Child protection at church
I was recently involved in preparing a child protection policy for our church. We were given a template by our insurer which was really great as it prompted us to put a policy in place early. Even though our children's ministries are still small, we're now prepared to offer a safe environment and our people are trained so that in the case of a bad situation arising, our people know who to talk to and what to do about it. More than that, our leaders have it clearly spelled out what our obligations are. For independent churches, a child protection policy can easily get overlooked and even where it is not overlooked, developing such a policy can be quite a daunting task. So I wanted to share our policy with you. We have significantly upgraded the template that was given to us. You can downloa... Read more
Why the 2016 Census May Be My Last
Like most Australians, I have seen the slow moving train wreck that is the 2016 Australian Census. As a keen observer of technology, I have been following #CensusFail. It is not my intention to comment on the technical failings of the data collection debacle. Instead, I want to look at the bigger picture of how that data - which is likely to be more biased because of #CensusFail - will be used beyond what was publicised. Philosophically, I have no issue with a census being conducted. One of my first jobs was as a census collector in 1996. Through-out thousands of years of history, census' have been conducted. As Christian's when the government requires something - provided it does not go against Scripture - we are to comply. Besides, the birth of our Saviour in Bethlehem was due to... Read more
What Christians must require of Malcolm Turnbull
When Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull took to the podium to speak on the night of the Federal election, there are a number of things he could have said that wouldn't have been surprising at all. What he did say was very surprising. I can report that based on the advice I have from the party officials we can have every confidence that we will form a Coalition majority government in the next parliament (source). This statement was clear. It was decisive. It was confident bordering on arrogance. At the time I wasn't sure whether it was a sign of madness or a stroke of genius. I'm still not sure. What is clear though, is that the PM took a bold gamble. And won. And this speaks to the kind of man he is I think. He didn't get caught up in the hype of the media analysis. He surrounded himself with... Read more
Return to your Rest
"Where is God? Where is He in my suffering? Where is His goodness He promised me? Why has He forsaken me?" This week has not been an easy one for me. I've been stressed out, depressed, and struggling with several key questions in my life. In the midst of it all, I cried out "Where is God?!" In my desperation, I opened my Bible and flipped to Psalms and started reading. One verse almost immediately stood out to me: "Return to your rest, my soul, for the Lord has been good to you." (Psalm 116:7). I felt the words touch home: "God has been good to you. Run back to the truth you know about Him. Find in Him the rest you know from experience that you will find. Be at peace, my troubled soul. For the Lord has been good to you." We can't always see God in our trials or feel His presence in our suf... Read more
An elegant acquiescence: The Fault in Our Stars
The weight of a simple human emotion Weighs me down more than the tank ever did. Don't give it up just yet; Stay grand for one more minute. –Troye Sivan Star-crossed young lovers in an ill-fated battle with deadly forces. It's a story that has resonated with a hundreds of generations over dozens of centuries, but is written for this generation particularly, as the best stories must be. I watched the movie recently and have been thinking about it ever since. That's what good art does. And this is good art. It is worthy of consideration. But this is not a review of the The Fault in Our Stars itself as much as a critique of the generation for which The Fault in Our Stars was written. I like it. The story, I mean. And the generation. And I recognise that the movie is different from the book. H... Read more
