Mike Raiter shares how Anzac Day has gone beyond simply a day of remembrance.
Monthly Archives: July 2016
Ashburton Baptist – Gone Solar
Ashburton Baptist Church is leading the way in reducing their environmental footprint and saving on power expenses. All Victorian Baptist Churches are currently invited to express their interest in a Baptcare/A Just Cause initiative for a bulk- buy of solar panels. This project was launched at our May Delegates Dinner. If your church is interested in going solar, both for cost efficiencies and as a ‘Billboard advertising Christians concern about the environment’ then check out the Churches Solar Panel Program here and view the Ashburton story below.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILKiEd-fIug]
Source: BUV News
Ashburton Baptist – Gone Solar
Ashburton Baptist Church is leading the way in reducing their environmental footprint and saving on power expenses. All Victorian Baptist Churches are currently invited to express their interest in a Baptcare/A Just Cause initiative for a bulk- buy of solar panels. This project was launched at our May Delegates Dinner. If your church is interested in going solar, both for cost efficiencies and as a ‘Billboard advertising Christians concern about the environment’ then check out the Churches Solar Panel Program here and view the Ashburton story below.
The Bible – gift or dogma?
What attitude should we have to the Bible? Is it necessary? Reliable? Inspired?
Faith Important for Secular Work
A new study of more than 1000 Australians has revealed that those who identify as church-going Christians see their faith as a significant factor in their day-to-day work.
The State of Work in Australia study was initiated by Reventure, a new organisation specialising in faith and work research, utilising the Barna Group, a globally recognised polling research firm.
In contrast to a secular expectation that faith a isa private set of beliefs, most of the Christians (80%) surveyed said their faith helps them to face challenges at work, and that their church (69%) helps them understand how to live out their faith in the workplace.
“This is an exciting development in the history of faith and work integration in Australia,” explains Reventure Managing Director, Dr Lindsay McMillan. “We are seeing that Christians are seeking to use the transforming power of faith in the workplace.”
However, it is not all positive. It appears that churches are not providing sufficient teaching or resources to maximise the opportunity of the workplace being a centre of spiritual expression. Only 40% of Christian workers say their churches provide teaching or resources.
This is borne out by the study’s revelation that most Christians are not open about their beliefs in the workplace, with 63% not feeling very comfortable about talking about their faith.
“We understand the challenges that Christians face in the modern workplace,” says Dr McMillan, “And many feel the pressures on their faith expression.”
The study indicated that Christians are happy to work morally (60%) and ethically (54%), but struggle with temptations (39%) and do not feel confident evangelising in the workplace (22%).
Details of the study:
• The study was conducted in April 2016 and consisted of a nationally-representative survey of 1,001 Australian employed adults with an oversample of church attenders with 321 identifying as church-going Christians.
• The study was representative of all majordenominations.
• The sample was balanced for gender and age and included fulltime (57%), part-time (33%) and 10% self-employed/independent workers.
• The sample included a representation of workplace settings including 40% professional office workers, 12% working in retail, 11% working from home, 9% in education, 6% in a healthsetting.
How is your church equipping people for mission in their work place? Baptist leaders can utilize findings such as this to inform better teaching, training and equipping of people for mission in the places they live and work. You can also contact our BUV’s Mission Catalyst team for resources and support.
Reventure specailises in faith and life research. This ‘State of Work in Australia’ study is intended tohelp Reventure increase the conversation about applying faith at work, believing this enables transformation not just of individual Christian workers, but also the organisations they work in. For more information contact Dr Lindsay McMillan, Managing Director, Reventure Ltd, 0409 186 322.
Source: BUV News
HONEY BAKED CHICKEN BREAST RECIPE
This is a very simple and easy dish which is very tasty. Try it with steamed or roast vegetables. Serves 4.
Ingredients:
3 or 4 chicken breasts, skinned
3 tablespoons of honey
3/4 cup water
1 packet of French onion soup
Instructions
1. Combine all the ingredients in a overproof baking tray. Cover with plastic wrap and marinate for as long as you can. Turn over.
2. Cover with foil and bake at 160 C (320 F) for 1 hour.
3. Remove foil and bake another 30 minutes.
4. Remove from oven. Rest with foil on top for 10 minutes.
5. Serve and enjoy.
ON THE EDGE PART 2
The July 2016 Australian federal election was volatile and took days to decide.
Days before, the British electorate voted for BREXIT, despite the overwhelming support of the elite for BREMAIN.
The US Presidential campaign is the most turbulent in history.
Why is there such political volatility in the western world? How did a nation like Australia, with a reputation for political stability, get into this situation of having 5 prime ministers in 5 years and a knife’s edge election?
There is a simple explanation: a lack of respect for the democratic process.
As mentioned earlier, in 5 years, 3 prime ministers were replaced by a backroom party manoeuvres, not by the electorate. When an elected leader stands and falls because of his/her colleagues, rather than the voters, this is NOT democracy. The Australian voters, who elected the Rudd government in 2007, should have had a chance to vote for or against it in the 2010 Federal Election. The same applies to the Abbott government, who was clearly elected in 2013. Mr. Abbott, not Mr. Turnbull, who should have led his party in the 2016 election (the same applies to the Gillard government in 2013).
Contempt shown for the democratic process eventually brings instability
This erosion of democracy is by no means limited to the Australia. No sooner had the ballots been counted in the UK EU Referendum, than left-wing voices were calling for another referendum. Petitions were signed, protesters marched in London, and a lawsuit was launched. If the electorate chose a clear pathway, demands to undo their mandate are anti-democratic.
What is True Democracy?
Most people think that democracy is merely ‘free and fair’ elections. This is an important facet but there is much more to democracy than elections. As one person put it, it is what happens in-between elections that constitutes a democracy.
Here are some of the components then of a truly democratic society:
1. Free and fair elections at regular intervals: ultimately, the people of the nation are the boss and on the most important matters they should be the final arbiters.
2. Rule of law: This is where parliamentary law reigns, not the whim of a leader. Rule of law means Lex (Law) is Rex (King);
3. Human rights: Respect for basic, universally recognised human rights is fundamental for a true democracy. These include freedom of speech, freedom of conscious, freedom of worship and religious freedom;
4. Independent judiciary: The courts properly interprets the constitution; note: justices interpret, they don’t create laws. They should not be controlled by other branches of government;
5. Free and responsible press: The media should not be controlled by the government but also they should be responsible too, seeking to inform, not indoctrinate, society;
6. Separation of powers: the executive, judicial, and legislative branches must have clear boundaries and be free to exercise their constitutional powers (but no more);
7. Balance of power: no branch of government can have too much power. When any branch oversteps its boundaries, instability comes in (this can include military coups);
8. Separation of church and state: this means that both areas are given due respect but neither encroaches on the other. This separation does not mean ‘freedom from religion’ or marginalising religious belief or ethics in the public square.
9. Basic moral foundations: More about this in a subsequent article.
Undermine one, or more, of the above tenets, and true democracy will begin to erode. Failure to uphold the ‘rule of law,’ a muzzled or biased press, activism in the courts, one branch of government overstepping another, suppressing human rights … all these things begin the rollback of democracy. In our day, moral sounding terms like ‘political correctness,’ ‘tolerance,’ ‘fairness doctrine,’ ‘inclusion,’ ‘deconstruction’ and similar phrases have been used to used to undercut one or more of the above democratic freedoms.
When this happens, political instability begins to take over.
In Part 03, we will see how democracy has been undermined over the years.
Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre 2017 Nine Month Residency Clinical Pastoral Education Programme
Unique Clinical Pastoral Education Opportunity
CPE Residency Programme 2017
The Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre is Australia’s only public hospital solely dedicated to cancer and one of an elite group of hospitals worldwide to have its own integrated cancer research program and laboratories.
Four opportunities are available for people with a passion for Spiritual and Pastoral Care. This is a nine-month full-time education programme (commencing 13 February 2017 and concluding October 27, 2017). The nine month programme comprises three units of CPE accredited by ASPEA Inc. The personal attributes required are spiritual maturity and openness, an ability to take initiative and to work within a multidisciplinary team, and a commitment to your ongoing development. You will be a member of a dynamic spiritual care team that promotes spiritual health and well-being within Peter Mac. As a team member, you will provide spiritual and pastoral care to patients and their carers; participate in the on call roster; and engage in the CPE training programme.
Applications close: Friday October 7, 2016
If you are taking this unit as a component of your course through the University of Divinity please contact your course co-ordinator for the fees.
Supervisors in the Centre are: –
David Dawes, Heather Somerville,
Jill Gray, Graeme Gibbons
Clinical placements will be at Peter Mac.
Please note that there will be no remuneration for participating in the Residency Programme.
Please email paula.donnoli@petermac.org or phone 855 95236 to obtain
application materials or further information.
Source: BUV News
Faith Important for Secular Work
A new study of more than 1000 Australians has revealed that those who identify as church-going Christians see their faith as a significant factor in their day-to-day work.
The State of Work in Australia study was initiated by Reventure, a new organisation specialising in faith and work research, utilising the Barna Group, a globally recognised polling research firm.
In contrast to a secular expectation that faith a isa private set of beliefs, most of the Christians (80%) surveyed said their faith helps them to face challenges at work, and that their church (69%) helps them understand how to live out their faith in the workplace.
“This is an exciting development in the history of faith and work integration in Australia,” explains Reventure Managing Director, Dr Lindsay McMillan. “We are seeing that Christians are seeking to use the transforming power of faith in the workplace.”
However, it is not all positive. It appears that churches are not providing sufficient teaching or resources to maximise the opportunity of the workplace being a centre of spiritual expression. Only 40% of Christian workers say their churches provide teaching or resources.
This is borne out by the study’s revelation that most Christians are not open about their beliefs in the workplace, with 63% not feeling very comfortable about talking about their faith.
“We understand the challenges that Christians face in the modern workplace,” says Dr McMillan, “And many feel the pressures on their faith expression.”
The study indicated that Christians are happy to work morally (60%) and ethically (54%), but struggle with temptations (39%) and do not feel confident evangelising in the workplace (22%).
Details of the study:
- The study was conducted in April 2016 and consisted of a nationally-representative survey of 1,001 Australian employed adults with an oversample of church attenders with 321 identifying as church-going Christians.
- The study was representative of all majordenominations.
- The sample was balanced for gender and age and included fulltime (57%), part-time (33%) and 10% self-employed/independent workers.
- The sample included a representation of workplace settings including 40% professional office workers, 12% working in retail, 11% working from home, 9% in education, 6% in a healthsetting.
How is your church equipping people for mission in their work place? Baptist leaders can utilize findings such as this to inform better teaching, training and equipping of people for mission in the places they live and work. You can also contact our BUV’s Mission Catalyst team for resources and support.
Reventure specailises in faith and life research. This ‘State of Work in Australia’ study is intended tohelp Reventure increase the conversation about applying faith at work, believing this enables transformation not just of individual Christian workers, but also the organisations they work in. For more information contact Dr Lindsay McMillan, Managing Director, Reventure Ltd, 0409 186 322.
You are not in control
How much of our life can we really control? Jesus’ answer may disturb you, but it may also be the path to peace and joy