IMAGE: ANN WOJCZUK

CHRISTMAS MESSAGES FROM AUSTRALIAN CHURCH LEADERS... | more...|

PHOTO ESSAY: CHRISTMAS IN SYDNEY

RAMON WILLIAMS takes a look at Sydney during the festive season ... | more...|

THE (BRIEF) SIGHT GUIDE TO CHRISTMAS GIFT IDEAS

Tired of giving gifts that end up in a cupboard forgotten about or on a shelf gathering dust? Here’s our guide to some of the options now available for people who want to give a gift with a difference...  | more...|

MEMORIES OF CHRISTMAS PAST

A WHITE CHRISTMAS IN IRELAND

There was a year in southern Ireland when the snow had fallen so thick that the landscape seemed dusted with icing for weeks. I love the snow and would stand out in the flurry for hours until my hat and gloves would go damp with settling flakes. Bare skin would prickle madly and the cold of the hundredth snowball would eventually nip its way through the knitting turning my fingers zombie sallow.

     The fir trees that lined the border of our home quickly donned majestic caps of white powder and the golf course across the drive way made great sledging grounds for make shift sleighs and toboggans. Sentinels of snowmen would eerily sprout to the surface and stay their glistening watch at the centre of every field and yard. Mallow, county Cork, was the one horse town that was home to my family for four years, and every December the tinsel and wreaths would be aired, smothering what there was of the shoebox hamlet in shiny flecks of green and red, silver and gold.

    We've asked a number of Sight's regular contributors to tell us about their favorite memories of past Christmases. CHOE BRERETON recalls Christmas in Ireland...   | more...|

SHARING LIVES TOGETHER IN SUBURBAN MELBOURNE

Growing up a child of German immigrants, we used to celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve. As I think back to those days growing up in south-eastern suburbia in Melbourne, memories are rekindled of good times with family (as well as a little disillusionment!).

     Each year throughout my childhood, my brothers and I would leave letters for Santa asking what we would like for Christmas, being sure to convince him that we had indeed been good boys throughout that year.

    NILS VON KALM talks about precious times spent with family...   | more...|

YOUR SAY: What are your favorite Christmas memories? Have Your Say HERE...

“For me, architecture and music are sort of intertwined together a little bit. They’re both creative passions where you dream up something that doesn’t exist and then you go about a disciplined process of making it real and sharing it with other people and having it hopefully evoke an emotional response with people.”

    Such is the view of Edwin Derricutt, a New Zealand architect who has also forged a career as a musician and singer-songwriter, recently releasing his debut solo album, Symmetry, to the Australian market.

     He explains further: “Whether you’re standing in an amazing house or an amazing room and the architecture makes you feel a certain way or whether you’re listening to a song that I’ve created and that affects you and gives you an emotional response and helps you think about things - they’re both things that excite me and so I’ve never been able to completely put either one of them down. I think they complement each other.”

    DAVID ADAMS speaks to New Zealand artist Edwin Derricutt...   | more...|

One of the criticisms commonly levelled against Answers in Genesis is that the organisation simply picks and choses from science what supports its worldview and ignores that which doesn’t. What’s your response to that?
“When people say that to me, I say ‘OK, let’s first of all define what you mean by science?‘ because when people use that word, what do they actually mean? If you look up a dictionary...the root word for science is knowledge, having knowledge, and what we’ve got to understand is that there is a big difference between knowledge gained by observation using our five senses...(and) knowledge concerning the past.

      In part two of the interview, Answers in Genesis founder Ken Ham talks to DAVID ADAMS about the definitions of science, the origins of Answers in Genesis and future plans for the museum...  | more...|

"The purpose of the Creation Museum is basically to uphold the authority of the Word of God and to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And the way in which we do that is geared towards this age - answering the sceptical questions of this age that cause people to question...the Bible’s authority. So what we’re really doing is helping people understand the history in the Bible is true, particularly in Genesis 1 to 11 but really all the way through the Bible...(I)t’s more than just a museum about creation or evolution, it’s really a whole walk through Biblical history...”

    In late May, US-based Biblical apologetics group Answers in Genesis opened the doors of its $US27 million Creation Museum in St Petersburg, Kentucky. Now six months on, in the first of a two part interview DAVID ADAMS speaks with the group's Australian founder, Ken Ham, about the museum and his views on creationism, evolution and intelligent design...   | more...|

Global warming and associated climate change has been referred to as an environmental challenge, and an economic challenge. Before it is either of those things, though, it is a moral challenge.

     The poorest countries and communities - who have done least to cause the problem of climate change - will suffer its effects earliest and worst, while the wealthiest countries - who are largely responsible for the problem through 150 years of carbon-intensive development - will be shielded from these effects by virtue of their wealth. And because climate change will become increasingly severe as the temperature gets warmer, then the longer we go without taking strong, cooperative action, the greater the risk that we will condemn generations as yet unborn to pay the social, ecological and economic debt on the tab we are now so recklessly running up.

    Writing from the UN Climate Change Conference in Bali, BEN THURLEY, national advocacy coordinator at TEAR Australia argues that signing the Kyoto Protocol is just a first step in addressing climate change...   | more...|

Australian youth rate concerns about body image as their biggest worry in welfare charity Mission Australia’s annual national survey young people’s attitudes.

     Almost 29,000 males and females aged between 11 and 24 took part in the online survey - Mission Australia’s sixth - with 95.5 per cent of them aged between 11 and 19.
     Asked to rank 14 issues with regard to the level of concern they felt for each, 32.3 per cent of respondents - both males and females - rank body image in their top three, followed by family conflict (29.3 per cent) and coping with stress (26.9 per cent).

    DAVID ADAMS reports on the findings of the latest Mission Australia survey of young Australians...   | more...|

ESSAY: FEDERAL ELECTION '07 RESULTS - WHAT DO THEY MEAN FROM A CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVE?

When voters went to the ballot box on Saturday, 24th November, it marked the end of an era of Australian political history, with the nation’s second longest serving Prime Minister forced to bow out. Labor’s decisive win over the Coalition will have a significant effect on the future of our nation. As would be expected, the result has sparked a great deal of election analysis. But what does the outcome signify from a Christian perspective?

     To begin with, it is important to congratulate Kevin Rudd and his ALP team on their election victory and to recognise that Labor’s decisive win has given the party a clear mandate to govern. The Australian Christian Lobby (ACL) hopes that the injection of new talent that the election brings to all sides of politics will be good for the country. We are also thankful that a number of Christians have been elected or re-elected as new ALP MPs or senators.

     JIM WALLACE, managing director of the Australian Christian Lobby, reflects on the weekend's election results ...  | more...|

ELECTION RESULT: YOUR SAY SPECIAL

Following the election of Labor's Kevin Rudd as Australia's 26th Prime Minister after more than 11 years under a Coalition Government led by Prime Minister John Howard, we've created a space for you to have your say on the election and its result, HERE

FOR SIGHT'S PRE-ELECTION COVERAGE, CLICK HERE...

When police caught up with Isaiah (not his real name), the young Wellington, New Zealand, gang leader had a six month history of robberies and burglaries. Although only 15, he headed a youth gang with 150 members, had an established criminal career and was prison-bound.

     While facing his court case, his aunt called him. “As a last hope, they wanted me to join this choir with my sister and my brother,” he said.
      Meeting Kotuku Choir director Sharon Thorburn at an audition was the turning point in his life.

     “She asked me a simple question: ‘Who are you?’.

     In an article first published in New Zealand's Challenge Weekly, JOHN McNEIL speaks with Sharon Thorburn of the Kotuku Choir...  | more...|

It was trip to the East African nation of Uganda almost two years ago that proved a key turning point for Levi McGrath, opening him up to the power of music in a way he’d never seen before.

     Mr McGrath, who has recently released his debut album Move, is a 21-year-old musician and singer from Victoria. He had been performing and writing music for years before he and his then girlfriend (and now wife) Megan, driven by a desire to help address the injustices they saw in Africa, spent three months in Uganda over from late 2005 as part of an African trip that also took them to Kenya and Rwanda.

     Working with a non-government organisation based just outside the capital city of Kampala, the couple were involved in teaching kids such things as computer and soccer skills and putting on concerts in local villages where Mr McGrath would play his guitar and they’d tell the children Bible stories using pictures they'd made.

     DAVID ADAMS speaks to Levi McGrath...  | more...|

"Church unity is like riding a bicycle. We will fall unless we go forward." This affirmation was posed as a challenge by Korean missiologist Wonsuk Ma to participants at the Global Christian Forum taking place in Limuru, near Nairobi, Kenya.
      In a keynote address delivered on the second day of the forum, Ma analysed Christian developments in unity and mission over the last century. He affirmed that in Christian mission, the seemingly contradictory emphases on "life before death" and on "life after death" - which have separated "mainline" and "evangelical" Christians for decades - are actually complementary and in need of each other.
     Ma's presentation was considered both provocative and stimulating by many at the forum, which included some 240 church leaders from Protestant, Orthodox, Catholic, Anglican, Evangelical, and Pentecostal and other churches and interchurch organizations from around the world. The event, which took place from 6th to 9th November, is being described as one of the most inclusive Christian gatherings ever to advance Christian unity and explore common challenges.

     JUAN MICHEL reports from last week's Global Christian Forum in Nairobi, Africa...  | more...|

Having recently celebrated the life and work of William Wilberforce, some religious leaders have called abortion-on-demand the 'new slavery'; the human rights issue that will define our generation's place in history.

     It is 40 years since abortion became legal in Britain.

     The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, warns that abortion is increasingly being seen as the easy option for women, perhaps just another form of contraception. In the process, he says, British people risk losing sight of the sanctity of life.

     Australia, where there are believed to be up to 100,000 abortions a year, is not the only nation facing what has locally been called an "epidemic" of abortions.  Writing from London, MAL FLETCHER takes a look at the worrying trend for abortion-on-demand...  | more...|

Singer Steve Grace writes of a trip he made to Solomon Islands where God taught him about what it means to worship in the midst of great hardship. Rebecca St James writes about how time she spent in Rwanda opened her eyes to what it really means to forgive. Angela Saleh, one of the owners of the Gloria Jeans Coffee franchise, speaks of the time she was filled with joy when visiting some of her sponsor children in Brazil.

     Their stories about how God used an encounter with the poor to transform their lives are just some of 48 accounts contained in a new book, Blessings of the Poor: 48 Stories of Faith, Hope and Joy, produced by Christian child development organisation Compassion Australia.

     Featuring contributions from Compassion workers including international chief executive Wess Stafford as well as high profile Christians such as singer UK-based singer- songwriter Graham Kendrick, evangelist J. John and US musician Phil Keaggy as well as Hillsong identities Darlene Zschech and Bobbie Houston, the book is organised into categories with stories grouped according to what the incident related teaches about helping the poor - from love and faith through to worship, hope and forgiveness.

     DAVID ADAMS talks to Compassion Australia chief executive Paul O'Rourke about a new book celebrating lessons the poor can teach us...  | more...|

A film documenting the Apollo moon project using rare footage from NASA contains numerous spiritual references pointing to the existence of God.

      In the Shadow of the Moon opened in the US on 7th September to positive reviews, including a 'Critic’s Choice' designation by the L.A. Times and an award at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival.

     “It’s a film about the experience of going to the moon told by the people who went - in their own words,” says David Sington, who directed the film.

    One of Sington’s associates got acquainted with Dave Scott, commander of Apollo 15 and the first man to drive on the moon. “They wanted to organise a reunion of moonwalkers,” Sington says. “That grew into an idea of doing a reunion on film.”

     MARK ELLIS, of Assist News Service, reports...  | more...|

At the core of both Christianity and Islam is the double command to love God and neighbour. Earlier this month, 138 Islamic leaders wrote to the Pope and "leaders of Christian churches everywhere" saying world peace depended on recognising that.

     The letter, which some scholars hailed as unprecedented, was signed by Grand Muftis, theologians and academics from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Europe and the US, representing Islam's Sunni, Shiite and Sufi traditions - and scores of millions of followers.

     Written to build bridges and defuse tensions, the letter was sent at a highly symbolic time, the Eid festival that celebrated the end of Ramadan last weekend. Titled A Common Word Between Us and You, it says: "Muslims and Christians together make up well over half of the world's population. Without peace and justice between these two religious communities, there can be no meaningful peace in the world.

     In an article first published in The Age newspaper, religion editor BARNEY ZWARTZ says a letter from Muslim leaders to Christian ones can be a start for dialogue...  | more...|

Matt Madigan confesses to be an ordinary man spurred beyond normality into extraordinary circumstances by a God-inspired 40 day fast. He also confesses that he is no writer.

    “I have never written anything over 3,000 words before,” he admits. So when he felt God speak to him about writing his new book This Chosen Fast - a 200 page account of the gripping and inspiring journey he experienced over 40 days of fasting, he never dreamt that the outcome would cause countless lives to be irreversibly transformed.

     The story began at ‘The Call - New York’. The prayer and fasting gathering held on the 29th June, 2002, in New York’s Flushing Meadow saw 100,000 people gather in the 37 degree heat of peak summer and crying out en masse to God for the city and the American nation. Among the multitudes were Mr. Madigan and his family who, stirred to go by God in November 2001, had made their way to the Big Apple.

     CHOE BRERETON speaks to author Matt Madigan about how a 40 day fast led to him write a book to inspire others ...  | more...|

REVIEW: PUTTING FASTING IN A "WHOLE NEW LIGHT"

For anyone who has never fully grasped the purpose of prayer and fasting or the highly understated benefits that it can bring, This Chosen Fast is guaranteed to set even the most seasoned of sceptics straight. The book, written by Matt Madigan is the result of a personal and unexpected life-changing journey brought about through forty intense and compelling days of fasting.
       CHOE BRERETON reviews Matt Madigan's book, This Chosen Fast... | more... |

A coalition of 68 human rights, welfare and aid organisations have signed an open letter to the Australian people in which they urge people to “stand up in support of African refugees who have resettled in Australia”.

     The letter, which was published as a half page advertisement in The Australian newspaper this week, calls on Australians to support the further resettlement of refugees from Africa and their reunification with family members and for the strengthening of services to ease their transition to Australia.

     “We celebrate the positive contribution African refugees make to Australia - to our communities, our workplaces, our economy, our culture and our society,” the letter says.

   It goes on to say that it’s Australia’s responsibility “to provide protection to refugees regardless of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, political opinion and despite limited previous access to education.”

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

It is easy to be overwhelmed by despair when we witness scenes of violence against unarmed, peaceful protestors such as have been beamed out of Myanmar over the last week.

    Much has been made of the technological revolution that has meant that while a 1988 crackdown unfolded behind a curtain of secrecy, today's events are leaking out of the country and into the hands of the world's media.

    Brave demonstrators have been joined by savvy bloggers and amateur cameramen, some just using mobile phones, to report on events as they unfold.

   Yet frustratingly the technological revolution hasn't been enough to avert the violence. Indeed despite international criticism of the violence there is still yet to be a peaceful resolution.

    The United Nation's envoy, Ibrahim Gambari, has held talks with Myanmar's military leaders but as yet there is still no word of a breakthrough.

  So is this the extent of the impact of our global interconnectedness? Is it only able to highlight events as they unfold but not affect them? Is it only good for beaming images from across the globe of violence and injustice but it has no power to end them?

    TIM COSTELLO, chief executive of World Vision Australia, writes of his "sincere hope" that the globalisation of today's marketplaces will lead to improvements in human rights...  | more...|

Garry Hardingham loves a sunburnt country. And he knows it with the depth of one who's seen crows flying backwards.

     Rev Hardingham, you see, is the latest in a long line of outback padres established in Cloncurry by the Reverend John Flynn.

     Flynn of the Inland rode camels so he could not have imagined the scene by the road near Boulia last month where Rev Hardingham boiled the billy for a couple of elderly tourists from Melbourne.

   They had seen his land and parked their new four-wheel drive and caravan for a natter. What did these good folk want to talk about in the midst of that dusty plain - a place that hasn’t been soaked in about eight years?

    The drought, of course.

     PHIL SMITH speaks with Queensland's 'flying padre' Garry Hardingham...  | more...|

UPDATE: CHRISTIAN HUMAN RIGHTS GROUP WELCOMES EU SANCTIONS

The European Union has agreed to impose targeted sanctions against Burma’s military regime following the recent crackdown on protesters in the Asian nation.

     The measures include a ban on investment in and imports of Burmese timber, metals and gems.

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

Christian leaders and agencies have joined with world leaders in calling on the international community to ensure that the push for political reform continues in the Asian nation, following a violent crackdown on recent mass anti-government protests in Burma.

     At least nine people have reportedly been killed - including a Japanese photographer - and hundreds arrested as Burmese security forces sought to end protests, involving thousands of Buddhist monks, in Rangoon and other cities in a move which has prompted a chorus of condemnation from nations around the world.

    The US has responded by strengthening existing sanctions while the Australian Government has flagged the introduction of targeted sanctions which would freeze the Australian-held assets of members of the Burmese regime and ban officials and supporters from using Australian financial institutions - moves Prime Minister John Howard says are aimed at underlining Australia’s “dismay” concerning the violent crackdown.

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

SIGHT-SEEING: REMEMBERING BURMA

The human hunch is a powerful indicator that things are not right. And so it was when our group stepped across the border from Thailand into Burma. It was my first trip overseas and I had been confronted with HIV, leprosy and poverty in Thailand along with the exuberant smiles and graceful hospitality of the Thai people.

     ADAM KELSALL finds memories of a trip to Burma several years ago have come flooding back... | more... |

From the farms and rolling hills of Pennsylvania’s serene Amish countryside where five young schoolgirls were killed a year ago, to an immersion into the inner-city violence of Philadelphia, a World Council of Churches Living Letters delegation learned first-hand of the profound tragedy that can suddenly impact everyday life. But they also saw “rays of light” where forgiveness and reconciliation are helping to create a more humane society.

     Members of the team, on a nine-day visit in September to meet with US church and community leaders in several cities, include a South African ecumenical leader, a public health specialist from Lebanon, a Brazilian ecumenist and a human rights lawyer from Pakistan. At each place they visit they talk about the violence experienced in their own countries and listen to stories of those who work for peace and justice in the United States.
       The visit of the four-member team, called “Living Letters,” is part of an initiative by the World Council of Churches (WCC) to mobilise churches around the world to seek peaceful alternatives to violence. The WCC’s Decade to Overcome Violence will culminate with an International Ecumenical Peace Convocation in 2011.

     JERRY HAMES reports on a bid to mobilise the peace-makers...  | more...|

While you’re hearing stories of persecution, you’re also hearing stories of the miraculous ways in which God is moving around the world which must be encouraging?
“That is encouraging and there are many things that I don’t understand. I’m an engineer and all I can say is that God’s ways are so much higher than my ways. What I‘ve found in speaking with pastors, even those who been tortured, is that they’ll say ‘Yes, it was painful, yes, it was terrible, but Jesus was with me; the presence of God’. Somehow God gives that supernatural strength, that anointing, that enables them to survive and brings them through. We cannot estimate the power of prayer. I heard a Russian, Alexander, who wanted me to thank all our supporters for praying for him. Now he spent 10 years in a Siberian jail and, as you can imagine, it’s very cold in Siberia. He said ‘I knew when Christians were praying for me, I could feel the warmth of their prayers. Your prayers kept me warm in that cold jail’. He said: ‘Thankyou for your prayers that I survived and thankyou for your prayers, that I am free. And thank you for prayers’ - because we had a seven year prayer campaign for communist Russia at the time that finished in 1989 when the wall came down - ‘thankyou that because of your prayers, there’s no more communism - the Iron Curtain has come down’. And that’s the power of prayer.”

     In part two of the interview, DAVID ADAMS talks with Pastor John Jones, Sydney-based director of Open Doors Australia, about how the role of the organisation is evolving, how people can become involved with its work and the power of prayer... | more...|

PART ONE OF THE INTERVIEW...

    DAVID ADAMS speaks to Pastor John Jones, director of Open Doors Australia, about the persecution of Christians around the world and how the organisation is helping to support them...  | more...|

Australia has a “shameful” record when it comes to policies on prostitution and is breaching its obligations under international conventions, according to Gunilla Ekberg, a world expert on prostitution and the trafficking of women.

     Ms Ekberg, a former adviser to the Swedish Government and now the Brussells-based co-executive director of the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women International, says Australia is “seen as one of the shameful countries when it comes to prostitution”.

     She says the decriminalisation of prostitution in Australian states such as Victoria and New South Wales means it is in breach of it’s human rights obligations under international agreements such as the United Nations’ Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women which says nations have to work against trafficking in prostitution.
      In Australia this week at the invitation of the Prostitution Law Amendment Working Committee - a coalition of groups fighting against a bid to decriminalise brothels in Western Australia, Ms Ekberg advocates against decriminalisation of the industry and for the adoption of measures to combat prostitution such as those which have proved successful in Sweden - measures which she played a key role in seeing introduced in the Scandinavian nation in the late Nineties.

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

"Manners matter and character counts!" That's the message of Judi, The Manners Lady, the award-winning entertainer who is sweeping North America and capturing childrens' hearts with her exciting music and vital message of kindness and respect - especially this September as families, schools, churches and communities in Canada celebrate National Manners Month.

      "Just imagine what America, or what Britain or Canada could look like, if for one month we were intentional about focusing on manners, respect, integrity and thankfulness in our families, business dealings, school life, athletics, and in our churches?" challenges The Manners Lady.

     "Marriages could be healed as husbands feel respected and wives feel appreciated. Family tensions eased as children express gratitude to their parents rather than whining and complaining. Road rage would disappear. Employee relationships would be smoother and clients would love the great customer service. Athletes would play fairly and the school yard bully could be won over by kindness."

    MICHAEL IRELAND, of Assist News Service, speaks to Judi, The Manners Lady...  | more...|

UPDATE: TAKING "BABY STEPS" TOWARDS HELPING THE POOR

The APEC leaders’ meeting finished with statements on a number of economic issues which will affect the poor. The statements had some positive aspects but were long on aspirational goals and short on actual targets.

     The official communiqué called for a revival of the Doha round of trade negotiations designed to lower barriers to trade. This round of talks, begun six years ago, would have benefits for poor agricultural nations which at present must compete with produce from heavily subsidised farmers in some rich nations.

   AMANDA JACKSON, national coordinator of Micah Challenge Australia, reflects on the outcomes of last weekend's APEC meeting...  | more...|

Amid all the hoopla in Sydney surrounding this weekend’s APEC meeting, some 50 Christian leaders have called on Asian Pacific leaders not to forget about “the poorest and most vulnerable” within their region.

     In a statement to APEC leaders - who include US president George W. Bush, Russian president Vladimir Putin and Chinese president Hu Jintao, the ‘Micah Challenge Australia Panel of Reference’ urged them to “measure the success” of their deliberations and the effectiveness of any policies they adopt “by the benefit they bring to the poorest and most vulnerable within (and without) the borders of the 21 APEC countries”.

     “We believe that every APEC initiative should be assessed against this standard,” they write. “Economic growth and free trade are not ends in themselves, but merely servants in the task of reducing poverty and achieving sustainable and equitable human development”.

    DAVID ADAMS reports on calls for the APEC leaders to remember the least fortunate...  | more...|

“This album is accessible to people. It is a blue-collar Christian album. It is not something where you have to be a highbrow person." So says David Bellamy of The Bellamy Brothers’ new CD, Jesus Is Coming.

     The duo, David and Howard, first splashed the charts in 1976 with the pop song, Let Your Love Flow, a tune that occupied the number one spot on charts in the United States, Great Britain, Scandinavia and Germany. David then wrote Spiders And Snakes, another mega hit, only this time recorded by Jim Stafford. It was followed by the number one hit, If I Said You Had A Beautiful Body (Would You Hold it Against Me?). The Grammy Award-winning Bellamy Brothers are in that elite group of artists whose music is just as popular in Europe and North America and their popularity has not waned despite the fact they are now in their fourth decade of recording and performing.

      JOE MONTAGUE speaks to David and Howard Bellamy about their most recent album, Jesus is Coming...  | more...|

REVIEW:

The Bellamy brothers, Howard and David have gone from writing the Jim Stafford hit song Spiders And Snakes, to the dogs. Well, sort of. The chart-stopping duo whose signature song Let Your Love Flow, went all the way to number one in 1976 has recorded songs with titles like Lord Help Me Be The Kind Of Person (My Dog Thinks I Am), Old Hippie III (Saved) and Drug Problem on their debut Gospel album Jesus Is Coming.
JOE MONTAGUE reviews Jesus Is Coming... | more...|

For Brendan Wade, Queensland state livestock manager for Landmark - one of Australia’s largest sellers and suppliers of livestock, the reason for the company’s support for the Stock Up for Hope Charity Drove is clear. It’s all about helping young people.

      “Landmark’s business is rurally based and we have 400 branches spread across remote areas, areas where we have younger people who have some adjustment issues,” says Mr Wade, whose managerial territory canvases Queensland and the Northern Territory.

     “Getting involved with the Stock Up for Hope Charity Drove is our way of contributing towards putting chaplains in rural areas and supporting the advocacy of the organisers for helping people. ”

      CHOECHOE BRERETON reports on the Stock Up for Hope Charity Drove...  | more...|

'All in all it seems to go, but you don't know what you got till it's gone', first sung by Joni Mitchell in 1970 could well be the theme song of Sonora Dodd, the founder of Father's Day.

     The US-born Sonora Louise Smart Dodd was 16 years of age when her mother died in childbirth with her sixth child. Sonora was her mother's only daughter and shared the burden with her father William in the raising of her five younger brothers. Sonora was so inspired by her father's sacrificial love for his children that she held him in great esteem.

    When she heard a church sermon about the newly recognised Mother's Day, Sonora felt inspired to give fatherhood recognition as well. She approached the Spokane Ministerial Alliance and suggested that her own father's birthday, Sunday 5th June, be the day to honour fathers. The Alliance chose the third Sunday in June instead and the first Father's Day in the world was celebrated on 19th June 1910 in Spokane.

      With Australia preparing to celebrate Father's Day this Sunday, WARWICK MARSH, founder of the Fatherhood Foundation, argues that the notion of fatherhood is being reclaimed in Australia...  | more...|

WARWICK MARSH gives his tips on better communication for fathers...  | more...|

YOUR SAY: How do you celebrate Father's Day and why?...  | more...|

The recent media expose of Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd and his “error of judgment” highlights the fickle nature of both politics and public opinion. I have been staggered to read and hear that most Australians aren’t bothered by Rudd’s escapades of some four years ago, noting that it makes him seem more like a normal guy. Others say it was four years ago and is no longer relevant or important. Was he not a senior politician at the time? Am I the only one bothered by his actions in going drunk to a strip club? Have our standards slipped so far that this is regarded as normal? If so, I am clearly way out of touch.

     And yet, at the same time I am reminded that as a Christian, even as a human being, there is a need to be forgiving and gracious. An attitude that embraces the understanding that all of us as humans are prone to error, none of us are above or beyond personal failings, and as such, there must be a willingness to forgive, a willingness to avoid mere judgmentalism, lest we also be judged as we judge others. There is a very real tension that exists between acknowledging failures and their consequences, and simply ignoring personal issues based on the “we all make mistakes” perspective.

      RUSSELL STUBBINGS writes of the tensions between acknowledging failure and offering forgiveness in the wake of the recent media storm surrounding Kevin Rudd's behaviour in New York four years ago...  | more...|

The 30th anniversary of the death of Elvis Presley gives the world again an opportunity to reflect on the challenges and dangers of celebrity.

     The son of poor parents in America's segregated South, Elvis began to experiment with new forms of musical expression - new, at least, for a white boy - at a time when a global phenomenon was being born. For the first time in history, teenagers, particularly those in America, had disposable income to spend as they wished. Weary of war and upheaval, their parents wanted for them a quality of life they themselves had not enjoyed as young people.

     Wherever there is money, there are creative marketers to help people spend it. In the Fifties, young people were invited to spend their money on 'teenage' movies, pastimes and all manner of new toys, such as the roller skate, the surfboard and so on.

    MAL FLETCHER reflects on the life of Elvis...  | more...|

What happens when God speaks to a teenager who listens, and says, “Yes”?

     This is not an Old Testament quiz about Samuel or David. It’s not a reflection on the Gospel accounts of Mary. Nor is it a present day hypothetical. This is the story of a young man with a big plan for the Brisbane River Stage in October this year.

     James Hempenstall is 14-years-old, often limited to his wheel chair and feeling the effects of an inoperable brain tumour. His eyesight is now impaired as a result of chemotherapy, but his hearing is sharp. Wheeling himself around school last year he felt God’s presence like a gentle pressure his chest.

     “I heard a voice”, says James. “It was Jesus. He said he had a mission for me and asked if I’d take it on.”

     Perhaps it’s significant that James said “Yes” before he asked what the task was.

     James’s mission is to support the Starlight Children’s Foundation in its work helping seriously ill and disabled children.

    PHIL SMITH reports on James Hempenstall's efforts to make the world a better place...  | more...|

No date has yet been set for the upcoming federal election. But you could have been excused for thinking you were in the middle of a campaign this week.

     Addressing a room filled with Christian leaders from across the nation on Thursday night, both the Prime Minister, John Howard, and Opposition Leader, Kevin Rudd, were in spruiking mode - Mr Howard telling of the Government’s achievements and Mr Rudd explaining how a Labor government would change the way the nation is run.

     The men were speaking at a special event convened by the Australian Christian Lobby at the National Press Club in Canberra. Between 80,000 and 100,000 Christians were estimated to be watching their speeches in more than 700 locations around the nation via a webcast.

     Mr Howard took the opportunity to announce some of the details of his Government’s $189 million plan to protect children online. Under an expanded ‘NetAlert’ package, the Government would provide free internet filters to every family as well as public libraries in Australia to reduce the threat of exploitation of children online and the risk of exposure to inappropriate material.

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

FOR MORE:

Forum indicative of importance of Christian constituency, says Australian Christian Lobby head...  | more...|

YOUR SAY: Did you watch the forum webcast from a church or community centre? What did you think? Have your say here...  | more...

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre is today found within the narrow streets of the Old City of Jerusalem, surrounded by the current walls of the city which are only about 500 years old. The church itself is fairly unimpressive, often crowded and dark and full of pilgrims from all parts of the world. The church is run by six denominations that have had, at times, a volatile relationship. It is claimed that this church is built on the site of Jesus’ crucifixion and the tomb where He was placed prior to His resurrection. But is this so? Let’s examine the evidence.

     There has been a Christian church on the site since the time of the Emperor Constantine in the fourth century. The first church was erected as result of a visit to the ‘Holy Land’ by Constantine’s mother Helena in 325 AD after the site was made known to her by Eusebius. Eusebius was the bishop of the coastal city of Caesarea, some 90 kilometres away.

      As controversy continues over James Cameron’s documentary The Lost Tomb of Jesus , ALVIN JOHNSON takes a look at the evidence behind the long-held view that Christ’s tomb was, in fact, located on what is now the site of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem...  | more...|

FOR MORE ON THE LOST TOMB OF JESUS:

The Lost Tomb of Jesus: Titanic director courts controversy with claims Christ's tomb may have been found...  | more...|

Essay: The Jesus family tomb - a faith-growing opportunity?...  | more...|

The world is winning the war on poverty despite the fact that research shows two-thirds of Australians believe global poverty is getting worse or, at best, maintaining the status quo, according to World Vision chief executive Tim Costello.

     Drawing on data contained in a new World Vision report, Mr Costello says that despite public perceptions about global poverty, millions of people are being lifted out of extreme living conditions, numbers of child deaths are falling and scores of communities are being able to access health, education and sanitation services for the first time.

     “The number of people surviving on less than $US1 a day has dropped by 135 million since 1990 and some 34 million more children in poor countries have been able to go to primary school since 2000,” he says.

     “Health programs have saved at least five million children since 2000 while the number of people accessing AIDS drugs has jumped from 250,000 to two million people in just four years to the end of 2006 - which alone is saving 5000 lives a day.”

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

ESSAY: WE CAN MAKE POVERTY HISTORY - PROVIDED WE HAVE THE POLITICAL WILL TO DO SO

It was in a Manila slum almost two decades ago that I experienced one of the most profound, heart-rending illustrations of how poverty kills.

      I sat in a tiny, dirt floor shack - which served as a family home - in front of a mother who told me how a few weeks ago one of her three children had fallen seriously ill.

     The antibiotics her son required cost 15 pesos - then, just 38 cents Australian. Yet she was poor and she was faced with a dreadful choice - if she bought the medication her other children would have to go without any substantial food for three weeks. She made the choice. She let her son die.

     Back then I was a father of three young children - this woman’s story rocked me to my very core. It underscored to me why poverty is one of the great moral evils of our time. Extreme poverty is one of the great moral challenges confronting us all.

     In an article first published in The Age newspaper, World Vision chief executive Tim Costello says Australia must find the political will to eradicate global poverty...  | more...|

It’s been translated into hundreds of languages across the world - everything from Mandarin Chinese to Bhojpuri, spoken in India, and Bijago, spoken in Guinea-Bissau - and is now being translated into several hundred more. Billions have seen it and for some, it represents the first time they’ve ever seen the moving image of film.

    The JESUS film, which recounts the story of the life, death and ressurection of Jesus Christ, last month marked the debut of its 1000th translation - this time into a language called Lanka Kol, spoken by more than a million people in India.

     Produced by Campus Crusade for Christ, the JESUS film debuted in the US in 1979. It has since been seen by an estimated audience of more than five billion people and, according to the producers, is the most translated film in history. It aims to provide people of all nations the opportunity to hear about Jesus Christ in their own language.

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

Thirteen years ago Mike Cooke was asked to help conduct church services for cruise ship passengers sailing southeast Alaska’s famed Inside Passage. Always quick to respond to a need, Cooke readily consented. In the process he discovered the great need of Christian crew for support and fellowship. Today this ministry has evolved into a Seaman’s Mission, set in the unlikely location of a Harley Davidson Tour shop and ministering to seamen from over 70 countries.

     Cooke, originally from Yorkshire in England, is outreach pastor at Clover Pass Community Church in Ketchikan, Alaska. Having a vision to see people brought to Christ, he steadily meets with inmates at the city jail, assists small church plants in nearby communities and hosts visiting ministry teams. This new opportunity to operate aboard the cruise liners fed his desire to reach still further with the Gospel.

      In an article first published on Assist News Service, REBECCA ENGLISH talks to Mike Cooke about how the Seaman's Mission in Ketchikan, Alaska, is reaching people from more than 70 countries with the Gospel...  | more...|

In June 2007, World Council of Churches General Secretary Dr Samuel Kobia and a small ecumenical delegation visited Jerusalem. Here are some of the stunning images of the holy city

that were taken during their visit...  | more...|

Andrew Fisher was at a Christian men’s conference when, after hearing a message about “not carrying Jesus as your backpack”, he felt prompted to make a decision which has changed the way he presents himself to the world.

     “It really all came about from just wanting to make a personal statement about our faith...” says the 39-year-old whose nickname is ‘Fishtail’.

     “I’d originally just thought of actually just putting a fish or something like that on the back. But I came home and spoke to my wife about it after being challenged at a conference...and she said ‘Well, why don't we use the Jesus. All About Life (slogan)?’”

     Since the start of the year, his V8 ute has displayed the slogan of the media advertising campaign which is being run in cities around Australia.

     DAVID ADAMS speaks to Andrew Fisher about why he decided to display the Jesus. All About Life slogan on his racing car...  | more...|

FOR MORE ON JESUS. ALL ABOUT LIFE:

More cities sign up to mobilise "quiet Christians"...  | more...|

Context is probably everything when watching a film like Amazing Grace. While some have derided the biopic of abolitionist 18th century William Wilberforce as lacking in spark, for those open to it, this is a movie which serves to underline the way in which God can work through the life of one person to change the world.

     Released to coincide with the 200th anniversary of the passing in the British Parliament of the act to abolish the slave trade, Amazing Grace is an inspiring look at Wilberforce’s life and his drive to bring about an end to the injustice of slavery and it shows clearly the cost of his call both to himself and to those around him.

     Beautifully detailed, the Michael Apted-directed film successfully brings to life the story of Wilberforce’s life and his personal struggles and is able to mesh this well with the broader social issues of the time.
    DAVID ADAMS finds Amazing Grace an inspiring take on the life of William Wilberforce...  | more...|

FOR MORE ON WILLIAM WILBERFORCE

AND THE ABOLITIONIST MOVEMENT:

The Interview: DAVID ADAMS speaks with modern-day

anti-slavery advocate, David Batstone...  | more...|

Saints of Past Ages: TONY TOWNSEND takes a look at the

life of William Wilberforce... | more...|

Saints of Past Ages: PETER RAHME takes a look at the

life of John Newton...  | more...|

Web: DAVID ADAMS takes a look at the

Amazing Change website...  | more...|

Late last year Jason Stevens spent two weeks in Colombia making a documentary about the poverty he found there and the work child sponsorship organisation Compassion is doing there to help turn people’s lives around.

     It was the first time the former rugby star had come face-to-face with such extreme poverty and the 34-year-old says it’s made a permanent impact on his life.

     “It’s a cliche, but it’s very easy to go there, see it and then come back and live your life and, in that sense, forget about it - and believe me, it can happen, even though you’ve seen the worst of the worst,” he says.

     “For me it’s my relationship with God that keeps me open to letting that kind of pain into your everyday world. And that outworks itself when you tell people about what you saw over there and what they can do - you fuel that...But it has changed me in terms of being more compassionate.”

     DAVID ADAMS speaks to former rugby hard man Jason Stevens about his trip to Colombia last year and the documentary he's helped to make about children living in the slums...  | more...|

This weekend saw the launch of the global ‘Live Earth’ concerts, run on seven continents and featuring 150 artists.

      Fronted by former US Vice President and now ‘eco-warrior’ Al Gore, the concerts will feature past and present hit-makers, streamed live to the world.

      Scientists in many fields agree that we’ve got to change the way we use the earth’s finite resources. We have to find new ways to fuel the lifestyles and industries of tomorrow.

      The big question is, not whether we should be concerned about the environment, but how will we fuel the future without destroying the environment? And how can we do this without turning the important issue of global environmental change into just another political football?

     MAL FLETCHER takes a look beyond the hype of the Live Earth concerts at what long-term ecological sustainability really means for Christians...  | more...|

This year, the world celebrates 200 years since the abolition of the legal slave trade in England. Why should we mark this anniversary?
“For two important reasons we should mark the abolition of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade 200 years ago. First, we should celebrate the occasion of a monumental achievement in our history. Secondly, in the midst of recounting our history, we can learn lessons that can be applied to our present social crisis of slavery of another kind. for instance, it helps us to understand how abolitionists used trade practices around sugar to use economic leverage.”

How extensive is the problem of slavery in the world today?
“I was first shocked to learn that the problem of slavery was so profound in my own country. The US government estimates that as many as 17,500 new slaves are transported into the usa each year. The total number of slaves in the US could be as many 200,000. Then I traveled to five continents and learned that more than 27 million individuals worldwide were in bondage and forced into labor. No country in the world is immune to human trafficking and forced labor, yet law enforcement and justice systems have not acted to challenge and undermine trafficking rings.”

Professor of Ethics at the University of San Francisco in the United States, David Batstone is the president of the slavery abolitionist group, the Not for Sale Campaign. Following a visit to Australia earlier this year, the world-renowned author, social commentator and activist spoke with DAVID ADAMS...  | more...|