The boyfriend
Jen Watkins
Date posted: 1 May 2014
Dear Editor,
I was
interested
and
encouraged by
Rowina Seidler’s article, in April’s EN, about
the lack of biblical precedent for boyfriends.
Noah: the sequel
David Skull explains what happened after the flood, from Genesis 9.18-28
Sometimes you get to the end of a book or a movie and you’re left thinking, ‘Well what happened next?’.
Healing abortion’s heartbreak
Lyn Coles tells her story and how she now helps others
The ripple effect of one abortion can affect as many as 45 to 50 people.
Philippines: the day the earth moved
Debbie Meroff
Date posted: 1 May 2014
‘I grabbed my six-year-old and we were all screaming and praying for God’s grace. I saw our walls falling down, then we ran out.’ Dalia’s tears began to slip down her cheeks as she re-lived the terrifying morning of 15 October 2013. The 7.2 magnitude earthquake that struck the Philippines island of Bohol.
‘We stayed in an evacuation centre for two, almost three weeks, then in a tent. When we went back to check the church we found it destroyed. We still sleep in the tent but we’ve put it inside a small bamboo hut that we built during the rains. When people ask me, ‘how can you smile?’ I say I smile because I am alive! That’s something to thank God for.’
Gospel in World War I
An evangelistic talk based on this year’s centenary
This year, of course, sees the centenary of the start of the First World War.
Rallying round
A team of Christians is seeking to reach out with the gospel in the world of motor sport
The Alpha & Omega Christian Motorsport Team have a mission on the track.
Cityscape evangelism
Emma Jarvis
Date posted: 1 Feb 2014
What’s it like to spend a year working for London City Mission?
Once Emma Jarvis was converted to Christ, the Lord gave her a great desire to share the gospel with others.
Germany: challenging lifestyle
Mission Net
Date posted: 1 Feb 2014
Living out a missional lifestyle was one of
the main themes at the second day of the
third Mission-Net Congress held
from
December 30 to January 2 in Offenburg.
The key topic of the first day was ‘Mission
with a Migrant Background’.
In mostly
interactive
seminars,
the participants discussed several aspects of this theme, such as
why classical mission strategies seem to fail in
today’s church and why people are actually
talking about a missional lifestyle. Vivid discussions ensued and at the end there were
more questions than answers.
Definite atonement
David Gibson / Jonathan Gibson
Date posted: 1 Mar 2014
Paul Levy interviews David and Jonathan Gibson for EN about the new book they have edited on the purpose of Christ’s death
en: You have edited a book over 700 pages long on an obscure doctrine known as defi-nite (‘limited’) atonement? How did it come about?
DG/JG: Some of the traditional ‘Calvinistic’ approaches to the doctrine of definite atonement can be a bit forced and too hasty in trying to prove the doctrine; some are more biblicist than biblical and don’t see the doctrine as a biblico-systematic conclusion. There also exists a lot of caricatures of the doctrine from opponents, which reveal that it has not been properly understood. So we felt there was a need for an in-depth, comprehensive, but careful treatment, one which looked at the doctrine from a number of perspectives – historical, biblical, theological and pastoral. We assembled a line-up of leading scholars to produce a volume written at a rigorous level. We also wanted the book to have a warmth and winsomeness that might diffuse some of the heat associated with definite atonement and allow the glory of this truth to sparkle and shine. We didn’t want to win an argument; we wanted to help the convinced and win the unconvinced.
PASSION FOR LIFE ON A ROLL
APFL
Date posted: 1 Feb 2014
Excitement is building as many churches across the nation gear up for A Passion for Life (APFL).
This is a nationwide mission initiative from gospel churches which had its first outing in 2010.
Guatemala: oasis of hope
Latin Link
Date posted: 1 Apr 2014
Since the start of January 2014, a Christian group in Guatemala has begun meeting the practical needs of some of the young abused girls from Guatemala’s streets and introducing them to Jesus at the same time.
For a long time, the Oasis centre had received calls from Guatemala’s Child Protection Agency, as well as organisations like International Justice Mission, asking if they could provide help for girls as young as ten, who had suffered from systematic sexual abuse and were pregnant.
news in brief
Belgium: killing petition
The Bill to allow Belgian children of all ages to access euthanasia is being opposed by people all across Europe, via a petition organised just hours after the Bill was voted through in mid-February.
Although there are concerns that it will produce a constitutional crisis if the Bill isn’t signed by the Belgian monarch, the aim of the petition is to protect the vulnerable.
STUDENTS HEAR THE RUMOUR
Hugh Palmer
Date posted: 1 Apr 2014
Over 100 students responded to the gospel at a UCCF city-wide student mission entitled ‘Rumour Has It’.
The Prohibition Era-themed week of events, which took place in late January, saw around 20 CUs from across London team up with 15 churches to put on a week of evangelistic events.
Crowding in to the house?
John Risbridger
Date posted: 1 Jan 2014
‘Life on life, together on mission’ lies at the heart of the NT vision for discipleship and it should therefore be at the heart of our vision for the local church. This has been the central conviction of the ‘Crowded House’ since it began in 1996, under the leadership of Steve Timmis.
But how could this conviction begin to shape the approach of churches with a similar theology and similar convictions about mission, but which have existing patterns of church life which may or may not facilitate this missional emphasis? That was the key question explored in a highly stimulating consultation in October facilitated by the Crowded House team, which brought together people from 11 churches (mostly, but not exclusively, from the FIEC but all conservative evangelical).
Anniversaries ‘14
Joy Horn
Date posted: 1 Jan 2014
Joy Horn with notable dates for the year ahead
EVENTS
Early in the year 664, the Synod of Whitby was held, summoned by the king of Northumbria. As a result, the ‘Celtic churches’, established through monks of Iona and Lindisfarne, accepted the practices of the ‘Roman churches’. This brought administrative advantages and theological dangers.
news in brief
Labelled racist
Parents at a Staffordshire school were told their children would be punished for racism – using a ‘Racial Discrimination’ note attached permanently to the child’s school record – if they missed a trip to a workshop on Islam, it was reported in late November.
The information was given in a letter, which was in part later apologised for by the head. The County Council reminded her about the parental right to withdraw children from religious activities.
South Sudan: eye-witness
As the news hit the media about atrocities in
Sudan, EN received a report on December
20 from a Christian living in Sudan.
‘We have
experienced heavy
fighting
between soldiers loyal to President Salva Kiir
or to his former vice president, Riak Machar,
on December 15. The government called it an
attempted coup but it was actually a political
difference that arose over party meetings and
the president’s dictatorial
tendency
that
sparked the fight. The president wants to
eliminate all his political critics in hope of
becoming a full dictator. Unfortunately, the
fight turned quickly into tribal conflict targeting people that come from Nuer tribe in Juba.
Growing a rural church
Chris Sinkinson
Date posted: 1 Feb 2014
Chris Sinkinson reports from deepest Hampshire
Town centre churches tend to get all the attention!
Origins of black preaching
Bishop Samuel Thomas
Date posted: 1 Feb 2014
Bishop Samuel Thomas of the New Testament church of God explains the history
Black preaching, according to Cleophus J. LaRue, has a theological and a sociological influence that runs deeper than mere preaching technique.
Worth anything ... worth everything
Steve Cossack
Date posted: 1 Feb 2014
Steve Cossack, caretaker of Bridge Chapel, Liverpool, tells his story
Football and the Beatles have made Liverpool famous throughout the world.
Five points of encouragement
John Piper
Date posted: 1 Jan 2014
John Piper explains how the doctrines of grace encourage and stimulate his Christian faith
The five points of Calvinism are not unimportant.
Building for the gospel
Long Crendon
Date posted: 1 Mar 2014
Immediately after planting a new church
in the neighbouring town of Thame in
2008, Long Crendon Baptist Church
(LCBC) started making plans to redevelop
the church building.
During the weekend of February 1-2, the
church celebrated the opening of its new
£1.5m facilities. An Open Day was held for
the community on
the Saturday, during
which thanks were given to the architects,
builders
and various other
community
organisations who had offered use of their
facilities during the nine months in which
the church building was out of action.
Visitors were impressed with the transformation of the building.
Russia: Olympic outreach
Crosswalk
Date posted: 1 Mar 2014
SOAR International Ministries, an Alaska-based organisation dedicated to missions
and outreach in Russia, has partnered with
local Russian churches during the Sochi
Winter Olympic Games,
to spread
the
gospel to tourists and communities converging on the event.
The ministry sent 40 volunteers to Russia
to establish a number of ‘fun zone’ hospitality centres in local church buildings. They
will also go out into parks and other public
venues to invite others to partake in their
activities.
