2 F R O M T H E P R INCIP A L
CONTENTS
Perseverance of gospel hearts ����������������������������������� 7
Moore’s gospel heart �������������������������������2-3
The gospel and ministry effectiveness �������8-9
A trusted gospel heart ��������������������������4-5
At the heart of women’s ministry ��������������������������10
The gospel heart of the Donald Robinson Library ������������������������� 6
The gospel centre for ministry in the Top End �����������������������������������������������������������������������������������11
Moore College and gospel partnerships ����������������������� 12-13 A sustainable theological education ������������������������������������������������������ 14-15
MO O R E M AT T E R S SU M ME R 2 0 2 1 | 2 0 2
Moore’s gospel heart Mark Thompson / Principal
CHRISTIAN MINISTRY IN AUSTRALIA HAS BEEN EVANGELICAL AND EVANGELISTIC FROM THE BEGINNING.
T
he First Fleet of convicts from England was accompanied by an evangelical chaplain, Richard Johnson, who carried with him a poem written by one of the leading evangelicals of the day, John Newton. It included the words, Go bear the Saviour’s name to lands unknown, Tell to the southern world His wondrous grace: An energy divine thy words shall own, And draw their untaught hearts to seek His face. A rich theology underlay those words. Newton knew the Saviour. He knew the power of his name. He knew that words proclaiming the Saviour, the gospel, were the means God used to draw men and women to himself. He knew God can melt the hardest heart, open blind eyes, teach unruly minds. Johnson had a message to
proclaim in the new colony, and it was anchored in the gracious character of God and what he has done. As far as I am aware, he never claimed to be a theologian, but theology suffused his poetry. The theological heart of evangelical mission was summarised in the nineteenth century by an amalgam of five reformation slogans: salvation by Christ alone (solus Christus), on the basis of grace alone (sola gratia), received by Faith alone (sola fide), anchored in the authority of Scripture alone (sola scriptura), all to the glory of God alone (soli Deo gloria). Jesus Christ, all that he is and all that he has done, lies at the heart of evangelical theology just as he lies at the heart of the Christian message. Only through him do we know the Father and the Spirit; only through him are we brought from death to life, shown the dark reality of sin and experience the brilliant light of life as a forgiven and reconciled child of God; only through him are we grafted into the community of God’s people; and only through him do we have confidence for the last day
