As a child of the 1980s, I grew up in the shadow of the Cold War. The free world (led by America) were the good guys while the communistic world (led by Russia) were the bad guys. The battle between these two powers were in the realms of religion, politics, […]
The initial and primary motive drawing me to Christ was “fire insurance.” When the reality of hell and judgement sunk in, I quickly began taking Jesus seriously. If we are honest, this motivation is a driving factor in most of our conversion experiences. I call it the “Sinners in the […]
Ignorance is bliss is probably best summed up in the famous allegory of the cave where Socrates describe a group of people who have lived chained to the wall of a cave all of their lives, facing a blank wall. The people watch shadows projected on the wall by things […]
One of my work colleagues—let’s call her Kristie—is on a self-confessed journey of converting from Judaism to selected aspects of Buddhism. Last month, while we were waiting for a flight in the Qantas Club, Kristie described to me how she is creating her new designer spirituality based on what she […]
As an Australian, I realise just how much American culture has influenced today’s Christian practices. Because the USA has been the world’s leading “Christian” superpower, prominent evangelists often have an American worldview, church hymn books include patriotic songs, and missionaries peddle American culture to foreign fields. For better or worse, […]
The rise of sex scandals in modern life is amazing and sad. While nothing shocks me anymore, I continue to be disappointed by the number of leaders—Christian and non-Christian—who lack integrity at high levels. It does seem that absolute power corrupts, and that corruption usually takes the form of sexual […]
My day job is all about career development. I help people achieve their goals by analysing their skills, providing development training, and arranging targeted job interviews. It is satisfying to help people grow their careers, achieve their objectives, and increase their pay packets. Ministry: A career? However, I have […]
A young couple in a church I attended in the USA claimed they did not need health insurance. God would provide for their needs they firmly believed. When they had a significant car accident and incurred hefty medical bills, the church asked its parishioners (who had been regularly paying […]
The average Australian family size with 2.4 kids is not as common as it used to be. Increasingly small sedans are making way for either Toyota Coasters or a Mazda MX5s. When we look to the Bible for guidance, we cannot find a passage that tells us how many children […]
One of my college professors announced that he had concluded that Christians no longer believed in the omniscience of God. Initially, I paused and thought, “What do you mean we don’t believe in the all powerful, all knowing, all present God? Of course we believe it, those terms are in […]
