As a new year awakens, we would like to take a moment to look back at some of the articles from the past year and previous years that have been most heavily trafficked and discussed in 2021. Our hope is that TGCA’s resources will go on informing, challenging and bringing our readers great joy long after they are published, so we are encouraged to note the posts that seem to do this. We pray that this list might be a blessing to you, as it shows the far-reaching and ever-applicable riches found in the good news about Jesus.
this list… shows the far-reaching and ever-applicable riches found in the good news about Jesus.
Articles From the Archives
The Bible Project – Brilliant but Flawed
By Richard Sweatman
Picture a Formula 1 race car with its brand new tires gripping the track as it takes the bend. That’s how much traction this article received in 2021, with over 60,000 views. Richard Sweatman argues that The Bible Project is “brilliant but flawed” because it fails to address God’s active anger toward sin and those who commit it. We periodically receive complaints from Christians who love TBP and believe we have been too critical. We remain convinced that the case still stands. But we also believe in both adjectives in the title. Different Christians may choose to respond differently to the critique.
1 Corinthians 5: Why it is Necessary and Loving Not to Associate or Eat with Certain ‘Christians’
By Peter Orr
1 Corinthians 5 often falls on cultural tone-deaf ears. “Where is love, grace and mercy? … Surely we have to ‘hate the sin but love the sinner’?” Peter Orr shows us how to apply these uncomfortable but necessary biblical principles to our 21st century Australian context.
Head to Head about 1 Corinthians 11:3-16
By Claire Smith
Head coverings and prophecy are also culturally foreign to many of us. We know we shouldn’t neglect this passage, for “all Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16)—but the temptation is always there. Claire Smith helps us understand the passage and apply it rightly.
At What Price Awakening? Examining the Theology and Practice of the Bethel Movement
By Stephen Tan
What’s the point of introducing people to Jesus if it means twisting and subverting the gospel? This is the disturbing question raised by some of the excesses of the Bethel movement. Being passionate about revival is good and right—but at what cost?
Being passionate about revival is good and right—but at what cost?
Articles Released in 2021
Vaccine Wars and the Church of God
By Ray Galea
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought with it a slew of controversy—and subsequently a slew of articles. This one is worth rereading, because it humanises the debate and points us to some of the biblical principles that should direct our thinking.
The Rise and Fall of the Mars Hill Podcast Listener
By Rory Shiner
Why did Christianity Today make this podcast? Why did we listen to it? Rory Shiner invites us to take a close look at both these questions—even if the exercise exposes some uncomfortable realities.
Fight for Your Pastor
By Peter Orr
2021 may have been a difficult year for you. But it was definitely a difficult year for your pastor. Are you fighting for him?
2021 may have been a difficult year for you. But it was definitely a difficult year for your pastor. Are you fighting for him?
How Christians Can Love Those Who Experience Attraction To The Same Sex
By Sam Wan and Akos Balogh
This interview with Sam Wan humanises the experience of Christians who experience same-sex attraction and is full of wisdom and compassion. Wan provides concrete and authentic ways we can empathise with and show love to these brothers and sisters of ours.
4 Considerations for Christians Wanting to Engage in Political Activism
By Murray Campbell
A Christian cannot close the shutters to a segment of their life and leave it untouched by God. The whole of life is impacted by trusting and obeying Jesus. But what does that look like when it comes to politics? How can we engage in political activism in a gospel-orientated, other-person-serving, Christ-glorifying way?
10 Reasons You Need to Belong to a Church
By Peter Adam
Now more than ever, we need to be reminded of the immense value and absolute necessity of belonging to a local church body. That’s what this article accomplishes.
A Father’s Letter to His Daughter (About Living in a World that Degrades Women) and A Letter To My Sons About Becoming Good Men (In a Culture That Degrades Females)
By Akos Balogh
Our world and culture shockingly degrades women. Read a father’s pleas and encouragement to his daughter and sons to live for Christ in this sexually broken world. If you have children, let them read these too.
Read a father’s pleas and encouragement to his daughter and sons to live for Christ in this sexually broken world.
Cleo Smith and the Failure of Secular Morality
By Akos Balogh
The kidnapping and rescue of Cleo Smith was accompanied by “relief [and] moral outrage”. Yet what basis does our secular society have for responding like this? Akos Balogh argues that a world without God cannot give a satisfying explanation for our moral intuitions.
Apostate Testimonies: Talking To Those who Left
By Patty Guthrie
Many have tragically wandered away from the only name by which we can be saved (Acts 4:12). Guthrie invites us to join her in “putting away the cookie cutter” and to listen to the stories of those who have left the faith.
Two Ways The Bible Shifts Our Perspective on Afghanistan
By Chris Watkins
The Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan is sickening. It is no longer a regular news feature, but it is still reality for the Afghani people. How do we respond in love towards our neighbours? And what does our ‘this is unimaginable!’ response reveal about ourselves?
Guarding the Flock
By Martin Shadwick
The abuse of power among church leaders is as distressing as it is damaging. It’s not just Ravi Zacharias and Mark Driscoll, every flock needs to be guarded. Shadwick suggests how.
Out-Thought or Out-Discipled? Mission and Ministry in 2020s Australia
By Rory Shiner
The gospel remains the same, but the Australian ground we proclaim it on has shifted. Rory Shiner helps us to see what it means to live in a post-Christian culture. Of course, this doesn’t change our mission in 2020s Australia—we still proclaim Christ crucified. But it does change our approach.
