A publication of the Renewal Fellowship
A publication of the Renewal Fellowship
COVER ILLUSTRATION: “Shipwreck of the Catholic Church” by Matthias Gerung, woodcut, 1545. In the early days of the Reformation, strong negative views were expressed in pamphlets illustrated by woodcuts like the one on the cover. In this issue of Channels, J. I. Packer expresses a more positive view of Catholic – Protestant relations.
ARTICLES
REVIEW
We the undersigned were shocked and disappointed to read in the Fall issue, the statement in Donald MacLeod’s report on the 1994 American General Assembly, p. 10, the national organization ‘Presbyterian Women,’ Meeting in Ames, Iowa, a month after Assembly, was dominated by the gay-lesbian lobby in the church.” Shocked, because we were present at this gathering and could not believe that Dr. MacLeod was writing about the same event. … Read more
By Harold Cumming — During my visit to a Presbyterian Church, in the midst of-the Lord’s Prayer I had an irreverent thought, “What a funny word to use! They must be determined to be different when they use the word ‘debts’ instead of ‘trespasses,’ especially when singing requires use of the phrase twice! Debts indeed!” I could not help but chuckle. Now, many years later, and a Presbyterian now myself, I have come to appreciate the phrase, “forgive us our debts.” … Read more
By Jonathan Dent — I had nothing to say. I felt nothing coming to mind. I was experiencing a vacuum, a void, an emptiness. Perhaps it was due to the busy-ness of the previous months. Perhaps it was because it was a lovely sunny summer day. Perhaps it was because we had just driven over 5,000 km to get where we were going. Perhaps it was the caffeine I was drinking or not drinking. In any case, I had nothing to say. Nothing to write. And upon reflection, I believe that this nothingness was the most creative … Read more
By Louise Holert — Last year I received two very special gifts. The first – I was granted a three-month Sabbatical by International Neighbors, a ministry to international students in Seattle with which I have served since October, 1985. The second – I was invited to be a Missionary-in-Residence at Regent College for the spring semester of 1994. … Read more
By J.I. Packer — Evangelicals and Catholics Together: The Christian Mission in the Third Millennium” (ECT) is the title of a programmatic statement composed by eight Protestants (leader, Charles Colson) and seven Roman Catholics (leader, Richard John Neuhaus) and endorsed by 12 more Protestants and 13 more Roman Catholics. It appeared in the journal First Things in May of this year and, shortened, in the Spring edition of Touchstone. The statement is not, of course, official, nor has it any more authority than the personal credit of … Read more
Reviewed by Blaine W. Dunnet. Here is a book for your church library. No! It is a book for every worshipper in your church. Put it in their hands, librarians. It is subtitled “How to Get the Most Out of a Sermon.” Preachers expend energy in the preparation of sermons, but did you know that as a listener you must expend energy too? The author, Jay Adams, claims that his book is the only one devoted to genuine concern for preaching from the listener’s point of view. During Sunday lunch have you ever found yourself saying: “I couldn’t get the drift of the sermon” … Read more