New Director for European Mission Fellowship
Rev Scott Moore has been appointed as the new European Mission Fellowship (EMF) Director.
Scott will take up his role in early 2024, replacing current Director Andrew Birch, who will remain with EMF in a new role of Field Director. In a message on the EMF website, Andrew shares: ‘I am looking forward to working closely with Scott… We would appreciate your ongoing prayers that, with the Lord’s help, we would work together for the building of Christ’s Church all over our needy continent.’
disability & accessibility
Which 'diversity' do we forget to talk about?
Kay Morgan-Gurr
Date posted: 31 Oct 2024
We often joke about women being the better multitaskers. It’s a sweeping statement, but not without a nugget of truth. So how is the church at multitasking?
When it comes to patterns of looking at who is missing from our churches, in our leadership and in the mission and ministry we do, we often look at one thing at a time. And then, having looked at some other things, we have to revisit what we’ve done before. Again, this is a sweeping statement, but not without a nugget of truth.
Why is our Christmas crackers?
Gary Clayton
Date posted: 4 Dec 2024
As we approach Christmas, our minds turn again to images of a baby in a manger, an undisclosed number of Magi, sheep, shepherds and heavenly messengers, Jesus’ faith-filled mother Mary and his selfless father Joseph.
But is the season as simple and straightforward as it at first appears?
news in brief
New rural ministry focus in Scotland
The Free Church of Scotland has launched a Centre for Rural Ministry in a bid to boost rural congregations and modernise rural ministry across Scotland.
The denomination revealed that more than £8,200 has been raised since the start of August, enough to see the project spearheaded by the Skye and Wester Ross Presbytery come to fruition. Twenty per cent of Scotland’s population is based in rural areas and, while the centre will be based on the Isle of Skye, it will support rural ministry across the whole country. Ivor MacDonald, minister of Hope Church, Coatbridge, has been appointed as the Free Church Director for Rural Ministry. He has previously served as a minister in rural congregations on Skye and is a graduate in agriculture and theology.
Assisted suicide vote – evangelical reactions
Milla Ling-Davies
Date posted: 29 Nov 2024
Evangelicals are processing the news that assisted suicide is a significant step closer to being legalised in the UK.
Following its second reading, MPs voted 330 to 275 today in favour of Kim Leadbeater’s bill –The draft Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill – to legalise assisted suicide for people who have six months left to live, and who have mental capacity to make the choice.
'Dynamic' Gospel Coalition UK could help 'Reformed complementarians', says Nicholls
en staff
Date posted: 24 Oct 2024
A new Gospel Coalition for the UK and Ireland could help those with ‘broadly Reformed and complementarian convictions’ develop ‘new and dynamic partnerships,’ Affinity’s Graham Nicholls says.
Speaking to en, and in the wake of the most recent meeting of the advisory council of Affinity – an evangelical umbrella group uniting 1,200 evangelical churches and organisations which succeeded the old British Evangelical Council founded by Martyn Lloyd-Jones – Nicholls said no other organisation was quite filling that gap at the moment.
Niall Dunne to be new Team Leader for Creation Fest
Creation Fest
Date posted: 28 Nov 2024
After ‘prayer and deliberation,’ the board of Creation Fest UK is pleased to announce the appointment of Niall Dunne as the charity’s new Team Leader, it reports.
Niall is a familiar face in the organisation, having been a member of a band that performed at Creation Fest’s annual event during its early days in Devon, and more recently serving as the organisation’s Pastoral Lead for the past seven months. As Team Leader, Niall will oversee all aspects of the year-round charity, including the annual summer festival in Wadebridge, Cornwall.
everyday theology
Whose glory do you love?
Michael Reeves
Date posted: 27 Nov 2024
Underneath every mistake the Pharisees made lay a root problem. Jesus put it simply: ‘They loved the glory of men more than the glory of God’ (John 12:43, my translation).
Jesus’ words cut like a scalpel through to their fundamental motivation. They would not confess Him because of what they loved. But what exactly did Jesus mean? Did He mean that they loved the glory that comes from men more than the glory that comes from God? Or did He mean that they loved the glory of men more than the glory that belongs to and is due to God?
‘The baby was struggling to breathe...’
Gary Clayton
Date posted: 18 Oct 2024
Thanks to MAF (Mission Aviation Fellowship), three vulnerable infants received urgent medical attention in Papua New Guinea.
‘One Monday afternoon,’ reports MAF Pilot Tim Neufeld, ‘I was thinking it was time to wrap up, but was asked to do a 15-minute flight to Nomane. A small baby was struggling to breathe, and recent heavy rains had caused several landslides, making it impossible to reach the nearest medical centre.’
Sex 'only for heterosexual marriage,' says possible Welby successor
en staff
Date posted: 21 Nov 2024
The Church of England’s lead bishop for the controversial ‘Living in Love and Faith’ (LLF) sexuality discussions – tipped by some as the next Archbishop of Canterbury – says he continues to believe sex is only for heterosexual marriage.
Martyn Snow, Bishop of Leicester, who is being touted as a possible successor to Justin Welby, answered ‘yes’ when pressed on the point in an interview with en. And he said Church of England evangelicals in the Alliance (the umbrella group of orthodox believers in the denomination) should not yet despair about their wishes for alternative structural provision being met.
letter from Australia
Year-long mission lifts off for 2024
David Robertson
Date posted: 1 Feb 2024
A national student mission in Australia is getting underway after more than 2,000 undergraduates attended a special conference in preparation.
The Australian Fellowship of Evangelical Students (AFES) is the largest student campus ministry in Australia. At the end of 2023 over 2,000 students (across Australia and many parts of the world) were transformed by, trained in, and sent with the gospel of Jesus at the AFES National Training Event.
Clare Heath-Whyte: Biographer of the neglected & ‘unfamous’
Andrew Atherstone
Date posted: 11 Oct 2024
Biography is perennially popular, one of the best-selling and most absorbing forms of historical writing.
Many biographies focus on the rich and famous, the movers and shakers, the politicians, warriors, celebrities and adventurers who have changed the world. But one of biography’s unique strengths is that it also allows marginal and neglected voices to take centre stage. Characters who are normally written out of the narrative step forward into the limelight. They may not have won great battles, led international campaigns, or created seismic shifts in global culture, but every life is fascinating and every voice has much to teach.
bridging cultural divides
The ministry of eating together
Jason Roach
Date posted: 15 Nov 2024
One of my favourite recent television shows was a series called Travel Man, which featured the UK comedian Richard Ayoade.
The premise was to watch two comedians (Richard and a special guest), experience the culture of a city somewhere in the world for 48 hours. Recognising the rising popularity of city breaks, they aimed to avoid tourist traps, give practical advice and soak in something of the local culture. They would take in some sights, sample some food and try out some more outlandish things before heading home. Somehow they edited all that fun down into 24 minutes.
200 killed by Islamic extremists in Burkina Faso
Luke Randall
Date posted: 15 Nov 2024
Over 200 people have been killed in a series of repeated attacks on a community in Burkina Faso which is believed to be predominantly Christian.
Fides News Agency, which informs people about mission work and conditions faced by Christians around the world, reported that the attacks started in early October in Manni village in the east of Burkina Faso, which saw Islamic extremists attack a military patrol, before attacking the local village market the next day.
Evangelicals react to Welby resignation
en staff
Date posted: 12 Nov 2024
Evangelicals are reacting to the news that Justin Welby has resigned.
In an unprecedented move, the Archbishop of Canterbury submitted his resignation to the King following an increasing clamour in recent days for him to go after last week's publication of the Makin Review.
How churches can avoid accidental financial crime
Paul Houghton
Date posted: 9 Nov 2024
Misunderstandings and compliance issues have strained the relationship between churches and banks.
Let's delve into the most critical concerns: financial crime exposure and the need for better understanding and communication.
Andrew Neden becomes chair for Kingom Bank
Milla Ling-Davies
Date posted: 8 Nov 2024
Andrew Neden has officially been appointed as Chair of the Board for Christian bank Kingdom Bank, succeeding David Swanney who had held the role for the past ten years.
Neden is a chartered accountant who has worked in a variety of different roles, including the Global Chief Operating Officer in Financial Services for KPMG. While joining the board in December 2023, he was formally appointed as Chair in March and uses his wealth of experience in the financial sector to play a key part in the governance of the bank.
culture watch
Learning from Hollywood's remakes
Milla Ling-Davies
Date posted: 7 Nov 2024
Have you noticed that cinema and TV today is dominated by remakes, sequels and spin-offs?
In the months before Christmas, we’ll see Moana 2, Sonic the Hedgehog 3, Gladiator 2 and Mufasa: the Lion King. Then 2025 will bring us the eighth Mission Impossible movie, another Avatar film, a new version of the Fantastic Four – I could go on. In 2026, a remake of The Goonies is even set to be created, 40 years on from its release!
everyday theology
'We should not be content with bare doctrine'
Michael Reeves
Date posted: 4 Nov 2024
Evangelicals are never about propositions alone: we want the theological truths of the gospel to transform us by the renewing of our minds (Rom.12:2).
We want to know God, in a personal way. We don’t simply affirm that Scripture is our supreme authority and that we are justified by faith alone through Christ alone. We actually submit to Scripture as our supreme authority and enjoy Christ as our only Saviour, praising Him from our hearts for His all-sufficiency and grace.
letter from America
How weather affects the US psyche – and the UK’s too
Josh Moody
Date posted: 4 Nov 2024
At time of writing, Hurricanes Helene and Milton have had significant impact on parts of America.
The regularity of natural events like this (the ubiquitous insurance moniker ‘Acts of God’) is surprising for those who grew up in the more placid weather patterns of the UK. Yes, hurricanes can hit there too – I remember the one that (as the joke was) turned leafy Sevenoaks into ‘One oak’. I actually slept through that hurricane, awakening to the sound of other teenagers rushing around with hilarity at the mild effects of broken glass and the like where our dormitories were.
everyday evangelism
Why the exclusivity of Jesus is so wonderful
Glen Scrivener
Date posted: 1 Nov 2024
Recently Pope Francis was fiercely critiqued for his teaching at an interfaith event in Singapore. Both Protestants and Catholics have charged him with the serious error of ‘indifferentism’.
Indifferentism is the belief that all religions are alike in their ability to bring you to God – it doesn’t matter which path you’re on, they all reach the top of the mountain. Whatever his corrections and clarifications later, his words at the Singapore conference sounded suspiciously like that teaching. ‘Every religion is a way to arrive at God’ he said. At the same time he made fun of the kind of person who says: ‘My God is more important than your God’. ‘Is that true?’ he asks the audience, expecting the answer, ‘No’.
3 reasons to celebrate Black History Month this October
Black History Month originally sprang out of African American joint celebrations of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass’s February birthdays. 'Negro History Week' began in February 1926 to recognise African American contributions to society and raise awareness to the prejudices they had and continued to face.
This week for designated learning emphasis was well established by 1976, when the United States celebrated its bicentennial, and the week expanded to a month. To mark the inaugural Black History Month, President Gerald R. Ford said, 'We can seize the opportunity to honour the too-often neglected accomplishments of black Americans in every area of endeavour throughout our history. I urge my fellow citizens to join me in tribute to Black History Month and the message of courage and perseverance it brings to all of us.'