news in brief
Afghanistan: Taliban error
Taliban militants attempted to attack a Christian-run day-care centre on March 28 in Kabul, saying it was ‘a church used to convert Muslims to Christianity’.
The assailants, however, mistakenly targeted the next-door building, which houses workers with a US government-sponsored project that runs agricultural and de-mining programmes throughout the country.
EMF: 50 years
Jörg Muller
Date posted: 1 Jun 2014
Over the last 50 years the European Missionary Fellowship [EMF] has been investing in training Christians for the work of gospel ministry in Europe and subsequently many other parts of the world too.
The anniversary was marked at the Open Day of EMF’s School of Biblical Studies on May 10 at Welwyn Evangelical Church, Hertfordshire. Around 150 attended specially arranged meetings.
news in brief
WEST by Northwest
WEST teamed up with the North West
Partnership in April so that students will be
able to study together for the Graduate
Diploma and Masters-level degree programmes at the centre in Liverpool.
Jonathan Stephen, principal of WEST,
said: ‘This is a highly significant development for WEST, as we continue to fulfil our
commitment to “bringing the academy into
missional church”’.
Notes to Growing Christians
Creation, fall, redemption
David Jackman
Date posted: 1 Jun 2014
Cultivating a consistent biblical world view is a priority for every Christian.
In recent columns I have tried to relate this to the Great Commission to proclaim the good news to all the world. Far from being a tangential occupation for those with an academic bent, developing a biblical mind-set is vital for every believer. It is the only way that we shall be able to stand against the onslaught of secular materialism and so, like the church in Pergamum, to remain true to Christ’s name (Revelation 2.13). But it is also essential if we are to communicate effectively with the alien world views which govern our culture. A biblical world view is not a retreat from evangelism, but a necessary tool for its accomplishment.
Europe: home school law
Morning Star News
Date posted: 1 Jun 2014
Opponents of a European initiative paving the way for governments to rule on the legitimacy of religious groups and reduce home schooling rights won a battle in mid April in the Council of Europe.
In Europe, where public education often includes teachings on morality at odds with churches and officially unrecognised religious groups are labelled sects, the stakes were high at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE).
Enjoy your prayer life
Mike Reeves stimulates our desires to spend time with God as he reminds us of the Holy Spirit’s work
Prayer is enjoying that the Father really is our Father.
Stirring the heart
Stephen Nowak
Date posted: 1 Jun 2014
Book Review
GOD’S GOOD NEWS IN THE MIRACLES
OF JESUS
GOD’S GOOD NEWS IN THE PARABLES
OF JESUS
Read review
Multicultural Australia
Peter Riddell
Date posted: 1 Apr 2014
At face value, Australia and Malaysia share a number of common features. Both are medium-sized nations, with Australia having a population of 22 million and Malaysia 28 million.
Both are multifaith societies. Australia’s 61% Christian majority sits alongside a non-religious minority of 22% as well as smaller numbers of Buddhists (2.5%), Muslims (2.2%), Hindus (1.3%) and others. Malaysia’s 60% Muslim majority shares the country with Buddhists (19%), Christians (9%), Hindus (6%) and others. In effect, both societies are highly pluralistic in terms of both faith and ethnicity.
Casting The Net in Enfield
Alan Pibworth
Date posted: 1 Apr 2014
On Saturday, March 1, over 90 people came
to The Net, a training day in evangelism and
evangelistic
preaching,
at
Enfield
Evangelical Free Church, organised by
United Beach Missions and Roger Carswell
and sponsored by 10ofthose.com .
Johnny Prime, pastor of the church, set the
scene for the day as he showed from Luke 5
that the Lord Jesus
is the
loving people-catcher who catches sinful people for the
purpose of catching others. As we preach the
Word of God we throw out the net to others
even when conditions may not look ideal.
Oxford Mission
Richard Cunningham
Date posted: 1 Apr 2012
From Aberdeen to Plymouth, tens of thousands of students have been given the opportunity to hear the gospel and respond to the claims of Jesus Christ.
UCCF students, staff and supporters have recently been at full capacity with nearly 90 large-scale missions impacting campuses up and down Britain.
Mission - quo vadis?
Thorsten Prill
Date posted: 1 Oct 2012
So far we have identified three issues which cause problems. These are theological ignorance, the work of false teachers, and an unfettered pragmatic approach to ministry as possible reasons for the current theological crisis in evangelical mission organisations. However, there are other factors which may support the spread of heresy and problematic mission strategies.
Low view of local church
Sometimes it is a low view of the local church and its role in world mission that fosters unhelpful strategies and even heretical views in the mission field. For many years mission organisations have been reminding local churches in the West of their responsibility for world mission. Local churches, they rightly argue, must be mission-minded.
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.’
Ian Tait 1918 –2013
Aubrey Roberts
Date posted: 1 May 2014
The Revd Dr Ian Malcolm Tait, a true man
of God, died on December 17, 2013.
He was
formerly pastor of Welwyn
Evangelical Church (1950-80) and before
that of the FIEC church in Hurstpierpoint.
He was elected President of the FIEC in
1969. He also served as a visiting lecturer at
Covenant Theological College.
World Vision: second sight
Various
Date posted: 1 May 2014
On March 26, two days after World Vision
in the USA had announced that it would
employ Christians in same-sex marriages,
the relief organisation reversed its decision.
World Vision’s American branch had
announced, on March 24, that it would no
longer require its more than 1,100 employees to restrict their sexual activity to marriage
between one man and one woman. World
Vision president, Richard Stearns, made it
clear by saying: ‘The new policy will not
exclude someone from employment if they
are in a legal same-sex marriage’.
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.
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.
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.
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.
A year with Open-Air Mission
Simon Robinson
Date posted: 1 May 2013
The words of the evangelist John Hawley were never so terrifying as when he turned to me in the middle of Oxford Cornmarket saying: ‘Are you going to preach now, Simon?’
How is it possible for a nervy, stammering 17-year-old to stand up in Oxford city centre with hundreds of people passing by and speak? What Paul said came to mind: ‘Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me’.
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.
Mission - quo vadis?
Thorsten Prill
Date posted: 1 Sep 2012
Where are evangelical missionary organisations heading in the long run?
So far we have seen that unbiblical positions, such as Open Theism, held within evangelical mission organisations may be the result of either theological ignorance or the work of false teachers. However, there are other factors which foster problematic theological views and mission strategies.
