Always exercise safe web surfing. Content found on external websites may change without Sight's knowledge. Sight provides these links as a service and is not responsible for the content of external linked sites. If you find material on a linked site inappropriate, please email editor@sightmagazine.com.au.

30th July, 2008

Jubilee Centre
www.jubilee-centre.org

This is quite simply one of the best websites I have come across in many years, especially for those looking to see how their faith can interact in an intelligent way with the world around them.  The Jubilee Centre is a UK based Christian think-tank which seeks to explore a Biblical vision for society. Its understanding is based on the conviction that “the Bible describes a coherent vision for society that has enduring relevance for…the world in the twenty-first century.” The core of the Jubilee Centre’s vision is a concern for right relationships. They “seek to study, disseminate and apply this vision in order to provide a positive response to the challenges faced by individuals, communities and our politicians". The wide range of challenges they seek to respond to include worldviews & culture, the environment, finance & the economy, Christianity & religion, lifestyle issues, sex and families, and science & technology. Many of the resources the site offers are free, and they range from papers on all the topics mentioned above, as well as books (including book reviews), reports, Bible studies, audio visual materials, and tools for church leaders. This is a site that manages to keep in balance the fine balance between personal faith issues and the Christian concern for social justice. As the Reverend Dr Chris Wright says, “Biblical scholars often fail to connect with the modern world. Social reformers often fail to take the Bible seriously. The Jubilee Centre has a fine track record in avoiding both dangers.” If you are a thinking Christian who seeks to tease out how we can respond biblically to the issues of the world, you cannot go past the Jubilee Centre.

- NILS VON KALM

PREVIOUS CASTING THE NET...

24th May, 2008

Muddy River Media
www.muddyrivermedia.org

The idea began when Mark Fogarty, a full time youth pastor, felt God calling him to a ministry of helping small churches to use new media on a limited budget. He started Muddy River Media, a non-profit mission society that exists to consistently provide free, quality media resources for churches, and it does it by providing them for download on the internet. The most interesting content on the site is the growing array of videos that can be used in church, studies, children's ministries or outreach events, some packaged complete with printable leader's guides. Other free resources include photos, illustrations, motion backgrounds and countdown timers. Mark and any other future Muddy River Media workers are supported in a similar way to traditional missionaries being funded by local churches and sponsors, but instead of heading overseas these people spend their time and equipment creating media resources for churches to use for free. And if you think that just because they're free the production values will be low, you'd be mistaken. These media are produced by professionals and released purely for the purpose of resourcing churches and helping the cause of the Gospel. You have to complete a free sign up to the site to get the full downloads but even without that you can see previews that are very impressive and entertaining.

- JAMES CROOK

17th April, 2008

KIVA
www.kiva.org

At the risk of sounding like a telemarketer, let me ask you this important question: do you have money that you could afford to invest right now? Unlike every investment opportunity I've ever been called about, this one isn't going to give you huge monetary returns and will certainly not see you retiring early. Instead, your investment will help others lift themselves out of poverty. KIVA is a unique website that lets you invest as little as $US25 to help people from the Third World start up micro-businesses to support themselves and their families. The site matches willing lenders with local groups that support microbusiness enterprises, and runs a system that allows lenders to give as much or as little as they like towards specific projects. For example, $US500 might let a Sudanese woman buy firewood to resell, and if five rich westerners (like you and me) each loan her $US100 she can repay them within a year and make an income she otherwise wouldn't have. Most entrepreneurs on the site request under $US1000 and the loans are usually repaid within 6 to 12 months. Once repaid, the lender can withdraw the loan or re-loan it to another project. Since these are loans, not donations, there is an expectation that the money will be repaid but there's no interest charged and there is always a chance you'll lose your money, so it's not going to make you rich. Although surprisingly, Kiva's repayment rate is an amazing 99.9 per cent - itself only slightly above the 97 per cent rate for microloans wordwide. The best thing about the site is browsing the list of entrepreneurs as you choose who to partner with. Kiva provides a description of each project and a short bio of the people involved so you know you're helping someone personally. It's a great concept and I encourage you to at least have a look at the site and see if you can add to the $US27,000,000 plus that is currently being lent. Your rewards might not be earthly riches, but you'll be helping someone who's in far greater need.

- JAMES CROOK

22nd October, 2007

We Can Be
www.wecan.be

This website has been put together with the inspiration of Dave Andrews, author of Can You Hear the Heartbeat? and Christi-Anarchy among other books. It takes a radical look at the Beatitudes, those beautiful and confronting words of Jesus from the Sermon on the Mount. I was recently reminded that, while I know how many commandments there are, I had no idea how many Beatitudes there are. This site takes a radical look at each one and shows them in a light that I believe many people would not have seen before. The title of this site is taken from the words of Mahatma Gandhi who said that we need to be the change we want to see in the world. Dave Andrews reminds us that in the Beatitudes we have the framework to be that change. He shows how they cover every aspect of life, from purity of heart to a passion for justice. The one that grabbed me the most was the fact that 'blessed are the meek' does not actually refer to humility as I always thought. The word 'meek' in Jesus' day actually referred to a rage at injustice. The site then shows that another Beatitude reflects the desire for mercy, and that justice and mercy are inseparable. Many of us who are passionate about justice issues find it easy to neglect our own relationship with God. This is where being pure in heart comes in - desiring an integrity that puts God first in all things. Blessed are the pure in heart - that's what I want as well as justice in this world. It was Gandhi who said that the Sermon on the Mount was the greatest message he had ever heard - this coming from someone who rejected Christianity, mainly because of Christians. Gandhi also said that everyone knows what the Sermon on the Mount means except Christians. Unfortunately, he is right in too many cases. No one who really lived out the Beatitudes could ever justify a preemptive strike on Iraq, nor ignore the plight of our poor neighbours in our own backyard here in Australia and in the rest of the world, nor be indifferent to the way they relate to people in their everyday lives. As Dave Andrews said recently, imagine the revolution that would occur in our lives if, instead of reciting the creeds in church every Sunday, we recited the Beatitudes instead. This website is a big help in getting us started.

- NILS VON KALM

10th October, 2007

Christsites
www.christsites.com

Christsites is a funky new search engine that allows you to search through Christian websites to find what you’re looking for on the internet. It lists thousands of sites in a broad range of categories including Arts & Media, Church Resources, Kids, Shopping and Computers. While most of the sites are based around Christian themes, they do allow sites owned by Christians to be listed under certain categories - for example web design businesses that might create Christian websites. Searching by key words works if you know exactly what you’re looking for, but the power of this search engine is in the categories. Want a book on youth ministry? There’s a page full of places you can check out in the “Books” category. Want some ideas to blow the socks off your congregation this Sunday? Try “Sermons” - there’s over 400 sites listed for you to look through. If you find the numbers a bit daunting, check out the awards pages. Christsites rates and awards some of the listings to try and help you choose which ones to look through. There’s even a Christian News category, and yes, Sight Magazine is listed!

- JAMES CROOK

24th September, 2007

Your Christian Space
www.yourchristianspace.com
The contemporary internet is a place for getting together, a true global playground that allows individuals to build friendships across boundaries of distance. It’s in this environment that countless social networking websites are springing up, connecting people with all sorts of similar interests. Your Christian Space is one of these. This site allows people to sign up and create their own profile page, then make friends and connect to others from around the world. So what makes it any different to the largest social site on the internet, MySpace? The users here are Christians, of course. Millions of MySpace users are too, but on Your Christian Space they dominate, with forums dedicated to Christian topics, quizzes to test your Bible knowledge and a prayer request page. So if you feel like creating a blog or reaching some new friends, Your Christian Space might be a good way to go. At least you know you’ll have one thing in common with the other people there: Jesus.

- JAMES CROOK

28th July, 2007

E-Sword

www.e-sword.net

At its most basic E-Sword is a tool to help you study the Bible, but this resource is so full of features that you’ll be studying in a way you never have before. And it’s free! When you run the software you’ll find a myriad of functions that enable you to read and search many different Bible translations, commentaries, dictionaries, graphics and devotionals. You can show several of these texts onscreen at once, linking each one to your favourite translation to create a custom study guide or parallel Bible. The power that you have to control your study space is amazing, and while the base installation comes with only one Bible text, there are over 30 translations and 15 commentaries plus many more add-on texts available for free download from the E-Sword website. It also includes Hebrew and Greek texts for in-depth study and over 30 translations into other modern languages. Some of the popular modern translations like the Amplified Bible or The Message are available but attract a small fee to download due to licensing restrictions, most seem about $20 which is still very reasonable compared to other study software available. And even if you only use the free tools there is enough here to keep you going for the rest of your life!

- JAMES CROOK

13th July, 2007

The Big Switch

www.thebigswitch.org.au

This website, launched this month, is basically a one-stop shop for any climate-change related information you could want to know. The Big Switch itself is a fast-growing coalition of Australian organisations, businesses and community groups whose goal is to raise awareness about climate change solutions by informing the general public about simple lifestyle choices that we can make to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions. This is easily the best website of its type that I have seen. In order to better inform the public, the creators of The Big Switch sent every one of our 150 federal politicians in Australia a survey asking them whether they support key climate change solutions. On the website you can look up any one of our federal MPs to see where they stand. The website also has information about local climate groups that people can join to take action, as well as ways of lobbying and getting in touch with your MP and others to raise awareness of this hot topic (so to speak!). As well as this, the website has a vast amount of options for people to take to reduce their own greenhouse emissions, and has a pledge that anyone can sign to commit themselves to reducing their own contribution to climate change. There is so much more on this website to check out, including links, news, discussion forums, books, and movies. If you want to know what you can do to preserve the planet that God loves so much by combating climate change, this site is the best that I have seen.

- NILS VON KALM

7th May, 2007

PeoplePray

www.peoplepray.com

PeoplePray bills itself as part of the "Intercession Superhighway", allowing people to leave prayer requests online. Log in to create your own prayer list - a handy reminder if you like to intercede while you're on the internet - and later write what answers were received. You can also pray for other people's concerns (kept anonymous), comment on other people's prayers, take part in community prayers and sign up for alerts to have important prayer concerns emailed to you daily. A blog and podcast complete the community focus of this site. While the idea of putting prayer requests online isn't particularly new, PeoplePray is using professional, sophisticated web technology to provide a service far above what you'd be able to find elsewhere. It's based in the US, but the community aspect of this site also assures that you'll find a listening ear and possible prayer partners from around the globe.

- JAMES CROOK

9th February, 2007

The Amazing Change

www.theamazingchange.com

Created to coincide with the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the British slave trade (and the new film celebrating the life of abolitionist William Wilberforce, Amazing Grace), this website is all about continuing the struggle to bring a complete end to modern day slavery. To that end, the site contains a wealth of information about the historical struggle to end what was a horrific trade - including a multitude of facts about the life of William Wilberforce (played by Ioan Gruffudd in the film) and the creator of the hymn Amazing Grace, John Newton - as well as information about the modern day Amazing Change campaign which aims to bring about an end to the fact that as many as 27 million people living as slaves around the world. There’s links to a plethora of resources to explore the issue and a petition to be signed which will be presented to world leaders (it’s up to more than 37,000 signatures although sadly this appears to only be open to US citizens) as well as practical tips on how you can become part of the abolitionist movement, including creating a Clapham Circle with your friends in which you meet to discuss the issue of modern slavery. The website also has a link to a website about Amazing Grace Sunday - to be held on 18th February in the US and 25th March in the UK - when churches will join in singing the hymn Amazing Grace and pray for the end of slavery “once and for all” (see www.amazinggracesunday.com for more on this). All in all, a site to help you get active in what remains a global struggle. Be inspired!

- DAVID ADAMS

14th November, 2006
MyChurch
www.mychurch.org
If you’re into things webbie, one of the buzzwords that you hear being talked about is “web 2.0”. Simply, this is the concept of 2nd-generation “social networking” sites that allow users to interact with each other and form communities over the web. It was only a matter of time before Christians would have a proper go at site like this to help facilitate their own communities, and mychurch.org is it. Truly interactive, this site is designed as a way for Christians to connect with each other. Your local church can set up a page allowing members to talk, vote and share with each other using tools like church blogs, sermon audio files, photo galleries, online church bulletins, even classifieds. It’s not designed purely for Christians, either. As the site itself says, “a church community thrives between Sundays, and is most effective when our social networks are engaged”, so you can now share your church with other people you meet online through myspace, msn or other social forums. Like many other 2.0 sites, the design of this site has been carefully crafted to be simple, clean and friendly, so although there’s currently only four Australian churches listed among the numerous US communities, that should change very quickly.

- JAMES CROOK

14th October, 2006

Reverend Fun
www.reverendfun.com
Phew! It's been a long time since my last web review - I've had lots of work on and I haven't had as much time for fun as I'd like to. So I thought that this time I'd review a site that always gives me a chuckle - Reverend Fun. This site has a daily cartoon, and although it's only one panel, it's usually religious and always clean and is still very funny. Characters range from Adam and Eve to the disciples to the ubiquitously uncool youth pastor, and you can rate the cartoons out of five laughs and share them with your friends by email. The site is part of the Gospelcom alliance, an American missions group with a relatively large internet ministry, and the site doesn't say who the particular artist behind the works is - but it does say that as long as you follow the rules you're allowed to republish the cartoons in your newsletter or on your own website, free of charge. What a bonus! The single-panel format also means you get at least one laugh every day without wasting too much of your boss's time, but be warned: the archives of cartoons go back to November 1997, and with a new drawing almost every day, that's a lot of back-reading to get through!

- JAMES CROOK

13th July , 2006
Global Rich List
www.globalrichlist.com
How Rich Are You? No, this website is not another small business "opportunity". Instead it's an ingenious idea to compare your income with everyone else, on a global scale. Created by the London-based company Poke, you enter your income on this site (in $US) and it will give you a ranking on where you stand in the world. It's a real eye-opener - I rank in the top 12 per cent in the world, and trust me, I didn't previously consider myself well-paid. In our culture we are encouraged to compare ourselves to the richest of the rich - making ourselves feel poor in comparison - but when half the world's population earns less than $US850 per year it really opens your eyes to the fact that even an average, working-class individual like myself has plenty to give to the many that are far less fortunate. Essentially, that's what this site is: a powerful encouragement to donate to overseas charity work. As well as the ranking system the site has some facts and statistics about world poverty, and links to organisations that take donations online. So go to it: rank yourself, thank God you're so rich, and redistribute some of that wealth.
- JAMES CROOK

20th June, 2006

The Bible Site
www.thebiblesite.org
A while ago I did a review on the Hunger Site [www.thehungersite.com] which feeds people in third-world countries by using the revenue raised by people visiting their website. Clever. The Bible Site works on the same premise but is run by Open Doors, a mission that ministers to persecuted Christians across the globe. Open Doors is responsible for distributing millions of Bibles and training over 30,000 pastors in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East. By visiting the Bible Site and clicking the "donate Bibles" button you raise money to go towards buying Bibles for persecuted countries and helping Open Doors continue their fantastic efforts. You can also, of course, make a monetary donation yourself - details are provided on the website - and there's plenty of information on Open Doors and what they're doing worldwide to get you excited and inspired.

- JAMES CROOK

30th March, 2006

Follow the Rabbi
www.followtherabbi.com
Fascinating. That's what I've found the Follow the Rabbi website to be. Absolutely fascinating. The people who run it point out that Jesus lived, talked and worshipped as a Jew, and that in order to know Jesus more intimately and understand Christianity better we must immerse ourselves in the culture He was part of. "We must learn to 'think Hebrew' - in the way that the original writers of the Text thought." One way they educate people about the Jewish culture is by conducting tours of Israel. The group leaders explain Biblical links as they visit places of historical interest. The website also delivers information and teaching through hundreds of 'Datafiles' and 'Faith Lessons' on different aspects of history and theology. These pages are each self-contained lessons that vary in delivery style and might include written Bible studies, photos, downloadable audio teaching or even videos taken on past tours. But although the style is not always the same, the purpose is showing the Jewish culture, land and people of which Jesus was a part. They fulfil this goal admirably, with each lesson short but enlightening and lively. Topics covered are diverse, from the significance of the Ark of the Covenant through to geographical locations like Mount Carmel, "God's Vineyard". For instance, did you know that first-century Galileans not only flavoured their food with salt but mixed it with manure to burn in their stoves? Gives a whole new perspective on being the 'salt of the earth'. Bookmark this page and keep coming back regularly, there's enough here for quite a few evenings of 'thinking Hebrew'.
- JAMES CROOK

17th March, 2006

Jesus Decoded
www.jesusdecoded.com
Like millions of other people around the world I've read The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown, and found it an interesting story. Besides its central adventure narrative the book also contains a great deal of information on alternative claims about Jesus' life and death and portions of Christian history since. Some people have used this to make attacks on Christian beliefs and the church. The website Jesus Decoded is a response to these claims and the immense interest in what we might call 'Christian conspiracy theories' that has subsequently developed. It is organised and creative, listing each of the claims made in the book and arguing against them individually, often with factual proof supporting its position. The authors of the site are obviously academics who value good research and have come across many of the arguments before in some form. As the site says about the theories: "Some are merely distortions of hypotheses advanced by serious scholars who do serious research. Others, however, are inaccurate or false". The site also includes interesting spin-off pieces, with articles like 'The Real Leonardo' and 'What do you say to a Da Vinci Code Believer?' proving an interesting read and extending some of the ideas presented throughout the main part of the site. While Jesus Decoded seems at times to be overly defensive in its position, the information it offers is enlightening for both Christians and others.

- JAMES CROOK

22nd February , 2006

Bible Gateway
www.biblegateway.com
I have reviewed online Bibles before, but there's a few reasons that Bible Gateway caught my eye as perhaps the best of the bunch. For starters it's the most complete, with 19 different translations you can choose from including NIV, the Message and the Amplified Bible, plus many more in languages other than English. The entire text of each version is searchable by keyword (making this site the ultimate concordance) or you can easily lookup specific verses by typing them into the "passage lookup" box. Every chapter is available as RealAudio, with a gentle southern US voice reading the parts I have listened to. There is also a Bible Commentary available to view alongside each verse, and although it is old-fashioned it still contains some interesting thoughts. As well as the searchable media there are additional resources available to help you study and understand the Bible, these include audio bible, commentaries, ebooks, dictionaries, study tools and reading plans, all of which seem well thought out and accessible. The whole site is easy to navigate and understand and provides a great resource for those wanting to read or study the Bible.

- JAMES CROOK

28th January, 2006

Christianity Works
www.christianityworks.com
This site is produced by Good News Broadcasting and it's one of the best Australian examples I've seen of making good use of the audio and video capabilities of the web. When you first load the site you're welcomed by a friendly Berni Dymet walking on to the side of the screen and talking about the site. He explains the purpose of Christianity Works and highlights some features of the website. The main attraction is that you can listen online to the Christianity Works radio programs, or sign up to their podcast to get the latest episodes delivered automatically as soon as they are released. There's also streaming television from the Australian Christian Channel if you've got fast broadband, as well as the usual fare of Bible studies, forums, a prayer room and information on the group's other programs. The interface for this site is clean and hi-tech, especially in the opening pages, and you can tell that a lot has been invested in making a site that looks and feels classy. Unfortunately, you really need broadband to view it properly - even before you get to the streaming audio and video programs - but, if you do have it, it's definitely worth a look.

- JAMES CROOK

20th December, 2005
The Tithing Tree
www.thetithingtree.org.au
"Creating a simpler, more humanitarian Christmas." That's the motto of this website that aims to inspire Australians to use some of their Christmas spending to help make the world a better place. Each year it gathers together information on about 20 small charity organisations from around the world, including orphanages, medical foundations, environmental causes and animal welfare groups. Each page has a rundown of the charity showing what they do and where your money goes and includes a link to their own website or other way of donating. The other part of The Tithing Tree is pages of inspirational ideas, including how to make giving part of your Christmas tradition, what to say when your husband thinks the kids might miss out, and testimonials from people who have given in the past. The Tithing Tree itself is also a great example of generosity as it doesn't take any sort of fee or percentage of the gifts given - the people who maintain it are doing so as their own tithe. As a bonus it's open all year, so you can continue your giving and check back for updates any time.

- JAMES CROOK

2nd November, 2005
John Wesley's Journal
www.johnwesley.blogspot.com
John Wesley is writing a blog. Wesley, who lived from 1703 to 1791, who was an English preacher, theologian, author and hymn-writer and the founder of the Methodist church, is writing a blog. Well, more correctly, he wrote it in 1737 - long before the phrase 'web log' had been thought of - as a journal of his travels and experiences. It is now being published on the internet in the same timeframe as it was written, day-by-day showing the thoughts and experiences of one of the world's most influential Christian figures. Wesley is a logical and thoughtful writer, and his journal covers both the mundane and the inspirational, and is heavy with advice on Christian living. Much of it seems very harsh from a 21st Century point of view, the parts about how to deal with kids seem especially conservative considering he had none himself, but it is interesting to read nonetheless.

- JAMES CROOK

31st August, 2005

Think Christian

www.thinkchristian.net
I like people that aren't afraid to debate issues with those who think differently to them. I even find the occasional heated argument exhilarating. Working through opposing ideas is an important way of discovering the truth in any given situation. This is the reason that I love Think Christian, a website that discusses Christ, culture and the ways that faith plays out in everyday life. The site is bloglike in style, with several contributors writing short articles on issues they think are relevant and many people joining in the discussion through the open comments section. Nothing is off-limits as the largely American community presents a range of views and arguments on topics they find challenging or interesting. Even within one day the topics discussed can vary widely, from US foreign policy to the importance of personal relationship with Jesus to abortion. Think Christian's motto includes the line: "We want to exercise our faith in every aspect of our lives: heart, soul, and mind" and judging by the amount of activity generated by every topic raised, there's a lot of exercising going on. Visit this site for interesting reading and be encouraged by the variety of views presented by your Christian siblings.

- JAMES CROOK

9th August, 2005
Christian Freebies
www.christianfreebies.com
Everybody loves a freebie, and this site knows Christians are no exception. The makers are dedicated to tracking down every free giveaway on the web that has a Christian theme and collating the information into categories with links. The selection is broad, with freebies varying from cross-stitch patterns to web hosting to magazine subscriptions to bumper stickers. Getting the goods is also relatively easy - the site emails you the website addresses for the relevent sign up pages when you order a product. So what's the catch? As far as I can see, most of the sites providing the free products are funded by legitimate outreach organisations that want to give away as much Chrisitan paraphenalia as possible. They require signup to their sites, including your email address, but most have privacy policies in which they claim they won't hassle you. The only problem is potentially losing track of all your free orders - you get at least two confirmation emails from each place, and with the amount of free stuff available here you could be ordering all night!

- JAMES CROOK

21st July, 2005
Wired Jesus Podcast
www.wiredjesus.com
A podcast is essentially an audio file that can be downloaded and saved for listening to later either on your computer or using a portable audio device. These audio files contain anything from music selections to the author's thoughts to recorded samples, or - more commonly - everything mixed together with a funky soundtrack. This freedom of content and relative ease of production makes the genre the audio equivalent of blogging with an end product that sounds like a pre-recorded radio broadcast. The practice of making and listening to podcasts is becoming popular as digital portable audio players become affordable and downloading files from the internet becomes faster, and, like blogs, the quality varies from professional to very amateur. Tom Lyberg records the Wired Jesus Podcast weekly, sharing his thoughts on life in a postmodern, hitech world, and I am pleased to say that his work is of a high quality. Tom talks about current events and the spiritual principles he sees behind them, introduces a song or two and leaves the listener with something to think about. His messages and his music, while being fairly conservative as far as their Christian content, are squarely aimed at young people grappling with a changing world and are challenging and interesting. Each podcast on this site goes for 15 to 20 minutes and new ones are released weekly. Read the accompanying blog and listen to the "wired wanderings of a postmodern pilgrim".

- JAMES CROOK

12th July, 2005
Christian Mystics
www.christianmystics.com
Many people who are a part of contemporary Western churches might consider the term 'Christian mystic' to be an oxymoron, but in reality mysticism has a long and varied history within Christian belief. This site is dedicated to exploring mysticism in both its historical and contemporary forms, defining it as "the direct intuition or experience of God". The content is well-written and plentiful, with mountains of articles and essays on elements of mysticism as well as insights into the lives of traditional Christian mystics of the past. Names that pop up as authors and subjects include St. Francis, Brother Lawrence, St. John of the Cross, C.S. Lewis and even St. Paul. Everything you want to know is covered: from the historical context of mystic practices to the theory behind them and including practical exercises to try yourself. Whether you meditate regularly or only have a passing interest, the breadth of knowledge at this site makes it the perfect place to explore further.

- JAMES CROOK

19th May, 2005

Infinity Church
www.infinitychurch.com
The pixelated photo on the front page of this site shows a pretty, 20-something woman sitting in front of an expensive laptop, smiling as she goes to type something. Does this image represent the ideals of Infinity Church? To an extent, yes - this church is based online, meaning that the congregation participates by using the internet. However, it is not simply an online community. Most of the meaty stuff is provided in the form of short audio sermons and is aimed at being used by small groups that meet and use the recording, study notes and other resources to reach their friends "when and where it's convenient". The website also has questions and answers about how to worship, build relationships and learn about God, with the focus on quality rather than quantity of information. Each week there is a new sermon to listen to, put together by the couple who run the site, Edward and Leanne Leclerc. They started Infinity in 2001 as a traditional church, but they soon found that the people they met were not interested in coming to a church running in a traditional way. This online version is the result.

- JAMES CROOK

11th May, 2005

God Speak
www.godspeak.info
I've got a lot of respect for the people at Bible Society in Australia. They reach people with the most basic, and most important, information about God that they can: the Bible. They are also very good at making their presentations relevant to the social group they are addressing, and nowhere is this more apparent than in their youth products. The website God Speak is one of these publications, squarely aiming Bible literacy at young people - and in my opinion it succeeds. With a pumping introduction and pixel-perfect, organic graphics, it provides information in terms and style that youth relate to without being condescending or corny. That's hard to pull off. The articles are intelligent but use language anyone can understand. The questions and answers address real teen problems without descending to trite Christian cliches. Testimonies are provided by sports heroes and musicians talking frankly about Biblical values and what they mean. The forums, while only moderately active, are visited by young people asking real questions and debating topics they care about. And lets face it, that's what these sort of sites should be aiming to do: authentically engage with one of the most individualistic generations ever. Thankyou once again, Bible Society. Love your work.

- JAMES CROOK

2nd May, 2005

Stand Today
www.standtoday.org
Stand Today is a group that takes a stand for the persecuted church. The site has striking interviews and photos that reveal the persecuted church, and how other Christians are helping. Did you know there are an estimated 200 million persecuted Christians worldwide? There is plenty of info available here to download and present to your church, friends or homegroup, to get people motivated. However, this site is less concerned with information or statistics, and is more geared to providing ways to get involved and contact other like-minded people. You can sign online petitions, learn how to write letters and phone appropriate embassies, and get help to start your own group. If you're a US resident, you can even organise for Stand Today's director to come and speak at your church. They are currently campaigning to attract volunteers, and hope to gain one million in the near future. Maybe you should consider joining?

- JAMES CROOK

7th April, 2005

ReJesus
www.rejesus.co.uk
In design circles London is known as a centre of urban grunge innovation and sophisticated fashions that reflect the inner-city lives of their creators. ReJesus is a Christian website created by such designers - it's funk meets faith, London-style. The flashy graphics aren't there to hide a lack of intelligent information though - on the contrary, this site provides a large amount of content broken down into sections: The Story (Jesus' life), Encounters (followers today), Spirituality (prayer and meditation), Expressions (Jesus imagined) and Community (have your say). You can view the Jesus video online, read about famous figures from the Christian past, view the art gallery, read poetry or sink your teeth into some deep theological problems in the forums. I especially admire the Expressions section filled with art and poetry as a serious and necessary contribution to Christian art on the web. In fact, the whole site's content is creatively made and delivered and updated regularly, producing an authentic community feeling that is hard to find. One of the best sites I've reviewed.

- JAMES CROOK

10th March, 2005

Truth or Fiction?
http://www.truthorfiction.com
Everyone knows the internet is not the most trustworthy source of information, but sometimes it can be hard to separate the authentic from the dross. I get several emails a week from well-meaning people passing on 'true' stories that to my cynical mind seem implausible. Recent photos that claim to have been taken during the tsunami in Asia are another example - they depict a giant wave curling over a small village and have been created using digital manipulation, but many people seem to believe they are real. Stories like these are known as 'e-rumours' because of their questionable integrity. So how do we tell what is real and what is not? Truth or Fiction is a website that helps to hone your scam-sensors. They investigate e-rumours and rate them either truth, fiction or unproven. Hundreds of stories have been investigated and are split into categories for easy browsing. While not a Christian site as such, many of the stories refer to Christian material, and all of them make interesting reading. Don't be gullible any longer.

- JAMES CROOK

25th January, 2005

God's Generals
http://www.godsgenerals.org
Explore the lives of famous Christians from the past in a format that runs like a pop music video, complete with pumping dance-music soundtrack. Some of the people I've heard of - Smith Wigglesworth, John G. Lake - many of the others I have not, but I still found their stories amazing. This is Christian history from a pentecostal perspective, made palatable for people who aren't historians, and it is interesting and powerfully motivating. God's Generals features important leaders, preachers and healers from the pentecostal movement, and promises you will "find out why they succeeded, and why some failed". The reader is provided with the main thrust of each person's ministry with links to further discussion, as well as photographs, artifacts and fantastic facts. The information provided is simple to understand, the only annoyance is that you have to sign up for a free membership to reach some of the more detailed information.

- JAMES CROOK

14th December, 2004

All About Science

www.allaboutscience.org

Science is the human endeavour to discover truths about the world around us. Some scientists believe the study of the world reveals that there is no God, others believe that the overwhelming evidence supports the existence of a Creator. All About Science presents a Christian creationist view of science with clarity and intelligence. The site is organised well and is very user-friendly - which is good because although the scientific content is simplified enough to be understandable, it can still be heavy going at times. Intellectual discussion of several theories including evolution, relativity and thermodynamics lead the reader through a series of partner sites - All About Philosophy, All About Creation and others - between them covering an extraordinary amount of persuasive Christian thinking. At the end of it all the reader cannot help but reach the undeniable conclusion that God exists, and links are provided to take the next step to relationship with Him as well. A perfect example of good net evangelism.

- JAMES CROOK

11th November, 2004

Internet for Christians

http://ifc.gospelcom.net/

The internet is big. So big that it can be hard to find your way to the good stuff without guidance. Internet for Christians provides that guidance. It is designed to be set as your home page and looked at regularly, so it has several categories that are updated daily with news, reviews and links to interesting and noteworthy sites or articles. Topics covered range from overtly Christian themes like 'Spiritual Growth' and 'Ministry' to the more mundane (but perhaps more interesting) 'Entertainment' and 'Society', but even at this end of the spectrum you can be guaranteed they won't be linking to anything unwholesome. One gripe might be that the links are very US-centric, but a great layout that is easy to understand helps users to pick items that are relevant, and quality editing ensures that there is no rubbish among them. Definitely worth checking out.

- JAMES CROOK

29th October, 2004

Blogs4God
www.blogs4god.com
It is impossible to talk about websites without eventually mentioning the increasingly popular 'blog'. Short for 'web logs', blogs are an easy, free way to have your say and to self-publish whatever you like in what amounts to an online column. The most popular format is the personal journal covering everyday events in the blogger's life. Other common topics include reflections on life, news, current events, technical developments or short essays on whatever the blogger thinks is important. There are even meta-blogs, which blog about what other bloggers are saying. Needless to day, there are many bloggers out there that are Christian and the website Blogs4God brings together a semi-definitive list of them with a short description of each. Blogs are sorted into the categories of Apologia, Church Polity, Journals, Metablogs, Ministries, Pundits, techBlogs and Zines, and there are hundreds listed in each category so there should be plenty to keep you occupied. Be warned - reading blogs can be addictive.

Image: Daniel Vineyard (iStockphoto.com)

14th September, 2004

PraiseMoves
www.praisemoves.com

Lately I've noticed myself growing a small pot-belly - one of the repercussions of a computer-based lifestyle. A friend of mine is into yoga, but I've heard that it's based on Eastern religious practices so I'm a bit nervous getting involved in it. What to do? Well, Laurette Willis has founded PraiseMoves, the 'Christian Alternative to Yoga', to help people like me. PraiseMoves sounds a lot like yoga with the Bible thrown in, claiming "Deep Stretching, Gentle Movement and Strong Scripture combine for Weight Loss, Stress Relief, Flexibility and Strength", but of course it doesn't include any of the Eastern meditative practices of traditional yoga. Instead of spiritually hazardous poses like 'vrksasana' (tree) or 'marjarasana' (cat cow) Willis has created moves like 'the Angel' which involves standing on one leg with your arms stretched out superman-style, and 'the Lord's Prayer' that calls for arms extended in a Y above your head. You can learn PraiseMoves by buying the book or video/dvd available at this site, so if you want to get involved in some "Fitness for His Witness" this is definitely the place to come!

22nd August, 2004

Lark News
www.larknews.com
At first glance this site seems to be exactly what its tagline claims: "A good source for Christian news" - until you read the headlines of some of the stories. "Christians planning to be offended by next Eminem album", "Teen no longer called to chores" and "VeggieTales Exclusive: Where are they now?". Each  link leads to a well-written, humourous article that gently pokes fun at part of contemporary Christianity. There are spoof ads too, for things like the "Holy Spirit Explosion Conference - and Monster Truck Rally" and "Baptist Beer", and you can even read your "personal prophetic word" or sign up for Lark Personals. Each issue contains about 15 stories, and a complete new issue is posted every month.

13th August, 2004

Narnia

www.narnia.com
In June this year Walt Disney Studios began producing The Chronicles of Narnia: the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, a feature film planned for release late in 2005 based on the classic book by C.S. Lewis. Like the recent Lord of the Rings movies, it will be filmed and produced in New Zealand with a cast of international actors and will be directed by Shrek's Andrew Adamson. For those of us that grew up reading the Narnia series this movie will be a great way to see our beloved characters on the big screen and is sure to provide ample opportunities to talk about the deeper meaning behind the story. If you want to brush up on your Narnian lore, this beautiful and enchanting site is for you. It has a bit of info on the movie, but that section is understandably light this early on. There is also a section devoted to the books, and another inviting you to "Explore Narnia". This option opens a flash site that has beautiful artwork, quizzes, games and info on the lands, the characters and the history of Narnia. And it's not just for kids - it will capture the imagination of adults just as easily.

29th July, 2004

Asylum Seeker Project

www.asp.hothammission.org.au

"How would you survive in our community without permission to work? You are not eligible for any benefits or Centrelink? You have no family in Australia? No friends? How do you find accommodation? How do you catch a tram, train or bus? Buy food? What about soap, toothpaste, a razor?" Of around 8,000 asylum seekers lawfully living in Australian communities on bridging visas, many are not entitled to Medicare or welfare payments and are not allowed to work. Denied these sources of income they are among the poorest people in Australia and often have issues with homelessness, health, nutrition, isolation and depression. Some have family or friends to help them, but a significant number have no support. Denied government help, it is left up to the church and community groups to provide these people with food, clothing, housing and medical attention. The Asylum Seeker Project at Hotham Mission in Melbourne has spent seven years providing housing and basic living assistance. They also advocate and lobby on behalf of their clients, and help tie people in with local communities. At the Asylum Seeker Project website you can learn more about what they do, sign up to help or make a donation.

15th July, 2004

Brio
www.briomag.com
I don't normally read e-zines aimed at 15-year-old girls, but I came across this one while searching for an article on Christian snowboarder Matt Hammer. The 'Real Life' section of Brio contains interviews and biographies of many sports stars and others, albeit most of them women. There is also a surprisingly rounded array of other sections that teen girls will love covering health & beauty, entertainment, relationships, spiritual health, quizzes and a fiction fix. Sounds a bit like Dolly? It is. But the aim of this website is "teaching, entertaining and challenging teen girls toward a healthy self-concept and closer relationship with Jesus Christ". The creators do seem to go deeper: 'Daily Soul Food' provides a short devotional every day, and 'Brio Missions' organises groups to go to places like Panama. 'Brio & Beyond' asks those tough questions that teen girls face as they get older, like 'What’s Your Marriage Criteria?' and 'Going Deeper: Would Jesus Read His Horoscope?'. Now, I'll probably never look at this site again, but that doesn't mean I don't like it. It is reaching a group of girls at a critical age with language and a look they can understand, and I think there should be more of it!

30th June, 2004
Ministry Blue - search engine
www.ministryblue.com
Ministry Blue is essentially a search engine dedicated to cataloguing links to Australian Christian resources. The obvious categories are present: churches, missions, resources and Christian groups, but there are also more obscure listings like multimedia and office supplies, camping, business, education and performing arts. Visually, this site is shocking, but as far as content goes it can be handy if you want to find resources specific to Australia. If you want to go to Bible College, it can direct you to 15 found in Victoria, or if you want to buy a second-hand data projector, they can sell you one. Having said that, the lists it does have are not comprehensive so don't expect to be able to find everything you want. For instance, Ocean Grove Baptist Church isn't listed, although over 40 other Baptist churches in Victoria are. Give it time to grow and this site might develop into a Christian search engine that Australia needs.

23rd June, 2004
Christians Online
www.christiansonline.com.au
Finding it hard to meet people who share your Christian values? Do you want to meet Christian singles or friends online? Although this site offers much more, the tone is set by these two questions, prominently asked at the top welcome of the page. Other services offered include job listings, marriage and parenting advice, devotionals, world news and a page of clean jokes, most of them about religion, some of which are funny. You can also shop for books or CDs or sign up for Christian travel tours. The purpose is to build an online Christian community, aimed at the 20-something generation who are comfortable making friends with other people on a website. Its clean design will appeal to this market, and although the content makes me cringe at times by being a little too introvertedly focused on all things labelled "Christian", if that's what you're into this site will meet your every need.

9th June, 2004
Online Labyrinth
http://www.embody.co.uk/labyrinth/online.html
I was lucky enough to attend a fascinating labyrinth service at Easter this year (pictured right), and it got me interested in the history of the labyrinth as a worship tool. They have a long history; many of the European cathedrals built in the Middle Ages have labyrinths laid into the floor, and they are also experiencing somewhat of a revival with many churches (like the one I visited at Easter) making them for special occasions. In England, Youth For Christ has a mobile labyrinth with 11 contemplative stations that they take to different churches around that country, and which they have also brought to the web in a very interesting way at this site. The music is calming, the design is flashy and a great example of multimedia usage, the download times are a little long but definitely worth it. So remove your shoes, take a deep breath, and head to the 'Online Labyrinth' for a fascinating online spiritual experience!

5th May, 2004
YouthPastor.com
http://www.youthpastor.com
It's late in the afternoon and you haven't prepared anything for youth group this evening. Don't worry, YouthPastor.com has everything you need! This site has saved my skin on more than one occasion, with lessons, games, event and fundraising ideas and talk outlines all available for download. The majority of the resources are posted by youth leaders or pastors who also use the site, so you can usually trust that they have been tested with real, live young people and are going to make the grade. There is also a large section that keeps up with the latest Christian music trends, indexed topically so you can easily choose music to match your study. Handy. If you're just starting out, check out the long list of youth group names from around the world to give you some ideas.

28th April, 2004
Real Live Preacher
http://www.reallivepreacher.com
It takes a lot to make me cry over written words. Love in the time of Cholera by Marquez did it, and the Adbusters magazine regularly makes me weep with its depictions of human hopelessness. But this site is different - it makes me weep with joy. Real Live Preacher is a beautifully-written weblog by a pastor of a small southern US church. Even the ordinary weblog fare of jokes and happenstance becomes honey in the hands of this Preacher, and a high percentage of his posts are short stories or poems that so perfectly explain what God is about that he has earned a spot in my "daily-visit" bookmarks. Follow the "Preacher's Stories" link to get the best of the best.

21st April, 2004
The Hunger Site
http://www.thehungersite.com
How do websites make money? Well, one of the ways is through advertising on the site. Every time the page is loaded and a viewer sees an ad, the website owner gets paid a small amount. How can we use this concept to raise money for the poor? The Hunger Site has the answer. The main page has a button at the centre which, when clicked, donates money to feeding the poor through the established charities Mercy Corps and America's Second Harvest. The donation is paid for by the advertisers on the site - there are quite a few - so it costs the viewer nothing. Each click equates to one cup of food, and the site has become so popular that on an average day donations exceed five metric tons! In fact, the site has worked so well since its inception in 1999 that there is now a series of related sites you can visit to raise money for your other favourite charities: the Breast Cancer Site, Child Health Site, Rainforest Site and even an Animal Rescue Site. Now you can solve all of the world's problems with a click of the mouse, and all for free!

10th March, 2004

Jonah Games
http://www.jonahmovie.com/html/arcade/
Anyone who has been in the same room as a Christian child and a television in the last ten years will know how popular the VeggieTales series is. Jonah is the latest movie adventure from Big Ideas' vivacious vegetables. At this colourful website you can find info on the movie, read interviews with the cast members, download preview trailers, send e-cards, and - most importantly - play Jonah-based games for hours on end. A young friend I visited recently tore herself away from the screen only long enough to assure me they are "the funnest"! While this site is obviously commercial, the under-12 age bracket will find it very entertaining, and it is somewhere you can safely let your kids spend the afternoon surfing. Who knows, they might even learn something!

11th February, 2004

Christian Classics Ethereal Library
www.ccel.org
I was recently introduced to a large sub-culture that exists in our society, by a colleague at work who has been experimenting with it for a couple of years. People indulge themselves as they practise in the car, in bed, or as we do, in the office. Yes, I have been listening to audio books. This interest led me to find the Christian Classics Ethereal Library, where you can freely download classic Christian literature read aloud and recorded into mp3 format. This will play on your computer, or can be burnt to CD and played in any CD player. The selection includes Brother Lawrence, John Wesley, G.K. Chesterton, John Bunyan, and even an unlikely 35-hour-long recording of the entire novel "Anna Karenina" by Leo Tolstoy (downloadable in 28 parts). Unfortunately, the quality is not the best: a female voice that sounds like it's coming through a tin-can telephone monotonously reads all the samples I listened to. Bearable for relatively short works like Brother Lawrence's "Practise the presence of God", but I think I'll leave Tolstoy for a printed edition.

11th December, 2003

Blue Letter Bible
www.blueletterbible.org
This is the best Bible reference I have ever seen, online or off. It contains the text for 12 Bible translations including NASB, RSV and even the Latin Vulgate. You can search for words or phrases (easier and more flexible than a concordance) and you can also look up over 15 commentaries to help you get a grasp of what it all means. As well as all these you can download devotionals, audio and video commentaries and sermons, images, hymns, maps and other study tools. Got a toughy? Try the  theological FAQ section. In all, this megasite delivers over 3,560,000 links onsite to over 165,000 pages, and it does it in an organised and easy-to-use fashion. Got to love it.

11th December, 2003
All About God
www.allaboutgod.com
All About God calls itself "the Christian Community for seekers, skeptics and believers". What does that mean? Well, it means this site has info on all the issues that seekers or new Christians are likely to ask about. It starts with questions like "Is God Real?" and "Is the Bible True?" and then continues through to deeper topics which include "Situational Ethics" and "the Human Genome Project".  The answers are short with plenty of Bible references, and they cover all the questions that anyone might ever have about Christianity. The design is slick enough to appeal to seasoned web surfers and the articles are categorised to make them easy to find. Aimed more at youth than adults, this site will be worth a look if you've got a teenage friend asking difficult questions.      

Streaming Faith

www.streamingfaith.tv

It was only a matter of time before televangelists made it into the new medium in a big way. "Cybervangelists" could be their new title. Streaming Faith is their home. This site has a program covering hundreds of television and radio shows that are available online in streaming form. This means that if you've got a fast enough internet connection you can tune in through your web browser for preaching, teaching, fundraising and even music videos, the same as if you were receiving their television or radio broadcasts. All the content is American and you've got to sign up for a free "Faith Pass" before you can access some channels, and even then you shouldn't attempt to watch streaming video without a cable internet connection (radio audio works alright). If you can overcome these hurdles this is definitely worth a visit.

Alternative Worship.org
www.alternativeworship.org
If you've ever thought "Gee, I wish church was different" here's a place where you can feel right at home with your outrageous ideas. This site is the ultimate source of information to get your soul swinging and your brain thinking differently. The idea is to have worship in a way that you enjoy, and that means re-inventing the experience of worship in totally new and exciting ways relevant to the culture that you happen to live in (without changing the gospel message). There are literally hundreds of well-written articles on alternate worship theory here, submitted by theologians and other people involved. The site also contains many practical ideas and links to alternative 'churches' and other related websites. While the content is fairly intellectual it is designed and organised beautifully and there are plenty of photos and introductory articles to help get you get up to speed.

Smallfire

www.btinternet.com/~smallritual/smallfire
Smallfire is a pictorial archive of Alternative worship events. You'll see photos of different worship spaces filled with games, labyrinths, data projectors, Christian symbols, gold, coffee, laptops, televisions, sound equipment and lots and lots of candles. Most of all, you'll see the enormous range of ways in which people around the world are worshipping God. Some of the photos seem to bear no relation to the traditional church as we know it - some appear to be of the interior of garages, others are pub lounges - but they all have people enjoying themselves and the presence of God. This is a great place to get ideas, but don't expect explanations of what those people are doing sitting around the gold-plated beer barrels - it's pretty much photos only, and some of them are quite cryptic.

---
See more web reviews at the CASTING THE NET archives.