Dale Appleby

Key Builders of the Church – 1. Athanasius 1 Aug 10

Key Builders of the Church – 1. Athanasius

In the early years of the fourth century it might have been thought that the future of the church would be peaceful and smooth. The Roman Emperor Constantine had declared his faith in Christ and stopped the terrible persecution of Christians that Emperor Diocletian had begun a decade earlier.

But big debates were festering about the nature of Christ. Was he fully divine, or was he only a created being who shared the divine nature but was not equal with God the Father, as Arius and others suggested? Both Arius and Athanasius were clergy in Alexandria, in Egypt. The debate spread across the church and became so divisive that the Emperor called a Council of the whole church to resolve the issue.

Read more: Key Builders of the Church – 1. Athanasius 1 Aug 10

A Healthy Church 25 July 10

A Healthy Church

United Methodists in the United States have undertaken a massive research project to identify the factors that lead to healthy churches.

Not surprisingly they came up with four of the usual factors: small groups; worship in a mix of traditional and contemporary styles with relevant sermons; pastors who mentor lay people; and good lay leadership.

The report of the research was a bit vague on what a healthy church looked like, but suggested it had to do with experiencing the reality of Jesus in the church and witnessing to that in their community.

How would we estimate the health of a church?  Numbers? Money? Is that like estimating a person’s health by the bathroom scales, or their bank balance? Perhaps. There may be some correlation but we would want a better diagnosis.

Read more: A Healthy Church 25 July 10

How many Bibles do you need? 18 July 10

How many Bibles do you need?

At the Alpha Course this week we heard that the Bible was by far the best-selling book ever.  According to one list between 2.5 billion and 6 billion copies of the Bible have been sold.  The Qu’ran and Quotations from Chairman Mao come next with 800 million each. The next most popular English language books are A Tale of Two Cities (200 million); Scouting for Boys (150 million) and Lord of the Rings (150 million).

The Bible was originally written in Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek, so presumably most of the Bibles sold are translations. According to Wycliffe Bible Translators there are more than 6,900 languages in the world. At present at least some of the Bible has been translated into most of these languages. Only 2,200 languages are still without any part of the Bible.  In human terms that represents about  350 million people – more than the population of the USA and nearly six times the population of the UK.

Read more: How many Bibles do you need? 18 July 10

Heading Bush 11 Jul 10

Heading Bush

We welcome on Sunday the Revd Michael Stuart WA Regional Officer for the Bush Church Aid Society. Although BCA has been ministering in Australia since 1919, it emerged from the Colonial and Continental Church Society (CCCS) which began life in the Swan River Colony in Western Australia in 1836. So it has a very long history of ministry to the people of the bush.

BCA says that it “shares the gospel, builds up the church, and cares for people in regional and remote parts of Australia. Locals in these places are removed from cities, live in sparsely populated towns (sometimes as small as a few hundred people), and often don’t benefit from strong support networks of family and friends. Churches in these areas can struggle, ongoing fellowship can be hard to maintain, and encouragement can become a rarity.”

Read more: Heading Bush 11 Jul 10

A Missionary Church [4 July 10]

A Missionary Church

We welcome today the Revd Steve Pivetta, who is soon to conclude his ministry as the General Secretary of CMS in WA. He will be replaced from September by the Revd Ray Arthur, presently rector of Maddington. CMS is a large organisation with branches and full time staff in each state.

CMS describes itself as an evangelical, voluntary, lay, church society committed to proclaiming life through Christ. Its website explains it like this:

Read more: A Missionary Church [4 July 10]

In love? 27 June 10

In love?

“Rejoice in the wife of your youth” is one of the great phrases of the Bible. It occurs a few times, sometimes in contexts of warning, sometimes in contexts of encouragement. The wife (or husband) of one’s youth looks back to the beginning of one’s marriage. How far back depends on one’s youth – a year, a decade, a half century ...

The beginnings of love are often confused, but usually full of excitement and energy – full of hormones perhaps. Weddings are marvellous times, when we hope that the couple will “live happily ever after”. Some couples are surprised that the happiness of their romance and wedding doesn’t seem to last forever. “Romantic love” doesn’t usually last without being changed.

It changes from “being in love” to loving. As CS Lewis said,

Read more: In love? 27 June 10