Opinion

I REALISED that I was being called into ministry when I was 21. It was a funny thing to realise because other people got the memo before I did. After I graduated and was looking for a career my minister, Lu, sat me down encouraged me to take the journey of discernment. My congregation supported me through prayer and gave me ...

THE CORE way I live out my faith is by trying to love others in every situation, following Christ’s example, and thus trying to live out the Kingdom. I have a particular passion for social justice issues and a vision for a just and compassionate world in which all people have the opportunity to achieve their God-given potential. My faith ...

WHEN I was a youth worker I had a youth group of fifty young people. Many of them were males with no church affiliation, who used to spend time wandering the town in groups. One night, after we had wandered around town and nearly got in a fight, I sat them down in my lounge room and read them some ...

YOU HAVE to admit, God has a sense of humour. He smote an enemy nation with haemorrhoids. (What do you think this means? Perhaps it means what haemorrhoids are to us, we’re being to him?) And he brought the Saviour into the world through a 13-16-year-old girl becoming pregnant when she was only betrothed to a guy who’s not the ...

PREPARING AN edition on happiness has certainly meant an interesting month here in the Journey office. I attended the Happiness and its Causes conference where I heard the Dalai Lama say that compassion was the true path to happiness. Interesting that compassion is one of the five Gospel Values in our 2020 Vision. His concern was that while so many ...

This year Journey explores questions from the pews, namely from a (fictitious) person exploring faith and the Uniting Church. This month Nova B Lever asks: Where is the joy in church?I FEEL sorry for our minister. She’s a happy person, and certainly reflects a lot of joy whenever I speak with her. She asked me to help one Sunday morning ...

A YEAR eight student was asked by her teacher, “What do you want to be when you grow up”? “I want to be happy,” was the reply. The teacher responded by saying, “I’m sorry, I don’t think you understood my question.” The student replied as respectfully as she could, “I understand the question, but do you understand life?” I suspect ...

IS SIMPLY being happy too much to ask? There are plenty of preachers who tell me it’s not enough, but that’s not the question. Happiness is a big deal. It’s the subject of innumerable clichés, jokes, books and grandmotherly pieces of advice. When my career bores me, when my marriage is hard work, when I need one day off to ...

BRISBANE BOYS’ College Sustainability Group was established in 2010 to address the growing concern amongst some students as to the school’s response to issues revolving around climate change. There is an increasingly growing movement of youth today who are called to be stewards for the environment and protect God’s creation for future generations to enjoy. In Deuteronomy we learn that ...

MY CALL to care for creation is based in scripture and woven into my call to discipleship. As discipleship is expressed through stewardship, I am accountable and responsible for how my imprint impacts creation and calls me to seek actions that glorify God. The stewardship mandate to care for, or serve, God’s creation (Gen 2:15), motivates me to tread lightly ...