news in brief
BBC ups religion
The BBC will increase its mainstream religious output by giving greater prominence to non-Christian festivals such as Eid, Passover and Diwali, it was reported at the end of December.
It intends to broaden its audience by reflecting ‘an increasingly pluralistic society’. The BBC’s atheist head of religious programming, James Purnell, said it was important for British society to understand where it had come from and how religion plays an important part in that, stating: ‘The issues around belief are incredibly important to how we live.’
Youth work – now and then
Roger Carswell
Date posted: 1 Jan 2018
Roger Carswell calls for urgent action
I wonder how different from ours will be the Lord’s record of church history in the 20th century?
Word on the world
Chris Wright
Date posted: 1 Jan 2018
Langham Partnership’s International Ministries Director Chris Wright seeks a biblical response to the current world
Right now, we are living in a terminal phase of Western civilization.
Planting: principles v pragmatism
Michael Farrier
Date posted: 1 Mar 2018
Michael Farrier tells us about his research into starting new churches
‘Here is the church, Here is the steeple, Open the door, And here are the people!’
175 years of witness
Christian Witness to Israel
Date posted: 1 Mar 2018
Christian Witness to Israel [CWI], one of the world’s oldest missions bringing the good news of Jesus to Jewish people, marked its 175th anniversary with a special event at St Aldate’s, Oxford on 27 January.
The event featured a number of missionaries including Igal Vender, who works with Jewish homeless people and drug addicts, and Aviel Sela, talking about his work with Holocaust survivors.
defending our faith
Excavating the truth
Chris Sinkinson
Date posted: 1 Mar 2018
Late last year Donald Trump declared that the US would recognise Jerusalem as the capital of the state of Israel.
For many tourists to the Holy Land this seemed fairly uncontroversial. Given that this is the location of the Israeli Parliament, many visitors always assumed Jerusalem was its capital. However, in practice Tel Aviv has been the internationally recognized capital with diplomatic missions located there. Trump’s plan to move the American embassy has created real friction on the ground.
First AMiE ordinations in the UK
Church Times
Date posted: 1 Jan 2018
Nine men were ordained on 6 December as the first deacons and priests of the Anglican Mission in England (AMiE), the breakaway conservative evangelical movement that seeks to plant Anglican churches in England but outside the Church of England.
The nine were ordained by the Rt Revd Andy Lines at a service at a Baptist church, the East London Tabernacle.
Count it all joy
Helen Roseveare
Date posted: 1 Jan 2018
Helen Roseveare tells her story of grappling to find happiness when the will of God is difficult.
I had arrived at Ibambi, in the Belgian Congo, one Tuesday in March 1953.
Next year’s history
Joy Horn
Date posted: 1 Jan 2018
Joy Horn helps us to remember our Christian heritage
JANUARY
24. John Mason Neale, who is chiefly remembered for his hymns, was born in 1818 in Bloomsbury, London. A linguist, familiar with some 20 languages, and a poet, of High Anglican convictions, he revived many old carols and translated others from Greek and Latin. O come, o come, Emmanuel and Christ is made the sure foundation are two of the best known – and, of course, Good King Wenceslas.
Closure on a closure?
When a church shuts, what are we to think?
Some months ago, the church I served as pastor for over 15 years worshipped together for the last time.
The missing Sola?
Clive Every-Clayton
Date posted: 1 Feb 2018
Clive Every-Clayton on universal Truth for a post-modern age
We still bask in the memory of the great work of God 500 years ago.
Bangor: significant statue
Roger Carswell
Date posted: 1 Feb 2018
On 16 December, 1867 Amy Carmichael was born in Millisle in Northern Ireland and, 150 years later, on 16 December, a beautiful sculpture of her as a ten-year-old girl was unveiled outside Hamilton Road Presbyterian Church in Bangor. The church is home to the annual Worldwide Missionary Convention.
The sculpture was the idea of Derek Bingham, ten years ago. It was created by Christian artist and sculptor, Ross Wilson. It portrays a determined girl, holding in her hand a notebook – her diary of grace, containing God’s plans for her life – looking out to the world.
Gospel transformation
Barbara Sherwood
Date posted: 1 Feb 2018
Book Review
GOD KNOWS WHAT I’M DOING HERE:
The incredible story of a mission worker saved
from a rebellious past
Read review
Dorothy Marx 1923 – 2017
Ray Porter
Date posted: 1 Feb 2018
Few people in England will have heard her name, but it is very likely that any Indonesian Christian you meet will ask whether you know her.
Born into a Jewish family in Germany, the descendant of many rabbis, Dorothy came to school in England in 1938. Arriving without a word of English, she discovered that she had better Latin and Greek than her teachers. She had one last visit back to Germany before war broke out, but after that never saw her parents again. Her mother died in Auschwitz, but her father’s fate was unknown. With funds cut off she had to abandon thoughts of university, but when she was 17 her life was completely re-orientated, as she had a dream of Jesus that brought her to faith. She became a member of Cheam Baptist Church and, after study at Ridgelands Bible College, was accepted as a member of the Overseas Missionary Fellowship in 1953. In 1957 she landed in Indonesia.
Adam in the garden (city)
Ken Hawkins
Date posted: 1 Jan 2018
The Grange Baptist Church in Letchworth Garden City, Hertfordshire, welcomed Adam Robertson as the assistant pastor on 19 November.
Adam, who studied at Moorelands, worked at Hillview Church in Hucclecote, Gloucester prior to the move to Letchworth. Pastor Mark Sewall welcomed Adam and his wife Iuliana into membership of the church. Their young daughter Ava won the hearts of the fellowship when they met her earlier in the year.
CAR: the forgotten emergency
World Watch Monitor
Date posted: 1 Jan 2018
There is a sense of emergency in the Central African Republic (CAR) where security has dramatically deteriorated across the country: President Faustin-Archange Touadéra failed to establish his authority beyond the capital, Bangui, 18 months after his election.
Gunmen are at crossroads in broad daylight, in a neighbourhood near the international airport. At night, gunshots can still be heard in the capital. In the capital, businesses and schools are working fairly well. In one of the epicentres of the violence, PK5, a predominantly Muslim neighbourhood, markets and shops have re-opened (CAR is 76% nominally Christian, 14% nominally Muslim).
Facing the finances
How’s the money in your church?
I hope there’s enough and I hope you pay your pastor adequately (1 Timothy 5.17, 18). Without a proper salary he will worry about his family bills and that is bound to affect his ministry adversely. Churches who underpay their preacher tend to suffer spiritually. The ‘keep him poor, keep him humble’ attitude in some churches is appalling.
But, visiting various places, I have become aware that some churches are facing financial problems – and they are not the type of church you would expect to be in difficulties. They are generally growing churches. I have heard it said that the optimum church size financially is one of around 80 members – one pastor to support and volunteers doing what they can. It is when churches go beyond that threshold that expenses per capita rise steeply. More staff may be required (not least for administration), maybe the building needs to be enlarged, or a new kitchen is required. Perhaps more people are offering themselves for Bible College or the mission field.