for us as we meet and discuss important issues together.

I’m excited about all God is doing among us and hope you are too.

In Christ
Nigel

This article was previously published on sydneyanglicans.net

There is one religious inscription on an Australian headstone in the Villers-Bretonneux Military Cemetery in France that I often recall because of it contains both a statement and a question:

REDEEMED WITH THE PRECIOUS BLOOD OF JESUS

IS IT WELL WITH THEE?

The inscription is on the headstone of Private William Leonard Walker, aged 18, who was killed in action on August 8, 1918. The first line of the inscription is taken from 1 Peter 1:18-19a and it is slightly altered but not significantly: “For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ”.

I know very little about Private William Walker apart from what can be deduced from his service record. His headstone states that he was 18. He may have been younger. He joined the army in November 1916 when he was 17. Perhaps this is the reason he spent all of 1917 and the first half of 1918 in Australia: he was too young for overseas service. He did eventually go to the Western Front where he joined the 19th Battalion (AIF) in July 1918. He was killed in action 19 days later.

What must it have been like for William’s parents to have learnt of his death: the loss of expectation they would have felt, the pain of having a child predecease them, the immense sadness of not being there with him as he died? And, yet, when they came to choose the personal inscription for his headstone they chose something that spoke of hope and life rather than hopelessness and death.

For that is how Christians respond to death: grief, yes, but hope built on the certainty of Jesus’ death and resurrection that transcends the grief and pain. And so, they chose REDEEMED WITH THE PRECIOUS BLOOD OF JESUS. For the grave and headstone was not the end, is never the end, for those who have been redeemed by Jesus.

And note the second part of the inscription: IS IT WELL WITH THEE? This could be a question directed at William himself or a more general question directed at the reader. Most people I spoke to who have read his inscription have opted for the latter reading: Is this how it is for you? That is what it is asking.

William’s epitaph speaks of the assurance of those who have trusted themselves to the Lord Jesus. And yet it does more because it challenges all who read to consider where they stand with regard to the Lord Jesus. A thoughtfully chosen epitaph can certainly engage and challenge the reader. William’s thoroughly Christian inscription certainly does that for me.

The Rev Dr Colin R. Bale is the vice principal and academic dean of Moore College as well as head of the department of Church History.

Dear friends,

Our Mission and Easter have come and gone in a flurry and it is now time to reflect on and learn from the work we have done by God’s grace and in God’s strength. As a first port of call, here are some statistics from Peter Hayward about the impact of the mission across the Region….

• About 10,000 people attended events where they heard the Gospel (not including church or schools ministry).
• About 700 visitors attended performances of The Mark Drama.
• More than 10,000 students heard the gospel in public and Anglican schools.
• About 6500 Flyers were handed out at railway stations
• About 90,000 Flyers were placed in letterboxes or otherwise distributed
• About 9000 items of Jesus is merchandise were on display

And here we get to the guts of it in my books…

• 6000 conversations about Jesus were had during March
• About 450 people made decisions of some kind to follow Jesus
• About 2500 people are being followed up

Hallelujah! All glory be to Christ.

And how good it is when brothers and sisters work together in gospel unity.

What’s next? Here are some reflections. We would be glad to hear yours!

1. You should keep wearing or using the “Jesus is” merchandise and seeking opportunities.

2. If you wore or held or displayed the name of Christ, but did *not* get a conversational opportunity be encouraged. Your willingness to go public for Jesus meant lots of other people were helped to get opportunities in the pretty massive way mentioned above!

3. I think it would be good for us to learn a “conversational closer”. We insisted people should learn the conversational opener off by heart (“We’re interested in people’s opinions, Jesus Is _____. What goes in the blank?”) – now I reckon we need to learn this off by heart, ready to use where appropriate (*not* every time like a robot):

“I’m looking for someone to read the Bible with me… Would you be interested?”
(This courtesy of Dale Stephenson of Crossway Baptist in Melbourne.)

4. Please keep your t-shirts, keep cups, wristbands and badges etc. for another go at this campaign in the future. We will probably do another big Jesus is mission in 2020. I know this might feel a little frustrating because now you’ve got the vision you may want to go again almost straight away; but if we go again straight away next year, I am very sure it will actually lose momentum and feel old hat. Other’s experience is that the good will and the learnings can be retained for a couple of years, and then returned too more freshly.

Anyway, that’s my 2c.

What are your thoughts?

In Christ
Nigel

The Christian life is counter cultural – it runs contrary and often opposite to everything our world desires and does. It doesn’t always look different of course, but that is because the Christian life is not all about what is going on on the outside. People look at the outward appearance and are easily confused by a Christians morals or virtues (thinking that is what the Christian faith is all about) or sometimes wondering why there is a lack of morals and virtues in one that might call themselves Christian. Thankfully, the Lord looks at the heart. The Lord looks for repentance and faith. And the Lord comes and dwells in us by his spirit when we trust in him.

The Christian life is counter cultural because of who we live for, who we listen to and where we are going. I’ve never met a perfect Christian but I have met a whole stack of Christians who are working hard to live for Jesus for the benefit of the world. Perhaps that’s a good vision for a Christian. It might even be a good vision for a church – ours captures just that but is a little longer.

We are seeking to be a Growing Christian community devoted to maturing in Jesus for the glory of God. That can be hard sometimes, but that is no surprise to God.

In Revelation 11 we see a picture from John’s vision that shows God’s people being sent into the world to speak of God in the world, humbly, carefully and faithfully. It is a picture of life now. Christians are called to go into the world and speak of Jesus humbly, carefully and faithfully.

And the end result is victory as God calls them to come to him and dwell with him forever.

At our AGM’s we will ponder together the work we are doing to proclaim God’s Word into the world. I am excited to review and talk together about the ministry we are doing and invite you to come ready to participate in the discussion!!

Reading Revelation provides keen insight and strong motivation for mission. It helps us see the end, and that ought to motivate us in the middle. And that is where we are now.

We live in the time between Jesus first and second coming. We are in the world but not of the world. We are citizens of heaven who dwell on earth. We are God’s people, his community now.

But what will we do in 2018 and beyond?

In Christ
Nigel

Dear Friends,

The Annual General Meetings for our Church will be held in late April.

St Peter’s AGM – at 12.30pm on Sunday 22nd April at St Peter’s.
Combined AGM – no earlier than 1.30pm on Sunday 22nd April at St Peter’s.
St Andrew’s AGM – at 11.15am on Sunday 29th April at St Andrew’s.

At the AGM we will elect people for the office of Parish Council (St Peter’s AGM), Warden (St Andrew’s & St Peter’s) and Nominators (Combined AGM).

Wardens are actively involved in ensuring the proper management of property and finances on at least a weekly basis. They also assist in managing ministry and staff. We will elect two wardens for St Peter’s and two for St Andrew’s. Nominations are open now and should be in writing via letter or email to me.

Parish Council make decisions on how money and property should be spent and used in light of the church strategic plan. They also assist the minister and staff in directing the ministry.  We will elect a Parish Council of 3, 6 or 9 people. Nominations are open now and should be in writing via letter or email to me.

Parish Nominators are the people who select a new Senior Minister for the Parish if the current one leaves. We will elect 5 Parish Nominators. Nominations are open now and should be in writing via letter or email to me.

I ask you to pray that God will continue to raise up Gospel hearted people to serve us.

But the most important thing we will do at this year’s AGM’s will be to think about where we are at as a church and where we need to go. We expect to have significant conversations about finances and strategy. We hope to be able to share news on the progress of a Master-plan for the infrastructure on our site.

This is more than a meeting; it is a shared opportunity to think, talk and pray. It is an opportunity for you to ask questions and become more involved in the decision making at church. Often, younger people skip these meetings thinking they are not relevant or not for them. I urge all of us to see that this is a meeting for us all.

I’m excited about all God is doing among us and hope you are too.

In Christ
Nigel

Dear friends,

We humans often confuse and forget things. Our busy lives become so crowded by urgent things that we forget the most important things and often confuse detail. Sadly, people have done this with Jesus and Easter. Jesus is confused by many.

Some think that the resurrection never happened.
There are still some people who want to argue that another man was crucified, or that Jesus did not really die on the cross or that his body was removed from the tomb by friends or that the women all went to the wrong tomb. But those arguments are as old as the hills and as weak as water. The Roman army knew what they were doing, and killing people and guarding things were there specialty. Moreover, hundreds saw Jesus alive after he rose and testified to the fact. On the basis of evidence, the resurrection actually happened.

Some are confused about the purpose of Easter.
This confusion is expressed in a number of different ways, but I commonly hear people say that the significance of Easter is the wonderful moral lesson it teaches us about love. Gladly, it is about much more than that.

Confused people will take a personal moral lesson from Easter but leave God at arm’s length. If that is you, then please listen carefully to this.

The death and resurrection of Jesus are historical events that you are involved in.
For it was there at the cross, that God cried out to you,
stop ignoring me, I will forgive you.
Stop pretending I don’t matter and look how much you matter to me.
Stop living life alone, and join the Kingdom of God.

Jesus death on the cross was a death for you – Jesus took your sin and punishment you deserved because of your sin and he took it away in his death. That’s not all.

Jesus rising from death was a rising for you. It announced that you can be justified before God – there is a way open for God to be able to look at you and not see a recalcitrant sinner but someone who looks just as if I’d never sinned.

And that open way is by trusting in him. By recognising he is King of the world, Saviour of the world and deserving of our dedication, praise and obedience.

Our prayer is that you may not be among the confused. But among the convinced. Among the believers. If you’re still not sure, ask for some help today.

Happy Easter.
Nigel Fortescue

Christians say a lot of ridiculous things. And surely the most ridiculous is this; that Jesus died and rose again. Surely that’s the point where it becomes a bit too difficult to believe. “Sure, Jesus probably had some seriously legit things to say, and people seemed to think he was pretty special. But rising from the dead? That’s ridiculous.” And I reckon you’re right.

That IS ridiculous. Absurd.
But what if?
What if he did?

If Jesus did somehow manage to stop being dead; surely that’s a big deal. Surely that changes the way we look at his life. Surely that changes the way we hear the things he said about life and death. If someone rose from the dead right now claiming to know how to defeat death, I’d want to hear them out. If he claimed to be the Saviour of the world, the only person who could possibly save us from the consequences of our rebellion towards God, and also claimed he would rise from the dead in order to prove he had authority over life and death. Surely you’d want to investigate that claim.

What if he didn’t?

Then he’s just another dude in history who died. Said some cool things, but died. Just like everyone else.

This isn’t something you can possibly respond to with ‘meh.’ It either changes everything or nothing. It either means that Jesus is the Saviour who can save us, has authority over life and death, or he’s just a liar, and is worth nothing. This isn’t something you can respond to with ‘meh.’

But how can we know?

There are a whole bunch of reasons why I’m convinced that Jesus did rise. One of them is that almost all of the disciples who claimed he was alive again were executed for what they believed. Surely at the point where someone threatens to boil you alive in hot oil you concede. You admit to everyone it was just a lie. And YET, most of the disciples were executed. They were killed for what they claimed. This isn’t the kind of thing you do just for a laugh, to try and pull one over your mates. This isn’t the kind of thing you proclaim based on a hunch. They really believed it. So much so that they would die defending it.

Would you die for a lie?

I would love for you to investigate this for yourself. Keep digging. Keep searching. This isn’t something you can respond to with ‘meh.’ If this is true, it might just be the only thing that’s important.

Do you remember Popeye, the cartoon character who eats a can of spinach when he wants to develop some quick muscles? During WWII, when meat was scarce, the US Government used Popeye to promote spinach as a substitute for meat. This was because a study by some German scientists in the late 1800’s had shown that spinach contains the same amount of iron as meat.

Unfortunately, the world had fallen victim to an accounting error. The German researchers did prove that spinach contains iron, but when they wrote down their results they put the decimal point in the wrong place, thus overstating the amount of iron in spinach by a factor of 10! They later corrected the error, but apparently this news didn’t make it to the US until after the war, by which time Popeye had been getting strong on spinach for nearly 10 years!

Spinach actually contains no more iron than other leafy vegetables. In fact, the iron in spinach is not easily absorbed by the body unless it’s combined with an acid. (If you are a spinach fan, however, you will still benefit from its high vitamin C and riboflavin content.)

There are other famous myths that have been debunked, but which still are often repeated as fact.
Like the “fact” that human beings only use 10% of our brains? Again, this has no scientific basis.

How easily and quickly false ideas can become accepted truth!

What’s true in other spheres is no less true in the area of our spiritual beliefs. It’s not unusual for people to quickly give unquestionable status to beliefs that may in fact have questionable origins.

We owe it to ourselves to examine what the evidence actually says.

In the 20th chapter of John’s Gospel, John tells us about Thomas. He has gone down in history as “Doubting Thomas” – although in fact, in the end he turned out to be “Believing Thomas.”

When the other disciples told him that Jesus had risen from the dead, he refused to believe until he saw the evidence. When Jesus appeared to him, and showed him his hands and feet, complete with nail hole scars, Thomas had to radically re-think his beliefs (see John 20:28).

Like Thomas, we believe Jesus invites us to check him out for ourselves. We are glad you are here today to do that and we look forward to helping you along the way. You may find answers that surprise you!

There are so many religions in our world. And they look very similar. They have religious looking buildings, similar moral teachings, and meditation or prayers to a divinity, …just for starters! It is perfectly understandable to consider them as equally valid, or just different ways of looking at the same principles.

To illustrates this, there is a classic tale of several blind monks who feel a different part of an elephant. One of them gropes the tail and says it is long and wiry. Another feels the body and says it is large and flat. Yet another handles the tusks and says it is tough and pointy. And then they all argue about what the elephant is like because they all have part of the truth. And in this sense they are all right with their part (literally) of the truth! But none of them can see the whole elephant. In other words, none of them possesses the whole truth.

Is it not the same with religion? All religions only understand part of the truth but not the whole truth. If they did understand the whole truth, they wouldn’t need to argue.

But historically, a closer inspection reveals that the various religions involve different people in different times asking different questions about different things. For example, Buddhism was founded in reaction to Hinduism. And the Koran says that Jesus never died. Where as the bible says that Jesus did die. On this historical claim alone, both religions cannot be right. Either Jesus did die, or he didn’t!

So is following Jesus just one among many (equally valid) religions? Jesus didn’t think so. He himself said: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). He claims to be the exclusive way to God his Father. Indeed, elsewhere he effectively claims to be equal to his Father (e.g. John 5:17-18). Is Jesus being arrogant in his exclusive claims? If he is, then he is not alone.

Remember the tale of the blind monks? We can only know that they possessed part of the truth if we alone could see the whole elephant and so possess the whole truth! So for us to claim that all religions possess only part of the truth, is to suggest that we alone can see the whole truth in a way that no other religious believer can. And this is an equally exclusive claim to that of Jesus.

The question then is whose exclusive claim is right? Jesus’ or ours?

The best way to find out is to at least read his claims in the New Testament with credible historical investigation. Are you willing?

Richard Chin – AFES National Director

Andrew Sullivan, a US-based author and commentator, gay activist, and political conservative, called belief “a psychological crutch to keep reality at bay”.

But what’s wrong with a crutch? Some injured and disabled people use crutches. Old people use walking sticks, and no one makes fun of them! If you have a need, it’s sensible to find something that meets the need! Indeed, everyone leans on some sort of support mechanism for their life. Even the toughest person needs help to cope.

What or whom do you lean on for support? Is it a relationship or your bank account? For many, workaholism reveals their job is a crutch, and for others it’s sport. It could be drugs; for others it is food. Many lean on caffeine to get through the day!

But will your particular crutch hold your weight?

Those things are here today, gone tomorrow. The temporary caffeine hit, the relaxing glass of wine, the sporting success. Soon replaced with the need for another. And if not gone today, then certainly in a few years. Your health, your money, your job, your loved ones. All can disappear in an instant.

So, in reality, I reckon we all have crutches of some form or another.

That’s why I’m not embarrassed to admit that Jesus is a crutch for weak people. That’s exactly what he says in the Bible. Jesus answered them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” (Luke 5:31-32.)

This is a message for the humble in heart. Jesus comes for the spiritually broken. To those who know they are weak, Jesus famously promised: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28). In that sense, Jesus is more than a crutch. He is not some mechanical assistance to help us walk ourselves. He is a life support system, for he provides a whole heart transplant.

On the cross, God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. And so the Bible says, if anyone is in Christ, the old has gone and the new has come!

Sandy Grant, St Michael’s Anglican Cathedral Wollongong.

Dear friends,

I hope you had a great time in your Growth Groups last week starting to work together on what goes in the blank! We had some great suggestions – “Jesus is the eye of the storm”, “Jesus is the answer to this world’s problems”, “Jesus is relevant”. I’m looking forward to hearing your response!

Here is one written by a friend of mine…. for all the Motorsport fans out there.

Last year a friend of mine wrote an article about the Bathurst 1000. I’ve got to confess that I really love motor racing. And for Aussie motor racing fans, 161 laps of Bathurst is as good as it gets. 

So when I saw my friend had posted something about Bathurst I dropped everything to read it. 

Before I was a Christian I used to watch Bathurst from 7am till the end of the race (about 5pm). I’ll never forget the anxiety of the year Vanessa sent me out to buy take-away lunch during the Great Race. What relief to discover the shop was broadcasting the race, so I didn’t miss too much! 

I still love motor racing. But the truth is that compared to Christ, watching Bathurst for a day just isn’t as exciting as it once was. The realism of life following Jesus – and meeting with his people – trumps the escapism of motor racing. Jesus is better than Mt Panorama! 

When I’m at the race track, I’m happy to sit with the “Blue Oval Brigade” and barrack for the Falcons, but it’s just not that important. Being a Ford fan just doesn’t really impact my life or my future. Following Jesus is completely different. Following Jesus changes everything, my loves, my priorities and my passions. 

Now of course, I wouldn’t be the first person in history to swap one passion for another. But in this case I was a reluctant convert. 

I don’t follow Jesus because I find Christianity so exciting or because he makes me feel good but because I am absolutely convinced that his resurrection, 2000 years ago, has changed the world forever. 

So yes, I do love motor racing – it’s just that now, I wouldn’t trade a day meeting with God’s people for it. 

Jim Douglass (Narellan Anglican Church)