Dear friendsI seem to be having trouble tracking Phillip down at the moment. As I write this, he’s travelling up to the UNSW Mid-Year Conference (I’ll be heading up there this week as well), so it’s me again in this week’s edition. And the subject of this week’s edition comes courtesy of an email from one of our subscribers. Craig from the US writes about two important and related issues he’d like us to address, and as I started to rough out some answers I realised that it was going to take a whole edition just to deal with the first of them. Both of Craig’s questions are about theology, but in different ways. The first is about theological understanding (or lack of it) among the members of his church, and I'll be addressing the problem and suggesting some solutions to it in this episode. We hope you find it encouraging. Your brotherTony This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.twoways.news/subscribe

Dear friendsA special guest for this week’s edition—freshly minted Moore College lecturer, Tom Habib.Tom’s post-graduate study was in John’s Gospel, and in particular the themes of belief and unbelief that are so central to John’s message.He joins us in this episode for a stimulating conversation about why and how people believe—or don’t believe—in Jesus.Your brotherTony This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.twoways.news/subscribe

Dear friendsJust me this week, and therefore a shorter, punchier edition of Two Ways News in which I ponder one of the ongoing problems of the Christian life—other Christians.I hope you find it encouraging.Your brotherTony This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.twoways.news/subscribe

Dear friendsAs I write this, we are now looking back on the pomp and circumstance of King Charles’s coronation. The media did their usual thing, mixing extraordinary images of pageantry and patriotism with a soundtrack of celebrity gossip, fashion notes and inane commentary. However, in this week’s episode (recorded in the days just before coronation), Phillip and I talk about why we have public events like coronations at all, why they are like weddings, and why the content and symbolism of this particular coronation reveals a lot about the Bible’s distinctive view of human government. Read on for an edited transcript, or click on play (above) to listen to the whole thing. Your brotherTony This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.twoways.news/subscribe

This week’s episode comes at the end of Tony's trip to the US, during which he and Marty Sweeney spent a couple of weeks travelling around and running workshops about the ministry ideas of The Trellis and the Vine. As they look over the many conversations they had with pastors and congregations, Tony and Marty discuss:- Which aspects of the T&V approach to ministry still resonated most sharply with pastors and with Christians generally?- What differences might there exist between how US and Australian churches are struggling to do more ‘vinework’?- And if they were going to change anything about the book, what would it be?Resources referred to:The Course of Your LifeThe Thing Is This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.twoways.news/subscribe