Baylor University Press 2010, RRP $43.95 Reviewed by Rev Peter Harvey. Shirl James Hoffman has grown up in and around sport and church, and so is well-suited to bring this academic style critique to the marriage of the Christian faith and sport. In Good Game: Christianity and the Culture of Sports, he asks the reader to take a hard look ...

WORLD-RENOWNED theologian, Bishop NT Wright, and Micah Challenge International Director, Rev Dr Joel Edwards, have joined Australia’s Rev Dr John Dickson and Rev Tim Costello to inspire Christians in Australia to tackle global poverty. A new interactive five-week Bible study created by World Vision Australia, The Faith Effect , suggests that the church is best positioned to break the cycle ...

ON SATURDAY 27 August Indooroopilly Uniting Church hosted the second Bremer Brisbane Presbytery Ministry Expo, a capability-building initiative. With a common theme of developing community connections, there were around 27 displays and stalls from congregations in the Presbytery as well as the Synod and the Assembly alongside those from ecumenical and para-church organisations and agencies, such as World Vision. Speakers ...

THE FRESH Expressions movement is creating a buzz of excitement in the Uniting Church around new kinds of mission and outreach. In essence, the movement isn’t doing anything new at all. It is almost taking mission and outreach and the activity of ‘church’ back to its fundamental roots: being Christ in the community. In 2005 the Church of England established ...

HISTORY BOOKS are full of inspired people who have shaped our world. Explorers, inventors, scientists, artists, theologians and so many others have spent countless hours growing the seeds of ideas into tangible realities. Even today the way we communicate, socialise, even the food we eat is evolving. This is not necessarily always a good thing, but one thing is for ...

By Mark Griffiths, Monarch, 2009, RRP $29.99 Reviewed by Paul Clark. ORIGINALLY WRITTEN as a doctoral thesis, One Generation from Extinction is the study of child evangelism, comparing the original Sunday School model with large children’s outreach programs of the UK today. This is a seminal work: one that speaks with authority to the church’s precarious position in Western society. ...

On 11th October, many of us were shocked and saddened by the sudden passing of Max Christie. Max was a vibrant member of Mossman Uniting Church, as well as a great contributor to the wider Church. Above all, he was a faithful servant of his Lord Jesus Christ. Born in 1938, as one of six children, Max’s parents were orchardists. ...

Rev John Mavor’s newly-released autobiography is not just a compelling account of one minister’s amazing life, it is also a valuable social history of church and community life in Australia and the Pacific over seven decades said ABC religious programs executive producer David Busch. Mr Busch made the comment in launching Mr Mavor’s book, Come On! Come On! A Journey ...

Rob and Andy Frost, (Ed) Mark Williamson Authentic Media, 2008 RRP $29.95 Reviewed by Karyl Davison, lecturer in Christian education, PLC, and Rural Ministry Coordinator This little, easy-to-read book, is the story of the vision and development of the Pentecost Festival, a celebration of creativity and compassion in central London. A diverse group of writers attempts to express a unique ...

Entries close soon for Songs that Unite, the song writing competition of the Uniting Church in Australia that is seeking to encourage the development of Australian Christian music for use in congregations. The focus of the competition is congregational (or other group) singing, rather than songs for individual performance and the winning entries will be promoted in congregations across the ...