Contents

FEATURES

Seeking a godly generation

Were Wilberforce and Shaftesbury mistaken?

Seditious radical turned Christian hymnwriter: James Montgomery (1771–1854)

Scripture’s hidden gems: Proverbs

The dearest ache: loving a teenager

The secret of happiness

Gospel ministry among Aboriginal people in Australia – a historical overview

COMMENT: UK evangelical growth data is encouraging, but beware trusting in numbers alone

GUEST COLUMN: A preview of paradise

A SHRINK THINKS... Is faith genetic?

THINKING IT THROUGH: All things to all men – a call to conformity?

A WALK WITH MR O: There is hearing, and there is hearing!

CRUNCH POINTS: Skipping church to spend time with the grandchildren

NEWS

News in brief

Street preacher wins Covid-19 arrest case

Poll shows the public has a greatly inflated view of LGBT numbers

Data shows evangelical churches will outnumber liberal churches by the middle of the century

Trainee vicar says he was blocked by the Church of England because of his socially conservative views

Parents in Wales granted judicial review over sex education

Scottish abortion numbers are a ‘national tragedy’, say pro-lifers

BBC admits it was wrong and misleading to call J. K. Rowling’s gender views ‘very unpopular’

Home-schoolers get Welsh history lesson at Christian Heritage Centre

Somerset’s ‘chapel in the valley’ marks its 150-year anniversary

Town crier announces mission week in Morely, West Yorkshire

Grace Baptist Assembly reflects on the Covid crisis and hears encouragements from Zambia

Attendance triples at Grace Baptist Church Aberdeen

Renewing communion: the Banner of Truth spring conferences

‘Living Well in God’s World’ at Derby Bible Week 2022

‘Let God arise’: Revival was the theme of the Free Church (Continuing) spring conference

Australia: Bill in New South Wales legalises assisted dying

US: Skateboarder speaks out over transgenderism in sport

Sudan: Couple on trial for converting

India: Persecution gets worse as 30 Christians are jailed in one month

US: Government issues warning over potential violence linked to Roe v. Wade abortion ruling

EU: Religious groups express deep concerns over the European Parliament’s ‘openly hostile’ stance

REVIEWS

Hebrews: No Turning Back – An expositional commentary

It Will Cost You Everything: What it takes to follow Jesus

Lives Less Ordinary: A story of fearless faith in an extraordinary God

Weak Pastor, Strong Christ: Developing a Christ-shaped gospel ministry

Our Comfort in Dying: Civil war sermons by R. L. Dabney, Stonewall Jackson’s chief of staff

FEATURES

Seeking a godly generation

‘To him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever’ (Ephesians 3:21). ‘One generation shall commend your works to another’ (Psalm 145:4). In stark contrast to our individualistic culture, a golden thread running throughout Scripture is God’s good purpose for all generations (Genesis 9:12; 17:7; Exodus 12:14; Luke 1:50).

As believers we should have God-honouring ambition – not only for our own biological children and grandchildren, but for the whole upcoming generation, and those who will follow them. Our Triune God is worthy of all praise: ‘Shout for joy to the LORD all the earth’ (Psalm 100:1); ‘Let everything that has breath praise the LORD’ (Psalm 150:6).

It is our highest joy to worship and serve him, and we long for all people everywhere to honour him too. We are called to ‘make disciples of all nations’ (Matthew 28:19), and we have the privilege of passing on knowledge of his works and ways to those who follow us.

Our lives are fleeting, but we find hope in our faithful God whose magnificent purposes of grace span all the ages (Psalm 90). Those before us have passed on the heritage of God’s truth; we in turn pass this treasure on.

We can humbly ask God to ‘establish the work of our hands’ (Psalm 90:17), trusting him to use our endeavours for eternal good, and for the blessing of those as yet unborn: ‘Let this be recorded for a generation to come, so that a people yet to be created may praise the LORD’ (Psalm 102:18).

‘As generations take their turn, / And saints in each your glory learn / Your name be praised and praised again / And praised for ever more – Amen!’ (Psalm 145; Praise! 145B, Christopher Idle).

We also recognise that God calls each generation to pass on a knowledge of and passion for him (Psalm 78:1-8). Ours is a weighty and privileged responsibility.

The current challenge

To do this effectively, we must ‘understand the times’ (1 Chronicles 12:32). There is cosmic opposition to God’s work in every age (Revelation 12:17), but we should be aware of the particular lies being peddled to children and young people in this age. Through peers, social media, entertainment, and much of the education system, they may be confronted with a worldview that runs directly counter to the biblical truth that God is Creator and King. They hear claims such as: abortion is a human right; smash heteronormativity; binary is bad; masculinity is toxic.

Behind all this lies the idea that Christianity itself is oppressive.

Gender ideology insists that the biblical teaching that God created ‘male and female’ is hate speech. ‘Patriarchy’ (a.k.a. the natural family) is seen as the seedbed of oppression. Sexual purity is derided as dangerous and unnatural.

Radical environmentalists claim that the biblical command to ‘subdue the earth’ and ‘have dominion’ is the reason for environmental destruction.

The creation mandate to develop the earth’s resources is decried as evil capitalism. Far from ‘filling the earth’, youngsters may be informed that humans should radically limit population growth, or even stop having children altogether.

Whereas the Bible teaches that we are all descended from the same first parents, and that all human beings are made equally in the image of God, young people now are taught to focus on racial difference.

God ordains rulers to restrain evil and promote good, but many today are convinced that all authority is inherently oppressive. The Bible teaches us to respect the elderly and obey our parents; sadly, now the frail and elderly are too often pitied and patronised.

Parents, youth leaders, or pastors who don’t go along with such ideas may be derided as being ‘on the wrong side of history’. But how is the current worldview actually working out in terms of the well-being of our young people? Mental illness and suicides are now at record levels, and many youngsters are fearful of global warming, disease, war, and nuclear disaster – messages with which they are relentlessly bombarded.

In The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure (2018), Jonathan Haidt and Greg Lukianoff described the worrying fragility of a whole generation of fearful, anxious, and pessimistic youth. And that was before the unprecedented challenges children and young people faced during successive lockdowns.

The current opportunity

A worldview that dismisses the idea of a transcendent Creator God teaches young people to be cynical of all ‘big stories’ or universal explanations. That rules out ultimate meaning and leads to isolation and fragmentation. A culture that demands unlimited sexual ‘freedom’ creates a toxic environment where restraint is dissolved, insecurity is rife, and abuse is endemic.

Far from being intimidated by the current hostile worldview, we must be confident that God’s truth shines brightly into the current insecurity, fragmentation, and division. Our righteous Creator has good purposes for the world he has made. His justice and goodness are expressed in his perfect moral law, which are for all people, in all places, at all times.

His mercy is supremely shown in the saving work of his Son. As we worship, serve, and proclaim him, the younger generation should witness that we love him for who he is and what he has done: ‘Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of his wonderful acts’ (Psalm 105:2). ‘Give thanks to him and praise his name, for the LORD is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations’ (Psalm 100:4-5).

We are to teach the next generation about God’s character and works (Deuteronomy 6:6-7; Psalm 145:4; Joel 1:3; 2 Timothy 1:5). We are to train them how to live wisely (Proverbs 4:10-27; 9:10). We are to tell them of the urgent need to repent and accept the free offer of forgiveness, peace with God, and eternal life through the perfect and complete work of Jesus Christ.

We must equip them to understand and respond to the lies which infuse our culture. We long for a generation of young believers who are confident in the truth and goodness of God’s Word. We pray for them to be bold and loving as they share the light and hope of Christ with their peers.

We are here on this earth to praise God and call others to praise him, until his purposes are fulfilled and the church is complete. We look forward to the return of the Lord – the judgment of all evil and the bringing in of the new heavens and earth. And amid all the current challenges we are sustained by the certain promises of God: ‘His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and his dominion endures from generation to generation’ (Daniel 4:3).

Upcoming conference: Seeking a godly generation

How can we equip the next generation to have confidence in God and his truth? That is the theme of a conference to be held on Tuesday 20 September at All Saints’ Presbyterian Church, Newcastle, to be repeated on Tuesday 11 October at Grove Chapel, London. Pastors, youth workers, parents, and all those concerned for passing on God’s truth to children and young people are welcome.

Paul Yeulett (Grove Chapel London), Matthew Seymour (Emmanuel Church, Leamington Spa), Ian Fry (visiting lecturer London Seminary), John Denning and Sharon James (both of The Christian Institute) will speak on topics including: The need of the hour; The foundational importance of biblical creation; Confronting the lies; Engaging with schools; and The key role of parents and the church in biblical formation.

For more information please visit: www.seekingagodlygeneration.org.uk/london or www.seekingagodlygeneration.org.uk/newcastle.

By Dr Sharon James. She works for The Christian Institute. She has written a number of books, most recently The Lies We Are Told: the Truth We Must Hold (Christian Focus, 2022). Her book, A Student’s Guide to Worldview, will be published by Christian Focus in July.

Were Wilberforce and Shaftesbury mistaken?

The idea of two kingdoms (the common kingdom and the redemptive kingdom) is broadly accepted as the teaching of the Reformers. Two kingdoms, both under God’s sovereignty, but ruled by God in different ways. There are, of course, particular versions of this theology (quietist on the one hand and triumphalist on the other, as set out by David VanDrunen in the May edition of ET), but the real underlying question is not the principle itself, but the relationship between the two kingdoms.

The matter is an important one for several reasons. As Christians, we long for others, in the providence of God, to come under the saving grace of the gospel. The question then is, once we have come to salvation, does that spiritual, redemptive kingdom have anything to say to our life in the common kingdom, our work, our citizenship, our civic duties? Or are they completely separate?

If there is nothing to say from the spiritual kingdom into the common kingdom, then a significant part of our life in God’s created world is reduced to meaninglessness and we end up with the sort of sacred/secular divide that has come to characterise far too much of contemporary evangelical discourse. Are there any limits to the authority of Scripture such that it applies only in one of the two kingdoms?

I want to explore three questions in respect of the relationship of the two kingdoms: Does the moral law of the creation mandates apply to the non-Christian? Does the Christian ethic of the redemptive kingdom apply to the common kingdom? What are the dangers of too rigid a separation of the two kingdoms? In a sense, the first two are opposite sides of the same coin, but perhaps rather helpfully illustrate the inter-relationship of the two kingdoms.

Let’s first of all deal with the application of the moral law to the non-Christian. The accepted teaching and constant proclamation of the Reformers and their successors has been that the creation mandates are part of God’s provision for all people for all time. Given that humanity is created in the image of God, this really should not be surprising to us.

This principle is then illustrated for us in the cultural mandate (Genesis 1:28), the command to work (Genesis 2:15), and the institution of marriage (Genesis 2:24). These principles set out a standard for the common kingdom in accordance with nature and the law of God. This point is crucial. These are not standards separate from the law of God but a reflection of that law as set out in the Bible. They are standards to which we can seek to hold society for the common good of all people.

Certainly, in Calvin’s Geneva the state was not neutral in upholding the moral law. And neither should we be. Indeed, it would be a contradiction of a proper understanding of the two kingdoms if we did not proclaim that these are God’s standards for all.

Wilberforce fought against slavery on the grounds that it was a violation of the dignity God conferred on every person. Lord Shaftesbury campaigned for issues from the Sabbath to the protection of children in factories on the grounds that God made these provisions for the benefit of all people. The moral law is God’s provision and standard for all.

The second question turns this the other way round. Should we as Christians seek to apply specifically Christian ethics to society? Is Scripture the appropriate moral standard for the common kingdom? Perhaps the strictures of Scripture should be restricted to those who belong to the covenant of redemption?

Certainly, the demands of Scripture on the redeemed are very high; indeed, perhaps the Christian is held to a higher ethical standard in the world. The standards applied by God in each of the two kingdoms are applicable in both. If that were not so, then it would lead to the end of ethics – behaviour in the common kingdom does not matter because our true home is in the spiritual. Not so! The whole Bible represents God’s ethical standards, and just as we cannot separate the Old Testament from the New, so also we cannot separate God’s demands on the two kingdoms.

Consequently, we cannot argue that Christian teaching on marriage, human life, or business ethics are relevant only for the conduct of our lives in the spiritual kingdom. Cultural engagement by the Christian, which includes the advocacy of biblical teaching, contributes to the transformation of society, which is a reflection of overlap between the two kingdoms.

There are two particular dangers inherent in too strong a separation of the two kingdoms.

First, if the creation mandates are no longer effective, then the Christian has no biblical mandate to seek changes in the social, cultural, and political order. On that basis, if the state legislates for euthanasia we should stand back and accept it. Apologies to William Wilberforce and Lord Shaftesbury – you were wrong to bring your Christian wisdom and insight to bear upon society.

Secondly, if we over-emphasise the separation of the two kingdoms, we may reinforce the sacred (redemptive kingdom) / secular (common kingdom) divide. We may be reluctant to bring Christian language or ethics into the common kingdom or seek to influence or shape economics or politics from a Christian perspective or, indeed, any other aspect of our common life.

This would represent an unacceptable dualism between the two kingdoms. We may err in treating the common kingdom as morally neutral. According to this argument, only the spiritual realm is under Scripture. There is something seriously amiss, though, if the gospel is irrelevant to our life in the common kingdom. Why limit Scripture’s role, authority, and impact merely to the religious kingdom?

The whole Bible, of course, represents God’s standards, his ethical provision not just for Christians but for all people and indeed for his created order. If this is not so, we have no basis for any moral teaching about marriage, dignity of life, work, and rest. We cannot divide the two kingdoms. Scripture is God’s Word and God’s Word is the foundation of all morality.

The law that applies in both the common kingdom and the redemptive kingdom must reflect God’s character, purpose, and revelation. The law which forms and shapes the common kingdom, that reflects the creation mandates, is entirely consistent with what Moses set out in the decalogue. This is not set aside when we come under the saving grace of the gospel. We live as citizens of both kingdoms, which are under God’s sovereignty and under the authority of his infallible Word.

Were William Wilberforce and Lord Shaftesbury wrong? Certainly not. Rather they are two towering examples of Christians explicitly bringing their faith to bear witness in the public square, to hold the nation to account and to recognise the true power of Scripture as God’s defining standard. As Lord Shaftesbury said in The Record on 16th May 1839, ‘Let us then as Protestants, stand by that which is alone was the pillar and ground of truth – the Bible, the whole Bible and nothing but the Bible.’ Amen.

By Richard Turnbull, Chairman of the Trustees of The Christian Institute.

Seditious radical turned Christian hymnwriter: James Montgomery (1771–1854)

James Montgomery (pictured) is a striking example of a life which consisted of two contrasting halves. In the first half he achieved nothing for which he would be remembered now. But suddenly in mid-life, James blossomed into one of the premier English hymnwriters.

He was born in Irvine, Ayrshire, where his father was a Moravian minister. The Moravians were founded in 1457 – one of the ‘Protestant before the Reformation’ churches. They followed the teaching of Jan Hus, the Czech reformer.

Suffering persecution, they eventually found refuge on the lands of Count Nicholas von Zinzendorf in 1727. There they experienced revival and began to spread all over the world, preaching the gospel.

They were in the UK from 1740, beginning in Fetter Lane where John and Charles Wesley worshipped with them for a time.

Childhood

James was sent to school at the Moravian seminary in Fulbeck, Yorkshire. As the son of a minister, it was expected that he would become one also. However, he suffered a major tragedy. His parents were sent as missionaries to the West Indies while he remained at school. A few years later, both his parents died. James was just 12.

As a child, James wrote Christian poems. This was not what the seminary authorities saw as a priority, and James gained a reputation as a dreamer who was not interested in study.

Some schools would have simply expelled him. The Moravians, to their credit, sought a profession for him. He was put out as an apprentice to a baker.

James did not particularly want to be a baker. At one point he deserted his post and went to London to see if he could get his poems published. However, no one was interested in doing so.

Revolution and revival

In 1792, at the age of 21, James experienced a career change. He moved to Sheffield and began work as an assistant to Joseph Gales, the publisher of the Sheffield Register. This was a radical newspaper, supporting among other causes the French Revolution.

Gales left England two years later to avoid persecution for his political views. James Montgomery then took over the paper. He did not change its political line, and published a song commemorating the fall of the Bastille. For this he was fined and imprisoned in York Castle for three months under a charge of sedition.

It must be remembered that the British government was terrified that the anarchy and violence which gripped France would spread to the UK. Preachers including John Wesley denounced the French Revolution in no uncertain terms.

Indeed, it has often been asserted that it was only the effects of the First Great Awakening which God brought through the ministry of Wesley, George Whitefield, and others that prevented a similar revolution here.

One of those whom God so used was John Cennick (1718-55). At one time chief assistant to Whitefield, and himself a noted hymnwriter, Cennick had close connections with the Moravians. It was under his ministry that James Montgomery’s father had been converted to Christ.

Now it seemed that it was Cennick’s printed sermons that God used to bring the son to faith. Certainly, James’s early piety seems to have had little effect on his life after seminary. But now it was apparent that a change had taken place for James at the age of 43.

For the first time he openly professed Christ and joined the Moravian church. Soon afterwards, he sold the newspaper.

Hymn-writer

James began to write the hymns which made him famous in his lifetime. This fame extended to a welcome into literary circles among whom his earlier political views would certainly have been anathema.

In 1825, aged 54, he published Christian Psalmist, or Hymns Selected and Original. Over 100 of the hymns were his own. Eventually he wrote over 400 hymns.

Like fellow hymnwriter William Cowper, Montgomery never married. Also like him, he suffered bouts of depression. At such times he could just about carry out the minimum of activity needed to stay alive. These occurred both before he began writing hymns and afterwards.

His output varied in quality. However, at the best, James’s hymns bear comparison with those of the great Isaac Watts. Like Watts, James had the knack of writing profound things in simple language.

Like Watts also, he could produce successful paraphrases of the Psalms, remaining faithful to the teaching of the original while bringing out the Christian meaning. One of the best-known examples is his rendering of Psalm 72:

Hail to the Lord’s Anointed,

Great David’s greater Son;

Hail, in the time appointed

His reign on earth begun!

He comes to break oppression,

To set the captive free,

To take away transgression

And rule in equity.

It is interesting that this was written as a Christmas hymn; Montgomery saw that Christ’s earthly reign began at his incarnation.

Sound theology

There is a lot of sound and deep theology in Montgomery’s hymns. In Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord, God of hosts, the first stanza takes us back to God creating all things. In the second verse, God is praised by Christians as:

…One Jehovah evermore,

Father, Son, and Spirit, we,

Dust and ashes, would adore.

Lightly by the world esteemed,

From that world by Thee redeemed,

Sing we here with glad accord,

Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord.

Here is the Triune God, the fall by implication, redemption, and the worship of the gathered people of God, in one verse.

This last theme is prominent in Montgomery’s hymns. In Songs of praise the angels sang, he has us sing of the songs of angels at Creation, Christ’s birth, and what will be at the new creation. Then he asks:

And shall man alone be dumb,

Till that glorious kingdom come?

No! the church delights to raise

Psalms, and hymns, and songs of praise.

Elsewhere, he exhorts,

Stand up and bless the Lord,

Ye people of His choice;

Stand up and bless the Lord your God,

With heart and soul and voice...

O for the living flame

From His own altar brought,

To touch our lips, our minds inspire,

And wing to heaven our thought.

By John Palmer, he is a retired pastor who lives in Leigh.

Scripture’s hidden gems: Proverbs

In this series Alan Hill surveys some of the lesser-known books of Scripture.

Everyone knows that Proverbs contains proverbs, and lots of them. There are over 900, in fact. It is here that we find great wisdom expressed in few words. The book of Proverbs is like a mirror to show us our defects and a guidebook to show us how to live.

All ranks of life are covered: young and old, men and women, rich and poor. All areas of life are covered: our speech, our looking, our hearing, our eating, our drinking, our work, our play, our family, our children, our parents, our money, our government.

Every one of those 900-odd Proverbs is a gem, but if we think that Proverbs is just a book of 900 random (albeit wise) sayings then we will miss a great deal of treasure. We will miss why this is a hidden gem of a book. How can we find this hidden treasure? As we read the book we need to grasp seven points.

Proverbs is poetry, not prose

We all know that poetic expressions are easier to remember than prose. For instance, which statement is easier to remember: ‘Before you commit to any course of action, consider carefully the possible outcomes’, or ‘Look before you leap’?

The Proverbs are poetry. And how does Hebrew poetry work? It is based on parallelism – the ‘rhyming’ of ideas rather than words. Two similar or contrasting ideas are written one after the other for effect.

Proverbs is full of parallelism. Consider chapter 16, verse 23: ‘The heart of the wise teaches his mouth, and adds learning to his lips.’ The same thought is then explained in different words in the next verse: ‘Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the bones.’

Sometimes in Proverbs, contrasting thoughts are paired: ‘Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful’ (27:6).

They are proverbs, not promises

A promise implies that something will happen: If A is done then B will follow. If you repent and believe you will be saved. This is certain. A proverb is not a promise. Instead, it teaches a general principle. If A is done then B is more likely to happen.

Some parents understand this to mean that if they train up their child in the ways of the Lord then he will be saved and always follow the Lord. When their child grows up and actually stops attending church, the parents face a crisis of faith because they think either God has not kept his word or that they have been bad parents.

But this verse is a proverb, not a promise. It sets out the general observation that if parents point their child in the right way, then that child will generally go that way and will in general not go far astray. Be careful not to turn these proverbs into promises!

The proverbs are also parables

A proverb is a parable or an illustration. In fact, the book could be called the Book of Parables. As such, they do not address one subject but provide underlying principles.

Consider the description of the adulteress in chapter 7. It is, of course, a warning to men not to become entrapped by an adulterous relationship. But if that is all we see we have missed the point.

Chapter 7 is a parable. It is a story warning us of the way in which the world seduces naive souls by the lure of wealth, fame, pleasure, or anything that draws us away from God. Reading Proverbs, we must look beyond the immediate picture to draw out spiritual lessons.

The book has an aim

This wonderful book is not just a collection of pithy statements. It has a spiritual aim. This sets Proverbs apart from all man-made morality. What is that aim? To put a wise old head on immature young shoulders.

This is clear from the opening three verses of the book: ‘The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel: To know wisdom and instruction, to perceive the words of understanding, to receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, judgment, and equity.’

The book then outlines three distinctive aims concerning evangelism, young believers, and finally mature believers.

Proverbs 1:4-6, ‘To give prudence to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion – a wise man will hear and increase learning, and a man of understanding will attain wise counsel, to understand a proverb and an enigma, the words of the wise and their riddles.’

These proverbs, he tells us, will give ‘prudence to the simple’ (1:4). The words simple and fool are used to describe the unbeliever. This first aim emphasises the sin-trap of life, and the need to receive the wisdom and salvation of God.

The writer says next that this book will give ‘to the young man knowledge and discretion’. This young man is a spiritual student, a young believer. He is now called ‘my son’. He is a converted person, but he needs to ‘go to school’ to develop clear strategies to equip himself for life.

Solomon’s third aim is mentioned in Proverbs 1:5-6, ‘A wise man will hear and increase learning, and a man of understanding will attain wise counsel, to understand a proverb and an enigma, the words of the wise and their riddles.’

The believer graduates from ‘school’ and goes to ‘university’. Now he is called the wise son. These advanced proverbs will not be easily understood by the young in faith but are intended for the more mature believer.

The kind of truths taught in these advanced proverbs includes lectures in conduct, character, church order, and communion with God. They reach into the depths of the soul.

The introduction to Proverbs concludes in chapter 1, verse 7, with an overarching proverb that sums up the whole book: ‘The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.’

There are two ways to live: as a fearing (wise) man or a foolish (unwise) man. The whole book is an exposition of this text.

Alan Hill is Pastor of Lausanne Free Church, Switzerland.

The dearest ache: loving a teenager

I remember when she was three. She confidently navigated the world with boundless energy, curls bouncing, so sure of herself. So sure of me. Those were the days when she orbited around me like I was the sun, and she was never too far from the safety of my warmth. We were tethered by our love for each other, by what we saw in each other, by a belief that we were a match made in the heavenly realms.

Not every moment was peaceful, of course. We fought our battles against each other. We tested each other’s will. We pushed hard against the ties that bound us, yet we always fell back together – little blonde iron-willed daughter and her equally iron-willed mother, loved, loving, making loads of mistakes, and forgiving. We both learned so much.

She grew, and we entered those precious middle years, when kids become the sweetest version of themselves. She proved a continual source of joy and laughter, bringing optimism and unique perspectives to every situation. I also watched her grow in the knowledge of Christ.

The phases of motherhood come and go so quickly, even though it doesn’t feel that way when you’re living it. When you’re doing the day-to-day, and piles of laundry, and nappies, and homework, time seems to crawl by. But then I woke up one morning and that curly-haired three-year-old was sixteen. In some sense I realised I didn’t know her like I used to.

On some days we interact much like we did when she was three. I have seen our two iron wills clash with sparks flying many times in the past several years. Our hearts are tender in different ways now. She is more sensitive to criticism, to hints of annoyance, to misunderstanding. My heart is more sensitive to her rejection of my ‘out-dated’ thoughts or my instructions. It often feels tense when we’re together, as if the ties that bind us are just a little too restricting.

Lest you get the impression that she is especially rebellious, she isn’t at all. She hates conflict and dreads any sign that we are out of tune with one another. She is responsible and caring, but she is also bombarded by hormones and the anxieties that come with navigating a more grown-up life, and by fear of failure. In short, she is a normal teenager, and probably easier to live with than most.

We both struggle with this new phase. I can see the war within her when she speaks without thinking, when she is irritated by my advice, when she is sick of hearing the things that I’m sick of saying. Even as she rolls her eyes in classic teenager fashion, those eyes will just as quickly fill with tears at her lack of self-control or her hormonal outburst.

I see the burden of conviction that immediately follows an irritated response. We are each learning how to operate in a world where I am more of an always-available raincoat than the sun that used to tether her to her little universe. It’s a painful transition in some ways. At times loving a teenager feels like trying to hug a cactus. It was so very easy to love and adore an eight-year-old who wrote an ‘Ode to Mama’ every other day.

But to love a teenager with a downright stubborn love, to adore and cherish her with utter determination, to hold tight to the tie that binds us even if she is looking for a pair of scissors – that is the kind of love that God plants in the hearts of his children. And it’s the kind of love that he gives and gives and gives, doggedly, with absolute perseverance.

Some days, that Jesus-loving, precious girl and I laugh and understand each other and live in peace. Other days we don’t. But no matter what kind of day or hour or even minute we’re having together, one thing I know: we are a match made in the heavenly realms.

I have gone through various stages of grief as she has got older. But it’s the dearest ache. What a blessing to be called to love this child through all the phases of her development, and amid all the lessons that God has shown me concerning my own faults and failures. Without her I would be a different woman, so I thank God for giving me the sanctifying task of loving a teenager.

By Melissa Edgington, a blogger at yourmomhasablog.com.

The secret of happiness

Va’aiga Tuigamala (pictured), known as ‘Inga’, died in February at the age of 52. He was an outstanding rugby player and a ‘gentle giant’ of a man.

Originally from Samoa, he represented the New Zealand All Blacks in 19 test matches, including at the 1991 rugby World Cup, and later played for Samoa.

Va’aiga played Rugby League in the great Wigan Warriors side of the mid-1990s, which beat the Brisbane Broncos in the 1994 World Club Challenge.

But Va’aiga was also known as a Christian. He wrote about how he came to faith in Jesus: ‘Before I became a Christian I lived for sport and my social life. Then some of my friends joined a youth fellowship, set up to encourage youngsters to consider the claims of Jesus Christ. Many of these lads had a joy and peace which was very real to them.

‘I also had an economics teacher who was a Christian. She explained to me that I needed to give my life to Christ and be forgiven. She said I needed to be born again.

‘In 1 Corinthians 7:31 the Apostle Paul says, “This world in its present form is passing away.” I am under no illusions! My rugby career will soon be over. In due course my life will come to an end. When I die, I want to know that I am right with God.’

Va’aiga had a huge influence on Wigan teammate Jason Robinson, who had a very successful rugby career but whose personal life was out of control. He was drinking heavily six nights a week and came to the point of considering suicide.

Robinson said: ‘I remember Va’aiga told me that he had dreamt about me: “I saw you stood on the top of the world. But as I watched, slowly everything began to crumble beneath your feet.” He was so right. I was a troubled soul. Had it not been for Va’aiga coming into my life I certainly wouldn’t have the hope that I’ve got now. And hope is something that people can’t take away.’

That hope came through Tuigamala introducing Jason to his Christian faith.

Jason said, ‘I used to watch him in the dressing-room and thought what is it about this guy? He didn’t go out drinking, he wasn’t looking round the car park to see if anyone had a better car, he didn’t sleep around, all the things that you – misguidedly – think are the clever things to do. I didn’t have to ask him the secret of this happiness, I knew what it was – his relationship with God.’

By Peter Milsom, an elder at St Mellons Baptist Church, Cardiff and Chairman of Associating Evangelical Churches of Wales.

Gospel ministry among Aboriginal people in Australia – a historical overview

The penal colonisation of Australia in 1788 and subsequent free settlement brought indigenous Australians into increasing contact with Western culture and government.

The gospel came with the fleet chaplain, Richard Johnson. He was an evangelical supported by William Wilberforce (among others) who stressed personal salvation through faith in Christ.

Evangelical Anglicans consistently reached out from the earliest days. Men like the 19th-century Bishop Matthew Blagden Hale operated in different parts of Australia. He established outreach, trained and ordained aboriginal ministers, and obtained crown land for local indigenous communities to build upon.

Aboriginal clergy regularly ministered to mixed-race congregations, but as key personnel (such as Bishop Hale) moved on, situations declined and works ended, often in what was essentially land grabs by colonists.

There was an increasing subordination and relocation of indigenous peoples by state governments. This became a recurring cycle.

It is noteworthy that in New South Wales today, Anglican Aboriginal ministers and chaplains are emerging again, especially through the Ministry Training Scheme and Bush Church Aid initiatives.

Other Protestant evangelicals reached out from early days, forming mission associations. Churches were planted by various Protestant denominations.

Few continued though, and they often failed to pass on key responsibilities to indigenous believers in the next generation.

From settlement, there followed over 175 years of increasing marginalisation, exploitation, and restriction of freedom; many Aboriginals were moved onto reserves and denied residence inside towns, having neither the vote at the ballot box nor the right to join a labour union.

Change from the ground up

From the 1960s, a general movement across the country began an agenda of emancipation and equal rights for all indigenous peoples.

In the 1970s two key things occurred. First, the Aboriginals Evangelical Fellowship was born to promote the freedom for Aboriginals to govern their churches. Congregations within this fellowship often have a diverse racial mix.

There is also a doctrinal mix, albeit non-charismatic. Their college in Western Australia is strongly dispensational, but in New South Wales they are more aligned with a biblical theology.

Second, there was also a general falling away among evangelical Aboriginal churches from this time, purportedly as the political climate of secular reconciliation came to the fore.

Aged believers from that period testify to a whole generation leaving the churches to fight for societal equality and national reconciliation and the restoration of traditional lands.

‘Western’ materialism gained significant influence, and increasing educational opportunities that came with new freedoms allowed an emerging generation to engage positively in the wider nation and take on professional callings.

Conversely, social welfare dependence and deep-seated challenges grew among youths. Incarceration rates, drug and alcohol addictions, domestic violence, suicide, and mental health struggles are a troubling reality and much higher than national averages.

The desire to regain lost culture and identity led to an antipathy toward Christianity among many Aboriginals. They define it as part of colonial oppression and a problem, rather than a worldwide salvation for those from every race and culture.

Today’s needs and realities

The current popular Aboriginal claims to 40,000–80,000 years of continuous culture, and to be the oldest continuing culture in the history of the world stand in direct opposition to Genesis 1–11.

Belief in a sort of utopian cultural ideal present before settlement, and that regaining this lost culture will restore them as a people, abounds.

This is certainly the case for the younger adult generation, and a number now accept this chronology as fact, as does a wider Australian community.

Redemption by return to precolonial beliefs and community would not be an unfair summary.

This all makes for simmering tensions both in the Aboriginal and wider community; it is a real challenge to hold the middle ground together for both black and white believers in good will and the grace of our Lord Jesus. But it is essential and quite worthwhile.

A Wiradjuri elder in his 70s, who had invested heavily in politics and culture and held political office for at least a quarter of a century, recently testified, ‘Culture tends to divide peoples… I want to support the ministry of my church and pastor’s Bible teaching, as only the gospel unites all peoples.’

The change in him has been evident to many: wearing his culture positively, but in the name of Christ reaching out to all.

There are just under 800,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait islanders remaining across the country today (with a significant 10% increase in the past 30 years). They amount to about 3.5% of the national population of Australia.

Two thirds live outside the major cities, and at the last census 60% of indigenous peoples claimed some sort of Christian heritage or belief.

The doctrines of grace are only consistently present in a handful of churches that have high Aboriginal membership. Elsewhere there is a man-centred Arminian and Dispensational teaching that abounds, with much modern charismatic influence and an ever-growing appetite for conspiracy theories.

The blending of animistic beliefs with Christian teaching (‘syncretism’), incorporating everything from smoking ceremonies to rainbow serpent myths into theological practices and belief, is becoming popular. An accompanying belief that you can lose your salvation and regain it any number of times creates a brittle and fragile faith.

The historically consistent effort regarding the doctrines of grace has been through the evangelical or ‘Sydney’ Anglican group, but they are a minority in a much larger, deeply-compromised denomination.

The Anglicans more easily accommodated claims of 40,000–80,000 years of continuing Aboriginal culture, possibly due to a more ready acceptance of a theistic evolutionary framework of creation.

Reformed non-conformist churches are greatly needed and little present. Where such exist, they are worthy of real support, prayerfully and practically. More need to be planted.

One example of such is the Dubbo Christian Family Church, which has an extensive teaching and pastoral ministry. It provides conference occasions and regional encouragement to a wider group of believers and enquirers.

The backbone of the church is made up of the committed indigenous believers, yet the local congregation is a healthy and united mix of culture and race.

Cross-cultural gospel cooperation and witness to the community is critically important.

With my family, we have been privileged to take part in this cooperative communion and we have been embraced in love by many Aboriginal brethren.

The doctrines of grace and the sovereignty of God at the heart of the biblical gospel are desperately needed to build upon the rock and not the sand, to see believers grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord.

The Gaius Trust seeks to support and equip gospel workers and churches in this context.

For many years Stephen was Letters Editor at ET. He has been involved in gospel ministry among indigenous peoples of New South Wales for the past twelve years. He is a trustee of The Gaius Trust, which exists to channel support from the UK for such ministry, www.gaiustrust.org.

By Stephen Bignall, Pastor of Wee Waa Presbyterian Church in New South Wales, Australia.

COMMENT: UK evangelical growth data is encouraging, but beware trusting in numbers alone

It is encouraging to read the reports produced by mathematician Dr John Hayward showing that evangelical churches are growing, while churches that have abandoned the Bible are declining (see p.2). If liberal churches are simply offering the same ‘progressive’ message as the world, it stands to reason that people won’t bother going to church. That should be a warning to us all not to get too comfortable with our culture, but rather to preach the gospel no matter how counter-cultural it may be.

However, we should beware trusting in numbers. For one thing, as Dr Hayward himself says, forecast modelling is only as good as the data that you put into it. And models depend very much on certain in-built assumptions. There are also other factors (‘events, dear boy’) that cannot ever be predicted. So we should have an open mind when looking at the forecasts provided by Dr Hayward.

But even if the forecast about evangelical growth proves to be accurate, we should beware. For one thing, the definition of ‘evangelical’ is notoriously elastic. It may include churches, denominations, and ministries that use questionable techniques and methods for attracting large crowds of people. This can give the appearance of impressive numerical growth without any true lasting spiritual fruit. We’d rather see one soul truly converted by the gospel than a thousand phoney converts attracted by mere gimmicks.

The Bible itself warns us against trusting in numbers. Whether it is Gideon’s army being reduced to 300 men, or David being admonished for conducting a census, the Bible teaches us that numbers aren’t everything. Yes, Scripture tells us that the Kingdom will increase to the end of the earth. Yes, Scripture tells us there will be a great multitude who are saved. Yes, wanting to see many more souls saved can never be wrong. But ultimately, our strength is not to found in numbers. Our faith must be in the Lord, now and always.

GUEST COLUMN: A preview of paradise

Standing shoulder to shoulder with two brothers – one I knew well and one I didn’t – we were enjoying singing God’s praises. In a room packed with brothers and sisters of different ages. From all across the country. Face to face fellowship. No distancing. No fear.

It all feels so natural because it is. Doubly so. Mixing is normal human behaviour. But Christian conferences also provide a foretaste of heaven. We now appreciate in-person gatherings like never before. Even climate activists readily justified the huge carbon footprint of COP26 because they knew that personal contact matters.

Heaven’s citizens have been desperate to gather. Those with evangelistic fervour have been back on mission teams. Those seeking brotherhood in ministry have been to pastors’ conferences. Those thrown together by geography have been back as gathered churches. The local church gathering is a preview of paradise: heaven’s citizens gathering in the presence of their king to be the worshippers their God is seeking.

But a Sunday service is only one high point of the local church community. With no restrictions now on gathering in homes there is full freedom to fellowship. Believers know each other as fellow citizens of heaven to be embraced (metaphorically for some of us!), not vectors of disease to be avoided.

The enemy of our souls is enraged. He was much happier when we were apart. To him, churches are hostile cells disloyal to the prince of this world. He hates to see heaven’s citizens gather, to see their morale rise.

Once the initial excitement has worn off, he is keen to remind us of the reality of the local church. It’s full of sinners like me. Each with our idiosyncrasies. Each able to rub others up the wrong way. The devil loved the bubble mentality, the all-about-me-and-my-family thinking: ‘I’ve got my bubble and I’ll only leave it to access people when it is beneficial to me.’ Defaulting to looking in rather than looking out. And the happier that people are as a couple or a family, the more tempting it is for this thinking to linger on.

I remember being surprised to hear an experienced elder advocate a key contribution of a member: just be there. It was a different take to asking what gifts a person could bring to the church. But he was on to something. If it’s only worth me being there if I have a defined role, then when it’s not my turn on the rota it’s tempting to give the meeting a miss or not to stick around to fellowship. But if just being there is key, then it’s different. My presence encourages others, makes me dependable, and gives me opportunities for deeper relationships.

A friend recently wondered whether he could attend his preferred church though it meant a 30 minute drive. An older believer told him that he could, as long as he resolved that the distance should never become an excuse for not fully engaging in the life of the church; that a tiring day at work should not stop him attending midweek. People are currently travelling the length and breadth of the country to renew relationships. Why don’t they just Zoom? We know the answer!

When we’re face-to-face around the tree of life, we’ll know that devoting ourselves to our local fellowships was worth it. It will have been worth the travel. Worth the priority over family demands. Worth the investment of time. Our vital need for deep fellowship may come sooner should persecution or personal trial arise. Among the storms of life, how wonderful to have sympathetic company as we nightly pitch our moving tent a day’s march nearer home.

As John put it, ‘I would rather not write with pen and ink. I hope to see you soon, and we will talk face to face’ (3 John 13-14).

Paul Smith, full-time elder at Grace Baptist Church, Broadstairs, Kent.

A SHRINK THINKS... Is faith genetic?

Following the Nobel prize-winning discovery of the structure of DNA in 1953, immense advances have been and continue to be made in our understanding of the structure and function of DNA and of how the genes encoded in it work. Alongside and bound up with this have been advances in our understanding of heredity.

Some of what we have learned has encouraged Christians by supporting the Bible’s teaching. Most obviously, genetic studies have proven not just that men and women have different chromosomes, but that established sex differences in physiology and psychology are driven by genetic differences. Yes, contrary to many current arguments, men and women are fundamentally different! But other genetic discoveries have made Christians uncomfortable, indicating that key aspects of our beliefs and behaviour are also driven by our genes.

Genetic studies of intelligence have long made people uncomfortable. Various measures of intelligence, IQ tests, have shown that intelligence is about 50–60 per cent inherited. Interestingly, studies showing a similar level of heredity for height have never excited much of a reaction. The rationale seems to be that no one worries about genes determining our height but we like to believe our intelligence is free and can be improved by education and training.

The genetics of intelligence became much more controversial when studies showed there are genetically determined differences in intelligence between the sexes. In fact, these IQ differences are quite small and subtle compared with the much larger differences between individuals. And more importantly, they have no bearing on our value as image-bearing human beings.

Let me make you more uncomfortable. A range of specific types of behaviour have been shown to be ‘genetically determined’. For example, there is strong evidence that aggression has a substantial genetic basis and so angry outbursts and fighting and murder have a basis in our genes. We might say these sins are ‘genetically determined’. But this language of determination is problematic and fundamentally misleading. And not just the language, for we are not dabbling in mere semantics. It misleads about what we mean by such a real genetic effect. There is not a gene for aggression which directs me to hit a colleague at work who annoys me. I’ve never read anything on this by a geneticist or heard a geneticist argue for determination by genes meaning we are robots programmed to behave in fixed ways and so are not responsible for our behaviour.

This isn’t only because saying that aggression is about 30 per cent genetic obviously means that most, the other 70 per cent, is due to something else, suggesting a large measure of freedom from our genes to choose what we say and do. It is because genes operate at the molecular level generating a complex series of other molecular signals and cascading consequences which remain far-off from the much higher level of human behaviour. Eventually such molecular interactions impact on our behaviour, but it is very far from being a one-to-one linkage.

Let us go to what might be the highest level of discomfort: evidence that religious faith is genetic. Here the evidence is weaker. But it seems to me that there is convincing evidence that religious patterns of behaviour, such as praying every day or going to church every week, have a genetic basis, as does faith itself, our ability to trust in God. We might (inaccurately and simplistically) say ‘faith is genetically determined’. And it is this language of genetic determination which makes people, including Christians, uncomfortable, isn’t it?

We recoil from the uncomfortable idea that our decisions and our everyday behaviours, even our personalities, even our faith, are all written in our genes. I have highlighted above that such determinism is a simplistic and misleading way of presenting genetics. But we can ask: should this concern us anyway? Isn’t this what we expect?

The Bible teaches God determines human actions and decisions, ‘The plans of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from the Lord’ (Proverbs 16:1), and ‘The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps’ (Proverbs 16:9). Isaiah tells us that the cruel thoughts and actions of the king of Assyria, which he experienced as being his own and boasted of, were in fact determined by the Lord who wielded him as his instrument (Isaiah 10:5-15). God is working out his will and good pleasure through their lives (Philippians 2:13) and he does so using our genes.

He is the Potter who has made us the clay creatures we are and our genes are just one mechanism he uses to accomplish this shaping, aren’t they? He encodes our genes for intelligence and aggression and religious behaviour and faith. They are his genes and the codes he writes into them for us are what makes us who we are and shapes why we behave as we do. The science of genetics and so-called genetic determinism should give no cause for concern to those of us who have a high view of God’s providence. Just as a high view of God’s sovereignty does not entail denying human freedom and responsibility, neither does an acknowledgement of ‘determinism’ from our genes.

Alan Thomas, Professor and Consultant in Psychiatry. Elder at Newcastle Reformed Evangelical Church.

THINKING IT THROUGH: All things to all men – a call to conformity?

In this column last month, I highlighted Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 9:21: ‘I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some.’ Paul declared that he was willing to adapt his personal lifestyle for the sake of the gospel. But too often his words have been applied to issues that Paul wasn’t discussing at all.

I listed three ways they’ve often been misapplied. We’re told by some on the basis of Paul’s words that we must adapt the gospel message in order to avoid misunderstanding or offence in a particular cultural setting. We’re told by others that we must be prepared to adapt our evangelistic methods to match the culture of the people we’re trying to reach. And we’re told by others again that we must be prepared to reshape the life of the local church to make it culturally attractive to unbelievers. I gave you examples of preachers and writers who have applied Paul’s words in all those ways.

I’m sure you’ve all encountered these arguments. And we can all understand the big lesson our friends are drawing from Paul’s words. They’re saying that people whom we contact through our evangelistic activities or who come into our churches should feel that we are just the same sort of people that they are. We talk the same language, we use the same methods to communicate, we have the same interests, we do things the same way they do.

The idea is that when they come among us, they should feel comfortable with what they find. They should feel that they’re in an atmosphere with which they’re familiar – because what they find reflects the culture that they already know. I’ve heard it said quite simply that evangelical churches must be prepared to adopt every feature of the prevailing culture unless it’s actually sinful, or unless God has explicitly condemned it.

I remember talking with a missionary who was working in a remote area of Central Asia. He was explaining to me the difficulty of reaching women in that society with the gospel. The women are kept in seclusion. If you visit a home you can talk to the men, but the women are shut away in a back room. And I said to him, ‘Well, what a wonderful day it will be when a gospel church is established in that community and for the first time men and women sit together at the Lord’s table.’ He looked at me horrified. ‘Oh!’ he said, ‘we could never encourage that. We’ve got to respect the culture.’

In a culture where men and women never mix, the church must shape its life to match that culture. For him, that’s what 1 Corinthians 9:21 required.

The New Testament emphasis

Now what I want to ask is this. Is this the emphasis we find in the New Testament? Did Christ and his apostles have this very positive relationship with the culture of the day? Did the New Testament writers encourage the churches to have that sort of accepting attitude to the prevailing culture?

Let’s start with the message. Did Jesus and his disciples avoid expressing things in ways that would be difficult for people to accept, given their culture? Just think of Jesus’s words to the crowd in John 6: ‘I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread he will live for ever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh’ (v. 51). He was telling his hearers that they must eat his flesh! It would have been a gross thing to say in almost any culture. But in that Jewish culture, with its rigid food laws, it was even more offensive. Jesus couldn’t have found a more offensive image by which to present his call to faith.

They were bewildered. ‘How can this man give us his flesh to eat?’ (v. 52). But did Jesus switch to another way of expressing things that would be more acceptable in their culture? No, he actually ratcheted up the offensiveness of the picture he was using. ‘Truly, truly I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you... my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink...’ (vv. 53 & 55). And the result of Jesus using such language? Many were offended. ‘And after this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him’ (v. 66)

I’m sure you can think of many other examples. Paul reminded the Corinthian believers of the message he preached when he came to Corinth. ‘I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified’ (1 Corinthians 2:2). Paul knew very well that to preach Christ crucified was culturally unacceptable, ‘a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles’ (1:23). Cicero famously declared, ‘The mere name of the cross should be far removed, not only from the persons of Roman citizens but from their thoughts, and eyes, and ears.’ Talking about the cross in that culture meant that Paul was going to be written off by many as a lunatic repeating obscenities.

Couldn’t Paul at least have used a more culturally acceptable word to describe the death of Christ? Perhaps he should have spoken, for example, of Christ’s martyrdom. That might, at least, have won him a hearing. But no, Paul was determined to use the most culturally offensive word possible.

So when it comes to the gospel message, if we’re following the example of Jesus and Paul, Christians have to be prepared to preach it in ways that are contrary to cultural norms and expectations.

Evangelistic methods

What about evangelistic methods? And what about the worship and life of the church? How concerned were Jesus and his apostles to adapt themselves to the culture around them in these areas?

Let me offer you some examples. Take the familiar story in Mark 3:31-35 as an example of Jesus’s evangelistic approach. The Lord Jesus was in someone’s home, preaching and teaching. A crowd was sitting around him listening. Jesus was given a message: ‘Your mother and brothers are outside, seeking you.’ Clearly his family expected him to exit the house and join them.

Jesus was living in a culture which put tremendous emphasis on family relationships. The cultural expectation was that duty to parents should come before duty to anyone else. But how did Jesus respond to the message he received? ‘Who are my mother and brothers?’ he asked. And then he looked around the room at the seated disciples and said, ‘Here are my mother and brothers! Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.’ He made it clear that he would not give priority to his natural family over these hungry hearers. If his mother and brothers wanted to see him, they must come in and join the circle of those who listened to his preaching.

What Jesus did was utterly counter-cultural. We can be sure that ripples of disapproval will have spread through the whole community. But Jesus was making no attempt to accommodate cultural sensitivities.

Take another familiar story – the story of Jesus’s visit to the home of Martha and Mary (Luke 10:38-42). ‘Mary sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching.’ To sit at a rabbi’s feet meant that the rabbi publicly acknowledged you as one of his disciples. (We’re told in Acts 22:3 that Paul sat at the feet of Rabbi Gamaliel.) But in that culture, it was unthinkable that a rabbi would accept a woman as a disciple. Rabbi Eliezer declared, ‘If any man gives his daughter a knowledge of the Law it is as though he taught her lechery!’ Again, Jesus was doing something utterly counter-cultural – something that would send shock waves of disapproval through the whole village.

Think too of the Passover meal that Jesus ate on the night that he was betrayed. Again, you must remember the Jewish concern for family life. The occasion in the year when that reached its peak was Passover night. Custom demanded that all the family should be together at the Passover meal. But Jesus, the natural head of the family, left his mother and brothers to eat without him. Instead he arranged his own alternative Passover supper with his alternative family, his disciples. Jesus and his disciples, the nucleus of the church-to-be, gathered for an act of solemn worship and the way they did it was totally counter-cultural.

The Apostle Paul’s approach

Think about Paul. We read in Acts 18:18 of Paul’s departure from Corinth. He had completed his ministry there. ‘At Cenchrea (Corinth’s seaport) he had cut his hair, for he was under a vow.’ Paul had taken a Nazirite vow which bound him for the time that he was in Corinth. During that time he could not cut his hair. All the time he had been in Corinth, he’d been letting his hair grow.

Now remember the words Paul wrote to the Christians in Corinth. ‘Does not nature itself teach you that if a man wears long hair it is a disgrace for him?’ (1 Corinthians 11:14). Paul grew his hair long in a city where everyone thought long hair was a shame for a man. It was a society where people were proud of being civilised, sophisticated. And that was shown in the way they dressed, the way they wore their hair. You’ve seen the pictures or statues of your civilised Greek man – with short hair, often clean-shaven too.

Paul could have adopted that image, dressed like a Greek philosopher, used the fashionable rhetoric, presented himself as the sort of figure who was respected in that culture. But when Paul lived in Corinth, his very appearance was a refusal to conform to their culture. When Paul stood in the market place preaching the gospel, everyone knew straightaway that he didn’t share their cultural values.

And what job did he take to support himself in Corinth? He worked as a tentmaker. With his skills he would have had no problem finding work as a scribe, a secretary, an accountant. But he chose to work with his hands – in a society that despised manual work. Again Paul’s choice was an affront to the values of the prevailing culture.

Think of the implications for the church in Corinth. When wealthy, cultured Greeks joined the church in Corinth, they had to admit to their friends that they were listening week by week not to a well-paid, sophisticated rhetorician but to a long-haired manual labourer! What an embarrassment in that society!

Still in 1 Corinthians, think about Paul’s insistence that at the Lord’s supper all the members of the church must eat the Lord’s supper together without any precedence given to rank or wealth (1 Corinthians 11:17-22, 33-34). In fact, he said that they must eat from a single loaf and drink from a single cup (10:15-18). Even in our culture that would be surprising. But in the context of the Graeco-Roman world, it was utterly shocking! People of every social class drinking from a single cup? In that rigidly stratified world, the social pecking order had to be observed in every social activity. Paul was insisting that the church in Corinth should openly defy the prevailing culture.

Then think about chapters 12–14 of the letter. In 12:2 Paul describes the sort of worship the pagans of Corinth were used to. People were ‘led away’ (we would say ‘carried away’), swept off by irrational impulses in their worship of dumb idols. Greek religion was largely a religion of ecstatic experiences and frenzied uncontrolled behaviour. That was the culture. So Paul devoted those chapters to warning the Corinthians that there must there be no hint of that in their worship.

Look especially at 15:13-19. Their worship must be orderly, rational, controlled. They must speak only words which they understood or that could be translated. Nothing must be said in an unknown tongue and then left uninterpreted. There were to be no mystic ravings (15:13-19). The prophets must stay in control of themselves. In pagan culture you might have a dozen people all possessed by some strange spirit and all speaking at once. But it was not to be so in the church. If a prophet had something to say, others must simply sit down and listen (15:29-32).

Paul could have said, ‘Well they’re used to hearing several different people all speaking at once. That’s normal in their culture, so we must accept it.’ Or he could have said ‘Well, they’re not used to structured, ordered worship with all this emphasis on words and rational thought. We must adapt to their expectations.’ But Paul takes exactly the opposite stance. He tells the Corinthian believers that the way they worship must stand in radical contrast to everything that was normal in their culture.

Look now at 1 Timothy 2:8-15. In those verses Paul forbids the women in the churches to play any leading role in worship. ‘I desire then that in every place the men should pray lifting holy hands... Let a woman learn quietly with all submissiveness. I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather she is to remain quiet.’

Again, Paul’s words would have been shocking in a Graeco-Roman context. It was taken for granted that women could play a prominent role in religious movements and activities. In Rome, the Vestal Virgins – priestesses of Vesta – commanded unrivalled respect and authority. In Asia Minor, women served as priestesses in the temples, prophesied, led public processions, made sacrifices. Yet Paul says flatly, ‘In our churches, women must remain quiet!’ And of all places, he said it in a letter to be read in Ephesus, the city that was dominated by the temple of Diana. She was the mother-goddess; she had hundreds of priestesses leading the worship in her temple. For the church in Ephesus to obey Paul’s words meant head-on confrontation with the prevailing culture.

And finally, think of Onesimus, the runaway slave whom Paul sent back to his master and to the church in his master’s house. Paul doesn’t say that Onesimus should be set free. But he writes this to his master: ‘if you consider me as your partner, receive him as you would receive me’ (v. 17). He says that Onesimus must be received as ‘more than a slave, as a beloved brother’ (v. 16). And when he wrote to the church in Colosse, Paul declared Onesimus to be ‘our faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you’ (Colossians 4:9). Onesimus was to be received as one of the church family with the same privileges as any other member.

I doubt whether any of us can really begin to take in just how utterly shocking Paul’s words would have been in that culture. Onesimus the slave would sit at the Lord’s table along with his master and other members of the family. He would share one loaf with them. He would drink from the same cup as them. At the end of the meal he would exchange a holy kiss with his fellow-believers. And this is in a society where slaves never sat in the presence of their masters. Slaves walked a pace behind their masters. They were spoken of as ‘two-legged animals’. If the church put Paul’s words into action, it would be seen as a dangerous and revolutionary cult. Other slaveowners would be outraged. And yet Paul didn’t say with my missionary friend, ‘We must respect cultural sensitivities.’ His policy meant total confrontation with the prevailing culture.

Radically different

So what do you think? Were Jesus and his disciples anxious to reflect the prevailing culture in their evangelism, their worship, the way they built churches? It doesn’t look like it, does it?

Of course there were many things New Testament Christians did that would have been culturally familiar and acceptable. They gave honour to the elderly. They prayed for the Emperor and all in authority. But I am sure of this: if outsiders had walked into the church in Corinth or Ephesus, what would have hit them was not how familiar it all seemed and how easy it was for them to fit in. It would have been how radically and bizarrely different it was from anything they’d ever known.

They would have felt as if they had stepped into a Through the Looking-Glass world. A world where men and women sat side by side and yet where there was no hint of sexual dalliance. A world where men and only men led the worship. A world where worshippers were filled with the Spirit, and yet where there was no wild behaviour, no mystic ravings, where all were encouraged to use their minds. A world where – perhaps most bizarre of all – slaves and their masters gathered on equal terms, sat at the same table, drank from the same cup.

These outsiders would have come away feeling as if they’d stepped into a world where everything had been turned upside down. In fact that’s exactly what they did say: ‘These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also’ (Acts 17:6).

Conformity to the surrounding culture was clearly not the policy of Jesus or his apostles. So the question is this: What principles were believers to adopt as they preached the gospel and built churches? If the prevailing culture was not to shape their work, what blueprint should they follow?

The principles believers should adopt

First they must heed God’s commands. There were points at which Paul would simply quote a verse from the Old Testament or a word spoken by Jesus: ‘Every charge must be established out of the mouth of two or three witnesses’ (2 Corinthians 13:1).‘The labourer deserves his wages’ (1 Timothy 5:18). These were to be rules for all the churches, regardless of what was regarded as normal in contemporary society.

But what about all the issues on which there was no direct word from God? How did the apostles and other New Testament writers approach them? I would suggest that they approached them on the basis of one great principle. It’s this. God created man in his own image. Man is supposed to reflect God’s own being. Everything a human being does is supposed to reflect God’s own character and God’s own ways. That’s the way we must assess any cultural practice. Is it God-like? When people live in that way, are they living and acting as God’s image bearers?

Now, where in this world would you expect to see people living most faithfully as God’s image bearers? You’d surely expect to find individual Christians doing that. You’d expect to find Christian families doing that. But supremely you’d expect to see churches doing that. The church, corporately, is supposed to be God’s image bearer in the world. Paul calls the church the one new man, the restored humanity (Ephesians 2:15). When people look at the churches they should see the new, restored humanity, mirroring God’s own being.

That’s the great principle. We’re not in the business of trying to be as much like the world as possible. We’re in the business of trying to be as much like God as possible. When we’re trying to decide how the church should live and operate, we don’t ask, ‘Does this fit with the world around us?’ Rather, we ask, Does this fit with the God we’re supposed to be like?

Think for a moment about some of the attributes of God. Start with the fact that God is triune. Within the one being of God are three interacting persons, totally loyal, totally involved with one another, never acting independently of one another. Well then, if the church is to be like God, there’s no room for individualism in the church. The church members really do have to be one.

And yet within the Trinity there is diversity. Though the three persons of the Trinity are equal in power and glory, they have different roles. The Father is the initiator, the Head. The Son listens to the Father and does the will of the Father. The Holy Spirit carries through the purposes of the Father and the Son. So surely the church should be like that – every member equally valued, and yet some leading and some following. The church must mirror God’s own life.

The Triune God is orderly. ‘God is not a God of confusion but of peace’ (1 Corinthians 14:33). So Paul says our church life and worship must never lapse into disorder. The church must mirror God’s character. We could continue. God is creative. God is rational. God is punctual. God is wise. God uses words. God keeps records of the past. God plans for the future. So churches must seek to mirror God in all these ways.

Everything about the church and its life should reflect God’s being and character. And when it does, that will be shocking to a godless society. When people come among us, we will hear them saying, ‘We’ve never seen anything like this before.’ The message we preach, the way we preach it, the way we worship, the way we relate to one another, all will be a direct challenge to everything their culture has told them is normal.

Maybe they’ll hate it. Maybe they’ll think, ‘These people are really weird.’ But they’ll have caught a glimpse of what God is like because they’ll have seen him imaged in his people. Our calling is to build churches that shine out God’s being and character to the world.

All Bible quotations in this article are taken from the Holy Bible, English Standard Version, published by HarperCollins Publishers © 2001.

The content of this article has been adapted from talks first given at the God’s Glory Our Joy conference. Recordings of the original talks may be found at https://ggoj.org.uk/2012/2012-sermons

Stephen Rees is pastor of Grace Baptist Church, Stockport

A WALK WITH MR O: There is hearing, and there is hearing!

Mr O, there’s a group of us who became friends at the Christian camps we have been on through the years. We meet up from time to time, but last month was the first time since Covid.

I reckon that you really enjoyed that!

Yes, it was good to catch up, to share our experiences, and to pray together. But, to be honest, it left me rather sad.

And why was that?

Well, almost every one of us had to say that our churches are no longer the happy places they used to be. There are so many tensions. They have probably been there for a long time, but Covid seems to have brought them into the open. Lots of the Lord’s people are simply not getting on with each other.

And, in your view, what does the Lord Jesus Christ think of that?

He must be broken-hearted. I can’t believe that he wants things to be like that. Churches are precious to him, aren’t they? He bled for his people. He died for them. He surely can’t want gospel-loving Christians to be uncomfortable with each other.

I’m agreeing with everything you say, and I’m assuming that you want to ask me something about all this.

Yes, Mr O! Why has all this happened? What is the explanation? And what is the cure?

The answer is straightforward. The devil is obviously at work. But we must go beyond that. The devil could not have done what he’s done if each believer in each church were regularly hearing what the Lord Jesus Christ is saying to them.

Wait a minute, Mr O. We are talking about people who read their Bibles at home, who listen to sound Bible exposition on Sundays, and who go each week to church Bible studies. So they are regularly hearing what the Lord has to say to them, aren’t they?

Yes, and no. This is because there is hearing – and there is hearing!

I’m sorry, but I don’t know what you mean.

Let’s go to Galilee and hear our Lord telling his parable of the sower. He is sitting in a small boat off shore, teaching a great crowd of people on the beach. Everyone is hearing what he has to say. They are so attentive that they can all easily repeat his parable. But then he says to them all, ‘He who has ears to hear, let him hear.’

So it was possible to hear the Lord, and yet not to hear him at all!

Exactly! We see the same thing in the epistle to the Hebrews where the apostle, writing to believers, quotes Psalm 95:7-8 three times in two minutes: ‘Today, if you will hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.’ Those Christians were hearing the inspired epistle read to them, but were not necessarily hearing the Saviour’s voice. And the apostle is making it plain that they will never hear that voice unless they want to. This implies, of course, that they must be willing to do what the voice says.

I’m beginning to understand. In the Revelation, is that why each of the seven letters to the churches ends by saying, ‘He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches’?

Yes. Having ears to hear means that our physical ears hear the infallible Word of God through the preacher, the reader, or whoever; our minds understand what is being said; but something deeper is going on. In our heart of hearts we want to have dealings with Christ himself. We want to do what he wants us to do. So we pray, and we wait, and we long, and we listen, and then, in the depths of our soul, we hear the ‘still small voice’, or – as I would prefer to translate it – ‘the voice of a gentle silence’. This experience does not come to hardened hearts. If our hearts are soft we find that silently (so silently), delightfully, irresistibly, an inward conviction takes hold of us and propels us in a certain direction. It is the Lord. It is the lack of this spiritual experience which is the cause of all our church troubles.

Stuart Olyott, is an actively retired minister and conference speaker. He preaches most Sunday mornings at Caergwrle Evangelical Church.

CRUNCH POINTS: Skipping church to spend time with the grandchildren

We all value biblical advice from our elders, the first ones to whom we turn for counsel. Jeremy Walker outlines the kind of answer he might give to a question received at the chapel door.

My visiting family don’t want to come to church. Can I attend only one service so that I can spend time with my grandchildren?

I know how much you love your family, and appreciate that this is difficult. If you were a member of a church which only has one service, perhaps it would be easier… or you might then be asking whether or not you have to come to that service! We must make sure we do not shave off obedience by degrees, all the while persuading ourselves that we have a good reason for doing so.

Your difficulty puts me in mind of what our Lord said in Mark 3:31-35, when he was among his followers and they told him that his mother and brothers were outside calling for him. He looked around at those who sat about him, and said ‘Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of God is my brother and my sister and mother.’

Or consider Luke 14:26, where the Saviour insists that coming to him means an attachment that makes every other love comparable to hatred.

The issue is not whether or not you love your children and grandchildren, but where that fits in your ‘hierarchy of love’. As Christians, our love to God is the supreme love: it informs and conditions every other love. Our love to God’s people is then subject to that love: in it we recognise our true spiritual family – those who do God’s will – and engage with them as a matter of priority.

Even our Lord, who honoured the fifth commandment perfectly, nevertheless made his love to his natural family subordinate to his love to God and his people.

So, how do you express your proper love to your natural family (if unbelievers) in relation to your love to God and his people? First and foremost, you can love them by showing that you love God most. One of the ways in which we win to God those whom we love is not by communicating that they are more important than God, but by showing them that God is first in our affections.

If we as God’s people genuinely understand that the gathering of the church on the Lord’s day is the occasion when God draws near to us and we draw near to him, the closest to heaven that we get upon earth, then only a genuine providential hindrance will keep us from being there. We can lovingly communicate that to our families.

Beyond that, of course, we should make every effort to express our love in word and deed to our family – not with an indulgent but with a truly sacrificial love. Let your family be in no doubt of your regard and concern for them, body and soul, and your willingness to put yourself out in order to spend time with them and invest in them.

Don’t spring this on them, either. Make sure you explain what you want to do and why, listen carefully to any responses, and address them humbly and gently. But show them that, for you, God comes first.

Remember, too, that there are others in the church who may be looking to you as an older Christian and – I hope – learning what it means to put God first in our lives. Sadly, many of us climb no higher in serving Christ than those from whom we learn. You can set a wonderful example for us all here.

I know that this is painful, but remember that hierarchy of love: God, God’s people, and others. And the best way we show our love to others, including to God’s people, is not by putting them first, but God.

If you would like an answer to a crunch question, please email crunchpoints@evangelical-times.org. We cannot guarantee an answer to every question.

Jeremy Walker, pastor of Maidenbower Baptist Church in Crawley.

NEWS

News in brief

Call for robust gambling levy

MPs have stressed the need for a ‘robust’ levy on betting companies, after indications from government that a long-awaited White Paper on gambling reform would not include the measure. Campaigner Iain Duncan Smith MP, who has led calls for gambling reform, has expressed alarm at the prospect of a climb down.

Evangelicals help addicts

Christian groups and churches in Scotland have helped more than 2,300 individuals to recover from addiction over the past decade, research has shown. In June, the Evangelical Alliance and Serve Scotland presented their report, Stories of Hope: Addiction Recovery, at the Scottish Parliament to highlight the work of churches to tackle addiction.

End-of-life secrecy win

Two families have won the right to challenge the secrecy of life and death proceedings in the Family Division of the High Court. Supported by the Christian Legal Centre, parents Rashid and Aliya Abbasi, and Lanre Haastrup, can now appeal a High Court ruling that said decisions made by clinicians involved in end-of-life cases should remain secret forever.

Bible must be reinterpreted

A liberal Church of Scotland minister says the Bible must be reinterpreted according to modern ideas, as he voiced his support for gay weddings to be allowed in the Kirk. Revd Scott Rennie, who was speaking on BBC Radio, was challenged by Revd Professor Andrew McGowan, who said the Scriptures are clear and they do not change.

PTS Spring Study Day

The Protestant Truth Society held its Spring Conference in March. The atonement and victory of Christ was the theme, addressed in two messages by speaker and author Keith Ferdinando. Keith spoke from Colossians 2 and Revelation 12. The event was hosted by Kensit Evangelical Church in north London.

50 years for Malcolm Watts

In March a thanksgiving service marking 50 years’ of ministry from Revd Malcolm Watts was held at Dinton Village Hall, near Salisbury. Since 1971, Malcolm has ministered at Emmanuel Church Salisbury. Tributes highlighted Malcolm’s work with The Bible League, The Trinitarian Bible Society, and Salisbury Reformed Seminary. Maurice Roberts then preached from 1 Corinthians 1.

Marian martyr remembered

A small crowd of 40 gathered in Chester in April to commemorate the death of George Marsh, a Marian martyr burned at the stake in 1555. A wreath was laid at Marsh’s memorial in the Chester suburb of Boughton. The event also involved an open-air witness in Chester town centre.

Resurrection belief polled

A February poll of 4,000 UK residents revealed that almost half (45%) believe in Christ’s resurrection. Conducted by Savanta ComRes, the survey also indicated that 1 in 3 non-Christians, after conversing with a Christian, wanted to know more about Jesus. 20% of those surveyed said they believed Jesus to be God.

‘All out for God’ event

Christians took part in ‘All Out For God’ where they stood for five minutes in silence, praying for the persecuted church worldwide. Release International chief executive Paul Robinson said, ‘Our five minutes of silence represents our determination to stand up for those who have no voice.’

Bid for assisted suicide blocked

An attempt to legalise assisted suicide in the US state of Connecticut has failed for the 10th time, after senators voted against it. Had the bill passed, terminally ill patients would have been able to legally obtain drugs to kill themselves. One senator who opposed the law called it ‘horrible public policy’.

Persecution in Myanmar

Christians are being attacked and targeted in Myanmar according to fresh reports. Christian persecution charity Open Doors says there are things that can be done to help. A spokesperson said, ‘We can be petitioning government, we can be writing to local MPs, to say essentially, don’t forget Myanmar, in the preoccupation with Ukraine.’

Baseball players snub LGBT logo

A group of American baseball players have declined to wear customized uniforms for the annual LGBT pride night, stating the celebration conflicts with their Christian faith. One of the players, Jason Adam, said, ‘We don’t want to encourage it if we believe in Jesus, who’s encouraged us to live a lifestyle that would abstain from that behaviour.’

Street preacher wins Covid-19 arrest case

A Christian street preacher who was arrested on Easter Sunday 2020 for supporting homeless people during the Covid lockdown has won his two-year legal battle.

Andrew Sathiyavan, 47 (pictured), was arrested, detained in a police cell, and issued with a fine for preaching and supporting the homeless during lockdown.

A Deputy District Judge had initially upheld his fine, but now a Crown Court Judge has overturned that decision.

The ruling states that Sathiyavan had a reasonable excuse for leaving his house during the lockdown under the regulations and that he was providing ‘voluntary and charitable services’.

His arrest was captured on video, with the footage showing police telling Sathiyavan that preaching the gospel was ‘not allowed’ under the regulations and that his preaching was ‘non-essential’ and was ‘anti-social behaviour’.

Sathiyavan disagreed, as he believed he was a religious key worker and therefore exempt from the restrictions.

His voluntary work involves providing material, emotional, and spiritual support to the homeless and others who were suffering from drug and alcohol addictions.

Supported by the Christian Legal Centre, Sathiyavan’s lawyer, Michael Phillips, argued in court that the actions of the police were ‘disproportionate’.

Phillips said the regulations, as interpreted by the police officer on the day, constituted an ‘unreasonable interference with the Mr Sathiyavan’s rights under Article 9 of the European Convention of Human Rights’.

Ruling in his favour, the Crown Court emphasised that Sathiyavan’s ‘motives were genuine; that he believed he was carrying out a serious endeavour’.

The Court cited his upbringing in Sri Lanka serving the poor and Jesus’s commission to his disciples in Matthew 28 to ‘go and make disciples of all nations’.

Furthermore, the ruling stated, ‘We accepted that, on that particular Easter Day, the fact that there were few people on the High Street in Sutton was immaterial to Mr Sathiyavan for, as he told the Court, if one person was “saved” that was sufficient as he would have done as Christ did, namely, to go in search of the one lost sheep.’

Responding to the outcome, Sathiyavan said, ‘I am relieved that the case against me has finally been dropped. I was treated like a criminal for preaching about Jesus Christ.’

‘However,’ he added, ‘my story reflects a wider problem with how the police view, perceive, and handle Christian ministry and free speech on our streets.’

Andrea Williams of the Christian Legal Centre said, ‘The previous ruling, which said that Andy should have taken his work preaching and supporting the homeless online, was simply wrong and failed to understand and engage with what Christian ministry is.’

By Mike Judge, Editor

Poll shows the public has a greatly inflated view of LGBT numbers

A survey for the Campaign for Common Sense has found that the British public hugely overestimates the size of the LGBT community.

The pollster YouGov surveyed 1,800 people, asking them to estimate how many people are transgender. The British public thought it was about 5 per cent of the population, but in reality it is somewhere between 0.3 per cent and 0.7 per cent.

People thought gay and lesbians made up 15 per cent of the population, while the true number is 1.8 per cent. Muslims were perceived to make up 15 per cent, but the real number is 4 per cent.

The Campaign for Common Sense said, ‘Diversity, particularly in the media, is evidently a positive and laudable aim.

‘What these results show, however, is that they are playing into a misconception about Britain that under-represents some groups and over-represents others.’

The group added, ‘We risk going down the American route of seeing everything through the prism of identity.’

Tory MP Sir John Hayes said, ‘This distorted impression created by much of the broadcast and online media is so out of tune with the facts as to befuddle people about the true character of Britain.’

Data shows evangelical churches will outnumber liberal churches by the middle of the century

Evangelical churches are increasing in size in the UK, but older more liberal denominations are facing ‘extinction’, according to mathematician Dr John Hayward.

He examined statistics of UK denominations between the years 2000 and 2020. He used the annual rate of change of membership for the five years to 2020 to estimate the current strength of the denominations.

Hayward writes, ‘We heard about R numbers during the Covid outbreak. For churches, I call it the “Reproduction Potential”.’

A number greater than one means growth, a number less than one means decline, and a number of exactly one means holding steady.

Using his own modelling – which he admits depends on the quality of the data being fed into it, together with certain front-loaded assumptions – Hayward has come up with a set of findings.

He writes, ‘The main factor in church decline is the lack of conversions. …the reproduction potential shows that conversion is at its worst in the Welsh and Scottish churches.’

He adds, ‘The Welsh denominations are doing particularly poorly: The Welsh Presbyterian, the Church in Wales and the Union of Welsh Independents.’

But three groups appeared to be growing: FIEC, Newfrontiers, and the Elim Pentecostal Church.

Hayward compared each denomination’s growth and decline with their alignment to progressive ideology.

He writes, ‘A person would have to be a recluse not to know that a new ideology has been taking hold in Western societies over the last few decades.

‘Many names identify it: liberal progressive; diversity, inclusion and equality; critical theory and its derivatives in race, sexuality etc.; LGBTQ+; the sexual revolution; even derogatory names such as “wokeness” and “cultural Marxism”.’

He takes same-sex marriage as ‘one of the leading shibboleths of the progressive ideology’ and examines which church denominations have adopted it.

He reports, ‘To date, no growing church has adopted same-sex marriage.’ Rather, he says, growing churches are ‘all evangelical in doctrine’.

‘Additionally, they have statements that affirm marriage as between a man and woman only – the historical and Biblical position.’

He writes, ‘All the denominations that perform same sex marriages are in significant decline and will become extinct before 2050.’

Looking at the data, Hayward states, ‘I can see that the growing evangelical congregations will have surpassed the liberal and mixed denominations by the middle of the century.’

Trainee vicar says he was blocked by the Church of England because of his socially conservative views

Trainee vicar Calvin Robinson (pictured speaking on GB News) claims the Church of England blocked him from being ordained because of his conservative beliefs.

Robinson, who is black, said he doesn’t believe the UK is institutionally racist and doesn’t support the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement.

He had spent two years at the University of Oxford training for church ministry, but he was told his curacy role was no longer available to him.

He submitted a ‘subject access request’ (SAR), which asks for all personal information the Church has on him. He discovered that complaints had been made against him because of his social views.

He told Premier Christian News that all but one of the complaints made against him were from clergy who ‘had different views on things like sexual ethics and the sanctity of marriage, and race’.

He has since decided to leave the Church of England because he believes it is heading towards ‘apostasy’, and he has joined a conservative movement within the Anglican Communion called GAFCON.

He said, ‘The way the Church [of England] is going at the moment, very publicly denouncing any government policy that it disagrees with, from Brexit to the Rwanda policy, and standing up for secular liberal progressive movements, such as BLM, LGBTQ plus, trans, climate change… but not standing up for faith, issues of pro-life, or the sanctity of marriage, the family and all these things that we adhere to… It seems to me there’s been a shift, and it’s heading towards apostasy, and it’s letting the side down.’

Robinson describes himself as a political commentator and journalist. Writing for the Daily Mail, Robinson said, ‘It seems the Church [of England] will affirm any liberal progressive secular view, but clamp down on conservative views, either political or theological.

‘If you defend family values, the sanctity of marriage, all human life being sacred, or the fact that God made us male and female, you’ll face opprobrium.

‘Something has gone wrong. The established Church is entering apostasy, and the faithful masses in the congregations and the hard-working clergy deserve better.

‘Since my ordination was blocked I’ve been contacted by clergymen and lay people up and down the country who have been sharing their stories of how they’ve been silenced by the Church for holding conservative views.

‘It is perhaps no surprise the Church has been in slow and steady decline for decades.’

Parents in Wales granted judicial review over sex education

A high court judge has granted parents in Wales the right to a judicial review over the Welsh Government’s decision to rollout Relationship and Sex Education (RSE) across primary and secondary schools in Wales.

The new RSE curriculum includes sex education down to age three, but removes the ability of parents to withdraw their child from RSE lessons. It also promotes trans ideology to children.

Back in April this year, claimants representing over 5,000 concerned parents and grandparents lodged papers with the High Court, after years of campaigning to remove RSE from the ‘mandatory element’ of the The Curriculum and Assessment (Wales) Act 2021, which starts this September.

Parents believe the mandatory teaching will mean very young children will be introduced to sensitive and inappropriate topics such as gender ideology.

They also fear being denied their time-honoured right to remove their child from sex education.

Mr Justice Turner, sitting at the Royal Courts of Justice on 27 May, granted the parents’ request, which must now be heard ahead of the September start of term.

In his ruling, Justice Turner said, ‘The issues raised on behalf of the claimants involve the consideration of complex constitutional matters with potentially very significant consequences for both parents and children.

‘The response of the defendants, although not without force, is not so obviously determinative of the issues as to justify the refusal of permission.’

One of the claimants, Kim Isherwood, head of the Public Child Protection Wales group, said, ‘After years of being ignored, the judge has recognised the seriousness of the proposed changes, the withdrawal of time-honoured parental rights, and that the RSE programme, as it stands, could have significant consequences on children’s mental and physical health.’

She added that, as parents, they believe what is happening is the ‘sexualisation of children, not the education of children. This is a social engineering experiment which must be stopped.’

The parents have instructed human rights barrister Paul Diamond to spearhead the Judicial Review. The case will be heard in the High Court in Cardiff.

Scottish abortion numbers are a ‘national tragedy’, say pro-lifers

Scottish abortion numbers are a ‘national tragedy’, a pro-life charity has claimed, as data shows 13,758 abortions were carried out in the country in 2021.

The data, released by Public Health Scotland, came days after Women’s Health Minister Maree Todd announced the DIY home abortion scheme would remain in place in Scotland, despite being introduced as a ‘temporary’ measure during the Covid-19 lockdown.

The data shows that 99% (13,676) of unborn babies were killed by chemical abortions, where the mother takes abortion drugs, and 53% (7,310) were self-administered at home.

The abortion rate in the most deprived areas of Scotland was almost twice as high as in the least deprived areas, with Dundee City showing the highest rate (18.7 per 1,000 women aged 15 to 44).

Michael Robinson, director of communications for SPUC (pictured), said, ‘Behind each of these figures lies a dead baby and a mother who lost her child to abortion.’

He added, ‘We are looking at a national tragedy here. This appalling figure shows us that abortion is becoming more and more normalised.

‘Propaganda telling women that abortion is “simple and safe”, coupled with easier access to abortion drugs, is driving up abortion numbers.’

SPUC pointed to a 2021 survey, which revealed that in 2020 alone more than 10,000 women who took DIY abortion pills in the UK required hospital treatment.

Robinson said, ‘Scotland’s abortion figures show a devastating disregard for the lives of unborn children, and the wellbeing of women.

‘The statistics reveal a catastrophic loss of unborn life arising from the Scottish government’s dangerous policy on abortion.’

BBC admits it was wrong and misleading to call J. K. Rowling’s gender views ‘very unpopular’

A BBC radio host has apologised for presenting a one-sided view on gender self-identification.

Tom Sutcliffe, who was hosting an episode of Radio 4’s Front Row, was discussing whether it was ‘morally permissible’ to enjoy the art of people ‘with whom we profoundly disagree’.

He made mention of author and playwright J. K. Rowling (pictured), stating she ‘clearly has a very unpopular opinion regarding gender identity’.

But more than 600 people complained about his comments, claiming Sutcliffe had ‘misled’ listeners with his remarks.

On 26 May, responding to one of the many complaints received about the programme, the BBC accepted that Sutcliffe’s remarks were ‘potentially misleading’.

Following this, Sutcliffe appeared on Radio 4’s Feedback programme, where he said, ‘It’s a fair criticism to say that I left the impression that there’s only one way of thinking about these things, when in fact that is anything but the truth.’

Back in 2020, J. K. Rowling hit the headlines when she used Twitter to raise concerns about radical trans ideology.

In a tweet posted on 6 June 2020, she wrote, ‘If sex isn’t real, the lived reality of women globally is erased.

‘I know and love trans people, but erasing the concept of sex removes the ability of many to meaningfully discuss their lives. It isn’t hate to speak the truth.’

After facing a backlash, she wrote a lengthy blog post to explain her views, saying her opinions stemmed from being a survivor of abuse and having concerns around single-sex spaces.

Home-schoolers get Welsh history lesson at Christian Heritage Centre

The Christian Heritage Centre in Rowley Regis was recently visited by a local home-school group. They enjoyed a morning of activities highlighting the history of the gospel in Wales.

The children were informed of William Morgan’s translation of the Welsh Bible in 1588, and introduced to the endeavours of William Williams, Christmas Evans, Mary Jones, and Anne Griffiths. There was also some singing in Welsh, and the usual exhibition search activity.

The younger children enjoyed making moveable figures of Mary Jones and William Morgan, while the older group experimented with wool felting and making simple models of William Morgan’s house.

We have also been much encouraged by the help of a local Christian teacher. She drew up for us a comprehensive list of local schools, and gathered information on classroom topics being studied. She contacted the schools and explained how a visit to the Centre would aid the learning of these topics.

We are also grateful for the gift of several 16th- and 17th-century Puritan works from the library of the late Mr David Oldham, known to many as the editor of the Cheering Words magazine. These volumes provide an interesting and spiritually valuable addition to our collection.

Following on from the painting of the outside and inside of the building during Covid lockdowns, we are at present seeking quotes for the updating of the toilets to include disabled facilities.

We continue to be thankful for the support that many believers and churches have given to this work, both prayerfully and financially.

We also rely very much on the periodic second-hand book sales, lectures, and open days, in addition to voluntary donations to sustain this project.

In an age when many are ignorant of Christian truths or regard Christianity as a negative influence on society, it is vital that exhibitions and ministries such as this exist and remain accessible to the general public and the rising generation.

By Roland Burrows

Somerset’s ‘chapel in the valley’ marks its 150-year anniversary

After a two-year delay due to Covid restrictions, Scarr Congregational Chapel – the ‘chapel in the valley’ as it is locally known – was finally able to celebrate its 150-year anniversary in April.

Located rurally in the parish of Lydeard-St-Lawrence (some ten miles northwest of Taunton), it seems an unlikely place for a chapel. But it was here in the 1850s that a revival started, first among home groups. As the work grew, a chapel was built in 1870.

The day of the anniversary was sunny and warm, and the newly-refurbished chapel was filled almost to capacity with over 60 people.

Andrew Kelly gave a brief history of the chapel, and Revd Mike Plant (pictured right) from Honiton preached on the significance of Good Friday and the faithfulness of God in bringing the chapel to where it is today.

Chapel renovations had been made possible by two large bequests arriving at the same time. Remarkably, the exact amount required for essential works to be carried out had been donated.

During lockdown closures the builders moved in and the work was completed during that time – a wonderful testimony to God’s provision!

We pray that Scarr Chapel will long glorify his name and stand as a witness to the community.

Anniversary celebrations continued with the Easter Sunday service, led by Revd Cyril Aston (pictured left), and both services were followed by fellowship and a tea.

The event will be long remembered as a joyful occasion of worship and shared fellowship.

By Jenny Caines

Town crier announces mission week in Morely, West Yorkshire

Members of Morley Community Church in West Yorkshire employed their town crier to publicise the church’s outreach events in the spring.

During peak Saturday shopping hours on the first day of the mission, Steven Holt (pictured, centre) traversed the town’s retail area.

Loudly ringing his bell and shouting O-Yea, O-Yea, O-Yea, he brought intrigued shoppers to a standstill. In carefully-crafted Elizabethan English, he then announced details of each mission event.

The town crier made his way through crowds of shoppers to four key ‘announcement stations’ in the town’s High Street. He repeated the same message at each of the stations to transfixed onlookers.

Steven was accompanied by a member of the church’s outreach team who distributed publicity leaflets and chatted to shoppers wanting more details.

The plan worked. Several people subsequently turned up to mission events as a result of hearing the town crier.

Indeed, Steven demonstrated that someone dressed in period costume with a bell and a loud voice can be as effective as the latest technological communication system.

During their spring mission week, Morley Community Church made the Pilgrim’s Progress Bible Exhibition available to seven local schools and a total of 650 pupils listened to their acting team retell the story of Pilgrim making his journey to the Celestial City.

Coffee mornings and pensioners’ lunches were organised, and 800 gospel newspapers and tracts were distributed. Scores of people received a gospel witness as the good news of Jesus was proclaimed in this spiritually barren town at the heart of the West Yorkshire conurbation.

By Andrew Dalton

Grace Baptist Assembly reflects on the Covid crisis and hears encouragements from Zambia

This year’s Grace Baptist Assembly went ahead at the Hayes Conference Centre, Derbyshire, after a gap of two years because of the Covid crisis.

A panel of four men – Chris Hand, Mike Judge, James Mildred, and Robert Strivens – considered a range of questions arising from the lockdown of churches.

The lively back-and-forth discussion format, together with questions and comments from the floor, made the sessions very engaging.

The panel considered the pastoral and theological lessons that they had learned from the Covid crisis.

They discussed the government’s handling of the crisis, and whether the Covid regulations were proportionate and reasonable.

They debated whether the government deliberately used ‘fear tactics’ to influence the public’s behaviour.

Some members of the panel were very critical of the government’s handling of the crisis, others said the government was trying to do its best in a difficult situation.

The panel also talked about the key biblical principles which apply when thinking about the relationship between churches and the state.

They also commented on the pros and cons of how churches used technology during the Covid crisis.

In order to encourage a free flow of debate during the panel sessions, recordings have not been made public. The downside is that those beyond the Assembly won’t get the benefit of the discussion.

But the other sessions were recorded – including what was, for many, the highlight of the Assembly: a report about the work of reformed Baptist churches in Zambia.

Moses Silweya (pictured) is a member of Grace Baptist Church, Stockport, but also spends much time supporting and encouraging churches in Zambia.

Moses spoke movingly about the growth of the reformed Baptist cause in the African country in recent years.

He spoke of critical events at Lusaka Baptist Church and the influence of key men at key times, particularly among students.

Many churches have been planted across the country, and there has been a great deal of outreach work in the urban areas. Literature ministries have been set up, together with other joint ministries and ventures.

But there is still work to be done, and Moses spoke of the great material and spiritual poverty in the shanty towns.

Other speakers at this year’s Assembly included Colin Grimwood, Phil Heaps, and Ole Kristian Hunt.

Phil Arthur couldn’t be there for health reasons, but his historical paper – ‘Baptists in a time of revolution’ – was read aloud in his absence by Robert Strivens.

Recordings of the sessions (except the panel discussions) are available from the Grace Baptist Assembly website and YouTube channel.

By ET staff writer

Attendance triples at Grace Baptist Church Aberdeen

After months of prayer, fundraising, and sacrificial giving, Grace Baptist Church Aberdeen were enabled to purchase a building last November.

This capped off an eventful calendar year in which the church has grown significantly despite much adversity.

Following unlawful legislation banning corporate worship in Scotland, the church began last year gathering in secret for many weeks. During this time the faith and unity of the church grew.

When the church began to publicly assemble once more in their rented premises, there was a rapid increase in people attending church services.

By the grace of God, the Lord convicted sinners and saved souls, with people being baptised and a number being added to the local church.

With this growth came increased challenges. One such challenge was a serious matter of church discipline that sadly resulted in an excommunication.

Teaching about the importance of commitment to the local church was crucial, as many visitors continued to attend.

An increasingly clear emphasis on biblical truth being upheld and lived out in the life of the church was also important for the growth of church members.

With believers being added to the church, and more people gathering, the timing and provision of a building became increasingly pressing.

In the Lord’s providence, a building was secured in the area in which the church was based, and funds were swiftly raised to secure the purchase of these premises.

The church worked together on many fronts to get the building ready to start gathering on 14 November last year.

This was an eventful day for me. As well as preaching and baptising two believers, I rejoiced as my wife gave birth to our third child.

Believers have been added, and a brother has been set apart as a deacon of the church.

Opportunities to preach Christ in the local area and on the streets of Aberdeen continue, and a children’s class has been introduced prior to the morning meeting.

We thank God that the number of people attending services has tripled in size since 2019, and that the growth of the church is all the more visible by members growing in grace and their commitment to their local church.

Please pray for another elder to be recognised, and for the ongoing training of men in the church.

Pray also for increased opportunities to reach the community with the gospel, and that local people would be saved, baptised, and added to the church.

By John-William Noble

Renewing communion: the Banner of Truth spring conferences

‘Next to communion with God’, wrote John Trapp, ‘is the communion of saints.’

This year’s Banner of Truth Youth and Ministers’ Conferences, held in April, were the first in-person events since Covid struck, and provided a wonderful context to focus on these two kinds of communion.

The Youth Conference drew around 270 young people. They enjoyed sessions on the character of Christ (Simon Curry), the centrality of faith to salvation (Conrad Mbewe), the uniqueness of the Bible (David Campbell), and the life of John Flavel (John Rawlinson).

As the young people departed, some 220 ministers gathered for three days of fellowship, Bible exposition, and sung worship.

Taking up the theme of communion with God, we were served with probing teaching on prayer and repentance (Jeff Kingswood), God’s electing grace (David Campbell), true spirituality (Conrad Mbewe), and ministerial rest (Andy Hambleton).

We also heard a memorable two-part meditation from Mark 6 on the example and experience of communion with God, as we read of Christ allowing his disciples to ‘make headway painfully’ (Robert McCollum Jr).

In his closing sermon, Meirion Thomas directed us to the centrality of the Lord’s Supper in the life of the church, aptly anticipating the theme of the 2023 Ministers’ Conference, which will focus on the church of Christ.

For those eager to mark up their diaries in good time, next year’s conferences will be held at Yarnfield Park, Staffordshire, from 14–17 April (Youth Conference) and from 17–20 April (Ministers’ Conference).

Sessions from both of this year’s conferences are on the Banner of Truth YouTube channel.

By Joshua Kellard

‘Living Well in God’s World’ at Derby Bible Week 2022

It was with great delight that many gathered from a range of like-minded Derby churches for this year’s Bible Week.

Last year’s was online only, and 2020’s had been cancelled due to Covid. In-person attendance was down compared to pre-Covid times, but a noticeable feature this year was the growing number of those joining the live-stream each evening.

This was supplemented by further viewings of the recordings once posted online. All this is testimony to the continuing popularity of this annual event.

In these days, it is a joy to know that so many are wanting to feed their souls on the Word of God at a week devoted entirely to Bible exposition and application.

Our speaker was Tim Ward (pictured), lecturer in Word Ministry at Oakhill College. However, his messages were far from being lectures!

Tim has a pastoral heart, and in his warm and practical sessions he showed how the Christian can live with the Lord’s approval and in accordance with the Beatitudes of Matthew 5.

Tim’s title for the week summarised his overall theme: ‘Living well in God’s world’.

Other ingredients for a good conference were present: friendships made and renewed, reverent but stirring singing, good humour – and the ubiquitous book stall!

Tim also led a separate seminar for church leaders, again applying his pastoral gifts to the topic of applied preaching. Recordings of each meeting are available at www.derbybibleweek.org.uk.

By David Fielding

‘Let God arise’: Revival was the theme of the Free Church (Continuing) spring conference

The Spring Conference of the Free Church of Scotland (Continuing) was held in its Westhill Church, Inverness, in April.

The theme of the conference was revival. Two lectures had been arranged, along with a separate teaching programme for children.

A gathering of around 50 adults listened attentively to Revd William Macleod’s morning lecture on ‘The principles and necessity of revival’.

The fear of God, Mr Macleod said, descends upon the church during revivals. The Spirit convicts of sin, and the burden for prayer is evident in such a work. Revival often comes after deadness prevails in the church.

Mr Macleod dealt with revivals in the Bible and in church history, drawing out six principles: (1) revivals must come from God; (2) we must pray for revival; (3) we must humble ourselves and repent of sin; (4) the gospel must be preached clearly and unashamedly; (5) revival invests Christians with fresh zeal for Christ; (6) revival impacts wider society as well as the church.

Mr Macleod ended with the Scriptural plea: ‘Let God arise. Let his enemies be scattered.’

Revd Murdo Angus Macleod (Snizort, Isle of Skye) then treated the conference to an account of various revivals that affected the Western Isles (including his own native Lewis).

Revival first came to Lewis in the 1820s. It had a widespread spiritual impact in Lewis and Harris, and set the tone for Christianity in the Islands.

Mr Macleod surveyed the various awakenings under the headings of facts, features, and fruits.

He noted how revivals occasioned new hunger for the Word and worship of God, and how preaching took on a new power. The Lord’s Day was more carefully observed. There was a decline in crime, and noticeable love for the lost.

It was of encouragement that a BBC Alba reporter was present to film some parts of the conference and conduct interviews (in Gaelic), all very sympathetically.

By Revd John Keddie

Australia: Bill in New South Wales legalises assisted dying

A bill to legalise assisted suicide has been passed by the Australian State of New South Wales (NSW).

The Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill 2022 was passed by 23 votes to 15 after a lengthy debate.

It is likely to become law before the end of 2023. Other Australian states have already passed similar legislation.

Under the legislation, adults residing in NSW who are deemed to have less than six months to live, or 12 months for neurodegenerative conditions, will be able to get medical help to kill themselves.

But as reported in Australian newspaper the Sydney Morning Herald (SMH), many ministers have spoken openly against the move.

NSW Minister for Employee Relations Damien Tudehope (pictured) was quoted as saying the bill ‘betrayed’ those suffering from a terminal illness.

According to the SMH, opponents of assisted dying, including Christian conservative MP Fred Nile and Labour MLC Greg Donnelly, had previously tabled more than 100 last-minute amendments to the final vote.

Meanwhile, in Canada, police are investigating the assisted death of a 61-year old woman.

The woman’s daughters said she was not able to provide consent due to her mental health, after suffering concussion from a car accident in February 2020.

Her doctor had refused her assisted suicide application, saying her ‘mental health really needs to be treated’, but it was subsequently granted by other practitioners.

Last year, ET reported that Canada’s assisted suicide and euthanasia laws have been widened to include the killing of people with disabilities and mental health conditions as well as poverty.

At the time, ET pointed to a paper published in the BMJ Journal of Medical Ethics, in which Professor Tom Koch of the University of British Columbia, Canada, said the law had been creeping in scope and its impact has been made ‘clearly evident’ in the country.

In the paper, Koch warned this had led to an ‘expanding class of eligible persons and an ever-increasing number of medically induced deaths’ among those who have disabilities and, soon, among those who have mental illnesses.

US: Skateboarder speaks out over transgenderism in sport

An American skateboarder has broken silence to complain about the ‘unfair advantage’ enjoyed by male-born rivals taking part in women’s contests.

On her Instagram and Twitter account, Taylor Silverman (pictured) complained that male competitors claiming to be women were depriving genuine female athletes of placings and prize money.

In her Instagram video, Silverman also criticised Red Bull, which sponsored a recent event at which she placed second, for failing to protect the interests of women in the sport. The first place went to a biological male.

Silverman posted on Instagram, ‘I have been skateboarding for eleven years and competing for several years. I have been in three different contests with trans women, two of which I placed second.’

Since the post, she has been thrown into the media spotlight, with interviews, news stories, and reposts of her comments across social media.

On her Twitter page, Silverman commented, ‘I could never have imagined my voice would reach this many people.’

She added, ‘I hope my story inspires respectful and productive conversations that lead us to a solution.’

Sudan: Couple on trial for converting

A married Sudanese couple – Nada and her husband Hamouda – are on trial after converting to Christianity.

Despite the decriminalisation of apostasy in the country, they have been accused with ‘baseless charges’.

If found guilty, they may be punished by 100 lashes each, while Hamouda could be forced to leave Sudan.

Although international and Sudanese law protect people’s right to choose and live out their faith, converts to Christianity still face severe pressure and threats in Sudan.

In 2014, another Sudanese woman, Meriam Ibrahim (pictured), was sentenced to death for apostasy under Sudan’s Sharia law because she was married to a Christian.

At eight months pregnant, she was flogged and imprisoned – during which time she gave birth in jail – but was released in 2018 and now lives in the US.

India: Persecution gets worse as 30 Christians are jailed in one month

At least 30 Christians were jailed in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh during the month of May, according to persecution watchdog International Christian Concern (ICC).

The organisation says the authorities justified these arrests by filing charges of ‘forced conversion’.

Anti-conversion laws adopted in 11 Indian states are often weaponised against Christians, allowing authorities to jail them with little regard for due process.

The ICC reports, ‘A gruelling incident occurred May 31 when a mob of radicals broke into the home of a local pastor who was praying with his family.

‘The intruders proceeded to beat him, drag him from the home, and assault him before handing him over to police.

‘The police arrested and imprisoned him and turned a blind eye to the egregious assault against the pastor.’

One local Christian leader is quoted as saying, ‘We have arrived at a critical juncture, where practicing faith of our choice is equated as crime and punished accordingly.

‘We need to be alert and prepared to face the challenge; almost every pastor and leader is targeted in Uttar Pradesh. These are the testing times.’

In a separate incident, a group of seven to ten young radicals interrupted a Sunday service on 29 May. An eyewitness reported that a group of youths had invaded the community’s church hall, where 40 Christians were praying and worshiping.

Jeff King, President of International Christian Concern (pictured), said, ‘India’s anti-conversion laws are not a means to protect religious freedom, but rather a mechanism for the government to oppress and punish religious minorities.

‘Our Indian brothers and sisters are facing increased levels of persecution since the adoption of these laws in 11 states.

‘India claims to be the world’s largest democracy, yet shamelessly violates human rights. We pray for the continued resilience of the Indian Church and for the injustice to come to an end.’

US: Government issues warning over potential violence linked to Roe v. Wade abortion ruling

The US Department of Homeland Security has issued warnings about potential violence linked to a forthcoming ruling on abortion by the US Supreme Court.

At the time of this July edition of ET going to print in mid June, the US Supreme Court has not yet handed down its decision in the Mississippi case that could overturn Roe v. Wade.

The 1973 Roe v. Wade case effectively legalised abortion throughout America. Overturning that decision would mean each individual state could decide their own laws.

It is believed about half of all US states would introduce some sort of limit on abortion, much to the fury of pro-abortion supporters.

In June, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a ‘heightened threat advisory’, warning of an increased risk of ‘mass casualty violence’ nationwide.

The warning cites ‘individuals who advocate both for and against abortion’ who publicly ‘encouraged violence, including against government, religious, and reproductive healthcare personnel and facilities, as well as those with opposing ideologies’.

A draft copy of the Supreme Court’s ruling was leaked to the media in May, showing that a majority of Supreme Court Justices were in favour of overturning Roe.

It sparked an angry response from the pro-abortion movement, with fierce protests outside judges’ homes and attacks on pro-life pregnancy centres.

Pro-lifers began counter protests, and the situation became inflamed. Increased security measures were put in place to protect the Supreme Court Justices.

At the beginning of June, US Marshals protecting the home of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh (pictured, official portrait) apprehended an individual with a gun and a knife just a block over from Kavanaugh’s house.

The suspect readily admitted that he was there to kill Justice Kavanaugh in response to the leaked draft opinion that indicated the Court might be preparing to overturn Roe v. Wade.

According to a report by the Washington Post, Nicholas John Roske, 26, of Simi Valley, California, was charged with attempted murder of a Supreme Court justice.

Court documents show that Roske wore black clothing and carried a suitcase and backpack with weapons and other supplies, including a Glock 17 with two magazines and ammunition, a tactical knife, pepper spray, a hammer, a screwdriver, a crowbar, zip ties, and duct tape, along with other gear.

The US Attorney General, Merrick Garland, condemned any acts or threats of violence against Supreme Court justices.

He said, ‘Threats of violence and actual violence against the justices of course strike at the heart of our democracy, and we will do everything we can to prevent them and to hold people who do them accountable.’

EU: Religious groups express deep concerns over the European Parliament’s ‘openly hostile’ stance

The European Parliament is appearing increasingly hostile to religion and to Christianity in particular, human rights campaigners and MEPs have warned.

In May, the EP passed a report on persecuted religious minorities, which Christian human rights specialists branded ‘openly hostile towards religion’.

It adopted a report called The persecution of minorities on the grounds of belief or religion.

But while the initial draft referred to religion as a ‘human right’ and ‘often a last bastion of liberty’ in society, the adopted report describes religion as a threat to a free society.

The persecution of Christians in the Middle East and Africa was omitted, all but one reference to Christians was deleted, and the report failed to call on the EC to appoint a special envoy.

Jean-Paul Van De Walle, legal counsel with ADF International, said, ‘It is unacceptable that this report, which is meant to stand in solidarity with those suffering from persecution because of their faith, is openly hostile towards religion.’

However, the report does include multiple references emphasising protections for atheist, secular, or humanist belief minorities.

Moreover, the report, which was amended by the Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET), has branded religion as ‘an important driver of conflict worldwide’, a move which has left advocacy organisation ADF International stunned and asking whether the ‘EU truly values the protection of religious freedom’.

The role of ‘Special Envoy for the promotion of freedom of religion or belief outside the EU’ was introduced in 2016 to protect freedom of religion or belief on behalf of the EU worldwide.

Part of the Special Envoy’s mandate includes visits to countries with some of the most violent religious persecution in the world to help address the situation and develop response plans.

The Special Envoy played a decisive role in helping Asia Bibi safely leave Pakistan after she was acquitted of blasphemy charges. But the position has been vacant for nearly two years.

While it was expected that the report would recognise the importance of the Special Envoy, it instead undermines the role by calling for an investigation into the added value of the position.

At the same time, however, the report calls for the Special Envoy to also focus on ‘the rights to non-belief, apostasy and the espousal of atheistic views’.

ADF International’s Adina Portaru (pictured) said, ‘We regret that the hijacked report fails to call on the European Commission to take all necessary steps to appoint a new Special Envoy.

‘The Special Envoy has played a crucial role in bringing the horrors of religious persecution to light at the European level.’

REVIEWS

Hebrews: No Turning Back – An expositional commentary

J. Philip Arthur

DayOne Publications

224 pages; £8.00

BUY

Let’s admit it: many Christians struggle with the epistle to the Hebrews. Its ancient Jewish context can seem so obscure and irrelevant to Western readers in the 21st century. Thankfully, Philip Arthur has managed to extract the letter’s vital central theme and connect it directly to Christian living in the modern world.

He expresses at the outset his concern about the seemingly growing phenomenon of ‘the temporary disciple’ (p.7). How often we hear that someone who began well now makes no pretence of going on with the Lord. How can this happen if Jesus will lose none of those whom the Father has given him (John 6:39)?

The unsettling answer, which Hebrews forces us to confront, is that some who give every appearance of believing in Christ are not truly converted; and that could include you or me! The test of a true disciple is that they remain ‘steadfast to the end’ (Hebrews 3:14). Thus the way to ‘full assurance of hope’ (Hebrews 6:11) is through diligent perseverance in the good works which flow from a grace-touched heart.

This teaching gives the book of Hebrews (and this short commentary) a sharp cutting edge that should drive us to earnest self-examination. ‘Do we go on? Do we make progress?’ (p.151).

There’s a realistic acknowledgement of the severe pressures which can tempt us to give up the faith – as they did for the original readers of Hebrews, and for the faithful men and women of chapter 11. Nevertheless Arthur doesn’t shrink from bringing out the epistle’s solemn warnings to the backslider. No sincere reader should remain complacent in the light of such fearsome words.

There is an opportune challenge for ministers of the gospel to consider whether our preaching is contributing to the problem. A mere ‘invitation to receive pardon and go to heaven [is]… a cheap travesty of the gospel’ (p.71). We must also set out the price of following Jesus, and call for ongoing repentance among those who’ve already begun that course. Such preaching will be painfully penetrating, like a two-edged sword (Hebrews 4:12); but it will bring healing and health to those who are prepared to ‘submit to the surgery’ (p.74).

A pastorally helpful distinction is drawn between God’s gracious discipline or chastening of his children (Hebrews 12:5-11), and his punishment of sin (Christ having borne that punishment in full). Arthur shows that a failure to grasp that differentiation can leave us terrified of God’s retribution when we’re conscious that we’ve sinned, or unmindful of his genuine chastisement when we’re not.

The writing style is noticeably uncomplicated, yet not lively or animated. Rather each argument is pursued thoroughly and methodically to its conclusion.

A reasonable degree of Bible knowledge is assumed, so this is probably not for the brand new Christian. But for those who are growing weary in the race, or who still find Hebrews somewhat inaccessible, No Turning Back would make a very profitable month’s worth of daily readings.

Matthew Cox

Bethersden, Kent

It Will Cost You Everything: What it takes to follow Jesus

Steven J. Lawson

Christian Focus Publications

128 pages; £9.99

BUY

Pick up a book from Steven Lawson and you feel at ease, comfortable in the knowledge that it will offer a solid treatment of doctrine with a serious attempt at application. It seems that the title of this volume is intended to both shock and not shock, and in that sense it is clever: every believer knows that ultimately Christ is all, yet rarely does the maths.

However this book ultimately fails to deliver on the promise of its title – which surprised this reviewer, given the theological Hall of Fame offering their endorsement on the back.

The preface sets the author’s thesis succinctly and effectively: how that which is utterly free (grace) is nevertheless utterly costly (discipleship). But what follows is marked by just too many trite phrases and an uncharacteristic casualness. Early on, the titular conflict is set up with the phrase ‘to begin this journey costs you nothing’ – which is convenient for dichotomizing, but just not true. For many today, as with the rich young ruler, there is enormous personal cost to leaving your former life. The author knows this, but it serves the contrast. This distracting pattern occurs elsewhere in the book.

I was gratified by the explicit treatment of the necessity to be ‘a learner who follows’ (p.49), and the frequent mention of the need for repentance, surrender, and commitment. But the problem with this book is that it is just not serious enough. Following Christ is a weighty matter, yet the pages drift at times into triviality and a description of what sounds not like a cross-bearing life but a travel brochure for the adventure of a lifetime.

It Will Cost You Everything comes across like a sermon series put into chapters, containing pithy sentences without dense theological language. There is a call to decision in almost every chapter, sometimes multiple times. The constant drumbeat of ‘is this you?’ makes it read at times like an evangelistic tract or an overzealous CU student during freshers week – which would make it useful for an undergraduate, a seeker, or a new believer.

It is a pleasant read, and a quick one – which, given the title, probably means that it hasn’t lived up to its billing.

Tim Wills

Wellington, Shropshire

Lives Less Ordinary: A story of fearless faith in an extraordinary God

Roy Summers

Fisherman’s Press

196 pages; £7.50

BUY

This is a down-to-earth read about a heavenly minded couple who dedicated their lives to serve God from the 1950s to the 1990s, first in India, then Pakistan.

Subsequently Marlin and Barbara Summers – fluent in the languages and cultural practices of these countries – were perfectly equipped to meet the need of South Asians living in Wolverhampton. That work began as a humble bookshop selling Christian literature in Asian languages, which grew into a vibrant church with new converts being added monthly.

The book doesn’t leave readers without challenge, and one can’t help but be affected by its pages. Do we truly live sacrificially and wholeheartedly in service to our Master? Are we really walking by faith? Are we bold and unashamed of the gospel?

Because the book is written by the couple’s son, with contributions from the other children, there is a grounded and balanced reality that means the reflections don’t come through rose-tinted spectacles. The honesty that life as a missionary kid wasn’t easy when everything came second place to the work of Christ’s kingdom was a valuable insight which will benefit those in Christian service.

Furthermore the openness of a once prodigal daughter is an encouraging read for Christian parents walking that painful road. The daughter has advice to offer to parents in that situation: take a keen interest in the whole of a child’s life as they grow up, not just in their spiritual health. For those that go astray, love them unconditionally and let the prodigals go, praying daily for their return.

It is well worth reading this biography of two lives which stand among our great cloud of witnesses, cheering us on to run the race before us with perseverance.

Julia Milner

Northampton

Weak Pastor, Strong Christ: Developing a Christ-shaped gospel ministry

Reuben Bredenhof

Reformation Heritage Books

144 pages; £11.99

BUY

There may be good reasons why a pastor would be reluctant to preach from Paul’s second letter to the church at Corinth. While some portions of the epistle are ready-meals for sermons, other passages are somewhat daunting because of the apostle’s intensity of feeling and the difficult relationship that had developed between him and the church he founded. A congregation might misunderstand their pastor’s motivation and purpose if he embarked on a complete series of messages on this epistle.

So, what to do? Take 2 Corinthians and preach it to yourself first! This is the approach taken by Bredenhof. His intention is to make church leaders stop and think about what they are doing.

A series of questions will best highlight some of the practical issues that are addressed: What am I seeking to achieve? Is Christ at the centre of my preaching? Do my people know that I care for them? Can I live with my own limitations? How do I react when I am compared unfavourably with the popular preachers of the day? Would I continue to serve if there were no salary? How often do I find myself thinking about resigning? What is the driving force that underpins my labours? Am I prepared to suffer the pains and stress that ministry inevitably brings? These are questions that any pastor should ask himself

Digging into the text of 2 Corinthians with this book as a guide will give pastors an insight into Paul’s mind as he wrestled with pastoral challenges. It will encourage them to persevere as Paul did, and then, as they minister in the strength of their own weaknesses, they will be better equipped to shepherd their people.

Roger March

Wolverton

Our Comfort in Dying: Civil war sermons by R. L. Dabney, Stonewall Jackson’s chief of staff

R. L. Dabney

Sola Fide Publications

348 pages; £19.99

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This is a selection of 20 sermons in chronological order preached by Robert Lewis Dabney between 1851 and 1865, most of them during the American Civil War while he was serving as a chaplain to the soldiers.

The sermons are preceded by a brief summary of Dabney’s ministry and his involvement in the war, and are followed by a series of Appendices including further preached and written material from that time. It is not necessary to know the history in order to profit from reading the sermons.

As I began reading I felt somewhat disappointed. The earliest sermons in the book seemed to me to be rather legalistic and lacking in gospel content. However, this did not continue, and it made me wonder whether, in the culture of that day, a preacher could assume that the gospel message was thoroughly familiar to people in general, and therefore what was needed was the call to a life of holiness.

While some of the messages could have been preached with equal relevance at any time, many of them are pertinent to their particular context – although they do highlight underlying principles of timeless application.

Dabney is clear that even the side which is in the right in terms of the conflict may still be under divine judgment for its sins, and that God may be using the enemy as the instrument of his chastisement. He makes the sobering point that the sins of governments are particularly serious, but that in a democratic society the electors are inevitably implicated in these sins.

Jonathan Bayes

Stanton Lees, Derbyshire

Table of Contents

FEATURES

Seeking a godly generation

Were Wilberforce and Shaftesbury mistaken?

Seditious radical turned Christian hymnwriter: James Montgomery (1771–1854)

Scripture’s hidden gems: Proverbs

The dearest ache: loving a teenager

The secret of happiness

Gospel ministry among Aboriginal people in Australia – a historical overview

COMMENT: UK evangelical growth data is encouraging, but beware trusting in numbers alone

GUEST COLUMN: A preview of paradise

A SHRINK THINKS... Is faith genetic?

THINKING IT THROUGH: All things to all men – a call to conformity?

A WALK WITH MR O: There is hearing, and there is hearing!

CRUNCH POINTS: Skipping church to spend time with the grandchildren

NEWS

News in brief

Street preacher wins Covid-19 arrest case

Poll shows the public has a greatly inflated view of LGBT numbers

Data shows evangelical churches will outnumber liberal churches by the middle of the century

Trainee vicar says he was blocked by the Church of England because of his socially conservative views

Parents in Wales granted judicial review over sex education

Scottish abortion numbers are a ‘national tragedy’, say pro-lifers

BBC admits it was wrong and misleading to call J. K. Rowling’s gender views ‘very unpopular’

Home-schoolers get Welsh history lesson at Christian Heritage Centre

Somerset’s ‘chapel in the valley’ marks its 150-year anniversary

Town crier announces mission week in Morely, West Yorkshire

Grace Baptist Assembly reflects on the Covid crisis and hears encouragements from Zambia

Attendance triples at Grace Baptist Church Aberdeen

Renewing communion: the Banner of Truth spring conferences

‘Living Well in God’s World’ at Derby Bible Week 2022

‘Let God arise’: Revival was the theme of the Free Church (Continuing) spring conference

Australia: Bill in New South Wales legalises assisted dying

US: Skateboarder speaks out over transgenderism in sport

Sudan: Couple on trial for converting

India: Persecution gets worse as 30 Christians are jailed in one month

US: Government issues warning over potential violence linked to Roe v. Wade abortion ruling

EU: Religious groups express deep concerns over the European Parliament’s ‘openly hostile’ stance

REVIEWS

Hebrews: No Turning Back – An expositional commentary

It Will Cost You Everything: What it takes to follow Jesus

Lives Less Ordinary: A story of fearless faith in an extraordinary God

Weak Pastor, Strong Christ: Developing a Christ-shaped gospel ministry

Our Comfort in Dying: Civil war sermons by R. L. Dabney, Stonewall Jackson’s chief of staff