Opinion

You may have heard the phrase “Christian leadership” within church circles. In the Queensland Synod leadership is one of five priority directions. But what does it actually mean and how much should Jesus inform your understanding of it? Scott Guyatt, the Queensland Synod’s director of mission strategy, offers his perspective. We talk so much these days about leadership, and there ...

Phil Day’s cartoon above highlights the juxtaposition the church in many parts of the west is finding itself in relation to the broader western society. I recently noticed one hotel in Brisbane advertising a family-friendly Easter, with Easter egg hunts, special menus, the whole nine yards. While there are powerful commercial and ideological interests at play now in the Easter ...

Favourite hymn Sunday always brings forth musical gems, some long vanished from our contemporary repertoire. The Journey team has come up with five forgotten hymns whose poetry and melodies continue to inspire. It passes knowledge (Together in Song 230) Written by Mary Shekleton (1827–1883) from Dublin. Mary was an invalid for many years, during which time she wrote several hymns ...

Should we still fear the end times as predicted by the Bible? You’ve probably seen end times in films or books but is it just the stuff of wild imaginations or should we as Christians prepare for humanity’s final act? Rev Dr Peter Hobson, Dean of Formation and Dispersed Learning at Trinity College Queensland, offers his perspective.  The Book of ...

A recent Uniting News advertisement for free accommodation in return for providing Sunday services sparked an adventure from Ipswich to Kalgoorlie. Ruth Duncan reflects on her experiences moving westward and how she struck gold in the faith community. A small advertisement in the weekly Uniting News email late last year popped up the day after my last lecture in New ...

Rev Dr Rob Brennan reflects on his experiences teaching Indigenous faith leaders in Cairns and what he learnt about himself from his encounters with the culture and history of Australia’s First Peoples. The moderator has said a few times that the best way to make God laugh is to tell God our plans. As a theologian and scientist interested in ...

Mobile phones, the internet and video games may seem like an inseparable part of the lives of our youth but engaging them in the digital realm is critical if we want to emotionally and spiritually connect ourselves to the next generation. Steve Molkentin, the Queensland Synod’s new Digital Youth Discipleship project officer, writes. “I’ve come up with a set of ...

Ready to take the plunge and start a new congregation at your church? Journey asked Duncan Barlow for some tips on building a healthy church community. Ask questions Seek the wisdom of those who have been serving the congregation long before you came along. Knowing what has and hasn’t worked in the past can save you a lot of heartache. ...

The ancient Greeks had two words for time: chronos and kairos. Chronos is the passage of ordinary time; hours, days, months, years, however we measure that mysterious quality. Kairos is the idea of time as being of significance; that quality of a period of time that holds a more profound significance than any other time. “It was the right time,” ...

Well, it’s going to be a big year. Some of us might have thought that we’d had enough change but obviously in the United Kingdom and North America there have been other sorts of changes in people’s minds that will play out this year. In the public sphere, it looks like it will be a year of conflict, of emotive ...