Letters June 2006

Southern Cross | 29 May 2006

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Worse to not have a wife
Although the article on singlehood (SC, April) was interesting, Proverbs 18:22 provides a conundrum: ‘He who finds a wife finds a good thing, and obtains favour from the Lord’. Surely, having a spouse is preferable to not having one.
Haydn Sennitt
Burwood, NSW

Copyright on the cheap
Karen Gettens’ article on copyright laws (SC, April) was an eye-opener for me as I am a youth worker in this Diocese and media is a big resource for us. I wonder if it is at all possible for the Diocese to negotiate with the copyright companies to pay a yearly fee that covers all churches. As a result each church can pay a portion of the fee yearly so they are covered and do not need to pay every time media is used. Is there any way we can work towards something like this? This would make it cheaper, more manageable and helpful for churches in aiding their ministry.
Mel Hanger
Email address supplied

Silencing the messenger
Once again Dean Phillip Jensen has made the headlines (SC, May). Some have found his comparison between Christianity and Islam ‘racist and inflammatory’. Jesus claimed a singular relationship to God to an audience consisting of fundamentalists, nationalists, pluralists, secularists and devotees of a variety of religious and spiritual observances. In our so-called free society, it seems that we apparently remain equally affronted by such a claim, and want to silence the messenger. In so doing, we run the risk of not hearing Jesus’ message that he wants to freely share the privilege and benefits of that unique relationship with all the world, from the poorest Muslim child to the richest adult atheist, and died to make it possible.
Philip Cooney
Wentworth Falls, NSW

Whoever is not against you is for you

I’m writing in response to your recent article “True Confession of the Emerging Church” (SC May’06) to ask the question why is Southern Cross so negative and quick to criticise fellow (evangelical) Christians? Whilst the article concluded with some refreshing wisdom from Robert Forsyth counselling a wiser and more discerning attitude, the general tone was that the emerging church is clearly erroneous at worst and to be avoided at best.

Years ago I remember reading (in a Reformed magazine) an article on our Lord’s words found in Luke 9:50, “do not stop him… for whoever is not against you is for you” and 11:23, “he who is not with me is against me.” The wise suggestion was that the former was to be our attitude to others whereas the latter the test we apply to ourselves.

Having heard and read some of The Emerging Church leaders I would want to see them as those who are not only for the Lord, but brothers who are fellow evangelicals in doctrine and practice.

The attitude betrayed by your article gives the impression that there is only one way to engage in evangelism and fails to give credit to those experimenting with alternative ways of outreach, that they also understand the need to hold on to sound core theology.

To equate emerging church expressions with the Da Vinci Code is unworthy. To see the emerging church as a danger akin to the charismatic movement fails to recognise that we have all benefited from this movement. The tone of the article can only ensure that what happened when the charismatic movement (which has won many thousands for Christ) began to grow, namely drive away good people who are eager to reach out.

If your concerns about some hanging loose to theology are true a combative attitude can only ensure that those whose zeal for outreach causes them to neglect core theology will not learn from us. And just as sad that we will not learn from their zeal

A grave danger for those of us who cherish reformed theology has always been that we “know better what we don’t believe than what we do believe.” The best antidote to this awful tendency is surely a generous attitude toward our fellows, who in the main, are seeking fresh ways of touching the hearts and minds of those we have not touched.

Peter Brain
Bishop of Armidale

Thank you for Madeleine Collins’ article ‘True confessions the emerging church’. However, as the Principal Chaplain of The Mission
to Seafarers, Sydney, I was disturbed to read the description of the Easter Saturday event that took place in the Melbourne offices of the Mission to Seafarers.

The Chaplain of the Mission to Seafarers in Melbourne, the Rev. Bevil Lunson, has also distanced himself from this event, and wishes it known that the room in question had been temporarily rented to a local Baptist church who organised the ‘spectacle of the senses’ described in the article. He was not aware of the nature of the event and was dismayed by what took place.

Readers will be relieved to learn that such activities do not characterise the tireless, sacrificial ministry exercised in Melbourne by Mr Lunson.

Because of the danger of being tarred with the same brush, I want to reassure readers that the Mission to Seafarers, Sydney seeks to proclaim Jesus Christ directly, rather than symbolically, and so eschews the use of such ‘theatrics’.

Each year the Mission to Seafarers, Sydney ministers to some 14,000 seafarers arriving in Sydney from around the world. Many of these seafarers have had little contact with authentic Christianity, and it is our privilege to distribute to them each year thousands of Bibles, Gospels, Evangelistic CDs and tapes, as well as Bible Study materials and other Christian literature. Supporting this distribution is a ministry in which our Chaplains seek to proclaim the Lord Jesus Christ by their own words and pastoral care among the seafarers.

It is a tragedy that more Anglican Christians are not aware of this vital ministry, but it is made worse when one of the rare mentions in ‘Southern Cross’ is unfairly negative.

Rev. Ian Porter
The Mission to Seafarers, Sydney

Unhelpful help

It was with interest that I read the article ‘Don’t waste your cancer’ by John Piper (SC, May). Being a cancer survivor myself I was interested in what he had to say. Although everyone’s cancer story is different and we all react in different ways, I can’t agree with all that John says. I was disappointed that the article came across as though everyone should think this way. To state that my cancer ‘is designed by God’ and I should ‘use it as a means of witness to the truth and glory of God’ makes sweeping statements that not all of us can live up to. To state that I am ‘wasting’ my cancer to think otherwise is not helpful at all and only leaves us lesser mortals full of guilt because we can’t aspire to Mr Piper’s lofty ideals. I would have appreciated a more balanced view that will encourage people rather than destroy what little faith some of us have.

Anne Bates
Academic Administrator
Australian College of Theology

The power and the passion of prayer

Bishop Reg Piper has called the Diocese to prayer through using The Ephesus Code (SC, April/May). Throughout the history of God’s people, prayer has been a foundation stone of our faith and mission in the world – as it was for our Lord.

Reading about the struggles of Christians like Mordechai Vanunu to share their faith where they face persecution and hardship for doing so was inspiring. We can become desensitised to the needs and suffering to others, and blind to the deceptions and corruption in the system around us. I’m sure that if Jesus stood amongst us, he’d have something to say about this. So why don’t we? A first step to recovering our spiritual sensitivity and courage is to pray.

That is why our commitment to undertaking this Ephesus journey, of prayer focused on mission, is so important. The two must go together.

Peter Butler
Macquarie Fields, NSW

It is indeed wonderful to see so much emphasis on prayer in this May issue. I wish to clarify the statement “The Ephesus Code… is a continuation of the 40 days with the Risen Lord program last year”. Many may perceive that the 40 Days with the Risen Lord has occurred last year and not this year. There are 5000 people praying through the 40 Days with the Risen Lord this year and many churches in our own Diocese. I encourage the inclusion of these churches in our Diocese who are faithfully praying for the mission and preaching sermons on the missional church in Luke and Acts this year in the statements that are printed. The program will also run next year for those churches who have not yet been able to do it, and we have translated it into Mandarin for our Chinese congregations. I would appreciate this being addressed for future articles on prayer in the Diocese.

Sarah Plummer
Wilberforce, NSW

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