Winter 2022 moore.edu.au
Ministry in a disaster zone Sun-gods, Motown and a f iled two-day a f sts pages 7 6-
Temptations Preachers a f e c to gie v up on the Bible pages 8-9
C PT group leading in a local church page 13
2
CONTENTS
F R O M T H E P R I N CI P A L
The importance of teaching the Bible ����������������������������������������2-3 A Review of The Doctrine of Scripture: An Introduction by Mark Thompson �������������������������������������4-5 Sun-gods, Motown and failed two-day fasts �����������������������������������6-7
Temptations preachers face to give up on the Bible �������������������������������������������������������8-9
PTC group leading in a local church ������������������������������������������� 13
Five lessons learned by a pastor’s wife in a disaster zone ��������������������10-11
Why Moore College is vital to God’s mission in these challenging times ����������������������������� 14-15
The power of God’s word in evangelism ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������12
MO O R E M AT T E R S W I N T E R 2 0 2
The importance of teaching the Bible Mark Thompson / Principal
EVER SINCE IT WAS FOUNDED IN 1856, THE TEACHING OF THE BIBLE HAS DETERMINED WHAT IS TAUGHT AT MOORE COLLEGE.
T
he Bible is not just a discrete part of the curriculum here, a foundation we can move on from as we pass through the College course. Everything we do is shaped and directed by the teaching of Scripture. Of course, we read the great theologians, we engage with the best thinking in the wider community, we develop skills in thought and practice, and we learn to understand where we fit in the unfolding history of the Christian mission. We value all these things. Yet at every point the Bible is not just in the background but consciously in the foreground. We are convinced that evangelical theological education is unashamedly biblical-theological education. Nevertheless, we call ourselves a theological college rather than a Bible college. Why is that? Of course, there are historical reasons to do with a distinction between helping Christians to grow in their knowledge of the Bible and preparing people for a lifetime ministry of the word. That historical distinction may have become somewhat blurred over the years, as traditional Bible colleges have started to offer degree study. However, theological colleges tend to put a stronger emphasis on biblical languages (after all these are the vehicle through which God gave us the Old and New Testaments) and spend more time on systematic theology (providing an account of what the whole Bible says on a particular topic in a way that preserves the connections and proportions of Scripture and recognises the consequences of the positions we hold). Many, if not most, Bible colleges are nondenominational, which means they are not committed to any particular confessional document; whereas most theological colleges operate within a confessional and
denominational framework, preparing people to serve in that context first of all (though often not exclusively). There is, however, another reason why we prefer ‘theological college’ as a description of what we are and what we do. It lies in the word ‘theology’ itself. Theology simply means ‘word or words about God’ and it draws attention to the fact that the endpoint of all our study is God himself. Older theologians used to speak of how theological study involves learning to think about everything in terms of its relation to God. All creation ultimately has its source in God and so it is a good and right thing to turn our attention at each point to him. We understand ourselves, our world, the course of human history, and everything else, in light of the fact that we are God’s creatures and so everything exists for him (Colossians reminds us more specifically, for Christ—Col 1:16). Does that lead us away from the Bible? Obviously, it shouldn’t. Through history there have certainly been those who have sought to have their own thoughts about God, without any recourse to the Bible. You do not need to read a lot of theology before you come across those whose point of reference is the words of other theologians rather than the Bible. I remember sitting in a seminar where the professor said, ‘Of course we could turn to the Bible for the answer to this question, but I like to think things through for myself’. But since Jesus treated the Bible as the written word of the living God—appealing to the Old Testament to explain who he was and what he had come to do, or to expose wrong thinking and living in those who opposed him, or to make known the purposes of God—those of us who follow him instinctively make the same move. His apostles, commissioned to take the teaching of Jesus to the ends of the earth until the end of the age (a commission that generated the New Testament), followed his example and regularly appealed to the Old
3
Jesus once said, that ‘every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old’ (Matt 13:52). We want our graduates to be able to do that year after year until the Lord Jesus returns. Our proper stance before the Bible is one of both humility and delight. We must never allow ourselves to be cavalier in our handling of the Bible. The authority which the Bible bears is the authority of God himself, since it is his written word. Studying it and teaching it is a very serious business. As the Lord said through the prophet Isaiah, ‘this is the one to whom I will look: the one who is humble and contrite in spirit and who trembles at my word’ (Isa 66:2). But it is a serious business suffused with delight. What an enormous privilege it is to study the word of God! ‘The words of the Lord are pure words, like silver refined in a furnace on the ground, purified seven times’ (Psa 12:6). As Jeremiah prophesied, ‘Your words were found and I ate them, and your words became for me a joy and the delight of my heart; For I have been called by your name, O LORD of hosts’ (Jer 15:16). At Moore College, we want to sit humbly under the teaching of the Bible and we want to delight in the word he has given us. It is because it is his written word, a good and life-nourishing word, and because of the example of Jesus and his attitude towards this word, that we are committed to keeping the Bible at the centre of all we do.
Dr Mark D Thompson, Principal
F R OM T H E P R I NCI PAL MOOR E M AT T E R S W I N T E R 2 0 2 2
Testament, and even occasionally to the emerging New Testament (2 Pet 3:15–16). The bottom line is that we can only know God by God. Unless God makes himself known to us, the best we have are educated guesses. But God has spoken. He has made known who he is, what he is like, what he is doing in the world and how he will accomplish his purposes. So, our first and sufficient port of call in understanding everything in relation to God is the word he has given us. As the apostle Paul made clear, all Scripture is not only God-breathed, it is ‘profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction and for training in righteousness’ and the goal is ‘that the servant of God might be complete, equipped for every good work’ (2 Tim 3:16–17). The Bible is an inexhaustible resource. Those embarking on a long-term teaching ministry need to know the Bible well but they will never master it. There is always more to learn. Our confidence that this is God’s word must be accompanied by an acknowledgment that this word may still correct my fallible explanations of it and teach me something I had not seen before.
4 B OOK R E V I E W MOOR E M AT T E R S W I N T E R 2 0 2 2
A Review of The Doctrine of Scripture: An Introduction by Mark Thompson Andrew Leslie / Head of Theology, Philosophy and Ethics, Christian Doctrine IT CAN BE A LITTLE AWKWARD WHEN ASKED TO REVIEW A BOOK WRITTEN BY A FRIEND, ESPECIALLY IF THAT FRIEND ALSO HAPPENS TO BE YOUR BOSS. YOU WONDER IF YOU WILL HAVE TO PERJURE YOURSELF FOR THE SAKE OF PRESERVING THE RELATIONSHIP!
F
ortunately, in the case of Mark Thompson’s recently released book, The Doctrine of Scripture: An Introduction, any anxiety has proven to be entirely needless. This book, which is the latest contribution to Crossway’s Short Studies in Systematic Theology, is, in my opinion, the finest succinct study of this most wonderful gift of divine revelation that I have come across. With his trademark clarity, Thompson has delivered a rich, well-documented study of this doctrine that is remarkably comprehensive for all its relative brevity. I expect it will be a stimulating, informative, and spiritually enriching resource for the full gamut of God’s people: specialist, student, pastor, and layperson alike. What I most appreciate about this book is how it explores the theological reality of Scripture by recognising its distinctive place within all of God’s acts. Textbook discussions of the doctrine of Scripture have typically been arranged around a set of ‘properties’: its authority, truthfulness, inspiration, clarity, sufficiency, and so on. There’s nothing necessarily wrong with that, but it can sometimes feel like you are in a lab describing an inert lump of something staring back at you in a test tube. In Thompson’s book, all these important matters are skilfully addressed, but the entire discussion is structured and animated by a conviction that flows out of our faith itself: that Scripture is the instrument
God has chosen to awaken us from our sinful rebellion and draw us into a personal relationship with himself. There is deliberately no chapter on the authority of Scripture, for instance, as if it can merely sit as one isolated attribute among many. Rather, the whole book aims to come to terms with the fact that Scripture is no less than the mighty ‘arm’ of the sovereign Lord himself, or in the expression Hebrews gives us, ‘the living and active word of God’ (Heb. 4:12). If this central conviction is one that Thompson deftly illustrates with the able assistance of great theologians from the past like John Calvin and Martin Luther, or more recent voices like John Webster and Kevin Vanhoozer, he is much more eager to take us straight to the testimony of the one who is at the heart of our faith itself, Jesus Christ. And that’s where the book begins (chapter 1). In beginning with Jesus’s own testimony about Scripture—a testimony which of course is contained within Scripture itself—Thompson is not saying these words are somehow more authoritative than any other statement within the Bible. The ‘verbal’ and ‘plenary’ inspiration of Scripture, where every word is equally affirmed to be the Word of God, is a key claim Thompson wishes to uphold. Instead, the point is simply this: if Jesus is uniquely the eternal Word of God
B OOK R E V I E W M OOR E M AT T ER S W I N T ER 2 02 2
made flesh—the one who fashioned the world out of nothing, the one who exclusively reveals his Father in his own very person, and the one, then, who exclusively gives us access to his Father—surely anything he has to say about his own relationship to the words of Scripture is going to be particularly instructive. Thompson shows how at every turn Jesus has chosen to define his identity and mission, as well as to communicate his authority, by means of Scripture, which he unmistakeably declares to be the very ‘Word of God’. It’s a point that’s eloquently underlined by his own willingness to submit to its authority in his incarnate life, so the authority of Jesus and the authority of Scripture can never be prised apart. Indeed, every attribute we associate with Scripture—its clarity, truthfulness, sufficiency, and efficacy—is readily attested to by Jesus himself. After beginning here, the bulk of the book then unfolds these attributes of Scripture in much more detail. Chapter 2 shows how the phenomenon of a God who speaks to his creatures through intelligible words is something that is ultimately grounded in his own triune
life. It is no exaggeration to say that the intelligibility of God in Scripture, communicated by his inspired human mouthpieces, is a gracious overflow of what is eternally summed up in the Son’s own relationship to his Father as his eternal ‘Word’. Chapter 3 gives attention to the phenomenon of the ‘book’ we call Scripture itself. Its central question is this: how did a Word, originally delivered through the ministry of prophets and Apostles, eventually come to be written down, settled or ‘closed’ as a Canon, and preserved for all posterity? Chapters 4 and 5 then tackle the character of Scripture in two parts. First, there is a discussion of the clarity and truthfulness of Scripture (Chapter 4). It is a profound, immensely useful, yet straightforward explanation of what is and isn’t being claimed by these concepts, offering a cogent defence of the infallibility and inerrancy of Scripture against many of the usual objections that are raised. In chapter 5, there is a brilliant treatment of the sufficiency and efficiency of Scripture, bringing the book back full circle to the central place God has given Scripture in communicating his saving mercies to his people and in administering his authority over all things. Last, but not least, chapter 6 concludes the book appropriately with an exhortation to honour the significance of Scripture for our Christian discipleship. The nature of Scripture demands a certain posture in its readers, marked above all by a reverent, prayerful, and ultimately joyful submission to its teaching, as in it we recognise the voice of our great Shepherd, Jesus Christ. Faithful though it is, this book is so far from being a dull and predictable repetition of the church’s teaching on Scripture. It is in every respect a fresh, incisive, and spiritually uplifting read which I pray will instil among its readers ever-greater confidence in the divine power of Scripture to raise the dead and bestow upon them the priceless gift of immortality in Christ.
6 F R OM T H E FA CU LT Y MOOR E M AT T E R S W I N T E R 2 0 2
Sun-gods, Motown and failed two-day fasts The Bible and the Christian life: A personal journey Peter Orr / New Testament Lecturer I BECAME A CHRISTIAN THROUGH READING THE BIBLE.
W
e were given copies of the New Testament by the Gideons and were challenged to read them every day. Being the obedient schoolboy that I was, I took up the challenge and began to read every day. However, for various reasons, I did not want my friends to know, so I kept my Bible reading secret. As a result, when I came across verses like ‘whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven’ (Matt 10:33), I was struck and knew that I was not actually right with God. To cut a long story short, I did eventually become more public with my faith. However, I also became what you might call a ‘legalist’. I had a very strange understanding of the Christian life and what behaviour pleased God. For example, we had been on a family holiday to Mexico, and I had picked up a little clay smiling ‘sun’ that I hung on my wall. I remember one day looking at it and thinking, ‘that’s an idol’.
I grabbed a hammer and took the unsuspecting sun out the back of our house and smashed it. I also had a large collection of soul music. In fact, I am confident that I had the most extensive collection of Motown music in Northern Ireland (where I grew up) at the time. I concluded that this was ungodly and was holding me back as a Christian, so I sold my collection (it breaks my heart even to write this!). I also thought that I should read the Bible and pray three times a day. That was not a bad thing in itself, but if I missed one of my quiet times, I would feel guilty that I had somehow sinned against God. Effectively, I was trying to establish my righteousness before God by my own piety. Thankfully, although I was reading the Bible for the wrong reasons, I was being exposed to it and I remember reading Luke’s account of the crucifixion. I was struck by Jesus’ interaction with the criminal crucified next to him who turns to Jesus and asks him to ‘remember me when you come
into your kingdom’ (23:42). Jesus replies with the wonderful words of assurance, ‘Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise’. I remember being deeply affected by the fact that this man had done nothing to contribute to his salvation—he had not had a quiet time three times a day, etc. The truth that it was Jesus’ death on the cross that secured this criminal’s salvation and so could secure mine flooded my heart. Again, in his kindness, God had spoken to me through his word and called me from error. Legalism was still a struggle, but the Lord slowly directed my heart away from my own works as the basis of my relationship with him onto the Lord Jesus and his death and resurrection. When I was still a young Christian, I adopted another unhelp ful approach to the Christian life. I started pursuing experiences of God as an assurance of his love. Perhaps it was connected to my legalism, but I struggled to believe that God accepted me. I was also looking for a magic bullet to unlock my Christian life.
7 FR OM T H E FA C ULT YM OOR E M AT T ER S W I N T ER 2 02 2
One weekend I decided to fast for two days thinking that would bring me closer to God. However, I got to the end of the first day and gave in and ate a massive steak. I also started going to a church that focused on experience. At the end of every service, there would be a time of ministry where people were prayed over. The pastor would apply pressure to your forehead. Some people would fall over. I really wanted to have that kind of experience but knew that if it were real, I would not be able to stop myself. I never fell over, but I remember each Sunday night feeling like a time of real spiritual breakthrough.
However, I would inevitably wake up the next day feeling the same. Again, God rescued me from my error through his word. I moved to a church where the Bible was taught faithfully week by week. God’s word gave me a foundation and rootedness in my Christian life that meant I began to look away from my experience and to the Lord Jesus for my assurance. It is not that the Christian life is meant to be one void of experience—not at all. It is meant to be one of peace (e.g., Isa 26:3) and joy (e.g., 2 Cor 7:4)—even inexpressible joy (1 Pet 1:8). But the mountain-top experiences were not where I was going to find the proof of God’s love.
In some ways, I was falling into the same error that the Colossian church was. They were Christians but they were being drawn away from Christ to find their security in ecstatic angel worship or asceticism (Col 2:18). However, Paul reminded them ‘just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness’ (Col 2:6–7) The way to grow as a Christian is the same as the way to become a Christian. You were taught Christ, continue to trust in him. That is what I needed to hear. For me, as I read God’s word every day (or nearly!) and as I sit under it in sermons, God calls me to continue to trust in his Son. I am thankful that the Lord graciously led me to the point of understanding that the Bible, which points me to Christ, is the place where I can find security and stability in my Christian life. I now have the privilege of being a teacher of God’s word at College and it is a joy to be involved in that same work of continuing to call people to keep looking to Christ as he is revealed in the word of God.
8 P R E A CH I NG T H E B IB LE
Temptations preachers face to give up on the Bible Phillip Jensen / Bible teacher and evangelist, Two Ways Ministries
MO O R E M AT T E R S W IN T E R 2 0 2
PRE ACHERS ARE NOT SPECIAL.
T
hey face the same temptations as every Christian. Like any of us, preachers are ruined through nancial greed, sexual immorality, or alcohol abuse. However, there are some specic temptations preachers face concerning giving up on the Bible. This topic assumes a whole theology of the preached word of God and the relationship of the word of God with the Bible. Accepting this assumption and the theology that lies behind it, I need to rst clear some of the ground for what it means for preachers to give up on the Bible. In Acts 20, Paul claimed to have omitted nothing of t‘ he whole counsel of God’. But Paul wasn’t claiming to have taught every verse of the lO d Testament in an expository preaching program. The whole counsel of God was t‘ he Kingdom’, t‘ he gospel of the grace of God’, r‘ epentance toward God and faith in the Lord e J sus Christ’ (Acts 20:22 0- 1, 24, 25,27). This ‘word of God’ that Christian preachers proclaim is more specic than simply the Bible. The word of God Christians preach is the gospel of e J sus Christ, for that is the message of the Bible. Those who preach God’s word must have the humility to ensure their words coincide with God’s words, found in the Bible. The connection between continuing with the inspired scriptures, preaching the word, and doing the work of an evangelist is seen in 2Timothy 4:5.31However, Biblical truth is truth with or without reference to the
Bible. Referring to the Bible does not make falsehood true—even the devil quoted the Bible. Furthermore, the commitment to scriptural evangelism required of the Christian preacher does not equate to preaching ‘oral commentaries’. Oral commentaries are neither preaching nor God’s word. Preaching is a complex and difficult social task that is expressed in many forms. It is insufficient to preach the word of God—we must preach it to somebody else. The preaching of the word of God must fit the situation and occasion. However, the Christian preacher must always aim to preach the word of God, regardless of the situation or occasion. Holding together preaching the truth and the listener need isn’t always easy. Thus, many of the temptations to give up on the Bible come from the preacher’s attempts to communicate with people. The preachers’ temptations often come from the hearers’ itchy ears demanding relevance, application, persuasion, and simplicity. The Bible’s relevance is in its
truth, destroying the falsehoods of Satan—not simply answering the questions people ask, but revealing the irrelevant hypocrisy of the world’s frame of reference and interests. Answering the world’s questions is usually accepting and even preaching the philosophy of the world. Preaching the gospel will address the problems of sinfulness that the world diagnoses incorrectly. For example, Jesus didn’t die to overcome power imbalance and patriarchy but sin and God’s condemnation. Closely associated with relevance is the demand for the sermon to be applied to everyday life. Yet the gospel transforms and renews minds rather than providing more rules and regulations to live by. The New Testament preachers did engage in persuasion, showing to the Jews the consistency of the gospel with Old Testament expectations. However, they did not recast the gospel to show consistency with the pagan world’s religion, morality or philosophy. Just the reverse—they attacked
9 easily turn church into a concert. However, it is the temptations that are inside us that finally lead us astray (James 1:14-15). The desire to be liked and successful are two deadly desires of the preacher. We want Jesus’ name to be honoured, people to be converted and the church to grow. We want people to like us so that they will listen to our message and give us opportunities to share the gospel of Jesus with them. However, both are deadly for gospel ministry. The desire for success is not the central motivational drive or key evaluation of gospel
ministry. It inevitably leads to an ungodly pragmatism, personal aggrandizement, and avoidance of preaching the offence of the gospel. While faithfulness must not be an excuse for failure, it does keep the preacher on the Bible’s message of the gospel. Unlikability is not a virtue to pursue. The desire to be liked, however, is a burden that makes gospel preaching impossible. To avoid confrontation, to be appreciated, and to be an accepted part of the society and culture leads the preacher to choose to avoid, soften, excuse, or apologise for socially unacceptable parts of the Bible. The devil frequently tempts us with persecution and seduction. Gospel preachers face both together; the world does not want to hear what we say, and we want to be liked and successful. By letting go of the Bible, we accommodate the gospel to the world, instead of accommodating the world to the gospel. If the agenda of our preaching is the worldview of our own message, the outcome of our preaching will not be the word of God. Jesus told his disciples of the blessing of being persecuted for righteousness (Matthew 5:11-13, Luke 6:22-23, John 15:18-16:4). Yet in this, preachers are no different from any Christian, for we are all called upon to deny ourselves, take up our cross and unashamedly follow Jesus. This is the joyful pathway of our salvation.
P R E A CHI NG T H E BI BL E MOOR E M AT T E R S W I N T E R 2 0 2 2
the falsehood of the world’s views, especially of idolatry. Biblical preachers must aim to conform the world to the truth rather than being conformed by the world’s errors. Simplification is the art of good preaching when its aim is to lift minds and understanding. But the quest of many modern listeners is to lower the level of discourse to the laziness of emotional experiences, YouTube clips and post-modern memes. Jokes and stories, anecdotes, and pithy platitudes entertain more than educate. While simplification, like aesthetics and music, aim to aid hearing the word of God, it can
M OOR E C OL L EG E AL UMNU SM OOR E M AT T ER S W I N T ER 2 02 2
Five lessons learned by a pastor’s wife in a disaster zone Susan Playsted / Moore College Alumnus
SUSAN PLAYSTED IS A GRADUATE OF MOORE COLLEGE. SHE IS MARRIED TO STEWART, THE SENIOR PASTOR OF SOUTHERN CROSS PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN THE FLOOD-RAVAGED TOWN OF LISMORE, NORTHERN NSW. MOORE MATTERS SPOKE TO SUSAN ABOUT LESSONS SHE’S LEARNED MINISTERING TO PEOPLE DURING AND AFTER THE FLOOD. Moore Matters: What’s the first lesson you’ve
learned while ministering to people at this awful time?
Susan Playsted: People’s experience of grief is varied and vast. There isn’t a one size fits all when it comes to walking alongside people in crisis. There’s that fight or flight moment in people, which can be really visible or quite internal. So you need to unpack where people are at in the moment.
MM: So how does knowing where they’re at in their grief change how you help people?
SP: Some people just want you to be shoulder to
shoulder with them and help throw out damaged goods or help sort through photos. And then there are some people who don’t want to talk about their experience at all. While other people don’t want to go back into their house but are happy to talk out the front and have a drink with you.
MM: What’s the second lesson? SP: Your own spiritual tank will be dry.
with Tim Keller’s help—that’s been refreshing. It’s about not giving it up altogether, but doing what’s manageable. And also to use that to encourage others. Other women leaders would share a little phrase out of a Psalm or a verse on our WhatsApp. This gives you spiritual input when you’re feeling quite low. That’s so key.
MM: What was your third lesson? SP: An open home with food is your greatest asset as
you minister to people. People need a safe space to debrief, laugh, cry, and be refuelled physically, emotionally, and spiritually. You’ve got to resist the urge [to feel] that you’re useless because you’re not on the front-line, hosing or cleaning with the community because you need to look after children at home. I was utterly amazed that while we were without a power supply for many days like the rest of Lismore, somehow, in God’s good provision, we just had food turn up at our house. A dairy farmer in Bex Hill couldn’t get the milk truck in, so he was offloading fresh milk. You’d end up with 24 eggs from somewhere else. I had no idea who these people were: they were just connections through people we knew. It was like somebody knew somebody who knew that I was feeding many people. We had a gas stove, so I could cook even though we’d lost power. You would never know who would turn up, but without a lie, there would always be one bowlful left, no matter how many people I cooked for.
MM: What’s Lesson four?
It’s really hard to find quietness to do a quiet time. But it’s also hard to have a still mind to absorb anything or feel like you’re connected to God and His word. But you have to desire to do it. So, I changed what I was doing in my normal quiet time. My mentor suggested reading or listening to someone else who has done all the thinking for you so that you can meditate, even if it’s just on a verse or a word. Because now is not really the time to have to plumb the depths of Romans 8 or something like that.
MM: Because energy levels are so low? SP: And your brain feels like it’s in a complete flog. It gets really scattered. So even reading through Psalms
GillianVann / Shutterstock.com
11 MOOR E C OL L E GE AL U MNU S MOOR E M AT T E R S W I N T E R 2 0 2 2
Northern Rivers Aerial Photography
SP: It’s important to have some moments of dis-
location. We spent time outside Lismore to recalibrate and then re-engage. Having someone outside the situation to talk to has been important, which is tricky as every one in Lismore has been affected. There were so many people we spoke to who were traumatised, and it would have been harder for us to cope without that outlet.
MM: How did that help you? SP: It helped me be ready for unexpected conversations that could suddenly turn intense and emotional. Sometimes people just came round to drop something off, when they’d be triggered by something and say, ‘I lost that as well’. It was important to be ready for those moments.
MM: And the final lesson? SP: God is truly very creative and clever, and He brings good out of this tragedy. There have been many amazing moments, seeing people growing in their faith before my eyes.
MM: Is there an incident that stands out for you? SP: We were having a meal, and a young adult said: ‘it
feels like we’re on a teen mission to Fiji, but this isn’t like a ‘fake’ mission, it’s ‘real’ mission. We should read the Bible right now.’ And so, we stopped right there and read the Bible together. They really owned their trust in God. And they would unashamedly say they were Christian when they went to help and clean other people’s houses. MM: What are you hoping for next as a Church?
SP: I think one would be to keep those relationships
going with those non-Christians we’ve been able to help. And I know our people are keen to do that. Easter was such a beautiful time of hope, which churches in Lismore could offer in ways the government can’t. I think we’re going to have to be creative in using our physical church building. It’s one of the only public buildings still standing undamaged in Lismore.
MM: What can we pray for you? SP: Please pray that we don’t go weary and that our
people will be committed to their spiritual health even as they care for others.
MM: How might people help practically? SP: We’ve partnered with a few Sydney churches, as our giving budget has taken a bit of a nosedive. It would be terrible to lose staff at this time of increased need for ministry staff.
MM: And, if people want to contact you to encourage
or assist, they can do that through the Southern Cross Presbyterian Church website at scpc.org.au. Thanks so much for taking the time to talk to us!
12 MOOR E C OLLE G E CH A P L A I N MOOR E M AT T E R S W I N T E R 2 0 2 2
The power of God’s word in evangelism Joan Young / Moore College Chaplain JOAN YOUNG IS A WOMEN’S CHAPLAIN AT MOORE COLLEGE. MOORE MATTERS SPOKE TO JOAN ABOUT HOW GOD’S WORD HAS SHAPED HER LIFE. MM: How did God’s word first impact your life? JY: I first heard the good news about Jesus at home in
my family. It had been handed down to my parents by their families. From infancy, my parents taught me that God is real, His word is true, and Jesus loves me because the Bible tells me so. At home, my father would often sing hymns and whistle Gospel tunes. My mother read stories from the Bible to us and taught me to pray. These truths shaped my daily living and set me up for eternity. God’s word impacted my life through Church, Sunday School teachers, Christian Youth Camp leaders, Scripture Union Bible study notes, SRE and Christian teachers in a small country school.
MM: What have been some ways that you have seen God’s word impact the lives of others?
JY: I have seen God’s word make its indelible mark
on staff, faculty and students alike in three different residential Bible College environments I have been privileged to serve. As students studied God’s word and submitted their lives to its authority, they grew in faith, hope and love. God the Holy Spirit used His word to grow Christian character and equip His people for a lifetime of ministry. Walking alongside women and young adults in churches and at conferences where I have spoken, God used His word to change people, bringing some to new life in Christ and enabling others to grow and persevere in following Jesus in the face of great hardship, suffering and loss. Over the years, we have seen some come to faith in Jesus as my husband Warwick and I have engaged with neighbours and work colleagues, sharing God’s perspective with them and inviting them to hear God’s word spoken at
church, in our home, through a lecture or drama. One came to Christ at the first hearing of the gospel preached, whilst another came to faith after some time and is growing slowly in God’s word. It has been disappointing and sad to see some neighbours and friends take a step away from us, turning a blind eye to God’s word, refusing to walk in its light.
MM: What gives you the confidence to trust God’s word, especially in these uncertain times?
JY: God’s grace teaches me.
God brought me to the point of trusting His word and acting on it. God’s word rings true. It’s no fairy tale. The death and resurrection of Jesus show me the truth of His word. Eye witness accounts tell me God is trustworthy and what He says is true. It’s been reinforced and tested in life, experience, and time. God’s word brings life, meaning and hope. It gives wisdom, leading to salvation in Christ. Without it, there’s no hope, no meaning, no life.
MM: What encouragement would you give our readers to keep trusting in God’s word?
JY: Read the Bible. His word is self-authenticating.
Keep reading. Don’t stop. Read, mark and inwardly digest God’s word. Meditate on it. Memorize it. Keep going to church. Meet with others who know and love Christ. Keep hearing His word preached. Pray. Ask God to open your eyes and show you wonderful things in His word.
Ken Noakes / Minister, Lower Mountains Anglican Church
MOORE MATTERS SPOKE TO KEN NOAKES, THE RECTOR OF LOWER MOUNTAINS ANGLICAN CHURCH, ABOUT HOW HIS CHURCH USES THE MOORE PRELIMINARY THEOLOGICAL CERTIFICATE (PTC) TO TRAIN DISCIPLE-MAKING DISCIPLES. MM: What is the value of the PTC? KN: There are several reasons why PTC is so valuable— and has been for so long. Christians are called to be both disciples and disciplemakers. PTC helps in each of these aspects. Growing ministries usually feel the pressure to find more well-trained disciples as leaders. When asking a disciple to step up into leadership it is common to hear reservations about whether they know their Bible well enough to lead. PTC helps to address this—not only by teaching the Bible well but by teaching how to understand and interpret the Bible in a way that is contextually and biblically accurate.
MM: How do you structure your PTC groups? KN: Lower Mountains Anglican runs what we call a
TrainingWORKS—School of Ministry. Presently we are running two subjects each term and running three terms a year. So that means six subjects on offer each calendar year. And the two subjects that we run each term will be from both PTC Bands 1 and 2. That means those who want to start (on the Band 1 subjects), don’t have to wait, and those who have moved through several subjects, can keep pressing on (with the Band 2 subjects). How does it work?
Each subject has a Subject leader/s who guides the group through the material. Each course has ten units and the group gathers for each of those ten units for about 1 ½ hours face to face (we avoid all holidays and key events like Mother’s Day, Anzac Day, and Father’s Day). The sessions are video recorded for those who cannot make it every time. TrainingWORKS—School of Ministry is open to our members and others from other churches who would like to train with us so they can serve in their own churches more effectively. Go here for more information: https://tinyurl.com/5dyw8aja
MM: Why would you recommend PTC to be run at church in a group?
KN: One of the great things about PTC being an online
correspondence course is that it can be done any time, and anywhere with computer access. What that means is that any individual who can read can do this course. Yet we have found that people like to gather to spur one another on and learn together. As such, we run these courses in classes—or perhaps better, as workshops—where those who have enrolled can join with others for a set period (10 meetings) and investigate the word of God, challenge it, ask questions of the leader and one another, and support one another as they work through the course. Iron sharpens iron (Prov 27:17). I love the discipleship culture that this helps to create in our church. I thoroughly recommend the PTC and would be happy to talk with anyone who would like to set up PTC workshops in their churches or mission areas.
MOOR E C OL L E GE AL U MNU S MOOR E M AT T E R S W I N T E R 2 0 2 2
PTC group leading in a local church
13
14 EOF Y AP P E AL MOOR E M AT T E R S W I N T E R 2 0 2 2
Why Moore College is vital to God’s mission in these challenging times Akos Balogh / External Engagement Manager
Such pressure may cause us to question the truth and goodness of God’s word. Is the Bible trustworthy and true in its views on sexuality and gender? Are its views harmful to vulnerable sexual minorities? The hile my Christian friends were very narrative of harm is a powerful one permeating our encouraging, my non-Christian friends culture, and Christians are not immune from its impact. merely shrugged their shoulders with And so, what Christians need in these times is what indierence. Any negative peer pressure was limited to a they have always needed: faithful men and women who postmodern i‘ t’s great for you, but don’t push your views can teach them the truth of God’s word clearly and onto me’. Our broader culture was neutral and even condently c( .f. 2 Tim 2:).2 They need men and women positive toward Christianity in those days. who do not shrink from declaring the whole counsel of But in the following decades, our secular culture God (Acts 20:).27 moved from being positive or indierent to the Bible, Without such shepherds, the people of God are at to now seeing many of its teachings as harmful and risk of shipwrecking their faith on the rocks of trendy bigoted. Especially in the areas of sexuality and gender. secular ideologies and teachings: ideologies that (in And this cultural change has led to increased today’s West) see the Bible as bigoted and evil. Such pressure on Christians. ideologies can weaken people’s trust in the goodness On the one hand, we feel pressure to keep silent and truth of the Bible. Sadly, we see this in the younger about our faith o ( r at least the aspects of our faith that generation, as some walk away from the faith after touch on sexuality and gender). If we are too vocal swallowing our culture’s narrative about sexuality and about what we believe, we might experience all sorts of identity. pushback: from raised eyebrows, scorn from colleagues And so, herein lies the challenge: in a world that is and friends, or even a memo from the HR department growing ever more suspicious and hostile to Biblical about how such beliefs are not welcome in our i‘ nclusive’ work environment. faith, we need more gospel workers, not less. And we
IN 193, I BECAME A CHRISTIAN IN YEAR 1 OF HIGH SCHOOL.
W
15 Our faculty are sharp thinkers, able to engage with the pressures and challenges of our modern world. But they are also pastoral, helping shape and form our graduates into gospel workers who can share the Bible’s truth clearly and compellingly with people in our churches and the wider community. And our graduates go out to Sydney, Australia, and all over the world, taking the truth of the Bible with them wherever they go. The impact of our graduates is measurable. In the Anglican Church of Australia, many clergy and Bishops are Moore College graduates, as was seen in the recent General Synod of the Anglican Church of Australia. Our graduates are also heavily involved in movements like the Australian Fellowship of Evangelical Students (AFES), the Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches (FIEC) and City Bible Forum (CBF), taking the gospel to many corners of our society. You will find our graduates holding fast to the gospel in regional churches, in areas where the gospel preaching is otherwise lacking. And you will find our graduates taking the gospel overseas with organisations like the Church Missionary Society (CMS), exporting Reformed Evangelical theology to countries where the teaching of God’s word is often compromised. And so, as the end of this financial year approaches, would you give to Moore College’s End of Financial Year appeal so that we might train many more Bible-believing gospel workers for the harvest? Without faithful teachers of the Bible, God’s people are at risk from all sorts of dangers, while the lost are less likely to hear the Biblical gospel. Please consider giving generously to Moore College’s EOFY appeal today so that the truth of the Bible would be advanced in churches, ministries, and nations across the world. If you have any questions about our plans here at Moore College, don’t hesitate to contact me at akos.balogh@moore.edu.au. Yours in Christ,
Akos Balogh External Engagement Manager Moore College
EOF Y AP P E AL MOOR E M AT T E R S W I N T E R 2 0 2 2
need them to have rock-solid confidence in the truth of the Bible. This is why Moore College is vital to the continued mission of God’s people here in Sydney and the wider world. Our vision is to see God glorified by men and women living for and proclaiming Jesus Christ, growing healthy churches, and reaching the lost. And we do this by providing excellent evangelical theological education, equipping men and women to trust in God’s word, and to teach God’s word, no matter the pressures they face.
My Moore gift Please actively support Moore to ensure that together we can continue this vital gospel work under God, for His eternal glory. Your gift will be a personal investment in future generations of gospel workers. N.B. All donations over $2 to Moore College are fully tax deductible.
Title
Given Name
Family Name Address City State
Postcode
Phone Email
I would like to make a tax deductible gift of: $1500
$650
$350
$120
$60
Other $ Once
Monthly
Quarterly
Directed towards: General Fund John Chapman House Scholarships Fund Capital Development Fund
Payment method: Cheque (payable to Moore Theological College) Direct Deposit (see bank details below) My credit card Visa
M/card
American Express
CARD NUMBER
Expiry Date
/
Name on card Signature
It’s easy to donate 1 Return this form to Moore College by
mail (1 King Street, Newtown NSW 2042)
2 Visit our website www.moore.edu.au/donate 3 Direct Deposit (Please include your name in the description box) Bank Westpac Name Moore Theological College BSB 032 016 Account 293828
4 5
Call Leanne Veitch on 02 9577 9865 I would like more information on gifts in wills.
Moore Matters is the newsletter publication of Moore Theological College Principal of Moore College » The Rev Dr Mark Thompson Editor » Akos Balogh Assistant Editor » Paula Darwin Photography » Anna Zhu, Gabriel Lacoba NCNC, Moore College students Art and Design » Lankshear Design Moore Matters Copyright © Moore Theological College 2022 1 King Street, Newtown NSW 2042 AUSTRALIA moore.edu.au | foundation@moore.edu.au +61 2 9577 9999 CRICOS #00682B | ABN 47 46 452183 About Moore College Moore College exists to train men and women to take the good news of Jesus Christ to the world. Since 1856, more than 5,000 students have graduated from the College and have been sent out by God. Moore College has equipped men and women to serve in over 50 countries across the World. Today over 3,500 students are enrolled in our courses globally.
Cover image: Flooded Lismore CBD, photo by Northern Rivers Aerial Photography
Winter 2022 moore.edu.au
Ministry in a disaster zone Sun-gods, Motown and failed two-day fasts pages 6-7
Temptations Preachers face to give up on the Bible pages 8-9
PTC group leading in a local church page 13
People at Moore We recently farewelled our Registrar, Rhonda Barry.
Our new Registrar.
Rhonda Barry
Paul Yeates
Akos Balogh
Jinming Pap
Please join us in thanking God for her and the numerous contributions she has made to the College over many years of faithful service. We pray that she will enjoy her retirement and that God will bless her next adventures.
Our new Registrar is Dr Paul Yeates, who is an alumnus of Moore College. Before his appointment, he worked at the Australian College of Theology.
Akos Balogh is the newly appointed External Engagement Manager, overseeing the External Engagement Team. Prior to this role, he worked with The Gospel Coalition Australia.
Jinming was appointed as our Fundraising and Relationships Officer last year. Her key responsibilities are Fundraising, Foundation, donor relationships and CRM management.
There have been some staff changes in the Moore College Foundation team.
How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! (Ps 119:103)
Will you partner with us in providing a Scripture soaked theological education?
moore.edu.au/eofy
