“We’re not two minutes into our interview before Rev Canon Dr Ashley Null starts weeping gently. It is not what I was expecting. The danger with the relentless researching of your subject in preparation for an interview is that you’re bound to make some assumptions. My first was that Null, a Yale and Cambridge alumnus ..read more

  “After a pastor prayed for his friends, one of them rang him up the next day and said: ‘I’m not really sure why I am ringing you, but I thought I would touch base’. The pastor replied: ‘I know why you are ringing me. It is because I prayed for you’. And he shared ..read more

“With the approaching of the 33rd Summer Olympics in Paris on July 26, many people especially Christians are remembering Eric Liddell (1902-1945). Powerfully depicted in the 1981 Academy Award-winning film Chariots of Fire as the “Flying Scotsman”, Liddell demonstrated to the world a strong Christian conviction. Appreciated or criticised, he refused to run any race ..read more

The August – September 2024 edition of Southern Cross magazine is now available on the Sydney Diocese website. Download your copy – or pick up one at church when printed copies are available ..read more

“In a letter of 2 July this year to the signatories of a letter from the Alliance group within the Church of England to the Archbishops of Canterbury and York the Bishop of Oxford wrote as follows: ‘The mind of the majority House of Bishops now seems to me to be settling on questions of pastoral reassurance after many months of uncertainty. There is a now a reluctant acceptance of the need for some regional provision of episcopal ministry to recognise divergent views on marriage and same sex relationships, supported by a House of Bishops statement, Code of Practice and Reviewer. However, the ..read more

Anglican Futures is publishing a series of essays by various contributors on whether they should leave, or stay, in the Church of England: “The debate over whether to remain in or leave the European Union divided families and our nation and still does not seem to be finally settled. The discussions over what members of the Church of England should do, given the clear trajectory of the Prayers of Living in Love and Faith, is no less fraught. Already people on both sides of the debate have voiced their dissatisfaction and left. The reasons for people remaining are equally diverse and in some ..read more

“I was eating pizza the other night with two young men, one a Christian, the other a seeker. We talked about what it means to be a Christian and some of the challenges of the Christian life. The first surprise was that they/we couldn’t get through two family-sized pizzas. The youth of today! The second was that they thought that becoming a Christian in 2024 was a way of rebelling. One told how his boss, a Gen X Roman Catholic, explained that young men shouldn’t be going to church but should instead be finding a girlfriend to sleep with and getting drunk. The young man found this boringly orth ..read more

From The Pastor’s Heart: “Disillusionment is one of the great threats to the Christian life and to Christian ministry A wise man said the worst thing in ministry was not a pastor who quits, but a pastor who doesn’t quit, but who keeps going when they’ve given up. Sydney Missionary and Bible College Karl Deenick shares his own experience of hitting a major wall after seven years of pastoral work. We unpack how ministry challenges can lead to a sense of disillusionment, especially among millennials, plus a way back.” – Many will resonate with this one. Watch or listen here. Related: Gathered T ..read more

“In 1 Corinthians 9:19-22 the apostle Paul famously gives insight into one way Jesus’ love drove him to create deeply meaningful, personal connections to bring people the gospel: Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as ..read more

Dr Albert Mohler at Southern Seminary has released another ‘special edition’ of his The Briefing podcast to comment on the withdrawal of President Joe Biden from the Presidential race. Obviously, his opinions are his own, but Australians who might not have been following events closely will find this a helpful overview, along with his critique of some of the positions held by candidates or potential candidates. – Listen here. (26 minutes ..read more