Do All Women Favour Women Elders?
In the wake of the decision of the NSW Presbyterian Church to reaffirm the historic Reformed understanding that the office of elder is reserved for qualified men, much public discussion […]
Male Elders Leading All the People of God in Gospel Mission
The following is a lightly edited version of a speech delivered on 15th July 2026 at the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Australia in the State of New […]
A Plea for Biblical Discussion at the Assembly
Next week (14-17 July 2026) the New South Wales Presbyterian Church will be holding its annual General Assembly. I am a commissioner and I should be looking forward to it. […]
A Plea to the Men
On a Sunday morning while living in Sydney, I woke to a brisk winter day. I jumped at the opportunity to wear my purple felt cloche hat to church. Why? […]
An Apocalypse of the Local Church
An Apocalypse of the Local Church, The One Great Hope for Our World A sermon from Revelation 1, preached at the opening of a new church building for Mandurah Presbyterian […]
Counsel Culture and the Church
Western culture can be summed up with three words – cancel, consumer and counsel. In a week where a well-known TV journalist was cancelled because he interviewed someone the establishment […]
Female Elders, the ‘Westminster Model’, and the Question of History
As the NSW Presbyterian Church nears the time of making a decision about female elders, some have been exposed to the contents of a paper that was proposed to the […]
A Real Consultation, part 3 – Where Do We Go From Here?
The first parts of this correspondence can be found here – This is the third and final exchange of letters: Dear David, I like your metaphor of a sermon in […]
A Real Consultation, part 2 – Can Women be Called to be Elders?
This is part two of my dialogue with a former women elder. Part one is here – https://ap.org.au/2026/05/08/a-real-consultation-a-dialogue-with-a-female-elder/ My friend’s comments are in italics. For those who asked – yes […]
A Clear and Present Danger
Setting the Context – A Clear and Present Danger to Presbyterianism in NSW The Presbyterian church in NSW is facing a real existential crisis. There is a clear and present […]
What is an Elder?
Christ has given gifted people to his church (Eph.4.7-12). Included among these gifted people are those who occupy one or other of the two offices in the New Testament, namely […]
Soft Hearts and Hard Heads
The Theology of the Church – Discipline Calls for Soft Hearts and Hard Heads The Reformation taught that there were three marks of the Church: the pure preaching of the […]
A Faithful Divorce
The Anglican Communion is getting a divorce. The irony of that statement shouldn’t be missed given that the mother church of the Anglican Communion, the Church of England, began with […]
Global Anglicans Ex-Communicate Canterbury
On the 16th of October, 1555, the Protestant Bishops Hugh Latimer and Nicholas Ridley were burned at the stake under the reign of Queen Mary for their commitment to the […]
Enriching Worship according to our Reformed Heritage
Enriching Worship according to our Reformed Heritage I am not sure the extent to which our ministers, let alone congregational members, get to experience Sunday morning worship outside their own […]
Substance and Style in Worship
Substance and Style in Worship Both style and substance are important, but substance is more foundational. For example, a police officer should wear his uniform with dignity, but even if […]