Home

About Us

Since 1986, The Proclamation Trust has existed to encourage ministry that seeks above all to teach the Bible as God's Word relevant for today. To this end we seek both to equip and to encourage Bible teachers.

> More Details...

EMA 2012: Heart Matters

The Evangelical Ministry Assembly is our flagship annual conference for those in gospel ministry. This year's focus is on Heart Matters: preaching to ourselves as well as preaching to others.

27-29 June 2012 | St Helen's Bishopsgate
Christopher Ash | David Cook
Mervyn Eloff | Glynn Harrison
Mike Reeves | Vaughan Roberts
Paul David Tripp

> More Details

Other Conferences:

> Conferences Homepage...

The Proclaimer

Sorry seems to be the hardest word. Try a little restitution.
by Adrian Reynolds
Friday, May 18, 2012 - 07:17

Have you noticed how difficult some people find it to say 'sorry'? Take Joey Barton. I know. I must. It was a thrilling end to the Premier League last Sunday - perhaps there's not been anything like it since that great day in 1989 when my team won the title against all the odds. The matches had it all - including a sending off. Joey Barton (for it is he) is a thug. I don't think, legally, I can get into trouble for that. He has, after all, served a jail sentence for assault. Yesterday his team (QPR) did better without him after he was sent off for an elbow to Tevez, a knee in the back for someone else and a head butt on Kompany. Any of those three would have earned him a red card on their own.

His initial response seemed to be indifference. He didn't, he tweeted, give a ****. All that mattered was that QPR stayed up (i.e. were not relegated). The news today is that Joey is a bit more contrite. Here's his response. See if you can see what's wrong with it:

Right, enough about yesterday. I apologise to everyone offended by it. If that's not enough for some, so be it. Life is too short.

This, remember, is an apology. It sure has the word in the sentence. But the second phrase 'everyone offended by it' is a giveaway. Joey's cross he got caught and cross that some people are offended by what he did - implication: he's not. It's no apology, yet it's the way that many people - politicians, sports stars, celebrities, say they're sorry.

It got me thinking about church life. I hope you don't have Joey Bartons in your church, but we're sinners and so we do do things that cause upset. In some ways, it doesn't matter whether we're in the right or the wrong. Our aim is not to please ourselves but serve others. And when we step over the mark, sorry is needed. In fact, delving into OT law (remember that?) we might sometimes need to go further. For the principle there is not just 'sorry' but restitution. Put things right. And then some. 

If our covenant communities are going to be real communities we cannot afford to apologise like Joey. Preacher - take the lead. 

Two ways to live iOS app
by Adrian Reynolds
Thursday, May 17, 2012 - 07:14

I've long been a fan of Two ways to live. It's short, pithy, clear and contains the essentials and heartbeat of the gospel message. Even if you don't use the outline in book form, having it in your head is, I find a great help in evangelism. Of course, it is important to know what these sorts of outlines/tracts are not. It's easy to pick holes - for example saying that TWTL should make more of the church into which we're saved. Perhaps. But that is to miss the point of what they are and what they are to achieve. Personally, I want to use it as a tool to talk to someone rather than something I give to a friend and think 'job done'. It opens the door to conversations.

So, I'm pleased to see an iOS app for iPhone and iPad. I like it. In fact, I like it a lot. I can see how using this on my phone or iPad with a friend could be really useful. It's the same material packaged for the modern age. Matthias are working at including enhanced content (video testimonies etc). That would also make it a good app for those who want to go off on their own and find out more. It's in English, Spanish and French so far, plus two languages I can't read but I'm reliably informed are Chinese and Japanese. Take a look in the iTunes store.

My only niggle is that it is not free. I understand that these things cost money to develop and that if you were to buy a TWTL booklet it would also cost you money, but I want people to come across it accidentally and read it by following through links, not just to read it when it is 'gifted'. That's a very minor complaint though. Overall? Brilliant. And it will be made even better with the enhanced content. Don't forget you can still make use of the online version by following the link above. The internet version also adds the children's version, 'Who will be king?'

Marriage petitions: both/and
by Adrian Reynolds
Wednesday, May 16, 2012 - 07:21

We don't normally promote petitions - it would be very easy to get into all sorts of political debates about which Christians, in good conscience, hold differing views. But the question of marriage is critical. It's a creation ordinance; scarred by the Fall, for sure, but not, thank God, destroyed. And so, Christians should desire to see it upheld. Many of you will have already signed the Coalition for Marriage petition (currently standing at half a million signatories). I have. You should consider it too. Sign here. (If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, it may interest you to know that a group promoting same sex marriage have set up a very similar looking website with a similar address - I won't paste the link.). The coalition for marriage is consciously non-religious: I think that's a very good thing - it's not just Christians who think highly of marriage.

But that does mean there are certain Christian arguments which also need to be heard. Another group Keep Marriage Special are fulfilling that role - sign their petition too. The two are not mutually exclusive. 

> More posts...

PT Cornhill

Started in 1991, PT Cornhill exists primarily to train preachers, as well as equipping men and women to teach the Bible in other contexts, such as youth/children's work and women's ministry.
> More Details

Resource Guide

The resource guide for 2011-2012 is now available online:

Syndicate content