The Third Degree
Student life & mental health
Ellie Cook
Date posted: 1 Jul 2018
A YouGov survey in 2016 found that one in four university students in the UK struggle with their mental health.
This ranges from those who have been diagnosed with a mental illness through to vast numbers who are battling with stress and worry: 63% of students say that they feel levels of stress that interfere with their day-to-day lives. Among those who identify as struggling with mental health problems, anxiety and depression are the most common, and often affect the same students (around 70% of sufferers).
PTI: a joy
The Pastor Training International (PTI)
and Christian Books Worldwide (CBW)
supporter’s day on 12 May was inspiring.
With reports from across the globe showing how the work of PTI and CBW has
grown, a highlight was Pastor Andrew, from
Myanmar, sharing how PTI’s training benefits local pastors. Many new churches have
been planted in the rural Buddhist country.
Congregations have grown, with many new
converts, but pastors need training in how
to disciple and feed them. PTI encourages
pastors to read the text carefully, to interpret
its true meaning, then preach and apply it.
Returning to North Korea
Andrew Dudgeon
Date posted: 1 Jul 2018
The strangest thing happened the other day: I got stuck in a traffic-jam in Pyongyang!
After eight years, it was time to return to North Korea along with a team of wonderful Christian medics from around the world.
Evangelical crisis
Kenneth J. Stewart
Date posted: 1 Jul 2018
Dear Editor,
I am largely in agreement with Ranald Macaulay’s concern over the prevalent evangelical tendency to shun engagement with society and its worrisome tendencies (en June ‘Evangelicalism in Crisis’). Yet I believe that his readiness to point the finger at European Pietism as providing an explanation of the origin of this tendency does not bear careful scrutiny.
Ministry training with a difference
Paul Brennan
Date posted: 1 Jul 2018
Paul Brennan tells us about the Cornhill Scotland approach
In the May edition of en the editorial raised some of weaknesses in traditional methods of ministry training.
Gaines Manor – ten years on
Ben Putt
Date posted: 1 Jul 2018
Ben Putt tells the recent story of the well-known Christian youth centre
I had never planned to go into full-time gospel ministry.
Reaching the military
Jamie Campbell
Date posted: 1 Jul 2018
Between 8 August and 11 November, The
Soldiers’ and Airmen’s Scripture Readers
is asking churches,
Association (SASRA)
join a
to
individuals
small groups and
Prayer Event called 100days.
SASRA shares the gospel with serving personnel in the Army and the RAF. It is able
to go ‘behind the wire’ where local churches
can’t, with 16 uniformed Scripture Readers, all of whom have served in the Military.
‘Though the earth give way’
Chris Wright
Date posted: 1 May 2018
Chris Wright on how Christians should live in an age of growing international chaos.
I read in the New York Times some weeks ago that there are increasing numbers of young couples getting married with the intention of not having children.
A mission to
code
Kingdom Code
Date posted: 1 Dec 2016
Some 60 Christian coders, designers and
entrepreneurs completed an
intensive
weekend of computer programming
to
help the church and charitable projects, in
the early Autumn.
The
event,
held
at
the
Innovation
Warehouse in central London, started with
short project pitches. Teams were then formed
to work on the different ideas. Projects included one to aid people struggling with depression or addiction to get help right when they
need it from trusted family or friends.
The Third Degree
Storytelling
Kate Duncan
Date posted: 1 Apr 2018
‘It is amazing see God work in front of my eyes.
‘I brought my friend to the Story mission week and, despite personal struggles with suffering, she was able to start believing in God.’
Data protection: be ready!
Gemma Adam
Date posted: 1 May 2018
Gemma Adam with some advice for churches on getting ready for GDPR
From 25 May 2018 it is a legal requirement for every organisation (including churches and all charities) to comply with the General Data Protection Regulation.
Michael Rees 1937 – 2018
Julia Cameron
Date posted: 1 May 2018
Michael Rees, with his welcoming smile,
will be
remembered by generations of
Cambridge students as the vicar of Holy
Trinity Church (1972 –1984).
Michael stayed close to the CICCU, and
after the Sunday evening service dispersed,
the CICCU would
take over
the building for its weekly evangelistic
address.
Lancaster: building for growth
Nathan Weston
Date posted: 1 Jun 2018
The purchase of an historic church building in Lancaster in recent months provided Moorlands Church with the opportunity for more gospel growth.
Thirteen years ago, Moorlands Church Lancaster had a fresh start. Originally founded as a Brethren Assembly in 1940, the congregation had dwindled to the point of closure when it was revitalised by a team of people moving into the area, including the church’s first full-time pastor, Danny Rurlander. The church resolved to prioritise the proclamation of the Word of God in the city, trusting Paul’s words in Colossians that it is the gospel which brings the growth.
Professor R. J. (Sam) Berry 1934 – 2018
Julia Cameron
Date posted: 1 Jun 2018
Sam Berry came to faith in Christ through Iwerne camps, while at Shrewsbury School. From his Cambridge days as an undergraduate in natural sciences, he took a clear stand as a Christian, arguing that a model of evolution should not hinder a belief in a Creator.
In 1975 he published his first book, Adam and the Ape. From here he became known as a leading apologist for theistic evolution. In 1974, he had been appointed as Professor of Genetics at University College London, a chair he would hold until 2000. The tribute from UCL described him as ‘a massive figure in evolutionary and ecological genetics, biodiversity and conservation biology’ and noted his Christian faith. Sam was a man of immense output. His books included academic titles in biological science and Christian apologetics. He was generous with his time, accepting many speaking engagements, and lending his name and presence to a range of initiatives in the area of ecology. While eminent in his field, he wore his achievement lightly.
France: praising God together in Paris
Deborah Prisk
Date posted: 1 Jun 2018
More than 220 French-speaking women gathered together on 14 April for the annual ‘Chrétiennes Engagées’ Conference.
The keynote speaker, Sarah Richelle, spoke from Psalms 1 and 2; ‘Happy – Finding your joy in the Word and in the King’. The participants, representing over 59 churches in the Paris region and wider, braved train strikes and Easter holiday traffic to get to the American Church in Paris, on the Quai d’Orsay, close to Les Invalides. They were built up by excellent Bible teaching and the opportunity to praise God and enjoy fellowship together.
OAM training day
J.P. Earnest
Date posted: 1 Jun 2018
James Seddon’s challenging hymn
‘Go
Forth and Tell’ was the title for The Open-Air Mission’s training day held on 14 April
in Bromsgrove.
160 people interested in open-air evangelism attended from different parts of the
country. After
the hymn, which
set
the
tone for the day, Mike Mellor tackled the
subject ‘How do we keep going?’ We were
exhorted to persevere in our service for the Lord. What motivated the apostle Paul in
his gospel endeavours should also motivate
us to continue.
USA: number 50 saved
The Daily Wire
Date posted: 1 Jun 2018
A
survivor
from
the devastating
terror
attack in Orlando, Florida at gay nightclub,
Pulse, posted on Facebook on 27 April that
he found Jesus as his personal saviour and
is no longer identifying as gay.
The attack happened in June 2016 and left
49 people dead. ‘I should have been number 50!,’ wrote survivor Luis Javier. ‘Going
through old pictures of the night of Pulse, I
remember my struggles of perversion, heavy
drinking to drown out everything, and having promiscuous sex that led to HIV. My
struggles were real!’ he recalled. ‘The enemy
had its grip, and now God has taken me from
that moment and has given me Christ Jesus.’
Field of Dreams
The parents’ rollercoaster
Graham Daniels
Date posted: 1 Jun 2018
In previous columns, we have shared some of the ways we support Christians involved in elite sport.
But to make the grade as adults, these sports-people will have been identified and trained from a young age. Imagine the emotional involvement of parents… ‘She’s done it. She’s made the British team for the world junior championships. How amazing is that! All that sacrifice has paid off. We almost feel like we’ve been selected ourselves.’
Building in Belfast
Dan & Susie Leafe
Date posted: 1 Jun 2018
It is an unfortunate irony that the historic Belfast shipyard of Harland & Wolff is most famous for a single notorious failure: the RMS Titanic.
The doomed White Star Liner has come to symbolise a bygone age and to become a byword for humanity’s hubris. But, notwithstanding that, Harland & Wolff, which when it launched the ‘Unsinkable’ had already been building ships for over a half a century, has gone on to do so to the present day. The area around the Belfast docks may have been rebranded the Titanic Quarter, but in reality it is a place where great successes have been built for over 150 years.
defending our faith
When Billy met C.S. Lewis
Chris Sinkinson
Date posted: 1 Apr 2018
It has been striking to notice the high esteem in which Billy Graham has generally been held.
Despite a few vocal critics, there has been genuine affection evident in his passing.
JESUS AT WORK
Wes Illingsworth
Date posted: 1 Mar 2018
‘Questions for Life’ is a new initiative which will allow many office workers across Central London to hear about Jesus Christ from their own Christian colleagues.
Across the month of March, individual Christians, workplace Christian groups, and the ‘Gospel at Work’ Lunchtime Talks network are making a special effort to take Jesus Christ’s answers to life’s biggest questions into their workplaces.
Ireland’s abortion vote
Crowds celebrated the ‘Yes’ vote on 25 May for abortion to become legal in Ireland.
I, like many others, was overcome with huge sadness at the prospective killing of new lives. I’m not sure that these days, as a man, I am even allowed to have an opinion on the issue, but I know that God is a God of life, not death. In England, we have had legal abortion for over 50 years, yet the fact that, statistically, the most unsafe place for a baby is its mother’s womb, I find horrific.