Eternity - September 2018 - Issue 95 by Bible Society Australia

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Number 95, September 2018 ISSN 1837-8447

Brought to you by the Bible Society

“It’s very important that the word of God is here... I’m so very happy.” - Rev. Lois Nadjamerrek

Challenges The facing secret of Christian revival schools

Battle for free speech

Kaley Payne

The Bible comes to Gunbalanya

NEWS

Obadiah Slope BIG WAVE: A signboard spotted by Michael Frost, of the Baptist Morling College, prophesies a tsunami due to hit Sydney this month. (Yes you have been warned.) Frost’s summary of the sign: “God loves you with an everlasting love. Oh, and before I forget, at 9.00pm on September 20 he’s sending a giant freaking wave to crash into Sydney and drown 400,000 people. Peace.” FIDDLING: “We should be on guard against talking about Trump more than Paul talked about Nero – especially if we are talking about Jesus less than Paul talked about Jesus.” Ted Olsen, Editorial Director of Christianity Today. TOP 32: An ad for the NIV version lists 32 “leading teachers and preachers of this day” who endorse it. Two of them are Aussies – John Dickson and Michael Bird. (Obadiah suspects they might be a bit embarrassed by having this pointed out.) FLAKE NEWS: Obadiah was upset when ABC purloined “He’s got the whole world in his hands” making “we’ve got ...” But now they have gone even further, using Russell Morris’ “The real thing” ... and this from the old Countdown channel. Sad.

SEPTEMBER 2018

Bible translators course is reborn at Nungalinya KALEY PAYNE A new diploma of translating is set to uncover the next generation of Indigenous Bible translators. It has been more than ten years since Indigenous Christians have been offered the opportunity to learn the inner workings of Bible translation. An older, certificatelevel course had been offered but, with ever-increasing and complex requirements for vocational training accreditation, it was unable to continue. Now, thanks to a partnership between Bible Society Australia, Nungalinya College, Wycliffe, Church Missionary Society and Coordinate (Uniting Church), a new diploma is to begin in 2019. “The cohort of students who were trained [in Bible translation] years ago with the old certificates are now often very old – and they’re dying,” says Jude Long, the principal of Nungalinya College. “Without this training, Bible translation projects simply won’t be able to succeed.” Yurranydgil Dhurrkay is a Wangurri Bible translator from Galiwin’ku on Elcho Island, off the coast of Arnhem Land. She was one of the translators who went through the old course, and says it changed her life. “If I didn’t do that course, I would not be a translator who loves

Pitjantjatjara translator Naphtali Scobie records the words of Jesus. the work. I did it, so I feel like I can do the work well. And I love that work – it is my life,” she tells Eternity. “We need more translators,” she says. “It would be good that every language group, every clan, has its own Bible.” There is only one full Bible completed in an Indigenous language, in Kriol, spoken by about 20,000 Indigenous people across the northern parts of Australia. Central Australia’s Pitjantjatjara language has a full New Testament, with work well under way to complete the Old Testament. And only last

month, the full New Testament in Kunwinjku, a language of West Arnhem Land was dedicated (see our story on page 5). Work continues on Bible translation in many other Aboriginal languages, including in the Yolgnu languages of North East Arnhem Land. The new course requires previous completion of a Certificate IV in Christian Ministry and Theology at Nungalinya, ensuring students are accustomed to the rigours of study. Jude Long says there are about 60 people who currently meet that requirement. In 2019, the course will admit 15 people, with a further 15 in 2020 and 2021. In addition, unaccredited Bible translation workshops will be held in Aboriginal communities with active Bible translation projects. “The workshops will target some of the younger Bible translators who don’t have their Certificate IV, to get them started and excited about Bible translation. It allows us to provide the skills on the ground, and is more accessible for those who can’t travel to Darwin.” Yurranydgil says that Bible translation is a calling. “I think it’s the number one gift because there’s no other work in the world that can inspire people like this. Translation work is the words of the Almighty speaking to us, enabling us.”

News 2-3 In Depth 5-6 Education 7-13 Bible Society 14 Opinion 15-20

Quotable

Graham Hill “The secret to revival is practices that enable the church to truly share the love and gospel of Jesus Christ.” Page 16

The Bible is true and can be trusted! Scientist, Dr Gary Baxter provides clear and compelling evidence, based on scientific, archaeological and textual studies, for the reliability and integrity of the Bible. A Defence of the Bible is published in large-format paperback, consisting of 186 full color pages with 196 images and 584 footnotes.

Where to buy? RRP: $15 ► Koorong In store, or online at koorong.com.au ►Word Online at word.com.au

You can be kept informed on biblical apologetics by going to Gary's website: adefenceofthebible.com and subscribing to his fortnightly blog.

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NEWS

SEPTEMBER 2018

News briefs

UCA pushback begins JOHN SANDEMAN

Christian SRE

Christians who support the traditional definition of marriage are pushing back against the Uniting Church in Australia (UCA)’s National Assembly decision to allow same-sex marriages (SSM). The campaigners will use a never before used provision in the UCA church constitution in an attempt to make the assembly reconsider. Section “39a” allows UCA state councils (synods) or regional bodies (presbyteries) to seek the suspension of an assembly decision, notify the president that a matter “vital to the church” has been decided by the assembly with “inadequate consultation.” Suspending an assembly decision requires “at least half the Presbyteries within the bounds of each of at least half the Synods, or at least half the Synods.” The most likely synods to vote to seek suspension of the decision are Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia and the Northern Synod, which represents the north of WA and the Northern Territory. At the time of writing the South Moreton (Gold Coast) and Central presbyteries had voted to suspend the decision, with two more required in that state. WA and SA meet in November. The Indigenous membership of the UCA, which is significant in the Northern Synod leans conservative, along with other culturally distinct groups. The Korean Presbytery in NSW has voted for suspending the decision. The UCA Assembly may be forced to meet and reconsider their SSM decision although they are unlikely to change their minds. One effect of the UCA Assembly decision to has been to unify evangelical groups. The Assembly of Confessing Congregations has been holding information meetings. The EL250 group, which links large evangelical churches, has been running 40 days of discernment programmes, and these churches will have decisions to make very soon. These groups and state-based evangelical groups such as Hopenet in SA and Pneuma in WA have been talking more than ever before.

Christian SRE representatives at the launch of its new campaign.

All aboard Scripture bus JOHN SANDEMAN A massive information campaign about “Special Religious Education” (SRE) aimed at parents has been launched across NSW. More than 100 buses, 760,000 leaflets and 80 radio stations will carry the info campaign to parents at more than 2100 state schools. SRE is a volunteer-staffed education programme in state schools that runs during school hours. Queensland has a similar programme, Victoria has moved its system to out-of-class time, and South Australia has a seminar system. The info campaign emphasises that SRE encourages students to

ask questions. Can I say whatever I think? Are the best things in life really free? These and other life questions will be debated by parents and children who hear them on radio or see them on bus advertising during September. Christian SRE spokesperson Murray Norman said the campaign will help parents understand more about SRE and their choices. “Education must be holistic, and like sports, music and other areas of education, we can’t ignore the spiritual dimension and the need for children to question, explore and discover the values they build their lives upon,” he explained. He said SRE already had huge support across school

communities, with more than 70 per cent of primary school parents choosing to opt in to the programme. “We must remember that every child who is a part of the SRE programme is there because their parents chose to enrol them and chose the religious affiliation according to their beliefs.” The campaign brings all the major Christian churches together under the banner of “Christian SRE.” There are 11,418 accredited SRE teachers in NSW, of whom 10,450 are Christian SRE teachers. 429,790 students attend SRE out of the 780,600 government school students.

CATHOLIC BIBLE COURSE: The need for the Catholic Church to forge a new path in the wake of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse is being addressed with a new centre in Brisbane specialising in short courses in theology. The Xavier Centre for Theological Formation, launched on August 24, will operate nationally as a part of the Australian Catholic University. Its director, Maeve Heaney says it’s important for lay people and clergy to study together because it will help create a more theologically informed and transparent church. JESUS IN THE US: Jesus the Game Changer, the TV/DVD series produced by Olive Tree Media, is to be shown on Trinity Broadcast Network (TBN) from this month.. The American TBN network is the world’s largest Christian network. Jesus the Game Changer is broadcast on several international television platforms, including the Hillsong Channel, but the agreement with TBN creates a truly international influence with the potential of being translated into up to 16 languages. Karl Faase, CEO of Olive Tree Media, says: “They are keen for us to produce more series of Jesus the Game Changer in the years ahead.” RECORD HOLDER: Annie Morgan was a member of St Peter’s Brunswick Anglican Church for 107 years. The church recently unveiled a plaque on what would have been her 109th birthday. The Bunbury Anglican Diocese (region) asked on its Facebook page if anyone can match her record.

Rice saves young souls ANNE LIM As charismatic American preacher Francis Chan brings his passionate gospel presentation to a close at the RICE Rally at Sydney Olympic Park, a squad of young people in black T-shirts rises and moves discreetly back stage. About 30-strong, they bow through an archway lit up in fairy lights topped with a banner saying “Found,” to the cavernous Hall of Champions. There, these young faith advisers sit down in pairs on picnic rugs, eagerly waiting to

counsel any high schoolers who come forward. . The RICE movement (Renewal and Inter-Church Evangelism). RICE rallies attracted thousands of youngsters in Auckland, Melbourne and Sydney, with a unique programme style that combines musical energy with meaty Bible-based teaching. Indeed, the core of Francis Chan’s message is “Read this book for yourself.” Thousands of young people have dedicated their lives to Jesus at RICE Rallies over the past 16

years - including many hundreds at the week’s previous two events in Auckland and Melbourne. In Auckland, so many came forward that they ran out of response forms and had to overflow to a second room. I’m told to expect hundreds again, but to me it seems outlandish that this vast room will soon be packed with kids giving their lives to Jesus. Suddenly, there’s a thunderous stampede of clapping and cheering by black-shirted ushers lining the gauntlet from the arena to the hall, congratulating a surge of kids,

shyly trailing into the room. They keep coming in their threes and fours, tentative, unsure of the next step but determined to complete the journey – like sheep looking for a shepherd. Before long, the room is full of youngsters sitting in circles, taking their first steps in the kingdom of God. “Did everyone pray the prayer at the end of the talk?” adviser Sam Wong asks our group of six. When there’s a murmur of agreement, he says: “Congratulations! You are now part of the Jesus family, living in submission to God.”

WATCHING IT FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF AN ATHEIST, I DIDN’T LEAVE FEELING MORE RELIGIOUS BUT I CERTAINLY FELT LESS ANTI-RELIGIOUS. ... ANYONE AT ALL INTERESTED IN RELIGION, HISTORY OR SOCIETY SHOULD TRACK IT DOWN. Simon Storey Filmblerg.com Rodney Stark

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SEPTEMBER 2018

THIS LEADER IS CHANGING THE WORLD

“The church is a community of believers demonstrating love to one another.” A translation of the writing on the hand of a student from Arab Baptist Theological Seminary, Lebanon.

FOR JUST $1 A DAY YOU CAN HELP TRAIN A GRASSROOTS PASTOR WHO WILL BRING THE GOSPEL TO THEIR NEIGHBOURS. Many pastors and church planters in the developing world struggle to access the training they need. They have the passion, but they need to learn how to minister effectively in Christ’s name. You can assist by providing $365pa which will cover the cost of a pastor or church planter to join a biblical training course run by local Bible colleges tailor made for the needs of that context. For example, the church planting course in North India is a three-week intensive which provides existing and potential church planters with insights from the scriptures and methods to analyse the specific Hindu customs of the village they want to reach. This allows the church planter to quickly understand the spiritual and social needs of the community and thus minister the message and love of Christ effectively. Overseas Council Australia is dedicated to lift the standards of biblical and ministry training throughout the developing world. We currently work in 40 countries. We support students and colleges at all levels from grassroots training, through diploma, bachelors and masters degrees, up to doctoral programs. Our aim is to build theological competence in each country, so the church is resourced for its pastoral care and mission. Grassroots training courses are currently available in India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Kenya, Southern Africa, Egypt, Tunisia, and South Sudan. You may nominate a particular country and funds will be directed to the Bible college and the grassroots training program in that college. In this program OCA will report on the particular course group you are supporting but not individual students. OCA also operates a student support for $2,200 pa which goes to individual students studying diploma or bachelor programs. You will receive regular updates from the students on their progress. We also have over fifty projects operating associated with improving the capacity of our partner colleges around the world. Please contact the office for more details.

TRANSFORMING LEADERS, CHURCHES AND NATIONS P 1300 889 593 E office@overseascouncil.com.au www.overseascouncil.com.au

SEPTEMBER 2018

IN DEPTH

Education Special begins page 9

Kaley Payne

The people of Gunbalanya celebrate the dedication of the Kunwinjku New Testament with dancing.

The Bible comes to Gunbalanya KALEY PAYNE “The Bible has come home to us,” said Reverend Lois Nadjamerrek, with tears in her eyes. As she clutches her new Kunwinjku New Testament, emotion overcomes her. “I’m thinking of God’s word in my language,” she says when I ask her why she is crying. “It’s so special today. I thank God, that God has a plan for me to finish this work in my own language. “It’s very important that the word of God is here in my community now. I’m so very happy.” Reverend Lois’ church in Gunbalanya welcomed close to 150 people on August 1 to celebrate the dedication of the Kunwinjku New Testament. Visitors travelled from all over Australia to join with the local people. They drove through the majestic Kakadu National Park along rough stretches of dusty red dirt and braved the notorious, crocodile-infested Cahill’s Crossing to get to the other side of the East Alligator River and into Arnhem Land, to Gunbalanya (also known as Oenpelli). This Bible is more than 70 years in the making. The last Kunwinjku

version was published in 1992, a so-called “mini-Bible” containing just two of the Gospels, the book of Acts and Letter to the Ephesians, along with Genesis, Exodus and Ruth from the Old Testament. Almost 30 years later, the approximately 2000 Kunwinjku speakers in Gunbalanya and the Northern Territory have the full 27 books of the New Testament, along with Genesis, Exodus and Ruth. Anglican Bishop for the Northern Territory, Greg Anderson, is one of the Kunwinjku language’s most recent students. He travelled to Gunbalanya to celebrate with Reverend Lois and the community. “This community has a strong heritage of knowing that the Bible is God’s word and that God speaks to us through the Bible and that his word is living and active,” said Bishop Anderson. “To have the Bible, in this case the New Testament, in a language that people can understand fully means that God’s word is available here and now in a new way. “People have slogged away at this work for such a long time – there is a sense of completion. And now we’re imagining having the Psalms

in Kunwinjku. And Isaiah!” It was 1942 when the first written material was published in Kunwinjku by the Bible Society – a small Gospel of Mark translated by Nell Harris, a missionary who spent more than 30 years in Arnhem Land. She spent many hours in a bark hut, on the site

where Gunbalanya’s Emmanuel Church now stands, with two Kunwinjku speakers, Rachel and Hannah. Together, they translated five verses a day, gazing out over the billabong where brave pelicans float on the serene waters they share with the local crocodiles. Other Bible translators and

Raylene thank you

One of the first to line up to receive a new Kunwinjku Bible was Raylene Gellar, a Kunwinjku speaker who grew up in Gunbalanya. “I thank God for the work that he has done through the people in this community. I grew up here and I learned to speak the language reading from the songbook in church, singing from the songbook. That’s how I learned to read and write in Kunwinjku. So I’m so happy that we have this in that language, now. “I think it is very wonderful news.”

CMS (Church Missionary Society) missionaries followed the tradition of working closely with Gunbalanya’s Kunwinjku-speaking people, including Peter Carroll, Meryl Rowe and Steve and Narelle Etherington. The Etheringtons spent close to 30 years in the Northern Territory as CMS missionaries, and were integral in the Bible translation project. In 2016, as the translation entered its final stages, Steve told Eternity that what makes him happy is to see Aboriginal Christians “really hanging in there despite difficulty, growing in Christ and using some of the translation.” It is Reverend Lois and those she leads in Emmanuel Church in Gunbalanya whose lives will be changed forever with the arrival of the Kunwinjku New Testament. “I love to share the word of God to my own people in my own language, so the people may come to know the Lord,” Lois tells me. Bishop Anderson says it can be difficult for English-speaking people to fathom the importance of such an event in Gunbalanya. “Can you imagine Christians from English-speaking continued page 6

IN DEPTH

SEPTEMBER 2018

Ice addict snatched from hell ANNE LIM Andre’a Simmons was two years into an ice addiction that had robbed her of everything – her life, her mind, her family, her finances and her health – when God snatched her from a living hell. “I said ‘you rescued me, Lord.’ He said ‘No, I snatched you!’ I’m still in awe of how people later said to me that’s a biblical word,” says Andre’a of the day God pinned her to the ground in front of an abandoned church and told her to get up and go home. Having married young and raised two children, the Brazilianborn businesswoman left her husband and family when she fell madly in love with a new man and moved to Melbourne with him. With little exposure to drugs as a young woman, she had no idea of the danger she faced when her new boyfriend persuaded her to smoke some ice. Having one smoke of the drug sucked her in and she soon became addicted. Two years later, she weighed a skeletal 40kg, was bleeding from her kidneys, her hair had fallen out, she had broken front teeth and was stealing in order to be able to eat. “I was living in another realm of existence – it was psychotic, it was like a hell,” she tells Eternity. One day, her drug dealer gave her a drug called G, a depressant drug, and without thinking Andre’a took it, and stopped breathing. “I just shut down and I remember going into the blackness and going into the dark and I couldn’t take a breath. My boyfriend was shaking me and slapping me on the ground, saying ‘breathe!’ “I remember my dad told me when I was young, ‘if somebody’s drowning and they go down in the water three times, they don’t come back up again.’ And I went into the blackness for the third time and I thought ‘I’m dying.’ And I remember deep in my soul reaching out and saying, ‘if there is a God out there, forgive me for who I have become and what I have done and please take my soul.’” When Andre’a woke up later in the back room of her house in Hawthorn, vowing not to do that again, she still hit up that night then crashed for four days. When she finally woke up, no one was home. She had no cigarettes, no drugs and couldn’t reach anyone on the phone. As she anxiously paced the room, wondering what to do, she saw a little bit of light peeping through the curtain. “Let me paint this picture. I had pawned everything in my house, the walls are blackened

Gunbalanya from page 5 backgrounds in Sydney, not having the book of Romans, Philippians, 1 Peter?” he asks. “Now, all of those books that they have never had before are now available. Can you imagine reading Romans for the first time, with all of that setting out of God’s great plan of salvation in Jesus? And now they’ll actually be able to understand what Paul is saying.” Lois’ sister, Hagar, is also a church and community leader in Gunbalanya, and says she was just as excited about the arrival of the

Andre’a Simmons, centre front, with her team at the Australian Anti Ice Campaign. out with smoke of ice up the walls, the windows are blocked out with curtains and plastic and tape because I was convinced the police were after me and they had cameras – there was a whole psychosis thing going on. “But one of the curtains moved a bit and there was a bit of light coming in – the sunray – and I went, ‘oh, it’s only outside.’ I never went out during the day. It was scary because I was convinced the government were chasing me, so I don’t know what possessed me – well, I do know what possessed me, it was God. “I put on my runners and I started walking and I walked across the back of where I lived; there was like an oval, and I went to the end of the oval and I ended up at this vandalised church. There was graffiti and timber locks across the doors, and the concrete pathway to the church was all cracked and broken … I walked up that broken, cracked pathway and I thought ‘who does this to the house of God? What disrespect!’” As Andre’a looked at the top of the church building she saw a cross in a circle and realised it must be an Orthodox church. As she did so a cylinder of light came through the cross and over the top of her. “At that minute, I was pushed down by a force to my knees and then slapped on my face … And I’m crying and I’m thinking ‘what is happening to me? I’ve had way too much drugs!’ But it was very real because I couldn’t get up. I was

held down on the ground and tears started streaming down my face and I started pleading with the force – ‘please let me go. What is happening? I’m going crazy!’” As she was yelling out to be released, Andre’a noticed that people walking past were taking no notice of her, so she began to think she was in an alien cylinder and aliens were going to hijack her. But then the force released her but only to her knees. “I sat on my knees in this light that was so amazing and so peaceful and so bright and I said ‘please let me go, what do you want with me’ – between the tears. And God spoke to me and he said, ‘get up and go home, my child.’ If I had to explain to you what his voice was like, it was like a male, gentle, stern, loving – it was the most beautiful voice I’ve ever heard. “But I thought ‘oh no, it’s going from bad to worse – I’m seeing a light, I’m getting pinned down by a force, now I’m hearing an audible voice! I’ve lost the plot.’” When she heard the words again “Get up and go home, my child,” she realised God was speaking to her and she said “Go home to what? I’ve got nothing to go home to.” As she crouched into a foetal position, crying “I can’t do this anymore, I’ve got no more strength,” God said to her “I will give you strength.” “At that instant the light disappeared, I was released and I stood up and I knew exactly what I had to do. It was like I

was in a trance. Now I know I was filled with the Holy Spirit instantaneously, but at that time I didn’t understand.” Discovering that she had just $76 in her bank account – the exact amount needed for her airfare back to the Gold Coast – Andre’a got herself to the airport with the help of an old friend. “I got to meet Jesus at the airport. I just kept following this amazing energy and voice that kept talking to me. There was so much love coming from it. I had no choice – I just followed,” she says. “As I went to go on the plane the most extraordinary thing happened to me – it was like the life got sucked out of me. It was like my spirit got sucked out and I just collapsed. And I lost my vision. I collapsed on my suitcase and I couldn’t see anything; and then all of a sudden I began to see it was like a movie, a showreel – it was silver, black and white image – and it was Jesus carrying the cross and I’m looking at this and saying ‘what has this got to do with me?’ He said ‘you’re carrying your cross and I’m with you. You’re carrying my cross and we’re one. And I will never leave you or forsake you – I’m with you.’” This happened three times on her way to the plane, until she was helped on board by a cabin crew member. “Every time Jesus appeared, he was closer to me and I could see his tears and I could see his love and I could see the pain and I could

Bible in her community. “Today is a very exciting day, celebrating the Bible in our language. It will help the people to understand what we believe – that we believe in the Lord Jesus. We have to hear and see in our own languages, and it will help us to understand more and more. Our language makes us feel strong,” said Hagar. The work is not done. More books of the Old Testament are being translated into Kunwinjku, with the Book of Psalms finished as a first draft. Yet, as the work continues, Hagar says she will work alongside her sister, Lois, to ensure her people learn from the

words of Jesus that they now have in their heart language. “We feel proud to have this Bible in our language,” she says. “It is now important to share it.

This is our future. This is what we need our kids to learn and to understand and to share the Good News among our people.”

Get the message “This Kunwinjku Bible means everything to the community. It’s very, very good because people will be able to listen properly,” says Andrew, a community leader in Gunbalanya. “If someone is reading the Bible in Kunwinjku, they’ll get the

message. It is our very own language written in this Bible. It has been completed and we want to read more and more and people will want to listen more and more.”

see everything – just an amazing amount of love and tears and blood and his face was closer and closer each time … it was like I was living the cross.” For the next six months, as Andre’a went through detox and rehab, she says Jesus was leading her every day – “this audible voice followed me for six months, every minute.” But when, six months later, she thought she was strong enough to go and save the man she loved in Melbourne, she relapsed back into ice addiction and stopped hearing God’s voice. “It took another four months and one night in the middle of the darkness I thought, ‘man, I haven’t heard from the Lord for a long time now; he hasn’t spoken anymore, why?’ And I went ‘Lord, please, I need you; look, I’m worse than I ever was before and I’m in so much trouble and I need you – please help me, I need to get out of this place.’ I begged him for hours on my knees in the blackness of the night and after what appeared to be hours, the Lord spoke and he said ‘Get up and go home, my child.’ I said ‘Yes sir!’ And I turned around and I just took off and I never looked back.” About a year and a half into her recovery, overcome with gratitude for how God had turned her life around, Andre’a told the Lord that she wanted to serve him. And after receiving backing from the Federal Health Minister she set up AAIC – the Australian Anti Ice Campaign, with a brief to educate and warn young people about the dangers of the drug. “I don’t know what I’m doing, but I say, ‘Lord, you do it. Holy Spirit, take over, and say what needs to be said. You’re leading, this is not my vehicle, I’m just a vessel.’” On September 3 AAIC is launching an anti-ice army to encourage people to come together to fight against the forces of darkness behind the ice scourge. “Every single Australian can be part of the charge and a small $10 contribution a month can help us educate every youth in Australia and they can get an e-book where they get all the information to educate themselves and their children and family about the dangers of ice and what it does to people,” Andre’a says. “It’s going to take God’s people to stand together because we can hear his voice and we can actually follow his direction, without question. It’s not me or what I say; it’s what he says. So I’m opening an invitation for your church; if they want to be a part of this, I’m very eager to meet you.”

SEPTEMBER 2018

EDUCATION

7 PAGE EDUCATION SPECIAL

St Andrew’s Cathedral School

Three big challenges for Christian schools

Helping Christian kids to be bold Wesley James page 9

A primary school classroom at St Andrew’s Cathedral School in Sydney. PAUL OSLINGTON As the valuable survey work of National Church Life Research has been pointing out, Australians’ contact with Christianity in the future will be much more with Christian not-for-profit social service organisations, Christian schools or aged-care facilities, than with local Christian congregations. Roy Williams’ Post-God Nation argues, indeed, that the most important struggle for the future of Christianity in Australia will be over the Christian identity and mission of our schools. This underlines the importance of Christian schooling as a witness

to the gospel in a country that has always been uneasy about the institutional church, and at times particularly suspicious of anything connected to church. Parents, however, are trusting their children to us in increasing numbers (and paying substantial amounts of money for this.) Government support of Christian schooling is regularly questioned in some circles, but remains solid. Such government support of Christian schooling is quite extraordinary by international standards, reflecting the choices of parents, and the strongly utilitarian approach to religion by governments that goes

back to the early days of the colony. Australian secularism has always been pragmatic and willing to utilise the churches where there are clear social and economic benefits. Challenges for Christian schooling These are observations of someone who is not an expert, just an interested observer; my experience is higher education and engaged in a project of building a high-quality Christian university for Australia at Alphacrucis College. As someone involved in Christian higher education, I can’t help observing the contrast

A Christian School

PLC is a Christian school that celebrates its faith and is committed to reflecting the loving nature of God in all areas of school life. We actively promote and nurture the Christian faith within the school community and through the Christian Studies core curriculum program that runs from ELC through to Year 12. To organise a personal tour of the College please contact Admissions on 98057860.

Scholarships

Scholarships are available for Years 7 to 11, for 2019 and beyond. To apply visit www.plc.vic.edu.au

141 Burwood Road, Burwood VIC 3125 www.plc.vic.edu.au 9808 5811

between Australian government policy and funding in schooling and higher education. Where is the principle of religious neutrality in higher education? Or the economic rule of competitive neutrality between public and private higher education institutions? Where is our Gonski funding plan for higher education?

Integration: The gospel needs to shape curriculum and pedagogy. A school is not a preaching hall, of course. Nor does this mean teaching Christian mathematics or Christian economics (something I’m pretty sceptical of on theological and

practical grounds; rather, it means having these subjects framed by and in lively dialogue with Christian theology – not just the content but the way we go about teaching them. This is problematic in Australia with our notorious anti-intellectualism, not least in Christian circles. We are too readily satisfied with intellectual mediocrity, a satisfaction that contrasts markedly with our famous cultural demand for excellence in sport! My sense is we still have a way to go and it is hard working against the dominant culture. continued page 8

EDUCATION

SEPTEMBER2018

Challenges

St Andrew’s Cathedral School

from page 7 If we are going to rise to this challenge then we will need much less “churchy” theology – a theology much more addressed to and expressed in the language of ordinary Australians. We need to bring the gospel more directly to the issues that young Australians struggle with, and perhaps even more importantly to the deep yearnings below the surface. This is no less intellectually challenging – in fact probably more so – than doing theology in a “churchy” (or even “academic”) way. Australian Christian educators are particularly ill-equipped for this enterprise because of the historic separation between our universities, which typically exclude theology, and theological colleges outside the university system ,which have traditionally trained candidates for ordained ministry in their own denominations. This system works against the kind of engaged and accessible theology that is needed to equip our teachers and chaplains for the task of engaging young Australians with the gospel. Some individuals manage to do this sort of theological work despite the incentives embedded in our system, but disruption of the system is needed and this is part of the reason I’m involved at Alphacrucis. It is also why the reshaping of our core Christian worldview course by our Dean of Theology, Rikk Watts, and others is a

A high school classroom at St Andrew’s Cathedral School in Sydney. hugely important project for us at Alphacrucis at the moment. And it’s why the Dean of Education at Morling College, James Dalziel, has been running the Scholarly Christian Educators gatherings over the past few years. We have a long way to go in this – and need our best educators and theologians working together much more to raise the bar. I would also love to see a wellresourced research centre that brings together the best people across different institutions for projects that will resource our Christian schools into the future. Perhaps state and federal governments could be encouraged

to contribute too, in view of the size of the sector and how illserved it is by our existing research institutions.

Business Practices Kids and parents are smart and will treat Christian integration as hypocrisy unless our actions in all areas are aligned with the message. Our actions will be even more closely scrutinised than our words. This means our fundraising, marketing, human resources practices and political lobbying. All these communicate the gospel in some way. There is no neutral technical or economic domain.

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This is a hard one because schools are large enterprises with lots of money and careers on the line. This is one of the real strengths at SACS. My sense is that our actions speak more clearly and powerfully of the gospel than our words in chapel and CD classes.

Leadership Where will the next generation of Christian leaders for our school system come from? They need the leadership skills, financial literacy and understanding of the policy environment appropriate to large organisations operating in a complex and rapidly changing

environment. But they also need firm theological roots, especially now that we have left behind an era where knowledge and broad acceptance of Christian principles could be taken for granted. It is not just an MBA alongside a theological degree that is needed but the capacity to integrate leadership, education and theology – to bring the gospel to bear on every aspect of running a school. Paul Oslington is Dean of Business and Professor of Economics at Alphacrucis College in Sydney. This is an edited extrct from a speech he gave at St Andrew’s Cathedral School in Sydney.

EDUCATION

SEPTEMBER 2018

Why I loved working in a public school WESLEY JAMES

Fei Liu

Australia has one of the developed world’s most unequal and socially fragmented education systems, something that should concern all Christians. All children are precious, including those who go to the local public school. We are our brother’s keeper and so too of his children. The neighbourhood school needs the influence of Christian parents. I count it a privilege and a sacred calling to have served in public schools for 37 years, 25 of these as principal, 19 in my final school. I must have loved it! One lovely memory is of being approached in the playground by 11-year-old Nick. “Mr James, why are you always so happy?” I do not recall my answer but it should have been, “It’s because we have people like you in our school, Nick.” Nick went on to earn a PhD in history and become a significant Tasmanian author. Although classified as a school in a disadvantaged area, we were still able to produce high performers such as Nick in a wide range of professions, even to professorship level. It is a reminder that students from the public sector can perform as well as and often better than their private sector counterparts. We cared We also had many students at the other end of the academic spectrum, children who were

Public schools such as Kent Road Public School in Marsfield, Sydney, need Christian parents to be involved. mentally challenged, physically handicapped and those exhibiting extreme behaviours. We were like other public schools, servicing the needs of a disproportionate percentage of these children and almost always with inadequate levels of support. Someone had to care. We accepted all We accepted all children who sought entry. There were no rigorous “conditions of entry.” We found it incomprehensible that some schools required a faith commitment of parents and involvement in an acceptable church. We had some lovely Mormon children who sought entry at a nearby Christian school and were refused. We were thrilled to have them stay with us. On the other hand, one of our

most difficult students had been passed back to us from a “faith” school – a common practice. We cared for the children whom no one else wanted. We were sensitive to the financial circumstances of our families We imposed no financial barriers. Our peppercorn levies could not be legally enforced and families receiving Centrelink support were exempt. We could only regard with amazement the astronomical fees charged by schools associated with the major denominations, shutting out not only the poor but the great bulk of the middle class as well. Where was their social conscience? Nor did we impose costly additional requirements such as compulsory laptops, exit penalties

or special uniform items. We complied with antidiscrimination legislation A perusal of the websites of faith-based and denominational schools invariably reveals heavily restrictive conditions for enrolment. We celebrated the historic Australian ideal of free, compulsory and secular education. Free: to allow access irrespective of family wealth. Compulsory: so that all children are protected from parental dereliction. Secular: not unChristian but without reflecting denominational favouritism. We were part of the local community With an absolutely open enrolment policy, we were an integral part of the local

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community, not separate or retreating from it. We were the local school – the school where most of the children of the community attended. We respected Judeo-Christian values and culture Schools inevitably reflect the characteristics of the communities they serve. Despite this, we were able to inject elements of Christian culture into the operations of the school. Bible readings in assembly, support for the Christian Religious Education (CRE) teachers, Christmas and Easter church services and a prayer letter provided to local supporters. Public schools need Christian parents who can seek to protect Christian values. Their diminishing presence is a tragedy for public education. When presenting the annual school budget to the parent association I invariably needed to defend the allocation of funds to the CRE programme. It would have been lovely to have a few supporters. What would Jesus do? I sometimes like to reflect on where Jesus would send his younger siblings if he were here today. Would it really be to a school inaccessible to the poor or one that refuses entry to children of the wrong faith background? I suspect he would give serious consideration to one that is open to all, especially one that cares for the children rejected even by those who claim identification with him. It would certainly be nice to have him at parent association meetings.

EDUCATION

SEPTEMBER 2018

E COVENANT CHRISTIAN SCHOOL SPONSORED PAGE

Caroline Kilby / Covenant Christian School

Kindy teacher Hayley Jabons reads to her students from the Big Picture Story Bible, at Covenant Christian School, Belrose in Sydney.

Is God welcome in your kindy classroom?

Every Christian parent should consider Christian schooling for their children. Of course, there are a lot of good options and a lot to consider when choosing a school. Most of us want things such as effective and caring teachers, quality facilities and resources, and a positive school culture. Those aren’t small things, but there is something bigger. Your child’s school will shape them. They will be formed by inﬂuences you can’t always see – the values of their teachers, how they explain the world and who it belongs to. How children will be taught about who they are, and their purpose. And the place of God and his word in informing us of these things. From this input a child will form a worldview. And this worldview will either be a Christian one under the lordship of Jesus Christ, or something else.

A child spends a huge proportion of their waking hours at school. School, and in particular the people at school, are hugely influential to a child’s development. This is especially true for younger children. The often quoted “give me the child until he is seven years old, and I will show you the man” might feel both intuitively true and unnerving in equal measure! But it does point us to the importance of a child’s formative years. As Christian parents, we are tasked by the Bible to bring up our children in the training and instruction of the Lord (Eph 6:4). And we know that our Christian influence starts at the very beginning of their lives; naturally our faith is lived out and communicated to our children at home. While this might be enough to fulfil God’s command, sending your child into an intentionally non-

Christian environment each day could risk undermining their faith. By contrast, a Christian school such as Covenant has staff who are all Christians and integrates Christian faith through the whole curriculum. It is the only kind of school that can work alongside you as a parent, to help form a Christian worldview in your child. A Christian worldview is important because seeing the world in line with the truths of the Bible is, frankly, the only way to see it. A Christian worldview also underpins faith, giving greater opportunity for children to come to faith themselves. And doing things the way God wants them to be done is for our best, and his glory. The way we see and understand the world starts to develop early. Christian education fosters a Christian perspective, and also means children are learning in an environment where they are

valued and loved as a child of God. Many Christian parents ﬁnd the environment of a Christian school particularly appealing for the high school years, to assist them as they parent teens facing the challenges and perils of adolescence. They can see that the standard of pastoral care, Christian peer groups, Bible teaching, and supportive culture are protective and of great value in these years. While that’s true, starting in a Christian school after a child’s worldview is substantially formed is missing a huge opportunity. Tony Deenick, former principal of Covenant, stresses the value of Christian schooling in the early years. He encourages parents to prioritise Christian education in primary school, even saying “let them go somewhere else for high school, if you have to”. While this is apparently counter-

intuitive, Mr Deenick is making an important point – that starting children in Christian education in their early schooling life makes a big difference. Hayley Jacobs is one of Covenant’s kindy teachers. She sees the beneﬁt of Christian education from a young age, both as a teacher, and through having been at schol at Covenant from kindergarten herself. Mrs Jacobs comments that her kindy teacher (now her colleague) had a profound inﬂuence on her. She still clearly recalls “the way that she loved me and cared for me is beyond words. I knew after kindergarten that I wanted to be like her… and now I’m back, and doing what I love”. To read more about Christian education in the early years see www.covenant.nsw.edu.au/startearly

EDUCATION

SEPTEMBER 2018

Helping Christian kids to be bold

Members of PLC Sydney’s Christian group Fuel hand out “Grace Packs” of free goodies during “Grace Week.” among her peers. “I was really quite hesitant to start coming to Fuel just because of that environment,” Taylor says. “But I found that, once I started coming, it was really so encouraging just to see other girls living for Jesus at school and really quite inspiring to see how open they are to the non-Christian girls as well and how they can air their questions.” Taylor says she doesn’t try to hide her faith anymore – “it’s very much a part of me and how I live.” As a self-described “music head” who plays the violin and sings, Taylor recently helped stage an outreach activity called Fuel Unplugged, where a band played Christian songs in the Fuel room

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and everyone joined in the singing. “Anyone was welcome, and you could really feel a sense of community that we’re building here,” Taylor says. “It was really inspiring to lead that session with the other girls because you could just see people’s hearts open up a bit more when there’s song.” In leading Fuel next year, Taylor says she wants every girl to feel she can come to Fuel and ask all her questions about Jesus and the Christian faith. This spirit of intellectual inquiry is what attracted Michelle Smith. “My faith is really based on asking questions and having doubts and learning to sit with the doubts and knowing that my

faith really holds up to all these questions,” she says. Michelle found it exciting to be able to give a speech at the end of last term about why she became a Christian and share the basis of her faith. She now feels able to talk to her friends about faith and spread the word of God to people she wouldn’t usually meet. Though they only started attending Fuel this year, Sophie LoRusso and Iris Gou helped to lead a primary school Christian camp called KCentral for the local community in the winter holidays. “I honestly enjoyed it so much,” says Sophie. “And when they’d ask you questions you’d be like ‘I never even thought of that, I’ll go and formulate an answer and then get back to you and let you know and we’ll work it out together.’” Sophie says that through meeting with other Christians, studying the Bible and praying for each other, she has become a lot more confident in her faith.

Making a difference D

Danebank An Anglican School for Girls

I had a lot of my friends coming up and telling me that it was great to hear my story.” One of the goals of Fuel is to encourage Christian students to be bold about being openly Christian in the school context. Rebekah says she was quite apprehensive about making her faith known to the people around her before she started coming to Fuel in Year 9. “But I have found that, in my leadership role, it’s really given me an anchor and I’ve really reminded myself continually that it’s not myself working in this position but God working through me.” As the incoming chaplaincy captain for 2019, Year 11 student Taylor Chan also found it hard to be outspoken about her faith

At the beginning of each term, a group of Christian girls at Presbyterian Ladies’ College Sydney hand out “grace packs” of free goodies, such as stationery, water and chocolate, to the rest of the school community. It’s an easy way of demonstrating the idea of grace as a free gift of God, not something you can earn. “We get a lot of happy people – they are really surprised that they don’t have to pay for these items,” says Stephanie Chu, chaplaincy captain for 2018 who leads the school’s Christian group, Fuel. “We’ve been doing it for quite a number of years now,” says Stephanie. “I would say that the largest intake we’ve had has been from this year, where quite a lot more non-Christians than Christians have been interested in coming, which is really good because they’re not afraid to ask their questions.” Stephanie has been working in close collaboration with her good friend Rebekah Kang, who is this year’s PLC school captain. “Earlier in the year we had the opportunity to talk to our year group in a chapel session and we shared our testimonies in front of our year groups together, so that was an incredible opportunity that was really made more doable, I guess, and there was a lot less fear involved doing it with a friend and doing it in partnership. Afterwards

Presbyterian Ladies’ College

ANNE LIM

m W, ta s

EDUCATION

SEPTEMBER 2018

E CHRISTIAN EDUCATION NATIONAL SPONSORED PAGE 12

Christian schools working in partnership Christian schools are about partnership – partnership in the gospel as schools provide a thoroughly and authentically Christian education to their students. Christian Education National (CEN) is a network of Christian schools in partnership to do just that. CEN schools work together to deliver distinctively different schooling by committing to: • Employing 100 per cent Christian staff • All curriculum being taught from a Christian perspective • Being run by Christian parents in partnership to raise their children for God’s glory. A key aspect of Christian education is academically rigorous delivery of an integrated Christian curriculum. Scripture classes and chapel services are very good things. But a Christian school goes further. To integrate Christian faith and God’s word into the curriculum means presenting all subjects from the perspective of a Christian worldview – viewing the world through the lens of the Bible. Teaching from the assumption that God made the world and sent his son to save it. Accepting that God’s word is true, worth reading and believing, transformational, and life-giving. Teaching from this perspective is a challenge and a privilege. It is a privilege because a Christian curriculum teaches the full truth. But this isn’t easy; the Australian

Teachers in CEN schools across Australia are working in partnership with parents. curriculum doesn’t intrinsically lend itself to a Christian worldview. The CEN assists schools to develop and train their teachers to teach effectively, enthusiastically and Christianly. Through membership of the Christian Educators’ Professional Association (CEPA), and postgraduate qualiﬁcations through the National Institute of Christian Education (NICE), staff in CEN schools are continually developed and inspired to

deliver an academically rigorous education that equips students to live for God’s glory. CEN schools employ only committed Christian staff. It is impossible to teach Christianly, respond to students with God’s love, disciple students in their faith, or develop policies that are God-honouring, unless staff are Christians. What’s more, for a school to partner with parents to raise their children in the Christian faith, it must have all Christian

staff, and have the goal of running a school for the purpose of honouring Jesus Christ. The CEN assists member schools to run well. Schools are appropriately highly regulated with complex compliance requirements. The CEN assists its schools not only to meet these requirements but to do so with best practice. This means CEN schools can be safer, more efﬁcient and operate with integrity. Christian schools work through

partnership at every level. This includes genuine partnership with parents. CEN schools seek to assist parents in the nurture of their children as they recognise that parents have the God-given responsibility to raise their children in the Lord. Schools aren’t there to take away this responsibility but to assist parents in this incredible task. CEN schools do this by involving parents in the running of their school, by having committed Christian parents participate as part of school associations, who elect their school boards. But it also happens in the day-to-day – when teachers respond to parents about the needs of their child; when the principal’s door is open; and when school administrators are approachable and available; and when fees are kept as low as possible so more families can access a Christian education. Partnership at a CEN school goes deeper still. Being part of a strong Christian school community means parents are there to support each other in raising their children, in walking through life and though the challenges and highlights. The CEN network has member schools across the country, which have been providing a distinctively different Christian education for decades. To ﬁnd a CEN school to partner with you in raising your children, see the map below, or visit the CEN website at www.cen. edu.au/schools

SEPTEMBER 2018

EDUCATION

Three women in the hot seat C3 College opens new doors ANNE LIM As Pam Borrow takes me around the peaceful, bush-encircled campus of C3 College at Oxford Falls on Sydney’s northern beaches, she naturally engages with everyone we meet. Her relational skills, it is clear, are one of the strengths she brings to her role as principal of a college that combines ministry, pastoral care and counselling and the creative arts. It’s not a huge college – just 150 students on campus and 380 online – with a third of the student body coming from overseas. Thanks to its relationship with C3 Church, its facilities are top-notch and the campus has a cool university vibe, thanks to the original design of C3 Church founder Phil Pringle. “When Pastor Phil and [his wife] Chris in Christchurch would dream about their church, they drew a church as a campus with an arts college on it and with a Bible college on it. And so for us that’s very precious because we’re on the napkin of the original vision of what this church is about,” says Borrow. As we tour the impressive creative arts facilities, Borrow knows every student by name. In the recording studio we greet Franz, a 62-year-old from Holland, who is making an album of his own songs – he came over after sending his four children here and says he finds the environment inspirational. In one of the visual art rooms we meet Marvel from Nigeria, whose painting talent is plain to see in the bold and bright canvas she is working on. Borrow isn’t quite sure how she found her way to Oxford Falls. “I think she just Googled us!” As we sit in her office, Borrow explains it was a shock when she was offered the top job last October when the previous principal, Pat Antcliff, was promoted to executive pastor of C3 Sydney’s 11 locations. She had worked with him as assistant principal for eight years. But though she didn’t go after the role, Borrow is revelling in the opportunity to open new doors for the college. She explains that, while international students will always want to come to Sydney, the city location is getting too expensive for a lot of Australian students. After starting a small new campus at Silverwater in Sydney’s western suburbs this year, a new campus will open in Canberra next year and there are plans for more. “If we can plant colleges with our vision and values and where we oversee them in different parts of Australia and even possibly beyond, that’s going to increase the ability for us to train leaders for the future of our movement and for the church,” she says. “It’s a big vision but the previous principal of the college … built an incredibly strong foundation ... So it’s like all of a sudden we can pop out and do some other things – it’s an exciting time.” As one who loves pioneering new things and training staff, Borrow finds the prospect of planting new

certificate courses in theology and ministry offered at Mary Andrews involve learning how to give talks, which can be applied by women who want to preach in their churches. “I know women who are very frustrated that they can’t have a fuller ministry in their churches, but I know other women who have a much more conservative view of the role of women who are actually quite content,” she says. “Some people want to learn how to give a talk in a nursing home, for example, or they might want to do a talk at a women’s event – or some women will be preaching in their churches. For me, it’s how you develop those skills – it doesn’t really matter the context in which you’re going to use them.” Mary Andrews College has a long history. Set up 126 years ago, it was originally called Deaconess House with a vision of increasing the value of women’s ministry by having a deaconess in every parish in the Sydney Anglican Diocese. “The people who set it up were passionate about the gospel and they worked at the cutting edges. So they did difficult ministries, like setting up hospitals, working with Pam Borrow addresses the congregation at C3 Church in Oxford Falls. young girls who got themselves pregnant – which back in that campuses exciting. society had terrible social While many of the musicians, implications – girls who were in actors, singers, songwriters, visual trouble with the courts, schools in artists, film and TV students who poorer areas, so it was a very brave complete courses at C3 College sort of ministry,” she explains. go on to work in the commercial In 1997, the college was renamed marketplace, most end up using after the longest serving principal, their skills in church. For them, the Mary Andrews, who had been a integration of C3 College with the missionary in China. church is a huge advantage. “Our parent organisation is Jackie Stoneman would love “Our film students are on Anglican Deaconess Ministries to see churches cameras on the weekend, and the vision and Christian broadcasting live to the web. Our is to see women organisations music students are either here on from generation deliberately the worship team or one of our to generation encourage women locations singing, or in our kids’ flourish in to flourish in church. Our actors are always in kingdom work, ministry. The our kids’ church performing. Our so in our arm director of studies songwriters are integrated into of that ministry at Mary Andrews the team as well. Our artists often that’s exactly College in Sydney end up in kids’ ministry as well what we’re says while there so there’s this great integration seeking to do,” is plenty of verbal where they have an expression Stoneman says. acknowledgement straightaway in the local church,” Stoneman, of the importance of says Borrow. who was one of women’s ministry, The same is true for the ministry the first women students, who preach or lead at one words are not backed to be ordained up by action. of C3’s 11 locations at weekends. a deacon in “I think what’s “So it’s not a theoretical course. the Anglican lacking is being It’s ‘here’s how you do it and on the Church in 1989, intentional about weekend you’ll be doing it!’” says one of the Jackie Stoneman encouraging them Interestingly, not all students ways she would and making it at C3 College are young. While like to fulfil the possible for them to come and do it attracts many 18- to 25-year“generation to generation” goal is some study,” she says. olds, the international students by attracting younger women. “Even churches saying ‘we are mostly 25 to 35 and there is “Our age range is 18 to 80, but recognise that, for example, we a group of businessmen in their the core group would be 45-60, lack pastoral care in this church 50s and 60s who are studying the and I would love to see a more even and let’s identify the women who Bible, three women in their 70s mix. So I’d love to see more younger have those gifts, let’s free them and a 91-year-old man who does people catching the vision to come up so that they can go and study one class a week. and study with us, because I think – let’s be intentional about setting Asked how she is flourishing in there’s something of value in the up a system.” her new role, Borrow laughs wryly. generations mixing together.” Another challenge for Stoneman “It’s a bit overwhelming at times Asked if the college suffers from is mixed messages women receive because the college transition being seen as old-fashioned, she about appropriate ways of serving wasn’t something that we planned says she thinks it’s suffered from God. While happy to welcome men – it was like this is happening so people not knowing it even exists. into their courses, Mary Andrews it was like ‘whoa!’ But because Stoneman wants to get the College is designed to train lay our previous principal, Pat, was message out that the college is women for pastoral care. so empowering and so releasing, committed to flexibility. She says Stoneman says she understands we were all ready to go because some women take up to six or eight that people take different biblical he had always given us lots of years to complete their courses positions on what women can do in as they take time out to deal with responsibility, the whole team, and Christian ministry, “so we haven’t so everybody has just risen. ageing parents or illness. got an agenda there, we want to be “I’ve always told people it’s my At the moment, all teaching is a safe place and we want women dream job because every year we done face to face, but the college to be able to flourish in what they get a whole bunch of new students is considering offering an online believe God wants them to do and who you just watch their lives get component in the future because to honour him in that.” transformed. It’s so incredibly “that may be more attractive for Some units of the diploma and rewarding.” younger people.”

Helping women to flourish

A biblical worldview When Jeannie Trudel studied law at Monash University in Melbourne, there was nothing in her course that gave her an opportunity for development as a Christian believer or as a person. “I learnt about the law, I learnt about economics, but I did not have the experience where my identity was realised in my profession Jeannie Trudel – it’s like there’s a separation of life into professional life and then there’s church life,” says the president and CEO of Christian Heritage College (CHC) in Carindale, Brisbane. By contrast, students who take degree courses at CHC and other Christian higher education institutions are more integrated and able to serve holistically in every sphere of life. “Don’t get me wrong – secular institutions have a place in society that is good but it’s not for everyone. In contrast, when I look at our CHC graduates, the common theme is ‘my life has been transformed, I know who I am, and I know who I serve,’” she says. About 700 students take degree courses at CHC across five fields – business, education and humanities, liberal arts, social sciences and ministries – with the critical difference that they are shaped by a biblical worldview. “My premise is this: the 18- to 24-year-olds are a critical time for spiritual development. In Australia parents will spend a lot of money on K-12 education because they believe they want to instil values in their kids. But at very critical junctures of their lives, parents are willing to send their kids off to secular institutions and you find that the greatest fallout is during those years,” she observes. “So why is it that we are not valuing Christian higher education in Australia where we can develop students and see their lives transformed during their transition into full adulthood? That’s what we offer.” In the US, the Christian university sector is well established – the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities has more than 100 members – and Trudel would love to see the sector in Australia grow in numbers, influence and innovation. Trudel hopes to develop the sector through a new body called ACHEA, Australian Christian Higher Education Alliance, which has seven members. “I believe that CHC has an important role to play in the kingdom of God. We want to develop students and be part of their journey of transformation, so that they can serve effectively wherever they’re called in business, social sciences, in ministry, in education ... I would love to see more of that happen not just for CHC but for Christian higher education in Australia.”

SEPTEMBER 2017

BIBLE @ WORK

Meeting spiritual hunger

“

Zhang Xiufu, a 66-year-old farmer, right, was delighted to receive a new Bible during a UBS Bible distribution trip to China last year. ANNE LIM Hou Gengxian, a 53-year-old farmer, is a volunteer elder at Sunyingxiang Church in Tongxu County, in China’s Henan Province. He has been serving the congregation for 20 years, ever since his graduation from Henan Bible School. In that time, he has seen the congregation grow to about 500. Last year, more than 120 believers, mostly in their 50s, were baptised, leading to a great need for many more Bibles. “We have many new baptised members and we can’t afford to buy more Bibles,” Elder Hou explains. “There are also seekers who would like a Bible, so they can read God’s word for themselves. Some of our

Bibles are more than 20 years old and need to be replaced.” The vast Henan Province encompasses three capital cities of ancient China – Luoyang, Kaifeng and Anyang – and is historically considered the cradle of Chinese civilisation. A major commercial and industrial base, Henan is home to more than 95 million people including an estimated five million Christians. However, most of the believers are rural poor who can only afford subsidised Bibles. About half of rural believers in some parts of Henan still do not have their own Bible and there is a tremendous unmet spiritual hunger. In Tongxu County, there are about 30,000 Christians

We have many new baptised members and we can’t aff ord to buy more Bibles.” worshipping in 67 churches which are pastored by two elders and 200 lay preachers. When United Bible Societies made a Bible distribution trip to Tongxu County last year, Zhang

2,700

people in China come to faith DAILY *

Xiufu, a member of Wulipu Church, came to the event seeking a new Bible with bigger print. The 66-year-old farmer’s current Bible was 20 years old and quite tattered, so he was very happy to receive a new copy. The word of God is very important to Zhang. His favourite verse in John 3:16 as it talks about God’s love and grace. In most of the churches in this district, the majority of members are elderly so the most sought-after Bibles are larger-print versions. More than half of these older believers do not own their own Bibles, either because they can’t afford one or can’t read. Those who can read and write, but don’t own a Bible, copy Scriptures from the weekend service and bring them

home to read. Even though the Chinese economy has grown tremendously in recent years, the income gap between city and rural dwellers is huge. In Tongxu County, residents are mainly farmers who grow potatoes and carrots for sale. As competition increases, it becomes increasingly difficult for these small-scale farmers to sustain themselves. Support of free Bibles for these needy regions will make it possible for churches to give Bibles to believers for spiritual growth as well as to seekers as a means of community outreach.

+ If you would like more details, visit biblesociety.org.au/chinaep

Will you take a minute to give and to pray for the work in China? Almost

per MINUTE

Just $40 buys the paper to print and legally distribute 20 Bibles. Call 1300 BIBLES (1300 242 537) or visit biblesociety.org.au/chinaep

*Based on conservative estimates

SEPTEMBER 2018

OPINION

Battle for Free speech Barney Zwartz page 17 The Global Leadership Summit

A meeting of the Global Leadership Summit, a two-day event attended by people seeking to grow in their leadership.

After the fall: a post-Hybels world It could happen in any denomination: the fall of a respected leader due to moral failure. Bill Hybels, of Willow Creek, an influential mega-church near Chicago, sadly is now a classic case study. In this Eternity, two Aussie leaders respond in very different ways. Stu Cameron of Newlife Church on the Gold Coast supports the the Global Leadership Summit movement Hybels once led. Mike Frost of Morling College gives an outsider’s point of view.

Stu Cameron on stepping up, not back The Global Leadership Summit (GLS) is a worldwide movement birthed out of the vision of Willow Creek Community Church, located

in Chicago, and its founding pastor is Bill Hybels. The GLS is a two-day event, drawing a wide range of people seeking to grow in their leadership. This year the GLS movement was rocked by serious allegations made against Pastor Hybels. In March, the Chicago Tribune published details of allegations by several women of sexual misconduct, and since that first article, more allegations from other women have been published. In the tumultuous season that has followed, Bill Hybels has brought forward his planned retirement from the church, and has ceased all involvement with the GLS. A couple of weeks ago, the Elders of Willow Creek Community Church announced their resignation, acknowledging their mishandling of the allegations and the pain this had caused the women who made them, at the same time offering public apologies. Heather Larson, the recently appointed Lead Pastor of the church, also resigned. Right now, a new independent investigation into all the allegations, overseen by an independent advisory council, is being established. Here in Australia, the GLS is overseen by an independent board comprising pastors and leaders from various denominations and states. I chair that board. We have watched on with great pain the events I have described. We condemn the behaviour Bill Hybels has been accused of as reprehensible and contrary to the standards required of any leader.

We are sorry that the mishandling of the allegations has caused more pain for the women who bravely came forward. Our heart aches for them. We are grateful for their courage in pursuing truth and justice. We fully support a truly independent and thorough investigation of all allegations, as announced. Our hope is that the findings of the investigation will lead to truth, repentance, justice, healing and reconciliation. Our board continues to reflect on how best to lead the GLS movement in Australia during this season. We believe it’s important to address directly the issues underlying the allegations, and some of this year’s speakers do that. We are considering other ways we can do so further. We are committed to continuing to host the GLS across Australia, with our 2018 season beginning in October at 27 sites. Leaders including Craig Groeschel, T.D. Jakes, Danielle Strickland, Carla Harris and Simon Sinek will speak with humility, wisdom and insight, ensuring this year’s event will continue to serve the GLS community in Australia and around the world well. Since 2005, thousands of people have gathered at regional and metropolitan sites across Australia to attend the GLS, joining more than 400,000 attendees across 135 nations. Participants include teachers, health professionals, business people, pastors – people from all walks of life who want to grow their leadership capacity. The GLS is not another “church

growth” conference importing the latest fad from North America. It is a global event with an increasingly global faculty drawn from academia, business, the arts, education and the church. Worldwide, just under 60 per cent of GLS attendees are women, many living in nations where leadership development resources are limited. The GLS is hosted in 23 of the poorest 25 nations of the world. With this in mind we are grateful for the opportunity the GLS community in Australia has to assist the GLS in such nations through the Global Leadership Development Fund. Now, as ever, the inspiration and equipping of leaders provided through the GLS is greatly needed. I have attended every GLS in Australia since its inception. For the past ten years, the church I pastor has joined others in hosting the event. The GLS has been a transformative event for me, our church and people in our city who lead and serve where they are. So many GLS speakers and moments have shaped me as a leader and pastor. I well remember Gary Haugen, founder of the International Justice Mission, speaking at the 2008 Summit. He challenged us to step into, not away from, the challenges of leadership, particularly leading for justice. It was the height of the Global Financial Crisis, and I was anxiously wondering what impact the economic downturn would have on our community. Everything in me was screaming to pull back, play safe and protect.

But I remember Haugen’s words galvanising me to lead our church into sacrificial service of, and partnership with, our friends in the developing world. It was time to step up, not step back. I and we have never been the same since. My heart aches. That’s why I’m stepping up. Stu Cameron, Chairperson Willow Creek Association Australia, www.gls.org.au

Michael Frost on a better way of pastoring “Ministry means the ongoing attempt to put one’s own search for God, with all the moments of pain and joy, despair and hope, at the disposal of those who want to join this search but do not know how.” Henri J.M. Nouwen I’ve never read a Bill Hybels book or attended the Global Leadership Summit. These days that sounds like a badge of honour. But before it was a virtue, and for the longest time, I felt out of the loop with all continued page 16

OPINION

SEPTEMBER 2018

Here’s the secret to revival Graham Hill practices for discipleship are our missing ingredient

After the fall from page 15 my friends in ministry who were deeply informed by the Christian leadership industry of which Hybels and the GLS were central. Part of my disconnect from that world had to do with my sense that it was drawing on my own worst impulses. When I did read any books by Christian leadership gurus, or listen to their talks, I couldn’t get past the fact they were asking me to be me, only better. You see, I’m already wired to be a performer. I’m already driven to achieve, to win, to succeed, to influence. You might have thought that being told to achieve more, perform more, influence more, would have been music to my ears. But even I knew that just trying to be me, only better, wasn’t going to get me closer to being like Jesus. I knew my heart needed some serious renovation if I was to be an authentic leader. So I

A person becomes a highly skilled craftsperson or tradesperson (or dancer, musician, theologian, pastor, writer, and so on) through many years of hard work and personal discipline. This person, and the community they are a part of, performs important, disciplined practices countless times, over many years. These practices form them personally, build their life together, and shape the fruit of their lives and shared efforts. This is a community of discipline. It is a practising community. These practices shape their life together, and often lead to extraordinary and beautiful results. The co-author of my new book, Grace Ji-Sun Kim, has a teenage daughter, Elisabeth, who’s an example of the power of disciplines and practices. Elisabeth has been taking ballet lessons since she was three years old. When she turned eight, her dance became more and more serious and she had to focus and become a disciplined dancer. She goes to ballet four to seven days a week. When there are performances such as The Nutcracker or Spring Dance performance, she will be at her ballet studio for three to five hours a day to warm up, stretch, rehearse and learn new routines. It takes skill to dance but also lots and lots of practice to become a good dancer. Elisabeth takes her classes and rehearsals very seriously. In class, the dancers are not allowed to talk unless the instructor asks them a question. It is a strict class where the dancers are expected to quietly follow directions and practise the new moves. There is a lot of repetition as the instructor makes them do them over and over again until they have mastered them. The teacher will point out what they are doing right or wrong and then also do a hands-on approach to lift or stretch their legs or arms in a correct manner. After hundreds of repetitions and practices of the same movement, the students come to learn the

move. Furthermore, after Elisabeth’s dance classes and rehearsals, she will go home and do her homework and study for her tests. Then before bed, she will spend another 30 minutes, stretching and exercising before she goes to bed. She is also very careful about what she eats. She will do her best to stay away from fatty foods and eat fresh fruits and vegetables. She avoids junk food and processed food as she recognises that a healthy body is needed to be a serious dancer. These practices are crucial to becoming a dancer. They have become part of her lifestyle. Her classes, routines, rehearsals and healthy lifestyle are all practices that are essential forms of discipline needed to be a serious dancer. For the rest of us,

turned elsewhere to find models of ministry, becoming more shaped by Henri Nouwen, Walter Brueggemann and Parker Palmer, none of whom would ever get a speaking invitation to the GLS. Now that the wheels are falling off the influence of Willow Creek Church, and the GLS struggles to find its place in a post-Hybels world, I wonder if we can all now finally be free of vision statements and strategic plans and KPIs and all the other paraphernalia from 1980s corporate leadership theory? But what does that leave us with? After two generations of professional leadership theory, what is a pastor to do? Maybe turning back to the Bible might help (insert sarcastic tone here.) You see, while the church has been obsessed with leadership, the subject as we understand it hardly ever comes up in the Scriptures. As New Testament scholar David Starling writes, “When you go looking in the Bible, you realise pretty quickly that leadership can

hardly be found there at all. The Bible certainly contains a host of concrete instances of individuals, tasks, offices, and images that you might want to connect in some way with the category of leaders and leadership: mothers, fathers, shepherds, sages, prophets, judges, priests, kings, messiahs, apostles, pastors, elders, overseers … the instances are everywhere. But the abstraction, the umbrella term leadership, hardly rates a mention.” When you look at the metaphors Paul seems to prefer – mother and father, steward and herald – you see they speak of relationship, intimacy, care, faithfulness, duty and responsibility. All four of those images speak of the twin emphases of ministry: God’s word and God’s people. This got me thinking about my own pastor. Her name is Christine Redwood. Our church is her first appointment as lead pastor. How does she navigate this new ministry terrain? First, Christine is an exceptional preacher. Her

sermons are cleverly constructed and beautifully written. And she memorises them and delivers them in a style that verges on the dramatic. They’re an unusual combination of self-conscious performance and transparency and authenticity. Learning techniques and skills (such as preaching) might make you a decent mechanical leader, pulling the levers of a mechanical organisation. But what I yearn to hear each Sunday is a pastor transparently making her own search for God available to us, inspiring us to pursue God ourselves, and showing us how. The amount of work Christine puts into her preaching speaks of her love for her congregation. But her practised style never hides the genuineness of her search for God. Second, Christine is also a scholar, currently undertaking a PhD in theology. And you can tell. Her well-researched, insightful sermons, presented in her unique and winsome manner, have been a

A ballet dancer is an exemplar of life-transforming discipline.

pixabay / nikidinov

We are living in a broken world. Families are struggling. Addictions are rising. Immorality is increasing. Racism and sexism abound. Royal commissions uncover shocking corruption, abuse of power and exploitation of the most vulnerable. This a broken world, full of conflict, pain, fear, immorality and injustice. The Billy Graham crusades to Australia of 1959, 1968 and 1979 were perhaps the closest Australia has ever come to a revival. In 1959 alone, more than 130,000 people made a commitment to Christ. The social effects were astonishing, including drops in alcohol consumption and crime. Thousands of people responded to the call of God to plant churches, go to the mission field, and train for Christian ministry. We need another move of God in Australia and, of course, in North America and throughout the globe. Crusades are valuable and worthwhile; I will never talk down how God has used them in the past and may, by his grace and power, use them again. I pray that people will come to a saving faith in Jesus Christ by all means possible. But the secret to revival isn’t crusades. The secret to revival is practices that enable the church to truly share the love and gospel of Jesus Christ. Revival happens when Christians pursue practices that bring healing and hope to a broken world. These practices include developing a lifestyle of prayer, living as daily witnesses to

God’s grace and love, welcoming strangers to our homes and tables, being repentant and humble, living with integrity and protecting the weak and the vulnerable, and loving our neighbours and communities. This means being in the kinds of loving and holy and peacemaking fellowships that people want to be a part of. These practices mean living out the gospel of Jesus Christ with great passion and humility, and expressing that in our peace, justice, reconciliation, truthfulness, compassion, welcome and life together. Transforming practices revive our churches and society I grew up in a suburb and family full of craftspeople and tradespeople. These were people skilled in a range of functional, decorative, or specialised crafts and trades. These included carpenters, tailors, stonemasons, builders, bricklayers and electricians. It included floorers, landscapers, plumbers, roofers, welders, truck drivers, automotive mechanics, architects and cabinetmakers. Each plied their craft with skill. They made commitments to apprenticing one, two or three others in their craft or trade. Each honed their expertise. They saw their craft or trade in the light of the broader community of artisans. They worked together, building or renovating houses, sculpting landscapes, restoring automobiles or fashioning garments or pieces of furniture. The finished product was rarely the result of one craft or one artisan working alone. At times, these tradespeople or craftspeople were skilled in only one area. But, often, they were multi-skilled: carpenter-floorers, plumberelectricians, architect-landscapers, truckie-mechanics or teacherbuilder-electricians. My father restored houses from time to time – including my own house, after my wife Felicity and I moved to Sydney. When he did this, he used an array of carpentry, electrical, plumbing, construction, architectural, roofing, flooring and landscaping skills. And he called on the skills of others he trusted. In that environment, I learned the importance of discipline and practice – both personal and in community.

whether we want to become a dancer or a faithful disciple of Christ, we need to engage in lifegiving and transforming practices. The church will only see revival when it pursues transforming practices that revitalise the church and renew the world. American theologian Stanley Hauerwas makes this point strongly by drawing on the metaphor of bricklaying. He says the church needs to learn to lay metaphorical bricks and to make disciples. Learning to lay bricks involves “learning a myriad skills, but also a language that forms and is formed by those skills.” It’s about learning the craft from those who have gone before. It isn’t primarily about crusades or being relevant or learning more Bible and theology. This is about practices shaped through discipline, love, faith, patience, character and community. This is how the church makes disciples and sees revival: through life-giving and gospel-honouring practices. Nine transforming practices that bring revival The nine practices in my new book, Healing Our Broken Humanity, come out of listening to thousands of Christians from all over the world talk about the practices that change their lives and world. What practices bring revival and renewal, and heal our broken world? Practices such as repenting together, rediscovering prayer, renewing lament, relishing the Bible, restoring justice, reactivating hospitality, reconciling relationships and more. Our churches need new, transforming practices that revitalise the church and its mission, and that transform the world. Graham Hill is Senior Lecturer at Morling College. His new book (co-authored with Grace Ji-Sun Kim) is called Healing Our Broken Humanity and is available at Koorong.

joy for my wife and me recently. Third, Christine is a prayerful pastor. Each week she asks members of the congregation for points to inform her prayers and recently it was my turn. After I had fired off a few bullet points of things I’m dealing with, she replied with a sensitively written prayer she had prayed on my behalf. But our church isn’t immune from the pervasive nature of contemporary Christian leadership theory. Recently, it was proposed that we create a new church vision statement. I begged Christine not to give into the temptation to comply with that. And I’m begging every pastor to find a better way. Be our father. Be our mother. Herald the word of God. Steward the riches of the gospel among us. Love us. Eat with us. Listen to our stories. Michael Frost is head of the missiology department at Morling College

OPINION

SEPTEMBER 2018

Barney Zwartz on not silencing opponents

Yassmin Abdel-Magied

Lionel Shriver Yassmin Abdel-Magied, left, and Lionel Shriver from the 2016 BWF, Via Guardian US writer Lionel Shriver in 2016 when social media was outraged at reports of her condemnation of identity politics. The festival shamefully disavowed her, Flanagan says, “publicly attacking her for not ‘speaking to her brief’ as if she were a silk hired by the BWF to prosecute an argument.” “I don’t feel safe/comfortable” has become a tool to silence opponents when reason fails. It is all the more serious a problem because the internet has increasingly become an echo chamber where people seek out comfortable conformity with their own views and avoid vigorous debate. Examples abound, including a revealing account in The Atlantic of a controversy about Halloween costumes at Yale University three years ago. A staff member sent a polite and respectful email to students seeking to soothe concerns and suggesting that if someone’s costume offended

someone else they could discuss it reasonably. The official student response mounted into an astonishing campaign to have the woman sacked, including bullying, harassment and even spitting on staff. According to the report, several students at her residential college in Yale said they could not bear to live there anymore. The Atlantic reporter wrote: “These are young people who live in safe, heated buildings with two Steinway grand pianos, an indoor basketball court, a courtyard with hammocks and picnic tables, a computer lab, a dance studio, a gym, a movie theatre, a film-editing lab, billiard tables, an art gallery, and four music practice rooms. But they can’t bear this setting that millions of people would risk their lives to inhabit because one woman wrote an email that hurt their feelings?”

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The article quoted a student as saying: “I have friends who are not going to class, who are not doing their homework, who are losing sleep, who are skipping meals, and who are having breakdowns.” The writer commented: “One feels for these students. But if an email about Halloween costumes has them skipping class and suffering breakdowns, either they need help from mental-health professionals or they’ve been grievously illserved by debilitating ideological notions they’ve acquired about what ought to cause them pain.” Commentators have blamed the Left for this rising contempt for free speech, but the Right are not immune either. The furore about Lionel Shriver, noted above, was started by blogger Yassmin AbdelMagied who, offended, stalked out of Shriver’s talk a third of the way through and vented her fury

Wikimedia / Tony Sarowitz

Journalist Greg Sheridan’s new book, God is Good for You, contains a disturbing anecdote about the direction free speech is taking in the West. Oxford University’s Balliol College barred the Christian students from the orientation day activities last year, not for anything they had done but because their presence might make new students “uncomfortable” and remind them of neo-colonialism. (The ban was eventually overturned.) This may mark a new low in the sort of absurd intolerance and censorship that seems to be rising on university campuses, but what interests me is the relatively new concept that students should not be exposed to any ideas that make them uncomfortable or, in the other modern locution, make them feel “unsafe.” (I’m old enough to think that is precisely the purpose of a university education: to expose you to new and possibly confronting ideas and teach you to evaluate them.) Australian novelist Richard Flanagan took aim at the Brisbane Writers’ Festival last month for its same failure after the festival removed invitations to Germaine Greer and Bob Carr to speak. Flanagan wrote in The Guardian that the festival seemed to be “a cryogenic chamber where the sea can stay perennially frozen, prejudices perfectly preserved forever, unchallenged, unquestioned, uninformed and unformed.” The same festival abandoned

Wikimedia / Erin Maclean

The battle for free speech on social media. As it took days for Shriver’s nuanced speech to be made public, the battle was long lost. Right-wing commentators who blasted Abdel-Magied’s intolerance then failed their own test when she later posted on Twitter linking Manus and Nauru detention for refugees with Anzac Day. The backlash was so intense she left the country. Yet by those commentators’ professed standards she had every right to express that opinion, however misjudged they found it. Christians once had an appalling record on this, but in recent decades we have generally learned that we cannot silence opponents in this way. We have long recognised that we are now merely one voice in the marketplace of ideas and that we have to accept that critics will have their say, be it intelligent or rank bigotry (both are out there). Rancorous responses achieve little, though I have to confess I have succumbed once or twice. Yet even I grasp the fact that listening is vital if I am to understand, and that a calm and reasonable bearing is utterly essential if I am to achieve a hearing myself (after all, even those who disagree with me are created in the image of God!) Christians must remember this in the coming debate on protecting religious freedoms, when the federal government finally releases the Ruddock report that followed the same-sex marriage plebiscite and proposes legislation. Advocates against stronger protections for religious freedom have genuine concerns, particularly not to lose protections for the LGBQTI community, just as people of religious faith have genuine concerns to ensure that they can continue to practise and teach their faith publicly. To make any progress in this political battle, or indeed the wider advocacy of the gospel, Christians must remember that any difficulties we face are nothing like the persecution of tens of millions of Christians overseas, and that we can scarcely be said to be suffering for our faith. Perspective is essential. Yet, that said, it is imperative that we engage constructively if we don’t want freedoms that we take for granted to perhaps ebb away. Barney Zwartz is a Senior Fellow of the Centre for Public Christianity.

OPINION

Renew your mind

Lucy Gichuhi on Fraser Anning’s maiden speech In 1 Chronicles 19, King David’s intention was to support his loyal friend, but his act of kindness took a different trajectory when his messengers who were sent to Hanun were mistaken for spies. Well, maybe not quite mistaken – but the advisers brought in their fears and anxieties and misconstrued David’s good intentions. The power of leaders and those around them to steer a whole community or nation from peace to war is clearly seen in this interaction. As a senator, I wonder how often the good intentions of our leaders have

been misconstrued and changed the course of our history. During a pivotal moment in history, John Howard stood in the House of Representatives to deliver a speech that restored hope and ultimately united an entire nation. Our lawmaking institutions are powerful platforms to speak from. They are also where vigorous and respectful debate is championed. This week, as I sat in the Senate chamber, I heard spoken under the veil of a “maiden speech” words that undermined the dignity and contributions of all Australians – putting them on a collision course against each other. Further, it sought to taint the success of our contemporary multicultural Australia. But I can gladly say to anyone that I am real evidence of the success of multiculturalism. Words can have a twofold effect. They possess the capacity to build up but also to tear down. The impact our words can have is demonstrated in 1 Chronicles 19. King David’s desire was to honour his deceased friend by supporting his family in their time of grief. But Hanun’s advisers stirred the Ammonite nation towards a

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Left or right destructive path when they falsely accused King David’s delegation of being spies. The insinuations prompted Hanun to seize and humiliate the delegation before sending them back in disgrace. The result was that peace broke down between both nations. Naturally, war followed. In a modern-day comparison, our own leaders have the power through their words to shape the future of our nation. Ultimately, we will never know what would have happened if David’s good intentions were not misconstrued. We will never know what would have happened if Hanun had accepted David’s offer of kindness. What we do know is that the advisers’ words had an adverse effect on the entire nation. For a very long time it is has been the responsibility of leaders to use their words properly and carefully. We do not live on isolated islands; we live in a community. Let us learn from the misunderstandings that arose between King David and Hanun, so that in our lives we do not end up on paths that hurt and destroy those around us. Lucy Gichuhi is a Liberal senator for South Australia.

Tim Costello on choosing neither The Christian singer Amy Grant hit the nail on the head in a powerful song she recorded three decades ago. “Straight ahead, there’s no left or right,” she sang. “Straight ahead to your heart.” Amy wasn’t talking about politics, but those lyrics contain a message today for Christians who identify politically and spiritually as either right wing or left wing. The message from both creeds is to “honour your liberated individuality.” This individual self is at the heart of liberal Western nations that has destroyed religion and faith more effectively than

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Marxism or fascism could. The result is secularism. The Right claims free-wheeling market forces and macroeconomics are the keys to the good life, even if some communities are shattered in the process. The Left, from the 1960s on, has been about freedom from moral and religious restraint, even if the headlong pursuit of sensual pleasure is ultimately destructive. Jesus was seemingly detached from political institutions, yet his words and actions have long been exploited by politicians of all colours. I find myself wanting to go neither left nor right nor even centre, but to go deeper. Going deeper in a Christian sense is understanding that we are made for community because we are created in the image of a Trinitarian God. We should stand against the spirit of liberalism – whether from the Right or Left – that is totally individualistic and destroys communities. We know deep down that we were all created for connection and relationship. The church, at its best, builds community that isn’t just based on race or our political tribes.

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OPINION

SEPTEMBER 2018

Is sex sacred?

Christians are obsessed with sex. Well, that’s certainly what we are told – that Christians have an unhealthy and damaging obsession with what people do in the privacy of their bedrooms. We are always telling people to stop having fun. One of the 20th century’s greatest critics of Christianity, Bertrand Russell wrote a book called Why I Am Not a Christian. In that book he has lots to say against Christianity, but he says that Christianity’s attitude towards sex is the worst thing about it – he calls it “morbid and unnatural.” Russell said: “The Church did what it could to secure that the only form of sex which it permitted should involve very little pleasure and a great deal of pain.” If you watched The Handmaid’s Tale, you certainly would have got that impression. It’s a tale of a dystopian future where fertility rates decline and the US is taken over by Christian fundamentalists. The few remaining fertile women are forced into a kind of sex slavery in elite households, where they have to submit to a form of ritualised rape. You get the impression from the discussion I’ve heard around the series that some people think that this is exactly what we Christians would do if we got the chance. But the irony of this accusation is that our society is in the grip of a sex obsession which is equally damaging. Pornhub tells us that it had 28.5 billion visits to its website in 2017, while in that same year 68 years of porn were uploaded. Now, the sex industry loves to market porn as a harmless recreation, but study after study is coming out showing that porn is having a devastating effect on our sexual selves, and especially on the sexual selves of young people. We live in the most sexualised culture in history. Being obsessed with sex is just what we are. But I would say that Christians are obsessed with sex – but not in the way you think. Christians are obsessed with sex because Christians are obsessed with people, and sex is deeply personal. You never have sex with just a body; you have sex with a person. And so sex is sacred, because people are sacred to God. Christianity understands human beings, men and women, as precious to God in their whole existence, body and soul. We actually know about the sacredness of sex in two ways: from personal experience and observation, and from the Bible. You might remember a song from 1999 by The Bloodhound Gang which basically went “you and me baby ain’t nothing but mammals / so let’s do it like they do it on the Discovery Channel.” Now that’s a classy way to seduce

Pixabay / Chaos07

Michael Jensen on the good news about sex

someone, isn’t it? But it’s the view that “it’s just sex, and nothing more.” Sex is just a recreational activity, a bit like golf, or sailing, so you can have a buddy who helps you out in that area, or a friend with benefits, and we all walk away unaffected. But we know that this isn’t true. Sex is a deeply personal thing for human beings because we know we are more than just mammals. Sex is where we are at our most open and vulnerable – where people have a power over people and they have a power over us. We know what deep damage sex gone wrong can do. This is the plaintive cry of the #MeToo movement. Child abuse and rape are horrible crimes against someone’s very personhood. This isn’t just true about abusive or non-consensual sex, either. I read an article on a mainstream news platform which was basically advice about having commitmentfree sex; and it said, whatever you do don’t cuddle after sex, because your body releases a hormone called oxytocin which is designed to bond you to your partner … So even our bodies are telling us at a deep level that sex is relational and personal; it is designed not only to make babies, but it’s designed to bond sexual partners together. Sex involves not just your body, it involves you. And it involves another person, and not just their body. We talk about safe sex and protected sex, because we use contraceptives to prevent what can happen when we connect two bodies – unwanted pregnancy and STDs. But for the personal part of us, all sex is unsafe and unprotected. As Lachlan McFarlane, a friend of mine, says: “You can’t put a condom on your psyche.” And this is what the Bible says about sex, too. The Bible is much more sex-positive than we realise. But it also tells us of the ways we human beings hurt each other and ourselves with sex. The first human couple were created not just to reproduce, but because it was not good to be alone. Genesis records that great moment when Adam met Eve for the first time: “this is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh” he says in surprise and wonder. She is a true collaborator for him, and he for her. And, we are told, the two of them became the paradigm of marriage – “the two shall became one flesh.” Husbands and wives become a unity of two – not just because their bodies unite, but because their lives intertwine and overlap, and they now belong to one another. And in the Garden there was, in this relationship between the two, a complete openness – “the two were naked, and they knew no shame.” Their relationship was about more than sex, but the sex between them expressed what their relationship was. The specialness of sex and our vulnerability in it is something we all know. This is why Paul suggests there is something particularly sharp when we get sex wrong. In 1 Corinthians 6, he is trying to tell the Christians why it’s really not ok to visit the prostitutes who were part of the local pagan temple. He says, to paraphrase, “when you sin sexually you sin against your own body.” Our bodies are precious to God, they are sacred, and to

“

I bought you and your body at the price of my own body. You are more precious to me than you know.”

misuse them is to take something holy and totally trash it. It’s like taking a Picasso and using it for wrapping paper. This is why God has given us marriage as the proper and exclusive context for keeping sex sacred. Yes that’s right: the Bible teaches, and Christians have always taught, that sex belongs in marriage, which is a lifelong union between a man and woman. Now I can imagine you saying: “It’s 2018!! How out of date! That’s a pre-historic sexual ethic!” And I agree that what Christians are saying about sex is really strange in the 21st century. But we should remember: it was strange in the first century as well. The norm in Greco-Roman society, especially for wealthy men, was to be promiscuous with sex. But has our culture really got sex sorted out? We’ve made the only boundary to sex with another person “consent.” If they want to, and I want to, then who cares? But consent is an extremely vague idea. It doesn’t protect us at all. We know that people can consent to sex they don’t want. We know that people’s ability to consent can be distorted by drugs and alcohol, or by manipulation, or just by feeling powerless. God gave us marriage because in marriage we promise to give ourselves entirely to the other person, and to receive the other person as a whole person. The promises we make in marriage say to the other person: I bind myself to you not just for my pleasure but so that you will flourish. And the far boundary of my promise is not the fading of my desire for you but

my death. You are safe to be naked with me, body and soul, and I am safe to be naked with you. And we make those promises publicly in front of God and with our friends and families because we know that we need help to keep them, as weak human beings. God gives us marriage not because he is rule-obsessed and forbidding and wants to fill us with shame, but because this is good for us. Now, of course, I should stress that just being married is no guarantee that sex is great or that sex will be what it could be. That’s one thing Christians have sometimes got wrong – we’ve assumed that marriage can solve many of our deepest problems, and we’ve forgotten that it doesn’t work that way. But the ideal for which we strive in marriage is something we see in God himself. In the New Testament we hear about Jesus being like a bridegroom who lays down his life for his wife, the church. The kind of loving faithfulness and self-sacrifice and forgiveness it takes to make a marriage between human beings is demonstrated for us by Jesus himself. And this leads me to the next thing I need to say about sex from a Christian point of view. You may know all too well your sexual brokenness. You may feel deeply ashamed by your behaviour as a sexual being. And churches haven’t helped this by preaching law and condemnation, and not the message of God’s surpassing love. Maybe your church experience has filled you with self-disgust and not with freedom and hope. But this is where we need to hear the most important thing to hear about sex. God’s love in Jesus Christ is for you even in your pain and regret about sex. Jesus died to make you holy – including your sexual self. The Bible has plenty of examples. Of Rahab the prostitute who turned out to be the ancestor of Jesus; of King David, who was an adulterer with Bathsheba, another

of Jesus’ grandmothers; of the woman of Samaria, who had five husbands and was living with another man; of the prostituted women who gathered around Jesus because he accepted them and ate with them and didn’t take advantage of them; of the woman caught in adultery, who Jesus forgave; of the Corinthians who had been part of all the sexual adventures of their city before the gospel came, and struggled to free themselves from that culture. The struggle for us is often to believe how good the good news actually is. Shame can get into us so deeply we can’t imagine living without it. And yet: Jesus shed his blood to cleanse us from our guilt and shame, so that we can live as new people. We think that once we are sexually damaged that there’s no return; once we’ve cheapened what is meant to be sacred, we are worthless. But Jesus’s death says to us: I bought you and your body at the price of my own body. You are more precious to me than you know. So, then: sex is sacred because it is about people, and people are sacred to God. And there are two ways to live honouring the sacredness of sex and the preciousness of people – yourself and others. One is to be single and celibate. That might be your current state of life – you may be never married, divorced or widowed. The best way for you to honour the worth of your own body is to abstain from sex. The other option is to be married and faithful. As I said, just to be married guarantees nothing. Sex in marriage is a product of giving yourself, body and soul, to your partner. It expresses love exclusively and consistently, just as God himself does. And with the blessing of a lifelong sexual partner comes the deep responsibility of caring for them as you would care for your own body. But both single and married people need to hear the great news of Jesus’s love for his people – that he died to make them whole, and to purify them. God’s grace to us in Jesus is a detergent to wash us clean from the deepest stains. Michael Jensen is the rector of St Mark’s Anglican Church in Darling Point, Sydney, and the author of several books.

OPINION

SEPTEMBER 2018

Lights, cameras, biblical action

Greg Clarke Back in the noughties, a professor of film at London University, Sue Clayton, analysed the content of the 200 most popular films in Britain and came up with a formula for what makes a perfect film. Clayton proposed that the ideal flick contains 30% action, 17% comedy, 13% good versus evil, 12% romance, 10% special effects, 10% plot (what does that mean?) and 8% music. The film which best matched the requirements turned out to be Toy Story 2. As a Buzz Lightyear aficionado from way back, she

won’t get an argument from me. But in an idle half-hour, I decided to apply the percentages to the Bible, to see whether it would turn into a good new-millennium major motion picture. Here’s how it pans out, if you think of Genesis to Revelation as one unfolding story (as good biblical theologians should). Action: (most of the Pentateuch, Old Testament histories) 32% Comedy: (Job and Ecclesiastes— trust me on this, Jonah, some Proverbs, some Gospel stories) 8% Good versus evil: (prophecy, apocalyptic, New Testament letters) 26% Romance: (Ruth, Song of Songs, some Revelation) 4% Special effects: (Ezekiel, Daniel, Zechariah, Revelation, some the Gospels) 8% Plot: (Pentateuch, Joshua, Judges, OT histories, Gospels, Acts) 18% Music: (Psalms, songs by Deborah and Mary, Revelation) 4% No argument shall be entered into over my methodology, but you can see what a great film the Bible makes by the Clayton scale. There’s a bit more good and evil going on, a stronger plot, and arguably a little less comedy and romance, but the shape of the Bible isn’t that far off the ultimate film. The differences in the percentages are educative.

First, the Bible isn’t as funny as Toy Story 2. There is a sobriety to the message of judgement that just can’t be lightened up. The story of humanity’s fall from God’s favour, and the wrath that remains on those who do not know him through Jesus, cannot be sweetened. It has to be told in its stark truth. Thankfully, it is completed by the wonderful story of salvation in Jesus. In fact, in the classical way of thinking about drama, this happy ending—a marriage between Christ and his Church—would count as a comedy (in contrast with a ‘tragedy’, which ends in bloodshed). Perhaps I should redo those percentages and count the gospel message as ‘comedy’. Second, there’s a whole lot more ‘good versus evil’ in the Bible than the optimal film. This is saying something, since Toy Story 2 is based around the battle with the evil Emperor Zurg. I guess the difference is that the battle in the Bible is far more pressing and serious. The future of the world and its inhabitants is at stake. The romance percentage is down, unless we include the love of God for his people shown in sending his Son to redeem them... then the percentage rockets up. And there’s a bit more plot in the Bible. We can probably put this down to the fact that the Bible’s

pixabay / armandocalles721

Plus some comedy and romance, too

story canvases the entire history of the universe. Toy Story 2 has a slightly less cosmic scope (but only just). Of course, there have been plenty of ambitious creatives who have attempted to make this film. Cecil B. DeMille is the most famous, with his epic movies from the 1950s. The largest scale example emerged recently as a blockbuster TV miniseries from the US reality TV makers, Mark Burnett and Roma Downey. These efforts have certainly been well received by viewers, and sometimes by critics. Even occasionally, church leaders and theologians have felt they had something going for them. But in my heart of hearts, I don’t think Bible films really work. The Bible is in fact too complex, too vast, and too sophisticated in its message to translate to the screen. There are parts of it which tell a story that can be watched, but so much of it does not. The book

(written and spoken) remains the most important way to access the truth about God as Christians understand it. And that means a longer, deeper and more thoughtful engagement with it is the only way to tap its riches fully. What Bible films can do well is raise awareness of what the Bible is not. It’s not a list of do’s and don’ts. It’s not a mystical philosophy text. It’s not simply wise sayings. It is in fact an unfolding drama about God’s interactions with the world and some of that drama works well in the visual medium. But the big picture? It’s not really a picture at all. We need the articulation of the written word to grasp most fully the nature of infinity and beyond. Source: David Dale, (The Tribal Mind column), “Renovation is the new sex in winning formula”, SMH, Saturday 21 June 2003. Greg Clarke is CEO of Bible Society Australia.

Bible Stat Around 70% of the world’s full Bible translations have been provided by Bible Societies.

TRANSFORMING LEADERS CHURCHES AND NATIONS There can be few greater causes than training leaders for the church, equipping and training individuals who will emerge as resourceful Christian leaders in their context. Each year Overseas Council Australia brings visiting scholars to Australia from international institutions that we partner with. This year, we welcome Dr K.K. Yeo (PhD, Northwestern University), professor, leading educator and theologian. K.K. Yeo is a Chinese scholar born in Borneo, educated in the U.S., and currently teaching in Chicago, Beijing, and Jerusalem. K.K. has extensively published in comparative classical studies, and has authored and edited more than 40 books in both English and Chinese on cross-cultural hermeneutics, Christian spirituality and global Christianity. K.K. leads students in a dialogue between cultures of antiquity and modern times. Join us in your nearest major city for an insightful and rare opportunity to learn more about the Church in China.

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‘China needs good Christian scholarship as scholars and pastors read the Bible culturally, and read culture biblically.’ Dr K.K. Yeo, What Has Jerusalem to Do with Beijing?; 2018

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