ABOUT US

 

Sight Magazine is an editorially independent, Australian-based website covering local and global news and issues from a Christian perspective.


Our mission is simple - "to open the eyes" of people not only in Australia but around the globe to how Jesus Christ is actively moving among his church today and to encourage Christians from all denominations to share how God is moving in their midst.


DAVID ADAMS, editor

 

A freelance journalist, David has written for national news publications in both Australia and the United Kingdom. Married to Linda with two wonderful children - Kyle and Clare.

 

LLOYD HARKNESS, associate editor

 

Lloyd is a teacher and father of four.

 

JAMES CROOK, webmaster/columnist

 

James is a freelance web designer and developer who also teaches multimedia part-time at a local Tafe. He enjoys writing restaurant reviews, doing techie things with Sight and also contributing the occasional article. For more info see the website of his Geelong website-design business Chocolate Chip multimedia.

 

ANN WOJCZUK, graphic artist/blogger

 

Ann is your average human being, who loves Jesus, and is interested in everyone and just about everything. She is happily married with two kids and sometimes gets to do web art for Sight.

 

    CONTRIBUTORS/COLUMNISTS

KRIS BATHER

 

Kris lives in Perth and in a constant state of amazement. God and pop culture are two of his passions and he makes sure not to separate the two. He also loves coffee, chocloate, cheap XBOX 360 games and free
food. He has worked as a DJ on community radio, sold mobile phones when they were bricks and has generally made a fool of himself to make others laugh in his various short films. The former comics books editor at Infuze, Kris also writes for Broken Frontier and is the creator of Extra Sequential, a new free on-line mag devoted to the wonders of comics. He likes to think that he is the geekiest person in the room. Usually, he's right.

 

CHOE BRERETON

 

Choe is a biological scientist by trade who has worked in forensics and more recently with many of the top scientists in the field of HIV research. Her writing career sprouted wings after she kicked science to the curb in August 2006 and fast-tracked a diploma in creative writing. She has since written for a number of publications. Married and living in New South Wales, she hopes to soon embark on a masters degree in journalism or communications. For every good thing that she has, she gives all glory to God.

 

MAL FLETCHER

 

Mal is a TV and radio broadcaster, social commentator and author whose books have been translated into five languages. He is also an internationally acclaimed speaker and lecturer who equips leaders and major organisations to deal with change in a proactive way. He appears regularly in various media and speaks to audiences around the world. Mal is the founder/director of Next Wave International, a Christian mission to Europe, based in London. His EDGES TV programmes are seen around the world. For much more, constantly updated material, go to nextwaveonline.com and edges.tv.

 

NICK HODGSON

 

Nick is a 1990 Chiropractic graduate of the Phillip Institute of
Technology (now RMIT University). He has been practicing full-time in Ocean Grove for the last fifteen years and runs the longest established and largest natural health practice on the Bellarine Peninsula. Nick is a Fellow of the Holder Research Institute (F.H.R.I.), and is a member of the Chiropractors' Association of Australia (CAA) and the World Chiropractic Alliance (WCA), and sits on the WCA's International Board of Governors, and the WCA Council on Addictions and Compulsive Disorders. Nick has also been actively involved in leadership roles at the Ocean Grove Baptist Church; leading small study groups including Alpha, singing in the worship team, and coordinating the church-wide "40 Days of Purpose" spiritual growth campaign.

 

KARYN MARKWELL

 

Karyn is the proprietor of Markwell Publishing (www.markwellpublishing.com) and specialises in writing and editing for Christian and Jewish clients. She has a deep love for Israel and the Jewish people based on God's Word and she speaks Hebrew. When she's not in Israel, she lives in Brisbane with her husband and two cats.

 

JUSTIN MICHAEL

 

Justin fills a number of roles - his current fulltime gig is as a music director/worship pastor at Kardinia Christian Church in Geelong, Victoria, Australia. Justin performs with the Aussie band Compliments of Gus - check www.complimentsofgus.com - and somehow, has found himself doing solo stuff - www.justinmichael.com - as well as singing with the Melbourne Gospel Choir over the past few years. He is married to the very beautiful Jodi and they have a spectacular little man named Noah who keeps them busy. Justin says it's fun being a muso and that it’s crazy being all of the above things, but he wouldn’t have it any other way!

 

JOY NICHOLAS

 

Joy Nicholas was born and raised in Bangladesh to American missionary parents who worked closely with Australians. After years of being fed Vegemite sandwiches and Minties, Joy now believes she is Australian - at least a little. She now lives in America, though, where Vegemite is tragically difficult to come by. She enjoys writing, music, travel, and (most of all) spending time with her husband and three daughters. You can read more of her writing at caspara.blogspot.com.

 

JIM REIHER

 

Jim is a husband, a father of four, and a grandfather to seven under the age of nine. Since finishing high school in 1974, he has been an ambulance officer (four years), a high school teacher (eight years), and a Bible college lecturer (13 years: five years at Harvest Bible College in Melbourne, and eight years at Tabor, Victoria). Jim has teaches church history and New Testament studies. He began the Berwick campus for Tabor, Victoria, and lectured there and in the Ringwood North campus from 2000 to 2007. He currently works for Urban Neighbours of Hope (UNOH) - a missional urban group in Springvale, Noble Park and Dandenong, (as well as Sydney and Bangkok) that seek to live with and work with the most poor and marginalised in the community. He is actively involved in politics, and stood as a candidate in the 2004 Federal Election, and more recently in the 2006 Victorian State election. Jim is also a keen writer with published books including The Eye of the Needle: Discipleship and Wealth (UNOH publishing); and Women, Leadership and the Church (Acorn Press). And later this year his commentary on the epistle of James will be out. It is called James: Pacifist and Advocate for the Poor (UNOH Publishing). Jim has a Bachelor of Arts, with a double major in history, a Diploma in Education, and a Masters in Theology with honours.

 

NILS VON KALM

 

Nils is a born-and-bred Melbournite with a passion for making the Gospel relevant to the everyday person. Married to Nell, he has an honours degree in sociology as well as an accounting degree. During the week he works as a grant coordinator at World Vision. Currently a deacon at St Martin's Community Church in Collingwood, Nils regularly writes articles for the church bulletin and preaches occasionally. An avid reader, Nils' interests are early Christianity, the person of Jesus, the question of God and apologetics, and communicating how Jesus and the Gospels relate to every aspect of life. He has recently launched his own website called Soul Thoughts.

 

BRUCE C. WEARNE

 

A doctoral graduate from LaTrobe University (1986), Bruce lives and works from Point Lonsdale. He is currently working on a Christian sociological study of what it means to walk, as part of what it means to live as those who follow Jesus in this world. He thus also does a lot of walking along the coast to stimulate his research which also includes theoretical sociology and the production of stories explaining Christian life for children which are composed to be read with profit by their parents. He is married to a social policy researcher and has two grown up sons.

 

SIU FUNG WU

 

Originally from Hong Kong, Siu Fung has been in Melbourne since 1989. He was a pastor, and is a visiting lecturer at two theological colleges. Siu Fung studied computer science, economics and transport planning, and worked in IT for years. But his passion is the Bible and its relevance to the world today. After completing a degree at a Pentecostal college, he went to an Anglican college in England to do an MPhil in Biblical studies. Having grown up in a working class family, Siu Fung knows first hand what it means to be poor and powerless. He works part time as global education officer at World Vision, and seeks to encourage the church to embody the Gospel in
every sphere of life.


 

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THEY SAID IT

 

 

"I can't regret the decision to go to war...I can say that never did I guess the nightmare that unfolded, and that too is part of the responsibility. The truth is we did not anticipate the role of al-Qaida or Iran. Whether we should have is another matter; and if we had anticipated, what we would have done about it is another matter again."

- Former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair in his memoir 'A Journey' (released on 1st September), speaking about the Iraq war. For previous 'They said it'... | more... |

 

 

THIS WEEK ON THE WEB

 

 

28th July, 2010

Afghanistan has been in the spotlight again this week following the leaking of thousands of the US military's internal logs relating to the period between January 2004 and December 2009. The files were leaked to website Wikileaks which has allowed several news organisations special access to the data, including UK newspaper, The Guardian. You can read its coverage here...

For previous 'This week on the web'... | more... |

 

 

DID YOU KNOW? NEWS BRIEFS

 

 

THE STATISTIC

Number of species living in the Australian waters:

330,000

Source:Census of Marine Life

| more... |

• North Korea: Healthcare breakdown in isolated state..  | more... |

• EBibles among top five ebooks on religion, says Zondervan...  | more... |

• More poor in south Asia than Africa says new study...  | more... |

| MORE NEWS BRIEFS... |

 

WORLDVIEW

 

 

TRIBUTES MARK 70 YEARS OF TAIZE SPIRITUAL COMMUNITY

World Christian leaders are paying tribute to the ecumenical community of Taizé in eastern France, which is marking its foundation in 1940 by Brother Roger Schutz, who died in 2005.

     In a message in advance of the 14th August commemoration to Brother Alois, who now heads the community, Pope Benedict XVI described Schutz as a "pioneer in the difficult paths toward unity among the disciples of Christ".

     "Seventy years ago, he began a community that continues to see thousands of young adults, searching for meaning in their lives, come to it from around the world, welcoming them in prayer and allowing them to experience a personal relationship with God," Pope Benedict said.

STEPHEN BROWN, of Ecumenical News International, reports...  | more... |

 

 

THE WORD EXPLAINED

 

 Wordle

Theism

(God the) creator

Mercy


| more... |

 

BLOGS

 

 
CELEBRATING ROSH HASHANA...

On 9th September, Jews in Israel and around the world will celebrate the Jewish New Year (Rosh Hashana: ‘Head of the Year’).

Rosh Hashana falls on the first day of Tishrei (the seventh month of the Hebrew calendar), and is the first of the Jewish High Holidays or Yamim Noraim (’Days of Awe’), on which Jews focus on repentance before Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement).

On Rosh Hashana, Jews observe a day of rest (Leviticus 23: 24). Rabbis sound a shofar (a trumpet made from the horn of a ram, goat, or antelope), to symbolically awaken listeners and alert them to the coming judgement.

KARYN MARKWELL's blog on the history and culture of Israel... | more... |


THOUGHTS ON CONTROL...

U2's song Moment of Surrender has a line which simply says “to be released from control”. It is yet another line from a U2 song which has hit me like a brick.

Just about everything we do in life is designed to keep us in control of our lives. But the life of the cross is about relinquishing control to the only one who is ultimately trustworthy. Oh to be released from control on that day when we will have new bodies and new minds in the fully consummated kingdom of God.

 NILS VON KALM'S blog on faith, life and how it all might fit together...  | more... |


A RHINO CITY; WHY WE CAN PLAY A VUVUZELA BUT CAN'T GO WURFING; AND JESUS ON TENNIS

We've already heard of island archipelagos designed to resemble palm trees or maps of the world. So why not a city shaped like a rhino in Africa? That's the design planners in southern Sudan have reportedly come up with for their capital, the city of Juba.

DAVID ADAMS writes about the odder side of life... | more... |

 

THINKING ON POLITICS...

Thinking on politics... Sometimes a door opens and as a Jesus follower you have to decide whether to walk through it. If you are fair dinkum about following you don't leave your God clothes in a pile by the door - you just wear em and walk on in. Mine don't come off.... and they are always clean and fresh, He washes me daily!

ANN WOJCZUK's blog about life, the universe and possibly everything...  | more... |

FRAGMENTS OF BRONZE AGE LAW CODE FOUND IN ISRAEL

Fragments of a cuneiform tablet containing a law code which parallels parts of the famous Babylonian Hammurabi Code have been found in northern Israel.

The find - the first of its kind in Israel - was made during excavations conducted by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem at Hazor. The fragments date from the 18th and 17th centuries BC - the Middle Bronze Age - and are written in the Akkadian cuneiform script. They refer to issues of personal injury law relating to the relationship between slaves and their masters and the researchers say they also reflect the Biblical concept of a ‘tooth for a tooth’.

DAVID ADAMS reports... | more... |

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    SIGHT PODCASTING

     

     

    WEEKLY UPDATE:

    24th September, 2008: Hear DAVID ADAMS speaking to GURYEL ALI, of 96.3 Rhema FM in Geelong, talking about some of the stories featured on Sight...  | more... |

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