Helen Cadbury (1877–1969): no chocolate soldier
Janice Pibworth
Date posted: 1 Apr 2020
Janice Pibworth tells the story of Christian campaigner Helen Cadbury
Helen Cadbury was the sixth child of Richard Barrow Cadbury of the famous Cadbury’s chocolate business.
Paschal lambs or curate’s eggs?
Gary Clayton
Date posted: 1 Apr 2020
Gary Clayton wonders why Easter in the West appears to have so little to do with the season celebrated by Jesus
Many years ago, shortly after I became a Christian, I took part in an evangelistic sketch showing the difference between various religions. One actor quoted from Mohammad, another from Buddha, Confucius and so on. Finally, it was my turn.
history
A passion for purple
Michael Haykin
Date posted: 1 Apr 2020
In 1856, English chemistry student William
Henry Perkin (1838–1907) was looking for
a cure for malaria – he stumbled upon a way
to make a synthetic purple dye from coal tar.
In so doing, he
literally changed history,
for his discovery led to advances in medicine,
photography, perfumery, food production, and
revolutionised the fashion industry.
Bible By The Beach special
From the Bible By The Beach Chair of Trustees, David Bourne...
It was with much sadness, but recognising the fast pace of events, that the Trustees took the inevitable and necessary decision to cancel this year’s Bible By The Beach conference which was due to take place at the Congress Theatre, Eastbourne from 1 – 4 May.
We find ourselves in confusing and troubling times, and yet we remain confident in our good and sovereign Lord and in His good purposes.
Puk Kyong Kim (‘Kim’) 1938 – 2019
Mark Harvey
Date posted: 1 May 2020
In the 1960s, a diffident young Korean, who was an ex-refugee aspiring to be a pastor, knocked at the door of Swiss L’Abri. Cynthia Stanton, Edith Schaeffer’s long-serving worker, opened it and greeted him. In due time, they were to wed.
It was a chalk-and-cheese liaison, but it was to produce much unobtrusive fruit. She was a Londoner, her father running a fleet of black taxi cabs. His father had fled North Korea to Beijing, where he and his wife sheltered refugees. Both Kim’s parents were freedom fighters in a volunteer Korean army against the Japanese in the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945). They suffered torture and witnessed atrocities. Kim was born in Beijing one year into that war.
A dazzling theatre for God’s glory
Sharon James
Date posted: 1 May 2020
Sharon James looks at the role of Christianity in the public square
In 1793 a poor cobbler from an obscure village in Northamptonshire arrived in Calcutta. Driven by the conviction that God should be glorified in all nations, William Carey (1761–1834) is remembered as the father of the modern mission movement and as a great educationalist and social reformer.
Unsung Heroes
Dorothea Clapp 1901–1990
Brian Maiden
Date posted: 1 Mar 2020
Have you ever heard of Dorothea Clapp or her son, Daniel? Probably not.
Before I tell you about them, let me tell you about George Verwer, who you probably have heard of. George, now 81 years of age and still preaching around the world, is the founder of Operation Mobilisation (OM).
Saving valley chapels
Alan R. Taylor
Date posted: 1 Mar 2020
Dear Sir,
It was heartwarming to read of Robert
Stivey’s attempt
to
re-open
some of
the
chapels in the valleys of South Wales (en January, front page).
LCM: the vulnerable need Jesus
London City Mission
Date posted: 1 Mar 2020
I’ve had people worry that the work of the
London City Mission might be exploitative.
Elderly people can be ripped off by someone
pretending to be a friend; a homeless person
could be exploited by heavy shepherding
whilst they are weak.
That risk has been used by some to suggest
that we should avoid evangelism amongst
children and vulnerable adults lest we are
accused of spiritual abuse. And yet I can
think of no greater abuse than to know the
good news of Jesus and to willingly hold it
back from someone in desperate need. The
vulnerable need Jesus!
politics & policy
Let’s talk about robots...
James Mildred
Date posted: 1 Apr 2020
A few weeks ago, I attended a round table with a panel of experts, exploring a Christian response to artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics.
My primary mission there was to observe and to learn. It was fascinating listening to attendees discuss their fears and hopes for the future. Robotics and AI is a massive subject and it is complicated, too. I suspect the daunting nature of the issue puts many people off. But what is clear is that robots and AI are set to play an increasingly prominent role in our lives. In turn, this will prompt huge questions about the value of work and what it means to be human.
The lonely aftertaste of Secret Cinema
Johnny Lawes
Date posted: 1 Apr 2020
First Madagascar, then Venice. We stopped by MI5, picked up some drinks and headed to the casino. But suddenly a fight broke out, gunmen appeared, and we all dropped to the floor. Not my average Friday evening.
I recently became one of 120,000 to experience Secret Cinema’s Casino Royale. It was a thrilling evening: a secret location, black tie and special missions, culminating in an immersive showing of the film, complete with live actors and pyrotechnics. It’s a format that has soared in recent years, perhaps because it consciously offers something not digital. Phones are sealed away and people have to interact. Instead of immediate and constant information, it offers secrets. And instead of a ‘purely digital experience’ it offers ‘touch’.
news in brief
Australia: fostering bias
A Christian couple launched a legal action after they were banned from becoming foster carers due to their biblical views on LGBT issues, it was reported in February.
Byron and Keira Hordyk said they would love a child who identifies as LGBT as their own, but would help them to overcome their sin. Despite an initially favourable report, their application was refused on the grounds that their views would not ensure ‘a safe living environment’. The Equality Opportunity Commission refused to hear their case, and it has been referred to the State Administrative Tribunal.
Surrender of the faith
The Revd Dr Peter Mullen
Date posted: 1 Apr 2020
Dear Sir,
Every January something pops through my letterbox to bring a shaft of light into these dark days. The CofE authorities send me a little advertising puff about the annual Lent Course provided by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York. For years this has given me a laugh, although, to use a phrase of my mother’s, it’s too daft to laugh at. All the usual politically-correct nostrums cast in the Noddy language with which the church patronises and torments us to death. But suddenly this booklet isn’t funny anymore.
A Big Gospel in Small Places
Stephen Witmer
Date posted: 1 Feb 2020
An extract from Stephen Witmer’s new book
In one sense, love itself is not very strategic. Anyone who’s ever been a parent understands this.
Lynas new EA UK director
EA
Date posted: 1 Feb 2020
It was announced in December that the
Evangelical Alliance has appointed Peter
Lynas as its UK director.
He will work
alongside
new CEO
Gavin Calver, as he champions the voice
of evangelicals
to
the media and brings
leadership
to
the core areas of advocacy,
mission and unity within the Alliance.
Lord of Lord’s
Association of Grace Baptist Churches (SE)
Date posted: 1 Feb 2020
St John’s Wood is west of Regent’s Park in London, a neighbourhood made famous by Lords Cricket Ground. The Edgware Road is also a centre for London’s Arab population.
At the heart of this community is St John’s Wood Road Baptist Church, a Grace Baptist church that has served this area for well over a century. In 2005 it had fallen on hard times, but Chris and Helen Hawthorne came to revitalise it, gathering a growing community around God’s word. During their time they sent a member to church-plant in Bordeaux, and another returned to serve in Assam, India. Finally, in 2018 the church sent Chris and Helen through GBM to head up Proclamation Institute Zambia, leaving Scott Little as the new pastor.
Suriname and Papua: air-born
Gary Clayton
Date posted: 1 Mar 2020
Every year, in the 26 countries MAF serves, pilots from the Christian aviation charity carry out hundreds of medical emergency flights for ill and injured people and women facing pregnancy complications.
In Suriname, the organisation’s experience of life-saving medevacs proved vital when MAF Country Director and Chief Pilot Andy Bijkerk had to carry out an urgent flight.
CiS: Making waves in European university sport
ChristiansinSport.org.uk
Date posted: 1 Mar 2020
In the summer of 2019, a group of young people representing 14 European nations met in Italy for Ready Set Go Multiply (RSGX). This is an annual summer programme to train future sports ministry leaders and is facilitated by the European Christian Sports Union, a network of churches, charities, and individuals seeking to make disciples in sport across Europe.
The delegates on RSGX spend two weeks in Bible and sports training ahead of a week running sports camps or community projects in another European country. This summer they served at a camp in Eastern Europe.
defending our faith
Platforms for hate speech?
Chris Sinkinson
Date posted: 1 Mar 2020
In a very disturbing recent development, major British conference venues have cancelled bookings for a tour by the son of Billy Graham. The May 2020 mission has been planned to give Franklin Graham an opportunity to follow in his late father’s footsteps and preach the gospel in various UK cities.
It is true that Franklin Graham has been controversial in some church circles. His salary from the Samaritan’s Purse has been under scrutiny. His vocal support for Donald Trump has alienated some evangelicals. His style of evangelism may not always fit well with British churches. But it is important to remember that these issues are not the point.
Australia: the church responds to the bushfire crisis
Peter Riddell
Date posted: 1 Mar 2020
At the time of writing, the seemingly never-ending summer of bushfires continues to take a devastating toll. Some 33 people have been killed in the fires, and over 2,500 homes across the nation destroyed, with the heaviest loss occurring in the state of New South Wales.
Losses among wildlife and livestock are inestimable in number, with some sources stating that perhaps 1.25 billion animals have been destroyed. The landmass devastated is equal to one and a half times the area of Scotland. Australian home territory has largely escaped the ravages of war over the decades, but is now experiencing something similar to a devastating military attack.
EFAC: Anglican evangelicals set goals for the future
Chris Sugden
Date posted: 1 Jan 2020
The executive committee of the Evangelical Fellowship in the Anglican Communion (EFAC) (Global) together with the trustees of the English charity EFAC met for three days in November to confer about the opportunities and challenges facing the gospel witness of the Anglican Church around the world.
They affirmed that EFAC is defined by theology, not by a relationship to a bishop. Through fellowships, fora and resources EFAC builds on the five marks of mission:
You get what you pay for
‘Drink silver particles in water.’ ‘Make your body more alkaline.’ ‘Drink water every 15 minutes.’ These were just three online cures which circulated at the start of the Covid-19 (C-19) pandemic.
All such claims were plainly ridiculous, but there were others that sounded more plausible, due to being wrapped up in nice ‘science-y’-sounding language.