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Phillip Jensen

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Phillip Jensen is a prominent Australian clergyman of the Anglican Diocese of Sydney, currently the Dean of St. Andrew's Cathedral in Sydney. He is the brother of Peter Jensen, the Anglican Archbishop of Sydney.

Phillip Jensen studied theology at Moore Theological College, and won the Hey Sharp prize for coming first in the ThL (Licenciate of Theology, the standard course of study at that time), a year after his brother Peter also won it. Phillip became chaplain to the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in 1975 and Rector of St Matthias, Centennial Park, in 1977. Phillip Jensen could be described as the "Ian Chappell" of Anglicanism - deeply conservative in his Calvinist theology yet radical and iconoclastic in his ministry style.

Basing his University ministry around expository preaching and "walk-up evangelism", Phillip Jensen and his "Campus Bible Study" revolutionised student ministry. The result was a large number of conversions, large student gatherings at UNSW, and the growth of St Matthias from a group of 20-30 in 1977 to well over 1000 by the mid 1990s. Bombastic, sometimes brusque, Jensen gained many supporters of his ministry and almost as many detractors. His work at UNSW included the creation of the Ministry Training Strategy (MTS) which took willing young men and women and trained them in practical ministry skills, preparing them for a lifetime of ministry, ordained or otherwise. Other initiatives included the establishment of the ministy's media arm - Matthias Media.

It was the exponential growth of the MTS strategy in other universities and churches throughout the 1980s and 1990s that saw student numbers at Moore Theological College grow from around 150 in 1985 to over 400 in 2004. Many of these graduates are now Rectors of Anglican Churches in Sydney, and leaders in many evangelical churches throughout Sydney and the world. Phillip Jensen founded Matthias Media. He also authored the popular Two Ways To Live Evangelistic tract, and founded The Briefing, an insightful and sometimes polemical magazine that mixes conservative Evangelical and Calvinistic theology with intellectual rigour in a uniquely "Aussie" style - which continues to be championed by Tony Payne and Gordon Cheng.

Phillip Jensen has spoken publicy against secularism, intellectual relativism, gambling, same-sex relationships and Roman Catholicism. He is an opponent of ordination of women to the priesthood and episcopate within the Anglican Church of Australia Jensen often decries what he terms "liberal relativism".

In 2003 the Cathedral Chapter of St Andrew's Cathedral in Sydney appointed Phillip Jensen as Dean of the Cathedral. His appointment brought accusations of nepotism, as Jensen's brother, the newly elected Archbishop of Sydney, Peter Jensen, was a member of the Cathedral Chapter. Archbishop Jensen, however, withdrew from involvement in the Chapter's final decision to appoint Phillip Jensen as the Dean. Phillip Jensen broke with tradition by not being "installed" as Dean, but merely accepting his licence from the Archbishop at a service of commencement.

Phillip Jensen's questioning attitude to older Anglican styles of cathedral worship has drawn criticism, but has also removed significant barriers to those not attracted by traditional Anglicanism. Phillip Jensen, like almost all Sydney Anglican clergy, has discarded the traditional evangelical Anglican robes of cassock, surplice, scarf and hood. Choral Evensong on Sunday evenings has been replaced with "The Bible Talks" and a more contemporary style of worship. The Cathedral choir, however, continues to play an active role in the life of the Cathedral. The St Andrew's Cathedral School's Girls' Vocal Ensemble has for the first time been allowed a regular opportunity to sing in the Cathedral. Liturgy in St Andrew's Cathedral has undergone some change since Phillip Jensen became dean, with regular systematic bible teaching now the key feature of Sunday services.

Phillip Jensen told a April 14, 2006 service at St Andrew's Cathedral that Islam denies some of the Christian beliefs about Jesus. Islam views Jesus as a prophet but does not believe he was the son of God who died on Good Friday to save humanity from its sins and was resurrected on Easter Sunday. "Now that Islam has become more common in our society, you need to know the difference between Christianity and Islam," he said. "For the Koran, and therefore Islam, denies that Christ dies." http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/islam-and-christianity-cant-both-be-right/2006/04/14/1144521506471.html

See also

Notes

  1. ^ "Dean Jensen Challenges SMH Inaccuracies" (October 19, 2004). Anglican Media Sydney.
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