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One Sheep At A Time: The Power Of One-To-One Ministry is September’s theme.
Matthias media and Sydney evangelicalism hold discipleship and training very highly.
This issue of the Briefing emphasises these areas of the Christian life, pointing to their importance and also providing practical means to implement them in our lives.
When overviewing issues of the Briefing I don’t usually mention the Up Front material much. I’ve usually read these pieces on the Sola Panel so don’t re-engage with them much when I get the magazine.
Paul Grimmond writes on one to one Bible reading. I love the idea of this and don’t know why I’m not doing it. The proper idea is that eventually those that you read with end up reading with others. From an evangelical point of view the practice is compelling. One of the people involved in Paul’s article is Paul Dale.
Paul Dale is also the subject of an interview by Paul Grimmond. Dale, along with 42 others, planted a church in Kirribilli. Today the church flourishes with over 400 involved. Encouragingly the Word is central to their ministry. As previously mentioned one-to-one Bible reading is part of that, as are small groups. Part of the interview outlines Dale’s method in one-to-one reading.
Isobel Lin writes about one-to-one reading between women can be awkward. Isobel doesn’t really explain why that awkwardness, but provides suggestions to overcome it.
I suppose that men, in general, could take to the process and productive outcome, while women, in general could gravitate to the experience and the relational outcome. I listened to some stuff on men’s sheds that observed that getting men to share relationally as a principle goal was doomed, but put them together in a shed with a project and the relational stuff happens as a by-product of their shared labour.
Tony Payne presents a revision of Gospel Conviction: Revised. I have great store in shared conviction statements. This one indicates what Sydney Evangelicals and Matthias Media affirm and contend against. It recognises the nature of such statements being bound in the time in which they are made and the fact that enduring truth needs to be stated in contemporary ways.
Every thing new is old department: David Williams examines the writings of the Puritan Richard Baxter and discovers Baxter commends the personal ministry of the Word which is commened throughout the rest of the magazine. Personal discipleship really transcends chronology and culture. It is not just for 20/30 somethings in coffee shops.
Col Marshall writes in support of ministry apprenticeships. This is another area of weakness for me. I’d like to pretend that opportunity has never presented, but really I need to focus myself more in this vital area of training.
Jean Williams reviews ‘You Can Change’ by Tim Chester. This is not a self-help book but a Holy Spirit-help book, pointing out a helpful model of personal sanctification which also features the role of one-to-one and small group meetings.
Tony Payne spruiks overviews a new Matthias book, ‘Right Side Up’ by Paul Grimmond. It also seems to deal with personal Christian growth, less from the therapeutic angle of ‘You Can Change’. As with Matthias products the Gospel is central, formative, instrumental and instructional to this process of growth.
All this and daily Bible studies on the Psalms 1-20.
Good job Briefing. Two thumbs up.