Seven up…

1) Good News in 90 seconds – Glen Scrivener was recently asked to summarise the gospel in 90 seconds. The clip went viral and the organisation he works for has now provided a brilliant animation to accompany the audio. Maybe it’s worth thinking what you’d say when faced with the same challenge. How is Glen’s attempt different?

2) If You Preach Like Whitefield, Think Like Wesley – I can’t say I know enough about either of them to say whether this is a fair distinction, but it makes for an interesting challenge.

3) Church Planting & Revitalization Conference Talks 2018 – A friend alerted me to this freshly-uploaded collection of 20-minute talks from a recent 9 Marks conference on church-planting & revitalisation. They’re also available via iTunes podcasts.

4) What does the Oxford Ad Clerum mean? Ian Paul with a very helpful response to a recent letter from the Bishops in Oxford Diocese to all their Diocesan clergy, which contained some “ambiguities, omissions and even contradictions” that have left many concerned whether the Bishops in question still hold to an orthodox view of marriage. (By the way, an Ad Clerum is the traditional name for a letter sent to all clergy in a Diocese by the Diocesan Bishop. It translates from the Latin as ‘to the Clergy’. Because we can change our doctrine but not our Latin titles, right…)

5) Responding to Samaritan’s Purse Criticism – Operation Christmas Child has been sending shoeboxes full of Christmas gifts & treats to destinations across the world since 1990. However in recent years their inclusion of child-friendly Christian literature in the boxes has resulted in criticism about ‘proselytising’ and being ‘Islamophobic’. For example, this week the Guardian wheeled out their annual piece against the charity, this time from leading secularist Polly Toynbee. Stephen Kneale is on the money as he responds to Toynbee’s Grinch-esque article above.

6) What’s in a number? Dutchman, 69, seeks age change to 49 – As Sam Allberry said, if biology is no longer determinative of sex, why should it be determinative of age?

7) How Does a Caterpillar Turn into a Butterfly? For something a bit different, because we all need to educate ourselves on the reality of the ‘caterpillar soup’ stage.

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