Couldn't Help Noticing

All quiet on the CHN front

Eagle-eyed CHN readers have probably noticed that not much has been happening on the Couldn't Help Noticing front for a little while now. In the wake of the launch of our new blog, The Sola Panel, we have decided to suspend activity on the CHN blog for the time being.

Those who have received the May edition of e-news will know that Paul Grimmond, Chaplain at the University of New South Wales and pastor of Unichurch, will be joining us at The Briefing later this year. When Paul comes on board, we will have a re-think of what we want to do with this blog. Suggestions regarding the future of CHN are welcome: please contact us at briefing AT matthiasmedia DOT com DOT au.

Politeness and hell

Here's a sharp and pointy statement from Charles Spurgeon about politeness and hell, two subjects that I've been thinking about lately:

Men are perishing, and if it be unpolite to tell them so, it can only be so where the devil is the master of the ceremonies.

Out upon your soul-destroying politeness; the Lord give us a little honest love to souls, and this superficial gentility will soon vanish. I could with considerable refreshment to myself pour sarcasm after sarcasm upon religious cowardice. I would cheerfully sharpen my knife and dash it into the heart of this mean vice. There is nothing to be said in its favor.

It is not even humble; it is only pride of too beggarly a sort to own itself.

Well said, brother Spurgeon. The quote is from the Pyromaniacs blog, who in turn got it from an article titled ‘The War-Horse’, published in the May 1866 issue of The Sword and the Trowel.

Too often both the content of our speaking and the manner of our speaking are conditioned by what people would like to hear, or what we believe they should hear on the basis of our personal observation, rather than what they need to hear based on what the Bible reveals. The ideas of hell and judgement are the ones that are particularly likely to suffer when we forget to return to the Bible to shape and form the content of what we say. Similarly, when we move away from Scripture's example, the manner in which we teach will invariably tend in the direction of a sort of florid, learned-sounding blandness. Plain speaking always gets us into trouble, yet that's exactly what the Bible pushes us towards.

The longing and the library (May)

The Briefing Library

Recent additions to our online archives:

• How to survive your denomination (Briefing #13)
• The denomination as idol by (Briefing #13)
• The Relationship Between the Testaments: Church (Briefing #58)
• Why, where, and how should Christians meet? (Briefing #116)
• Factotum #1: The Ministry of the Pew by Colin Marshall (Briefing #131)

And, in relation to Briefing #355, more articles on music and church:

• Minor or Major?: The key to church music by John Woodhouse(Briefing #112)
• Choosing Songs by Rob Smith (Briefing #112)
• Are You Ready, Mr Music? by Phillip Jensen (Briefing #53)
• Pop goes the Gospel by David Miles (Briefing #11)

In addition, our new blog The Sola Panel has just been launched. Go on over and take a look!

Sydney Bible teaching

For our readers who are in or around Sydney, there is an upcoming opportunity for you to receive some great input from the Bible on the long weekend in June, right in the centre of the city. The details are as follows:

The Queen's Birthday Convention

When: Monday 9 June, 2008 from 10am to 5pm
Where: St Andrew's Cathedral (cnr George St and Bathurst St, Sydney)
Cost: From $15 (including morning and afternoon tea and all day parking). See the website for full details of cost.
Speaker: Phillip Jensen

Phillip will be speaking on Mark 9-16 (the sequel to his talks at the Australia Day Convention where he spoke on Mark 1-8). (Listen to the last talk from the Australia Day Convention.)

For more information and to register, visit www.queensbirthdayconvention.com.

Claire Smith on men and women

The Council for Biblical Manhood and Womanhood over in the US runs a blog. Currently there is an interview with Claire Smith on the subject of complementarianism in Australia. Claire says:

Many dioceses have proceeded to allow women to be ordained to the priesthood. Others, such as the Sydney Diocese, have sought to remain faithful to scriptural teaching and the Anglican tradition and have not changed the nature of ordained ministry; others, whilst having no real objections, have not as yet introduced women priests.

Read the full interview.