Category Archives: Full-Text-Longing

Moving beyond the shock absorber: The place of youth ministry—past, present and future

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Introduction

Western societies like Australia are living through times of rapid change. Revolutions in technology create new ways of living that in turn create new ways of thinking. Young people grow up in environments very different from their parents, and so often develop different values. This makes the passing on of biblical values from one generation to the next difficult. The technologies that shape our lives give us amazing freedom of choice, and relative independence. But this is creating a growing, transient, consumer-driven individualism in our societies.

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“In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity” (Part 3)

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Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

2. Responding To Doctrinal Diversity

We now turn to examine how the gospel controls our response to doctrinal diversity. We suggest here six ways that we can respond, before concluding with a return to the slogan for our consideration ‘In Essentials Unity, In Non-Essentials Liberty, In All Things Charity’. Our goal is to consider how this statement fares as a guide for responding to doctrinal diversity.

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One-to-one ministry

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It is probably fair to say that most modern Christians would regard the small group and the large public church meeting as the two key activities in their Christian lives. The Sunday church meeting is the public rallying point—the front door of the congregational life—in which newcomers can be welcomed, the word of God preached, the sacraments duly administered, and so on. The small group is the power-house of mutual encouragement and Christian nurture where relationships are formed, where the Word is applied to each person’s life, and where prayer can focus on the particular needs of individuals.

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How should we think Christianly about ‘online’ church?

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Introduction: The phenomenon of online church

The topic this essay will consider is the phenomenon of online church. In this new age of online networking and communication, some Christians have begun to regularly meet online in various ways and call it ‘church’. For example, St Pixels is a text-based ‘church’ meeting facility. There are different areas in the church you can go to: the sanctuary, the lobby, the prayer room and even a bar. Once there, you can see little cartoon faces depicting other real people who are online in that room with you, and whatever you say can be read by anyone in that area. They have two regular services every week, with Bible readings, sermons, songs, prayers. I had a conversation with one of the ladies there who told me that this was her ‘church’. She hasn’t been to a real-life church for a few years, and loves the openness and fellowship at St Pixels.

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Getting to the heart of the Hillsong worship ‘revolution’

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Extravagant Worship

Darlene Zschech

Bethany House, Ada, 2004, 224pp.

You may not recognize her name (or have a clue how to pronounce it) and you may not know her face (or her distinctive retro chic outfits). But, like presidents and popes, you will have almost certainly sung one of her songs. She is Darlene Zschech, the woman who wrote the song ‘Shout to the Lord’. And chances are, it is not simply her melodies and poetry that have influenced you, for not only is she an accomplished songwriter, Zschech has been the head of the Worship and Creative Arts Department at Hillsong Church in Australia since 1996. (more…)

Look at me! I’m a princess!

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From cinemas to reality TV, the idea of the princess has never been more popular. The world fell in love with Princess Diana, and now Australia has its own fairytale princess: Princess Mary. Tweens (kids aged between 8 and 13—no longer a kid but not yet a teenager) are riveted by the actor Anne Hathaway (The Princess Diaries, Ella Enchanted). Disney brings together seven of their female characters and dubs them princesses, with corresponding merchandise for little girls. The media often uses the term to refer to females who have made an impression on our hearts. We have watched as Australia’s Princess of Pop, Kylie Minogue, battled with cancer, and have followed the grief and heartache of Princess Bindy (Bindy Irwin) as she spoke at her father’s funeral. Our interest with the idea of princesses is such a part of our society, when Granada Productions called for women between the ages of 18 and 30 to be groomed for a reality television show called Australian Princess, more than 4,000 women applied.1

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Here I am, talking about Jesus just the same: Larry Norman at 60

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(Editor’s note: Since this article was written, Larry Norman passed away on 24 February 2008.)

Larry Norman turned 60 in 2007, and with two biographies due to be released, it may be timely to reflect on the life of the person dubbed “the Father of Jesus Rock”. Mention of Larry Norman may draw a blank response from those under 40, although he influenced the thinking of contemporary artists like U2 and many of those working in Christian or Gospel music today. For those over 40, Norman’s name may bring back memories of the long blond hair, the controversial lyrics, and the question posed by the classic song, “Why should the devil have all the good music?”

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