The Mark Drama – coming up at Moore College

Posted on August 17, 2026 
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Coming up at Moore College on Friday 25 September 2026 –

“A production of the Moore College community, the Mark Drama turns Mark’s biographical account of Jesus into a 90-minute, theatre-in-the-round performance.

Fully immersed in the action, here you can decide for yourself – is Jesus just another guy with imaginative ideas about God, or is he truly the King of the universe?”

– Details and booking here.

The Sydney Family Album 7 – Nathaniel Jones

Posted on August 16, 2026 
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In 2011, Mark Thompson, now Principal of Moore College, published a series of posts, entitled “The Sydney Family Album”, for his website, Theological Theology.

We felt they merit wider distribution, so, with Mark’s kind permission, we are re-posting them on the ACL website, at the rate of one a week.

Here’s the seventh in the series, on Nathaniel Jones, Principal of Moore College, 1897–1911.

Nathaniel Jones brought to Moore College a passion for serious theological education. He immediately set about raising the academic standard at the College, preparing students for the Oxford and Cambridge Preliminary Examination for Holy Orders.

He was concerned to give his students the theological resources necessary to meet the challenges of liberal theology, which was already being exported to Australia from England and from America.

His students would be able to face these challenges with confidence based on a deep grounding in the Scriptures and a clear evangelical Anglican theology of the type being taught at this time at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford by Jones’ lifelong friend W. H. Griffith Thomas…

Other posts in the The Sydney Family Album series (as we add them) are in our Resources section. There are still two more to go!

Photo: Nathaniel Jones in 1899, detail from a photo held by Moore College. See the post for the full reference.

Australian Anglicans become more evangelical, redress debts mount

Posted on August 15, 2026 
Filed under Anglican Church of Australia, Australian dioceses, for your prayers Comments Off on Australian Anglicans become more evangelical, redress debts mount

General Synod in Melbourne wrapped up yesterday. John Sandeman at The Other Cheek filed his last (?) report from the meeting –

“The Anglican Church of Australia is tilting further and further towards evangelicalism, an analysis of the election results from the General Synod (national church parliament) shows. This is seen clearly in the election of members to the Standing Committee of the General Synod. A quirk in the first-past-the-post method of elections makes changes in the [churchmanship] of the synod transparent, as it displays trends easily. …”

– Read here.

We need to be reminded that the story is bigger than numbers and ‘politics’ and pray that – despite the enormous challenges mentioned in this article – men and women, boys and girls, across Australia will hear the wonderful gospel of Jesus Christ and be saved for eternity.

Anglicans agree: Jesus is the only Saviour

Posted on August 14, 2026 
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John Sandeman reports on an important motion carried at General Synod. This is not a small thing –

“For a moment this writer felt that he was back in a Moore Theological College lecture theatre as College Principal Mark Thompson got up at General Synod (the Anglican Church’s national parliament) to introduce a motion affirming ‘the biblical and apostolic conviction that Jesus Christ is the only Saviour of all who will come to him. ‘Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to man by which we must be saved’ (Acts 4:12).…”

– Read the report at The Other Cheek.

Remembering the Foords

Posted on August 14, 2026 
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At The Expository Preaching Trust, David Cook remembers Elizabeth and Dudley Foord with much thanksgiving –

“The recent passing to heaven of Elizabeth Foord, following the death of her husband Dudley back in 2013, is a reminder to me how age is no barrier to ministry.

January each year marked a two week conference for youth leaders (KYLC) at Katoomba in the 90’s and early 2000’s and the Foords did not miss one in my time there.

They were in their 60’s and 70’s and yet I don’t think we had more effective youth counsellors. …”

– Read it all here.

Photo of Elizabeth: Anglican Media Sydney.
Photo of Dudley: Ramon Williams, Worldwide Photos.

Aussie Anglicans endorse worldwide million church plant plan

Posted on August 13, 2026 
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John Sandeman reports from General Synod in Melbourne –

“Archbishop Ric Thorpe of Melbourne used his first-ever speech at General Synod (the Anglican Church’s national parliament) to endorse an ambitious goal of a million church plants by 2036 that was presented at the Anglican Consultative Council last month.

His speech contained inspiring stories of evangelism and church planting in places that may have surprised his hearers.

The General Synod signed on to Vision36. …”

– John has the full text of Archbishop Thorpe’s speech.

And John has another report from General Synod –

Anglicans to Albanese: Get rid of gambling ads and inducements

“The Anglican General Synod (the Church Parliament) has passed a strongly worded motion, without any opposing vote, urging the Federal government to go all the way and implement all the reforms that Peta Murphy, the late member for Dunkley, campaigned for.

Here is how mover of the motion, Dean Sandy Grant of Sydney, responded to the recent federal parliamentary inquiry: ‘The [Sydney] Synod has – on multiple occasions – expressed unanimous support for the full implementation of the 31 recommendations of the “Murphy Inquiry”, I am confident my views represent fairly the views of the vast majority of Sydney Anglicans in over 250 parishes in and around Sydney.’ Grant can now update this with the news that the national church, at the general synod has taken the same stand …”

Photo of Archbishop Thorpe from a Diocese of Melbourne video.

Preaching Politics

Posted on August 13, 2026 
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At AP, the Presbyterian journal, David Robertson addresses a challenge faced by preachers –

“The lady was quite insistent on speaking to me. She wanted to tell me what was wrong with my sermon. ‘I was going along fine until you brought politics into it, and then I switched off.’ ‘What politics did I bring?’ ‘When you started speaking about gender issues.’

We had been looking at Psalm 12 and talking about how there is no one who speaks truth, and how in today’s society we are increasingly living by lies. As well as mentioning the lies told in the church, I’d spoken of the lies told in the society, and given five examples of each. One of these is the lie that you can change gender, and that gender is mutable, purely a social construct. I referenced the upcoming census in which that is taught, but it is a lie, and it is a harmful lie.

Was I bringing politics into the pulpit? And should I have avoided doing so? There is a real difficulty here. The world has changed. …”

– Read it all here.

Written on Our Hearts — a new book from Phillip Jensen

Posted on August 13, 2026 
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Phillip Jensen has a new book out – Written on Our Hearts – The Ten Commandments and the radical life of grace.

From the publisher’s description:

“Few pieces of writing, if any, have shaped our world in the way that the Ten Commandments have. Thousands of years after God first gave them to Moses and Israel, they remain one of the most discussed and most memorized texts in history.

But are they revered? Are they obeyed? Are they loved? Even those who know the commandments well may struggle to see how they apply to Christians living “not under law but under grace” (Rom 6:14). How and why would a follower of Jesus today share the words of the psalmist: “Oh how I love your law” (Ps 119:97)?

In Written on Our Hearts, longtime pastor and preacher Phillip Jensen takes readers into the mind of the eternal, unchanging God who authored the commandments. Jensen shows that the commandments are not only relevant for today’s world, but also central to the transformation of mind, heart and life that God desires for his people.

Here is a radical vision of grace-filled living that delights in the law of the Lord and does good to all people.”

Published by Matthias Media, it’s available through their website.

Anglicans struggle with proposals tackling non-viable dioceses, but maybe you can share a bishop

Posted on August 12, 2026 
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John Sandeman reports on the discussions at General Synod –

“What happens when a diocese (church region) is not viable? The Australian Anglican General Synod meeting in Melbourne has spent several sessions seeking a solution.

The long-running and vexed issue of some rural and regional dioceses (regions) of the Anglican Church of Australia no longer being viable, due in part to the shift in population to the coast, globalisation and redress debts rising from sexual abuse cases, has been a feature of several General Synods dating back more than a decade. Many delegates described it as getting worse each time it has been debated. Some dioceses have been described as one or two redress cases away from running out of money. There has been no suggestion of avoiding paying these debts.

However, this synod’s debate has transcended the evangelical/progressive divide with delegates of all flavours contributing positively to the complex discussion.…”

– At The Other Cheek.

In it to win it—or quit now? with Andrew Atherstone

Posted on August 12, 2026 
Filed under Church of England, for your prayers, Opinion Comments Off on In it to win it—or quit now? with Andrew Atherstone

From The Pastor’s Heart –

“For evangelical Christians in the Church of England, the question of whether to stay, resist, or leave is a live crisis.

If you’re deciding whether to head into C of E ministry or carve out a path in independence, or if you’re a pastor navigating a “mixed denomination,” how do you maintain gospel integrity when institutional leadership turns away from historic orthodoxy?

Church historian Dr. Andrew Atherstone (Wycliffe Hall, Oxford) to look back at six decades of evangelical oral history—and what it teaches us about our current crossroads.

We cover:

Dr Atherstone has been presenting on this at Sydney’s Moore College Lectures.”

– Watch or listen here.

More to come next week!

Related:

The Thirty Nine Articles.

2026 Annual Moore College Lectures Recap – Peter Orr interviews Andrew Atherstone

Posted on August 11, 2026 
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From Moore Theological College –

“Professor Andrew Atherstone joins Dr Peter Orr to reflect on the 2026 Annual Moore College Lectures, discussing evangelicalism within mixed denominations, the relationship between Sydney and UK Anglicanism, theological education, and his hopes for the future of the Church of England

The 2026 lecture recordings will be released in the coming weeks.”

– Watch above or at this link.

Understanding Body Image

Posted on August 11, 2026 
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From Phillip Jensen –

“Body image today often refers to our perception of our own physical bodies. But Paul used the image of the body 2000 years ago when he spoke of the Body of Christ, and that’s what we need to explore when looking at 1 Corinthians chapter 12.

It is particularly important in today’s controversies that we understand the image of the body.”

– Here Phillip and Peter discuss at Two Ways News.

Ten thousand Rwandan churches shut down

Posted on August 10, 2026 
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Could this be a good thing? Russell Powell explains at SydneyAnglicans.net –

“The so-called ‘prosperity gospel’ – which promises wealth in return for faith – has long been a problem in Africa but now, in Rwanda, the government has shut 10,000 churches.

Rwandan President Paul Kagame announced a crackdown last year, saying of the churches, ‘Many are just thieving… some churches are just a den of bandits’. While the government’s intentions may reach beyond the prosperity gospel, in order for churches to open, regulations mandate that preachers must be theologically trained. …

Enter a strategic partnership between African Enterprise, Moore Theological College, and several Sydney rectors…”

– Read it all here.

Photo, and more information: African Enterprise Australasia.

Understanding the Parables

Posted on August 9, 2026 
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From Michael Leong at The Expository Preaching Trust –

“Parables have often superficially been compared to sermon illustrations – both seem to relate spiritual truths to earthly events, using contemporary language and metaphors (e.g., those of agriculture, construction, and human relationships). One member of my congregation shared her definition of a parable as ‘an earthly story with a heavenly meaning.’

It’s too simplistic, however, to say that, ‘Jesus used sermon illustrations when he spoke in parables, therefore we also should use sermon illustrations in our preaching.’

Mark 4:10-20 says that the purpose of parables is very different to our illustrations…”

– and he advertises their Wahroonga Preaching Conference coming up on Monday 7th September, with a focus on understanding and preaching from the parables.

Speakers include David Cook, Chris Edwards, Simon Manchester and Michael Leong.

The Sydney Family Album 6 — Thomas Moore

Posted on August 9, 2026 
Filed under Moore College, People, Sydney Diocese Comments Off on The Sydney Family Album 6 — Thomas Moore

In 2011, Mark Thompson, now Principal of Moore College, published a series of posts, entitled “The Sydney Family Album”, for his website, Theological Theology.

We felt they merit wider distribution, so, with Mark’s kind permission, we are re-posting them on the ACL website, at the rate of one a week.

Here’s the sixth in the series, on Thomas Moore.

“When the foundation stone [of St. Luke’s Liverpool] was laid (7th April 1818), Thomas and Rachel were present, as well as Governor Macquarie’s four-year-old son, Lachlan.

Thomas and Rachel had been appointed guardians for young Lachlan, should anything happen to his parents while in the colony.”

Other posts in the The Sydney Family Album series (as we add them) are in our Resources section.

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