Cyprus: across the Muslim world
John Lodge
Date posted: 1 Jan 2016
In November, representatives of the Middle East Reformed Fellowship (MERF) fields and support bodies came together for the International Council (IC) at the John Calvin Centre in Cyprus.
40 years on from small beginnings in Beirut, Lebanon, in the 1970s, MERF now has a ministry in every major country dominated by Islam.
Yorkshire: ready for action
www.yorkshirecamps.org.uk
Date posted: 1 Jan 2016
November 21 and 22 saw the open day and dedication service for Netherside Hall, Yorkshire, the Yorkshire Camps venue that featured in April’s en.
After two weeks of torrential rain it was yet another answer to prayer that the official opening of Yorkshire Camps’ new venue was on a weekend which was dry, even if the countryside was dusted with snow.
Persecution class
Ray Porter
Date posted: 1 Nov 2015
Book Review
JARS OF CLAY
What the West Needs to Learn From the
Persecuted Church
Read review
news in brief
Bonaire: radio upgrade
TWR are to upgrade the shortwave/AM transmitter on Bonaire to 450KW, doubling the potential audience to 100 million people across Latin America, it was reported in September.
TWR have been broadcasting Bible teaching from Bonaire for over 50 years. Thousands of pastors and small home churches exist purely because of the evangelism and discipleship offered through TWR’s broadcasts. The upgrade will cost around £2.5 million in total.
Effective or defective?
David Baker
Date posted: 1 Nov 2015
Almost 450 church leaders met together for
the 2015 ReNew Conference at Chesford
Grange – the third conference that Anglican
Mission in England (AMiE), Church Society,
and Reform had organised together with the
purpose of encouraging church leaders to
pioneer, establish, and secure healthy local
Anglican churches throughout England.
Although I had hoped to attend, I was not
able to, so am grateful to Brian O'Donoghue
of St Helen’s Bishopsgate for most of the following report. In his chairman’s address,
William Taylor of St Helen’s outlined the
history, necessity, and strategy of ReNew and
introduced this year’s theme - ‘Shoulder to
Shoulder; partnering
together
in mission
and ministry’. He stressed the need for interdependence – in prayer, people, and finance.
The working class and Christ
David Binder
Date posted: 1 Dec 2015
David Binder interviews SixtyEightFive founder, Ian Williamson.
Many have argued that the evangelical church in the UK has been largely dominated by the middle class.
IVP / SPCK
Julia Cameron
Date posted: 1 Dec 2015
Dear en,
Like many, I was very grieved at the sudden and somewhat shocking news that IVP
had become a wholly-owned subsidiary of
SPCK. I write now only to reassure en read-ers on a question raised by your editorial
comment in the November news piece.
Is our leadership wasting talent?
Catherine Cowell and Sean Kennedy on releasing the enthusiasm of church members
‘No, the church won’t be able to support your project, because it’s not part of what we do,’ said the Revd Simon.
UBM: Oxbridge mission
UBM
Date posted: 1 Aug 2014
In the city centres of Oxford and Cambridge in June, people from Saudi Arabia, Iran, Libya, Turkey, China, Russia and atheists from the UK stopped to hear a presentation of the gospel as a United Beach Missions ‘Christian Answer’ team preached and witnessed for the Lord Jesus.
Many stopped, asked questions and listened to reasoned, interactive, Christian presentations: ‘How can God allow evil?’, ‘Who am I?’, ‘Reasons not to be an atheist’, ‘Did Jesus rise from the dead?’ And then there were the very many personal conversations as people willingly and eagerly discussed the claims of Jesus Christ.
Work in Progress
Being a big noise?
Roger Loosley
Date posted: 1 Oct 2015
Subject: Dr Phil Harper, CEng MIMechE MInstNDT PhD MEng, who runs his own company in Sheffield making ultrasonic measuring and monitoring equipment for engineering applications. Married with two children.
Age range: 30–40.
Interests: Food, cooking, DIY.
RJL: Were you were brought up in Sheffield?
Phil: No, I was brought up on a farm in Kilkenny in Southern Ireland.
The Third Degree
IFES World Assembly
Kate Duncan
Date posted: 1 Oct 2015
What do you get when you gather 1,000 evangelicals from 148 countries in a Mexican resort?
Nothing less than una fiesta grande: a plethora of culture and a little foretaste of Revelation 7.9: ‘…there before me was a great multitude that no-one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb…’
Special needs?
Sophie Killingley
Date posted: 1 Nov 2015
Book Review
THE LIFE YOU NEVER EXPECTED
Thriving While Parenting Special Needs
Children.
Read review
When is failure faithful?
Dr Mike Ovey
Date posted: 1 Nov 2015
Dr. Mike Ovey asks if current evangelicals are in denial about some important matters
A week ago I was at a major Church of England jamboree as a friend was installed in a new and more senior post.
Reaching for the summit?
Chris Sugden
Date posted: 1 Nov 2015
‘Summitry’ was a regular part of the Cold War. The USSR and the USA faced each across the Iron Curtain with separate alliances, the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation and the Warsaw Pact. Their leaders could not meet as part of one organisation, without recognising the unrecognisable: the West did not recognise the division of Berlin. In 1963 John F. Kennedy proclaimed across the Berlin Wall: ‘Ich bin ein Berliner’.
But US and Russian Presidents did meet in ‘summits’. And Archbishop Justin Welby has called a summit of Anglican Primates in Canterbury for 11–16 January 2016 in these words:
Scots train
FIEC
Date posted: 1 Nov 2015
The Fellowship of Independent Evangelical
Churches (FIEC) in partnership with the
Free Church of Scotland is to offer a new
training course at Edinburgh Theological
Seminary
(ETS),
it was announced
in
September.
FIEC directors will deliver the
lectures
alongside other experienced pastors which
will enable participating students to obtain a
new ETS certificate in ‘Independent Church
Ministry’.
news in brief
Bangladesh: 18 baptised
Rural Muslims Bangladesh’s (RMB) partnership with FEBA UK combines Christian teaching with input on health and social issues, it was reported in July.
18 listeners have been baptised in the last year. Those who respond to RMB’s gospel message know that, in doing so, they risk being expelled from their villages. RMB broadcasts in Bengali, providing trustworthy material on faith and practical issues, and presents Christian content in a style that is accessible to non-literate listeners.
New director
Natalie Parsons
Date posted: 1 Sep 2015
On 30 June Minister David Meredith of
Smithton Free Church was offered the position of Missions Director
for
the Free
Church of Scotland.
In mid July he accepted the position after
spending two weeks in prayer and discussion
with the elders at Smithton, as well as others
in the wider Church.
How to pray for the war
Balance is crucial. It is especially crucial when it is easy to swing to extremes.
Following the Commons’ decision on 2 December for RAF airstrikes against Islamic State in Syria after the terrorist atrocity in Paris, there is a new recognition that the UK is at war. Our security forces are thwarting many planned attacks, but there may be reprisals meted out on us. The question is: how can Christians be praying in a biblically sensible way?
Facing extremism
Of course we need to be balanced towards Islam. Many Muslims are civilised people of peace and we need to honour them. But with Hilary Benn’s speech to Parliament the penny seems to have dropped that those supporting Islamic state are as much fascists, seeing themselves as superior beings willing to liquidate all ‘inferiors’, as the Nazis. The West is now engaged in a Third World War. So, how should we pray?