Sunday-best clothes, church, roast lunches and lazy afternoons are Sunday memories for many older Christians. Dianne Jensen explores whatever happened to the Sabbath. For most Australians, the measured pace of Sunday has given way to the frenetic demand for unlimited access to entertainment, sport and commercial services. We are willing participants, giving way to the insidious tug to constantly check ...

The Journey team selects stories that got us talking this week. Check back in every Friday to see the latest wrap up of religious news that made us think and reflect. Salvation Army Major Geoff Freind has died after being assaulted in Malawi during a preaching tour Earlier this week The Salvation Army released a statement announcing their concern for the well-being ...

Scott Guyatt turns his attention to the full spectrum of the arts and considers the potential benefits if every church embraced painting, drawing, poetry, sculpture, photography, dance and other forms of artistic expression. Artists see the world in different ways to many of us. They create or encounter new worlds in their imagination and speak, paint, write, perform and sculpt ...

Behind the jaw dropping feel-good anthem of the 2016 Rio Paralympics is local Brisbane musician Tony Dee: Queensland Baptist client service officer by day, superhuman singer by night. Ashley Thompson talks to Tony about faith, music and disability inclusiveness. Launched in July, United Kingdom broadcaster Channel 4’s promotional trailer for the September 2016 Paralympics “We’re the superhumans” has reached extraordinary ...

Someone new walks into church. You’re torn between maintaining a polite distance and asking them around for lunch and afternoon Bible study. Dianne Jensen talks to two quite different Uniting Churches about welcoming newcomers. Stepping through the church door can be a scary business. The jargon and rituals are unnerving—and that’s before someone is invited to stand up and sing! ...

Fundamentalism and progressivism Last month’s Journey made me thankful for my Trinity Theological education once again. Lecturers like Rev Dr Geoff Thompson helped us navigate the extremes of Christianity exemplified by Ken Ham (fundamentalism) and Val Webb (progressivism). Both positions are responding to the same perceived problem. Both make the same mistake. Both bow to the idol of the enlightenment—science—mistakenly ...

In the first edition of an ongoing exclusive column for The Scoop, Scott Guyatt explores the possibilities of what could happen if every church embraced a particular concept or innovation. This month: the kids’ playground. “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these” (Luke 18:16) The ...

Much theological debate centres on the apocalyptic and prophetic Book of Revelation but what can be drawn from it for today’s society? Rev Dr Neil Sims reflects on Revelation, its historical context and the questions it poses for us today. This year, I have begun to lead two small groups in a study of the last book of the Bible, ...

Following her Unchained session at the 32nd Synod exploring the relationship between congregations and agencies, Rev Linda Hamill outlines some practical ways to strengthen the ties. Relationships can be an emotional minefield for some, blissfully trouble-free for others. In particular many can relate to parents raising a child to be independent and then negotiating the evolving dynamics as the parent-child ...

Here in Queensland to promote his new book, Disturbing Much, Disturbing Many: Theology provoked by the Basis of Union, Rev Dr Geoff Thompson sat down with Journey to delve deeper into issues of faith, society and the Uniting Church in Australia’s foundational document, the Basis of Union. Journey: If there’s one takeaway from the book, what is it? Geoff: The ...