QB Magazine, June 2018

QB MAGAZINE

I come from a family of keen fishermen. As a child, we spent our family holidays camping on the beach at Fraser Island, where we fished nearly every day. I remember as a child not being able to effectively use an Alvey side cast fishing reel and surf rod. It was impossible for me to get the fishing line and bait into the water, so I would ask my dad to cast the line for me. Then one day my dad got me to hold the fishing rod in my own hands, he then put his hands over mine, showed me where to hold the rod and reel, how to work the reel mechanism and we cast the

line together. He stopped doing the casting for me and did it with me!

It seems to me that in the New Testament era in which we live, this is how God primarily seeks to accomplish His purposes in the world; not doing things for us but doing things with and through us.

A great example of this is the account in Mark 6 of the feeding of the 5000. In Mark 6:37 Jesus commanded his disciples to feed the large crowd that had gathered to hear and be ministered to by Jesus. Jesus told the disciples to

feed the multitude! The disciples acknowledged that what Jesus was expecting them to do was, humanly speaking, an impossible task. We know from the account that all they had to work with was a paltry 5 loaves and 2 fish—which Jesus blessed, broke and gave to the disciples. Miraculously there was enough food for 5000 men, plus women and children, with 12 baskets of scraps left over! Mind Blowing!

What we assume is that Jesus did this miracle for the disciples. While Jesus was certainly responsible for the miraculous multiplication

of the meagre meal, there is a significant element to the story that is easy to miss! It would seem from this account, and the record of Matthew and Luke, that the bread was multiplied at the hands of the disciples as they in faith obeyed Jesus’ command to feed the people, and began to distribute that which Jesus had blessed! I believe that Mark wants us to remember this as he refers to the feeding of the 5000 in the next scene of the chapter. In this scene Jesus had ordered the apparently reluctant disciples into the boat to sail to Bethsaida. It was heavy going because the wind and

currents were against them, and they had rowed hard all night. After praying into the early hours of the morning, Jesus goes out for a stroll on the lake and would have passed by the fatigued disciples had they not cried out in terror! He took a detour, got into the boat, told them to not be afraid, and immediately the atmosphere changed. Mark then makes this interesting comment, “They were completely amazed, for they had not understood about the loaves; their hearts were hardened.” (Mark 6:51b-52) It would appear they had missed vital implications from the miraculous feeding, and failed to translate what they should have learned into the situation they now found themselves in! What might some of these implications be that could also apply to us today?

• With Jesus’ calling comes His resourcing

• Jesus doesn’t call the qualified, he qualifies the called—He uses what we already have, to accomplish what He calls us to

• At times He commands us to do things we may not enjoy or understand

• Sometimes we find ourselves called to difficult places that are just plain hard work, and where we find it hard to recognise the presence of Jesus

• Circumstances might cause us to question if God is with us, if we heard Him wrongly, or that we are mistaken

• If God has given us what we need in the past we can be certain that He will continue to do so in the present and future

• God working in us and through us can do much more than we can ever think or imagine if we respond in faith and not fear!

While my father and I cast the fishing line together it was clear that I was the junior partner in the activity. After a few lessons with my father,

I no longer needed his help to cast the fishing line into the surf. With practice and maturity, I became proficient and independent. This is not the case when it comes to our relationship with Jesus, and our service for and with Him. Maturity as followers of Jesus does not lead to independence but should result in greater depths of dependency; apart from him we can do nothing but through Christ we can do all things!

Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it. Mark 16:20

What is Jesus calling you to do in partnership with Him?

Ministry Matters:

As an interim measure, and with no dedicated Regional Consultant based in North Queensland, QB have resourced the Area Coordinators in the North, so that they can take a more active role in supporting the churches in this season. Thank you to all the hard-working Area Coordinators who assist the Regional Consultancy Team in serving the churches.

The QB Constitution requires that a review of the movement’s structure and functioning be conducted every five years. The QB Board are now in the final phase of the denominational review and are hoping to have reports and recommendations prepared by the years end.

Stewart Pieper Acting General Superintendent stewart.pieper@qb.org.au

Welcome to the winter edition of the QB magazine. It’s lovely to enjoy the clear nights, cooler weather, and change of atmosphere. We often use the changes of season to illustrate transitions in life, and we can use the same analogy when it comes to the health of our individual churches and wider denomination.

The National Church Life Survey (NCLS) is a temperature gauge for attitude shifts, demographics, and direction. In this issue, Pieter Henning shares part three of the NCLS results, and we have a mix of mostly positive outcomes.

Ian Hussey has also written an interesting snapshot of Queensland Baptists based on the NCLS data, which shows the changing face of our church families.

Allan Quak continues part two of the sensing God series (experiencing God through the five senses) and this segment focuses on touch. Our ministry teams and partners have also experienced some changes,

and Global Interaction introduces a new staff member, Lisa WestNewman, who is the new Young Adults Consultant. Welcome Lisa!

Thank you to everyone who gives feedback on the QB magazine and contributes articles, poems or stories. The QB is dependent on reader and church contributions, and we value your input. If you have any comments, submissions or ideas, please email marketing@ qb.org.au. We would love to hear from you.

I hope you enjoy this edition of the QB magazine, and find something that inspires, encourages or interests you. Thanks for reading!

God Bless, Linda Nevell

Editor,

the qb qb@qb.org.au

It’s affordable and effective! Contact us for details and pricing. P 07 3354 5600 marketing@qb.org.au

The qb is a member of the Australasian Religious Press Association, published bi-monthly by Queensland Baptist Services Group in February, April, June, August, October and December.

Editor: Linda Nevell

Design: Shell Graphix

Print: Printcraft

This magazine is printed with soy based inks and paper from sustainable forest plantations.

We welcome reader feedback and opinions about our articles. Remember to include your full name, email and postal addresses.

Articles and advertising in The qb express the opinions of the authors, not necessarily the editor or publishers. Every effort is made to ensure the correctness of facts and information however we cannot accept responsibility for errors. The publishers reserve the right to accept or decline any advertising.

Deadline for advertisement and copy: 10th of the month prior to the month of publication.

PO Box 6166 Mitchelton Qld 4053

P 07 3354 5633 F 07 3354 5646

Advertising rates are listed in The qb Media Kit available at www.qb.org.au/newsmedia. Prices are also available on enquiry and advertising packages can be tailored to suit your budget. Reduced contract rates apply to three bookings within a 12 month period. Please contact us for details. A limited number of inserts are also accepted.

Copyright © 2003 by Queensland Baptist Services Group. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means without written permission from the publisher.

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture verses appearing in The qb are from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

ISSN: 11323-7829

53 Prospect Road, Gaythorne Qld 4051 PO Box 6166, Mitchelton Qld 4053 P 07 3354 5600 F 07 3354 5646 admin@qb.org.au

A SNAPSHOT OF AUSTRALIAN BAPTISTS

BY IAN HUSSEY

Every five years many Australian Baptist churches participate in the National Church Life Survey (NCLS). The survey allows us to take a snapshot of what Australian Baptists are thinking and doing. It also allows us to examine trends in Baptist church life, as we compare data from one survey to the next. Although the discussion below is based on the national figures, the conclusions are equally true for Queensland Baptists.

In late 2016, 33,898 adult Baptists aged 15 years from over 319 churches completed the NCLS. The average age of the Baptists was 50 years, compared with 48 years and 6 months in 2011 and 46 years and 9 months in 2006. The 2016 figure continues the concerning trend: Australian Baptists are an ageing movement. In part, it reflects the aging population of the entire nation, but it still signifies that Australian Baptists are not retaining or incorporating enough young people into our churches to rejuvenate the denomination. The destination of an aging entity is death, and so we need to re-double our efforts at attracting and retaining young people in our churches.

Perhaps reflecting this aging, 43% of Baptists have a university degree (up from 39% in 2011 and 32% in 2006) while for the general population, only 31% have a bachelor degree or above. Baptists are generally more educated and, as a result, probably more affluent than the general community. Missiologists have long noted the effect that the gospel has in “lifting” the socio-economic status of those it influences, as disciples focus on relationships and education rather than less helpful pastimes. And so, this figure could be good news because it reflects the power of the Gospel to transform lives, but it

also means that Baptists need to be careful not to be disconnected from the communities they are seeking to reach.

Australian Baptists continue to be an increasingly multicultural community. In 2016, 36% of attenders were born overseas, compared to 31% in 2011 and 23% in 2006. The percentage born overseas in the wider community in 2016 was 28.5%. Australian Baptist churches are a remarkable manifestation of the beautifully diverse picture of the Church we see in Revelation 7:9. As such, they can also be a powerful witness to the community of the power of the Gospel to forge unity in an increasingly fractured society.

However, the influx of new people into Baptist churches may be slowing. Only 30% of attenders have switched from another church in the previous five years, down from 31% in 2011 and 34% in 2006. Similarly, the percentage of Newcomers (people who have joined the church in past five years but who were not previously attending a church) was 6%, compared to 7% in 2011 and 8% in 2006. In one sense, it is exciting to think 6% of our congregations are “converts” in the past five years. However, the trend is concerning – it may be our missional effectiveness as a denomination is declining.1

This decline in Newcomers is not because Baptists feel less at ease talking about their faith with others and (19% look for opportunities to do so, compared to 18% in 2011 and 17% in 2006). Nor is it a result of less invitation: 36% invited friends and relatives to a church service in the last year, the same as in 2011.

The data regarding the things that Australian Baptists value in their church is undergoing an interesting

reversal. Although still the primary value, “Sermons, preaching or Bible teaching” was becoming less valued – 53% in 2001, 50% in 2006 and 48% in 2011. However, in 2016, 52% of Baptist attenders indicated that the thing they most valued about their church was the ministry of the Word. This may well reflect a “returning to the roots” of Baptists in Australia in an increasingly unsettled world.2

When asked what should be a priority in their church in the next 12 months, “Spiritual growth (e.g. direction)” continued to be the highest rated response. Building a sense of community and encouraging people to find or use their gifts also featured. Nearly half (49%) of attenders agree that their gifts, skills and talents were being used well at their local church, but 27% (over a quarter) wanted to be more involved at their local church. Clearly, Australian Baptists are hungry to grow spiritually, to experience community and to serve, and they are looking to their local church to be able to help them do these things.

In summary, Australian Baptists are a culturally diverse and educated community who strongly value sermons, preaching and Bible teaching. They want to grow in spirituality, community and service. However, this does not appear to be enough to reverse the decline of the denomination. The increasing average age of attenders and the decline in the percentage of switchers and Newcomers means that Australian Baptists face serious challenges. It is important that we continue to focus on inviting new people into faith and into the wonderful experience of being part of a Baptist church.

HEALTH CHECK FOR OUR CHURCHES PART 3

BY PIETER HENNING | REGIONAL CONSULTANT

This is the third part of the series based on the National Church Life Survey (NCLS) results for our denomination.

During the 2016 NCLS Survey, 11,783 adult attendees aged 15 years and over in 110 churches, and 1052 children aged 8-14 years, completed the survey.

The Outward Core Qualities focus on the “outward-looking” life of Queensland Baptists with special emphasis on Service, Faith Sharing, and Inclusion. While we recognise that statistics are susceptible to an observer’s personal filters of interpretation, the extent of the NCLS survey remains a very helpful tool. Are you aware that you can access the NCLS website

(www.ncls.org.au) or contact

Sam Sterland at NCLS on email (ssterland@ncls.org.au) if you would like to obtain a more in-depth profile for your context, and one that is linked to the National Census data?

Please note that NCLS does charge a fee for this extra information.

Let’s take a closer look at how QB has been tracking in these core areas.

INFORMAL ACTS

OF SERVICE (PRACTICAL AND DIVERSE)

65% of participants indicated positive action in their outwardfocussed acts of service in three or more ways towards helping others. From a historical perspective, this reflects a steady and gradual increase in the trend since 2001 (59%). The most significant improvement was in financial generosity. See the infographic for more statistics (right).

Another positive trend was with the regular involvement of participants in local church-based community services, social justice, or welfare activities.

While this information is encouraging, there was a decline reflected in areas such as giving possessions to a needy person (-5%), donating money

to charity (-5%), or contacting a parliamentarian or councillor about an issue (-7%).

Many of the QB churches are very active in acts of service to their broader community. As a church, what opportunities can you identify and take advantage of, for the sake of reflecting God’s love to those around us?

INVITING OTHERS TO CHURCH FAITH SHARING

(WILLING AND EFFECTIVE)

This section deals with the willingness and effectiveness of sharing faith and inviting others to church. Of those who participated in the survey, a decline of 4% was reflected for the past five years. 39% of the sample group indicated that they had invited a friend or relative, who does not currently attend church, to a service in the past year.

25% of congregants were regularly involved in outreach/ evangelistic activity.

77% of participants agreed or strongly agreed that they have found it easy to make friends at their local church

What is interesting though, is that 43% of people stated that they were willing to do so, but did not. The question begs to be asked as to why such an invitation was never extended, even though there was a willingness to do so? Reflect on how your church could equip congregants in sharing the Good News and inviting others.

INCLUSION –INTENTIONAL AND WELCOMING

This outward core quality is defined by NCLS as “…the follow-up of people drifting away…” and in addition to that “…the personal welcoming of newcomers to church. See the infographic for more statistics (right), It is encouraging to see that 17% of participants always personally seek out and welcome people they know are new arrivals, while 27% indicated they would mostly make this effort to do so.

Another encouraging statistic is that 77% of participants agreed or strongly agreed that they have found it easy to make friends at their local church. A worthwhile point for personal reflection would be to stand back and consider how intentional and welcoming your church is towards newcomers, and who needs to be followed up because they’ve drifted away.

You walk out of church and you’re feeling great! It was a great service, the mood and the atmosphere was just as you like it; the music selection was perfect with just the right number of songs, especially the ones that you love and feel that you can really get into; the pastor’s message was engaging, upbeat and, most importantly, not too long. You come out of church and meet up with a bunch of your friends, sharing a coffee and good catch-up. As you get in the car to head off, you’re feeling satisfied that this is what church is supposed to be like. It is supposed to give me a “spiritual lift”, the kind that will sustain me until the following Sunday.

Some of us, I am sure, have known that experience. We walk away from church and think how blessed we are to be a part of this church. Perhaps we even like to boast, in the most proper way of course, about how good our church is. Week after week, we go away feeling good about the church and good about our lives.

But, for some of us, we get to the reality of the work-a-day world on Monday and suddenly the joy of yesterday is little more than a rapidly fading memory. You walk into the office and there is that incredibly painful person who seems to take unusual delight in making your life a misery. You open your emails

RECAPTURING THE ART, OR DISCIPLINE, OF PERSONAL AND THEOLOGICAL REFLECTION

and there are more problems than solutions. You get home from work only to discover your credit card is overdrawn. What’s more, there are relational tensions in the home. People are not pulling their weight around here! Meal time is nothing like your Sunday coffee and chat. But, you resolve that this is just the way life is. You have become used to the rhythm of uplift on Sunday and let-down on Monday. So, you console yourself that Sunday will come around again. For now, all can do is just keep plugging away. Perhaps you try to recall what it was that made you feel so good on Sunday, but the truth is, you can’t really put your finger on it, beyond knowing that, for at least a few short

hours of the week, you felt this existential joy that topped up your emotional and spiritual tanks.

It seems to me that too many believers live such roller-coaster Christian lives, perhaps quietly thinking, “Surely the Christian life has more to offer than this.” What is missing?

I would suggest that what is missing is the art, or spiritual discipline, of personal and theological reflection.

In the busyness and press of our lives, we can find it extremely difficult to hit the pause button. To stop and be still before God. To think and reflect upon what He is saying to us, and how He is wanting to grow us. We too easily make our feelings the barometer of God’s love and favour, and the strength of our spiritual lives. And so, like the weather barometer, we simply watch it go up and go down. And when it’s heading south we brace ourselves for the possibility of storms! Perhaps we console ourselves by reminding ourselves that everyone has their highs and lows.

How do we find a steadier path for personal and spiritual growth? We need to recapture the art, or spiritual discipline, of personal and theological reflection. So, what do I mean by these terms?

Recently, Dr Ian Hussey coedited a book along with Dr Andrew Bain, entitled “Theological Education: Foundations, Practices, and Future Directions.” Ian is the Director of Postgraduate Research at Malyon College. Now, before you switch off at the title of this book, I want to draw your attention to something which I wrote in my chapter on “Developing Genuinely Reflective Ministry Practitioners.” In this chapter I argue that one of the essential elements in any theological education is the importance of teaching students how to become genuinely reflective about their understanding of God and their own spiritual journey.

It was the ancient Greek philosopher Socrates who was reputed to have said, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” Now, we may not want to go that far, yet again and again, throughout the Scriptures we find God exhorting His people to think carefully about the things of God, and the choices they are making. For example, in Psalm 46 the psalmist starts off by reflecting on the greatness and faithfulness of God by saying, “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in time of trouble” (v.1). This is what God is like! Then he describes our only right and proper response to this great God, “Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea” (v.2). In 1 Timothy 4:16, the Apostle Paul urges Timothy to “watch your life and your doctrine [the things you are teaching] closely.”

In other words, think carefully about your life, the way you live, and the choices you make. Think about these things carefully in the light of what you have come to know and believe about the God who has revealed Himself to us through his Son, Jesus.

You see, there should be a strong correlation between what we believe and how we conduct ourselves.

As our students progress through their studies, I am regularly reminding them of the importance of “theological reflection,” that is, the process of thinking carefully through what they are learning about the nature and character of God. As they read the Scriptures, as they share in the life of Christ with other believers, as they engage in corporate worship and minister to others, what are they learning about God? What are the songs of worship teaching them about the nature and character of God? Do the words of the songs align with the Scriptures? My sense is that many of us are inclined to develop our theology more from what we sing, than from what is preached from the platform. In broader terms, theological reflection calls us to be constantly thinking deeply about what

we trust, what we know, what we believe and what we confess about the nature of God and how He relates to us.

But second to this is the importance of personal reflection. By this, I am not talking of the kind of narcissistic introspection that has us so preoccupied with ourselves and our own advancement. Rather, I am talking about a careful and prayerful reflection upon what we are learning about ourselves, as we apply God’s word and His truth to our own journey of faith. I suggest a series of five questions which might help students develop a healthy form of personal reflection. At least four of these questions might well be embraced by all of us who have become children of God through faith in Jesus Christ:

1. What am I learning about myself as a child of God?

2. What am I learning about God’s call upon my life?

3. Are there areas in which I sense that God is challenging me?

4. Are there changes which I need to make in respect to my relationship with God and/or others now?

A renewed commitment to the art, or spiritual discipline, of personal and theological reflection is what will preserve us from the fluctuating fortunes of our consumerist world, and enable us to develop a genuinely rooted faith in Christ, which can sustain us in the rough and tumble of the real world. Should you want to read and think more on this important aspect of our spiritual growth and development, you can visit the Malyon Traverse website www.traverse.org.au and look under the tab entitled “Training” where you will see a section on “Everyday Theology.” Here you will find all the resources which are used by Dr Dave Benson in the course he teaches on “Everyday Theology.”

Peter Francis Principal, Malyon peter.francis@malyon.edu.au

City Tabernacle

Baptist Church

• Sarah Osawa

Cleveland Baptist Church

• Emma-Jane Gunn

Clontarf Beach

Baptist Church

• Allan Shimmin.

• Steve Tilialo

• Sylvia Tilialo

Mareeba Baptist Church

• Daniel Haines

• Daniel Penn

Outlook

Christian Church

• Isaac Peake,

• Rebekah Kamel

• Annakarin Green

New Heart

Baptist Church

• Jarred Mears

• Even Dujmovic

Tenthill

Baptist Church

• Daniel Cole

PRAYER IS POWERFUL

Please set aside some time to pray for the people recently baptised. They have taken a courageous and life changing step in their walk with Christ.

Baptism is an important event in the believer’s walk with Jesus Christ. The Bible talks about water immersion baptism, in which a believer makes a public confession of their faith. Jesus led the way in example of water baptism!

2 Corinthians 5:17

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: the old has gone, the new is here!

Around the regions

High shot for Filipinos through Basketball

On Friday nights, about 30 mostly Filipino young men gather in Petrie to bounce, laugh and enthusiastically play basketball. American basketball has long been a favourite in the Philippines.

The idea originated from a Saturday morning group called the Northern Brisbane Stars founded by Manny Patayon more than 5 years ago. The Friday night group commenced in late 2016. It is run by Evan Espanol, Manny Pineda and Pastor P.J. Edu. P.J. leads pregame devotions with the group. He is the Pastor of the Simbahang Filipino Ministry from Clontarf Beach Baptist. There have been many encouraging comments from players about how great it is to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ through basketball.

P.J. observes:

So far, no one has responded explicitly with a decision to believe in Jesus, but as time goes by, it does seem that the regular attendees are paying more and more attention to the messages, and that there seems to be a better understanding among them of what it means to be a Christian through faith and not religion.

This is truly taking the gospel to the people, onto their turf. Let’s congratulate this faithful Filipino congregation, encourage them, and most of all PRAY for this innovative outreach.

Around the regions

Inspirational Choir visit

St John’s Community Church (Rosedale)

The Bundaberg Male Voice Choir made an annual visit to historical St John’s Community Church (Rosedale), which is a Queensland Baptist church plant of 18 months, located in the beautiful central Queensland region between Gladstone and Bundaberg. St John’s is a community church and provides support to the local region with youth nights, a youth worker in the local school, and community bush dances.

The choir is a part of the Brisbane Festival of Praise. The Male Voice Choir devotes most Sundays to blessing local evangelical churches.

The choir supported the morning service with a collection of choral pieces and solos, and they sang to a full church, including newcomers who had not previously attended St Johns. The choir featured the voice of Chris Arndt (pictured) who is visually impaired, singing “Open the Eyes of my Heart Lord”. By the end of the service, there was hardly a dry eye in the church!

Please pray for this vibrant rural congregation, as they make a difference in the lives of the people of Rosedale and surrounding areas.

Trivia Night for a great cause

Windsor Road Baptist Church – Red Hill

Here in Australia when women go into labour there is usually good obstetric care. However, in parts of subSaharan Africa, a woman has a 1 in 16 lifetime risk of dying during pregnancy and childbirth. In addition, serious injuries from obstructed labour can occur, including obstetric fistula, an abnormal communication between the woman’s birth canal and bladder or bowel. This injury results in the continuous leakage of urine or faeces. Women suffering from this condition face not only continuing serious medical issues but also potential social isolation from the community and members of their family.

Surgery to repair an obstetric fistula can restore a woman’s health and dignity. Hannah Krause, a Brisbane Urogynecologist, has been volunteering and performing this and other associated childbirth injury surgery since 1995. Hannah and her colleagues spend several weeks each year in Africa and Asia providing care and surgery for women with serious gynaecological conditions. Each fistula surgery costs US$300 which is unaffordable for these women, so Hannah and her team raise the money for the surgeries. Since 2013, Hannah’s home church Windsor Road Baptist, has held an annual Trivia night to raise funds and restore the health and lives of many women.

Graduates for a changing landscape

If you were to attend a gathering of QB churches, one of the notable impressions would be the increasing racial diversity amongst people who call themselves Queensland Baptists. Ethnic churches represent more than 20% (or nearly 1 in 4) of the churches in the QB network.

Many of these churches are comprised of people who have arrived on our shores as refugees, or as migrants who are not immediately well positioned to slip seamlessly into life in Queensland. So, our ethnic churches provide a place of safety and security for many of our new arrivals. They also offer havens of hope— physically, emotionally and spiritually. So, we are keen to ensure that they are well led and supported by pastors who are equipped to shepherd in these situations.

Since 2011 The Training Collaborative (TTC) has been delivering a program of training to meet this need. On 28 April, TTC hosted the second graduation service at Logan Baptist Church, with 5 students being awarded a Diploma of Christian Ministry and Theology.

Rev Emil Rahimov, QB Regional Consultant for Ethnic and Multicultural Ministry and Pastor Jean- Claude Manirakiza of All Nations Revival Church, spoke of the valuable contribution that this training has made to the development of leaders within our QB Ethnic churches. Rev Stephen Ball gave words of encouragement to the graduating students from 2 Timothy 2, while Acting General Superintendent Rev Stewart Pieper commissioned the graduates into their leadership role. The Training Collaborative Principal Andrew McCafferty shared how the course has been shaped to equip leaders by applying Biblical and theological understanding to ministry practice and leadership. He expressed gratitude

to the trainers, and Course Co-ordinators—Greg and Ruth Peckman.

Graduate, Pastor Godfrey Egwu of Voice of the Lord Assembly, spoke on behalf of the students. He was enthusiastic in his endorsement of the training, and its immediate practical value to his role as pastor.

In 2017 the Federal government removed access to FEE HELP (government student loans) for ministry courses studied through Vocational Education and Training. This means that our Ethnic students now need to cover the cost of training (12 subjects at $300 each subject) which is a real stretch for many, who may only work part time and also support families here in Australia and overseas.

The Training Collaborative have established an Ethnic ministry training fund to assist students who are most at risk of not continuing their study due to financial constraints, or who are unable to commence for this reason. If you would like to contribute, and assist future graduates, please contact Andrew McCafferty at andrew@ trainingcollaborative.org.au or call 1300 774 531.

Snapshot on Ethnic Ministry

Reverend Emil Rahimov (pictured right), the Regional Consultant for Ethnic and Multicultural Churches writes about the innovative ways ethnic ministries are building new churches.

One of the major challenges in Ethnic Ministries is having enough venues to accommodate Ethnic churches. We give thanks to our Baptist churches that have opened their doors and hearts to host an Ethnic church. However, as the ministry and congregations of Ethnic churches grow, they often need their own venues. Too many of our ethnic churches hire halls, or meet in private homes, which can attract complaints from neighbours and limits what they can do.

To buy or build a place of worship is very expensive for newly emerged communities that are just establishing, and many have relatives and friends in refugee camps whom they support. In addition, new planning rules increase the difficulties of building new churches, and there are significant constraints in building places of worship within one hundred meters of residential houses.

In this circumstance, three of our Ethnic churches decided to partner and acquire land for church buildings jointly to reduce costs, and support and encourage each other. And thank God, we see the first fruits of the partnership. Jehovah Jireh Baptist Church, Faith Christian

ON THE MOVE

• Pastor Guiliano Bordoni has concluded at Keperra.

• Rev Lal Fanai has concluded with Faith Christian Fellowship.

• Rev Nick Riley has concluded at Gladstone and commenced at Bowen.

• Rev Dr David Loder commences as Senior Pastor (p/time) at Caboolture in May.

Church and Zion Karen Baptist Church partnered and prayerfully began to look for land. Each time the right land was spotted, church pastors, leaders and myself would go to the council to ask if a church could be built there. Each time, one or more conditions made it impossible, even though the land size was big enough.

The right land in Berrinba (a suburb of Logan City) came up for sale which ticked all the boxes, and Council gave the green light in theory to have church buildings constructed. After all the due diligence was done, and with Baplink and QB leadership support, the land was purchased and three churches took over the loan repayment.

We recently held the official dedication of the land and presented the future construction project to the Lord. Now, three churches are on a journey to develop the necessary designs to submit to the Council for approval, and they have begun raising funds for construction. Zion Karen Baptist church, for example, invited the 4G Gospel band from Thailand to tour Australia and raise funds for the project.

Please pray that the Lord may bless this venture, and that it may glorify His name and empower His churches to carry on the task the Lord has called them to.

Mother’s Day

Mother’s Day is an event celebrated by many of our church families.

Some of our churches captured the special day by having photographs taken with their family! It was a wonderful, fun time creating new memories, and being reminded of the family ties which bind us all together.

For some, it was also a time to reflect and remember loved ones who we are separated from or who are no longer with us. For others, it was an opportunity to

spend time with and express a huge ‘Thank You’ to the special people in our lives called “Mum”, or to those who beautifully and sacrificially fill this important and loving role.

So, well done and blessings to all the Mums out thereyou are appreciated and loved!

“Mothers hold their children’s hands for a short while, but their hearts forever” - Anon

Photo credit: Chelsea Armour Photography - contact email: chelseakatephotography@gmail.com

Incredible

RAELENE HAWKE

Psalm 37:9 ‘those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land’ Incredible, Yes Lord, it is incredible that you should LOVE ME a sinner, worthless, wretched, that you should take my hand and lead me teach me, guide and watch over me Incredible!

Isaiah 62:2,3 ‘you will be called by a new name’ Incredible, Yes Lord, it is incredible that you should GIVE ME A NEW NAME righteousness, glory, that I might your crown be, fit Oh Lord, for the King of Kings to see Incredible!

1 Peter 4:10-14 ‘use to serve others… participate in the sufferings of Christ.’ Incredible, Yes Lord, it is Incredible That you should USE ME, my weaknesses, my suffering, my sorrow, and make of me something beautiful, that all the world might in me, see Thee? Incredible!

Jude 24 ‘without fault and with great joy’ Incredible, Yes Lord, it is Incredible that you and I shall end life’s journey together, ME PERFECTED Incredible!

But oh my Father, as I walk life’s pathway I find the Incredible A REALITY

Transformed

DEENA SMITH

Like unsown seed scattered in the field, My once held dreams seemed meant to yield, For what was once has gone before, And in its place the brunt you bore, For no such solace; nor place to bide, Left me reeling deep inside.

And so it goes, when faced with foe, And danger wafting far below, The time drew nearer to the hour, When I was lost- then sought your power. For salvation is bittersweet, The dark transformed to truly meet You on your terms and not on mine, For which so long I’d tried to hide. Why was it that I could not yearn For your ways until I learned… That You are light and love abound Your grace bestowed on those you found In pieces and with empty hearts With spent hope and broken parts You manifest in them a faith, A restoration full of grace.

Oh such comfort in despair! You shield the sinner and repair The destitute from Satan’s snare Your holy Highness, I do declare For what was once - has gone before, With gratitude I am transformed!

WOULD YOU LIKE TO CONTRIBUTE YOUR OWN “GOD MOMENT”?

It can be a poem, short story, testimony or quote. Please email your entries to qb@ qb.org.au or post to PO Box 6166 Mitchelton Q 4053. Every published entry will win a $30 Koorong gift voucher.

god moments

HUNGRY FOR CHANGE

BY NATALIE STANLEY, BILOELA BAPTIST CHURCH, ANEW CONFERENCE TEAM MEMBER

The cry of my heart, and also of many I know, is ‘I want to make a difference’. Whether it be in the lives of our children, our friends, our families, our co-workers, those we minister to, or the poor and marginalised across the world, we desire for our lives and actions to be of significance to others. We read stories published by Baptist World Aid about the plight of women in Bangladesh or the Rohingya refugees and wonder is there anything I can do? Or alternatively, we see the needs in our own churches and communities and

think, can I really influence lasting change?

The answer is No. Not without Jesus. In John 15:5, Jesus says “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing’. Woah, kind of harsh isn’t it! Nothing? I can do nothing? What Jesus is saying here is that anything of eternal significance must first and foremost come from Him. Jesus is the one who can deeply change the lives of those around us. Jesus continues in

John chapter 15 verses 9- 11. He tells us to remain in His love and be filled with His joy which will overflow from us. Remaining in Him allows us to reflect His love to others and the joy is that He chooses to allow us to be part of that incredible work. If we want our good works to count, we must be connected to Jesus.

What does it mean to be connected to Jesus? In the above passage, Jesus is referring to both the initial acceptance and a continual relationship with Him. Imagine a marriage where a couple get married and then never speak to each other again. One could hardly call it a relationship. When we choose to marry someone, we choose to be in a daily relationship with them; we talk to them, we find out their needs and desires, we try to love them more and better each day. This is the kind of relationship God wants us to have with Him. One where we are continually seeking to know Him. A. W. Tozer reflects on this in ‘The Pursuit of God’: To have found God and still to pursue Him is the soul’s paradox of love.” Our connection with God doesn’t end when we decide to follow Him. No, rather, it is only the beginning.

Just as in a marriage we need to keep talking to each other, so in our relationship with God we need to keep seeking Him. David writes in Psalm 63:1: ‘Oh God, you are my God, I earnestly search for you; My soul thirsts for you, my whole body longs for you, in this parched and weary land where there is no water. David’s comparison of his desire for God with his physical thirst highlights his desperation in seeking God. Jesus also makes this comparison in Matthew 5:6 when he states, ‘Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they shall be satisfied’. Our relationship with God requires us to be just as desperate in seeking Him as we would be if we were physically starving or thirsting.

Here in Australia, many of us do not know what it’s like to be so hungry or thirsty that it makes us desperate. For the Rohingya people in Bangladesh, however, it is a daily reality. The ‘Be Love’- Autumn Issue reports:

The Rohingya people are running for their lives. Those who make it to refugee settlements in Bangladesh are living without adequate food, shelter, and drinking water. Having escaped a violent death, they now face the prospect of dying from exposure, starvation or both.

It is heart-breaking that these people have such an acute understanding of what it means to be desperate while we live in relative comfort and security. Let’s not allow this comfort and security to dull our desire for God. Are you desperate for God? Not only desperate for Him to intervene for the welfare of the Rohingya people in Bangladesh, or desperate to see change in your

community, but are you desperate for Him? Desperate to know His heart? Desperate to be changed so that you can reflect His love to others?

Out of our relationship with God comes the most effective and fruitful action. The prophet Micah (Micah 6:8) urges ‘this is what the Lord requires: to do what is right, to love mercy, and walk humbly with your God’. It is only as we walk humbly with our God that we can fulfil the first two requirements. Carlo Caretto, after almost 20 years of giving Himself to social action within the Italian Catholic church, felt called by God to spend 10 years in the Desert of Algeria living a life of prayer, simplicity and serving the poor with The Little Brothers of Jesus. He reflects on this season in his book ‘Letters from the Desert’. He writes: ‘there is something much greater than human action: prayer; and it has a power much stronger than the words of men: love’. For us to truly be love-in-action, we must be close to the one who loved us first, to the one who IS love.

As we connect to Jesus through prayer, our hearts are changed and we can see God’s will more clearly. As we are hungry to know Him more and to understand His love, it is then that we will be able to reflect this love in action and allow Him to use us to affect change in the lives of those around us.

Cathy Knechtli, State Director, Queensland Baptist Women director@anewconference.org.au

WHY OUTDOOR EDUCATION MATTERS

In Australia the most vocal advocates of environmentalism are the Green Party. At the last Federal election many educated Christians of my acquaintance expressed their intention to vote for the Greens, ignoring the parties’ advocacy of secular humanism, socialism and a liberal approach to morality. It highlighted how absent Christianity has become to the original mandate given to humanity—to steward and tend the earth.

Outdoor Education is a wonderful way for church denominations to fulfil the Creation Mandate. God’s first command to humanity is found in Genesis 1:28 to “fill the earth and

subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”

Cultural bias can be found in the way the Creation Mandate is translated. Bible versions originating from America tend to use words such as dominate, control and subdue whilst across the Atlantic the British fall back on monarchy terms such as rule and have dominion over. In contrast the Hebrew word ‘râdâh’ more generally means steward or “care for”. Kent Dobson suggests: it seems a mistake to think humanity has a God-given

right to do whatever it wants with God’s creation. Might humanity be responsible for ensuring that all living things are able to be fruitful and increase in number? Working with and caring for God’s creation, as a good king might care for his subjects, seems to be the meaning behind the verbs “rule” and “subdue”.1

Paul picks up this refrain in Romans, suggesting the whole of Creation groans in universal travail, waiting to be rescued from the tyranny of change and decay, standing on tiptoe to see the wonderful sight of the sons of God coming into their own (Romans 8:19-22).

By acknowledging the Creation Mandate, Christian campsites provide the starting point for any spiritual journey by answering the question “Is there even a God?” For too long this space has been the domain of environmentalists espousing views denying both the design and God’s original intention for humanity’s work and enterprise. We are made in the image of God to use our creativity and gifting to steward His world. Christian camping ministries are taking this space back. Christian Outdoor Education specialists freely deliver environmental programs pointed to the heavens, a service sought by both Christian and secular groups. Michael Battle writes “many children growing up in the West no longer play in nature where they could learn firsthand about the intricacies of the interdependence of life – rather the norm has become video monitors in which they encounter self-identity through cyber worlds or once removed realities.”2

A good portion of Jesus’ ministry was conducted around meals or fireside chats with His disciples. Not only are these strategies a vital part of Christian Camping Ministry, they are seen in Indigenous cultures, including our Aboriginal brothers and sisters, through their connection with space, land and corrobboree. It’s one of the reasons QCCC has worked so hard to establish the Triballink Centre with cultural awareness activities.

Through camping and its outdoor activities, QCCC uses the wonder of Creation and the power of story for both evangelism and discipleship. This relational strategy used by Jesus also forms the

modus operandi for the internship QCCC launched in 2017, a program designed to disciple people as “campfire chaplains.”

The West’s embrace of individual materialism has warped its views towards environmentalism, where humanity is at the apex of Creation. Atheists go with the theory of “survival of the fittest”, which references a worldview where one must get ahead of another to survive. Placing humanity in a position of rapacious domination and control over Creation is at odds with Biblical concepts of servant leadership and stewardship.

Outdoor Education provides the opportunity to enlighten future generations about the importance of long-term sustainability. It can proclaim our God-given mandate to cooperate with and steward our natural and human resources rather than exploit them. It is in Creation’s complexity where we see the genius of God, and He has imbedded within it the blueprint for human success too. Aboriginal (and

many similar cultures) do not see nature as survival of the fittest, but as cooperation and symbiosis.3 Their worldview suggests the: difference between lower and higher forms of life is measured by the degree of cooperation that has been achieved among cellular units. The higher the level of cooperation among cells, the higher the form of life. A human being is billions of cells harmoniously cooperating.4

This is a beautiful description of both Creation and Community working in harmony to flourish.

Andrew

Grant Director of Queensland Conference and Camping Centres andrew.grant@qccc.com.au

¹ Kent Dobson, NIV First-Century Study Bible (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2014): 7.

2 Michael Battle, Ubuntu: I in You and You in Me (New York,: Seabury Books, 2009): 27. 3Battle, 14.

4 Tony Campolo, A Reasonable Faith: The Case for Christianity in a Secular World (Dallas: Word, 1983): 45.

‘WOMEN WHO MADE A DIFFERENCE’ MRS EMILY IRVINE (NÉE DOWNES) OF NUNDAH

In 2009 Baptist Heritage Qld published the book, ‘Women Who Made a Difference’**. Bill Hughes has now researched another lady who ‘made a difference’ to Queensland Baptists. This is her story!

Emily Julia Downes was born in Braintree, Essex, England in 1852 to Henry Downes, a stone mason, and Elizabeth Mary Ann Martin. She was the youngest of five children and had four brothers, Harry, Charles, Frank and Edward. The family migrated to Australia, when Emily was a child.

Emily’s mother joined the Jireh Baptist Church and remained a member for many years before transferring to Nundah. Emily attended the Jireh Sunday School as a child and approached the Pastor, Rev John Kingsford, in September 1867 asking to be baptised. He agreed and she was baptised at the age of fifteen years on 13 October 1867 and was admitted to membership on the 3rd November 1867. She became a Sunday School teacher a short time later.

Four years later, on 4 August 1871, Emily married Francis Irvine, who was also a member of Jireh. The

marriage took place at the groom’s residence. A couple of years later the Irvines moved to Warwick. Towards the end of her life Emily wrote a letter to the Secretary of the Nundah church setting out her background history. In it she said, ‘Before we came to Nundah we had been over 12 years in Warwick … as there was no Baptist church in Warwick, Mr Irvine rented a hall and arranged for services when possible and established a Sunday School … On leaving Warwick the school was given up and the committee handed us the books … [which] were handed to the Nundah Sunday School.’

She continued, ‘As soon as we went to Nundah, Mr Irvine and myself started the Sunday School—we commenced with our own family of five children … The third Sunday a family who had just come from Warwick joined us and the school increased steadily.’

In Warwick, the Irvines ran a grocery and drapery store, located in Wood Street. While there, they had five children – Martin James (1873), Charles Robert (1874), Mary Julia Verene (1877), Winifred (1878) and Edward (1880). All five children formed the nucleus of Emily’s Sunday School in Warwick.

On their return to Brisbane the Irvines resumed teaching Sunday School at Jireh. Many churches grew out of the Jireh church in the late 1880s, and Nundah was one of them. The important contribution made by Emily and her husband both to the establishment of the Nundah church and the Sunday School there is told in Patricia Magee’s centenary history of the Nundah Baptist Church (1888-1988) titled Grow in Grace: ‘Some of the members of Jireh were also responsible for the planting of Nundah Baptist, particularly Mr and Mrs Francis Irvine. According to Mrs E J Warren, a granddaughter of the Irvines, they moved from Warwick to Nundah in 1883. They had been members of Jireh church before moving to Warwick, and so returned to worship there. Soon

they found there were eleven other members of Jireh who travelled there each Sunday from Nundah, and these people decided to hold services somewhere in Nundah instead.’

It goes on: ‘ [Initially] there was only a Sunday School, which met each week in Mr Hirn’s tinsmith [plumbing] shop, consisting of the Irvines and their five children, along with some Aboriginal children. Mrs Warren’s mother remembered King Sandy (the elder of the local Aboriginal tribe) attending with several children from his tribe. He often told the Irvine children stories of his people and their corroborees.’

This account says that morning services started in December 1884 in an old Wesleyan Methodist church at the corner of Buckland and Sandgate Roads hired at a cost of 10 shillings a week. They were conducted by Rev John Kingsford and other local preachers from Jireh.

Francis and Emily lived in Boyd Road, Nundah which runs down to meet Sandgate Road at the Nundah shopping centre. They conducted a drapery business at the corner of Boyd Road and Sandgate Road for many years. The site was subsequently occupied by T Wilson and Company, and then by Mr A J Dolby, a former Director of McWhirters, both of whom used the premises for their drapery businesses. The site was

purchased by Burns, Philip & Co. Ltd (Penneys) in 1950, but has since been occupied by a number of businesses.

When her husband died on 3 December 1895, Emily ran the drapery business on her own. She remarried in 1902 to Thomas Collins, who was for a period Pastor of the Petrie Terrace Baptist Church.

In addition to her Sunday School work Emily was a teacher of the Young Women’s Bible Class for many years, ‘the members of which loved her greatly’. In her final months, her health was failing and she was cared for by her daughter, Winifred (Mrs J Voigt of Elizabeth Street, Paddington). Although she was no longer able to take an active part in church work, she was said to be always bright and kindly.

Emily died on Monday 28 December 1908 and interment took place at the Nundah cemetery after a short service at the Nundah church. A memorial service was

later conducted by Rev E Barnett in the Nundah Baptist Church on 3 January 1909. Mr Barnett preached from 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14. The then President of the Baptist Association, Mr W R Smith, took part in the service which was attended by a large congregation.

In the obituary he wrote in the Queensland Baptist in March 1909, Rev E Barnett said: ‘Fragrant indeed is her memory in the Nundah Church and throughout the district. Her life was lived in the service of her Master’.

** This book is still available at $10 posted.

DID YOU KNOW?

The Baptist Archives collects printed histories of Baptist churches in Queensland. We aim to have a complete collection, so contact us to see if we have your church’s publication, new recent or older! (We also collect biographies and family histories of Baptists).

We rejoice with every Malyon College student who graduates. It is a wonderful achievement considering that academic study requires discipline and perseverance. A select number of students at our graduation ceremony are awarded prizes for their achievements. When a student wins three awards, we feel that’s a story worth sharing.

Degrees in theology and ministry

Bachelor | Masters | Doctoral

www.malyon.edu.au

I asked Karleigh Oldham to tell us a bit more about herself.

“God has blessed me with so much – a loving home, beautiful Christian parents, wonderful extended family and friends. I am rich in every aspect of my life, except one small thing… health.”

Though I always believed as I child I had a relationship with God, as a thirteen-year-old I vividly remember praying one night at Church, “I surrender my life wholeheartedly to you, God. I thank you for the price

you paid for me. Take my life and use it, mould me into the person you want me to be.”

Around a year later I woke up with debilitating symptoms which once, would come-and-go, but now remained. In the days and weeks that followed, I was bedridden. I couldn’t move; I couldn’t do anything. Even to make it to the toilet, I couldn’t do it on my own. I needed to utterly rely on God for everything. I could do absolutely nothing in my own strength. I depended wholly on Him. I was no longer able to attend mainstream school.

Throughout this time of physical agony, my spiritual journey was rapidly growing. What an absolute privilege it is to truly depend on God with your entire being. This is a lesson few of us, especially at a young age in Australia, get to learn in such a profound way. I could pray Philippians 1:20-21 with fervour, “I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.”

As I grew sicker and sicker, I felt every system in my body begin to slowly shut down. I was dying. I remember one night crying out to God, praying that He would take my life and use it – that He would be glorified, whatever His will. Things went black. I saw myself from above. But that night, Jesus saved me from death’s grasp.

What is most remarkable about that night is that my health didn’t suddenly get better. God is continuing to teach me things, and I believe He has taken me on this journey for a reason, which I am incredibly grateful for. He is in control as I surrender to Him. I wouldn’t be the person I am today had I not experienced suffering. Since that night, I have had several other close-calls with death, but that was the most pronounced. What incredible hope God gives someone who knows that while He could have taken them, He didn’t!

I finished school by distance education, taking four years to do Year 11 and Year 12, but there was the massive question – what could I do? I was still very ill at that point, and physically “getting-out” was incredibly difficult. On a good week,

I might be fortunate enough to go to Church; however, for several years this privilege was a rarity. Attending Church, visiting the doctors, and if I was feeling particularly strong enough, a trip to the grocery store was about my limit. One thing was certain, God had yielded in me an incredibly big heart for people, and even bigger heart for Him! I wanted to help others, to encourage them, and bring God’s joy into their lives. While the path that most school leavers take was not an option for me, God distinctly lead me to Malyon.

Studying at Malyon was a massive step of faith. Physically, one afternoon a week was a huge commitment. And only by the grace of God and in His strength, was I able to do it!!! Malyon has been incredibly supportive of me – to which I am so grateful! My study was, and is, to honour, serve and glorify Him (Colossians 3:23).

Since beginning at Malyon in 2015, God has brought significant healing to my body. I am now actively involved in a voluntary capacity at my Church, with a heart especially

for pastoral care, a volunteer Chaplain at an aged care home, and completing three subjects a semester (two at Malyon and one at UQ). I am an active student at Malyon – having the privilege of being Spiritual Needs Coordinator as part of our Student Association, and I run a Malyon Prayer Group every week where we are constantly seeking God, and asking Him to pour out His Spirit, love, power and strength into our hearts, lives and ministries. We pray that His Kingdom come and His will be done in each of our lives.

Although I am still chronically ill, I have faith that God will one day bring complete healing to my body. Everything I do, I know is a gift from God. He will strengthen me and enable me to do everything that is in His plan for me now. I still depend on Him utterly.

While there are so many passages of Scripture that are precious to me, 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 is not only the testimony of my life, but, I believe, God’s Word for some reading. I pray that you would find great joy, peace, hope and comfort in these words:

“But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” Praise God! Amen.

I cannot speak highly enough of Malyon. It is a place where God truly is present, powerfully working in and through people’s lives. God has blessed me through the wisdom of Lecturers and with life-long friendships. We are all in this journey of life together, seeking to faithfully follow where God leads.”

Karleigh is continuing her studies towards a bachelor and attends Bridgeman Baptist Community Church with her family. Although Karleigh Oldham will protest, and say she is no one special. I think you will agree—Karleigh you are.

INTRODUCING LISA WEST-NEWMAN

Last month, Lisa West-Newman re-joined the Global Interaction team as the Young Adults Consultant for Queensland where she will be journeying with young people sensing a call to serve God crossculturally. Here is her journey that lead to their family serving in Cambodia for ten years.

Everyone’s journey into crosscultural work is different. But there is one common theme from everyone who has ever worked cross-culturally, “We are no superheroes”. Let me explain.

When Steve (my then-boyfriend and future-husband) first started talking about his call to serve crossculturally in an impoverished nation, I was highly sceptical. How is one “called”? Could his experience just be a hallucination from bad pizza? But God graciously confirmed the call through the words of a stranger, who tapped Steve on the shoulder during a mission service and encouraged him to “Respond to the seeds planted in your heart”.

Clearly, God had his hand on Steve. And I had a choice to make - get with the program or get out of the relationship! I wrestled with God (as only a 17 year old can). Steve seemed to be the one… but what about my call? God was silent about my plan to make a stack of money using my marketing degree. I finally submitted. “God, I’ll go anywhere and do anything for you.” From that point, I knew I would marry Steve and we would one day be on the mission field.

There are many times over the years when I wondered “What on earth was I thinking?” The problem was that I didn’t think I would be good enough to be a missionary (spoiler alert: I wasn’t). I had heard the stories and read the books of heroic missionary endeavours and could not comprehend that I would be able to do anything half as marvellous (and I didn’t).

However, it was on a short-term trip to Thailand where I received my first cross-cultural experience and gained an insight which was to bring much comfort for many years. Missionaries are just ordinary people who have responded to God’s call to go.

The trip also gave me my first experience of poverty and it broke me. Rather than just being faithfully obedient, I now wanted with all my heart to be a part of bringing Jesus into such situations. Jesus’ Great Command and Great Commission became one, underlined by the words of John, “Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.” (I John 3:18)

So, Steve and I set about getting equipped. We studied a course in “Missions Perspectives”, began speaking to various mission agencies and gained cross-cultural experience with Steve working as a physiotherapist in the Torres Strait.

As Steve was preparing to head to Bible College (I was to follow much later), we began to ask God where He was calling us. “Cambodia” - we had prayed separately and both heard it. God was gracious and confirmed this call, and within a month we started teaching Sunday School at a Cambodian Church in Logan.

The church was delighted we could teach their young ones. The parents spoke Khmer, the children, English. Over the next two years, we helped bridge that divide and gained a growing appreciation of the task ahead.

When I fell pregnant with our first child, we regained an urgency to press on towards Cambodia. However, it wasn’t until Joel was seven months old that I was ready to visit Cambodia. Steve and I are not naturally adventurous, and taking a baby to a developing nation seemed crazy. But God was urging us forward.

In Cambodia, we gained our first glimpse of what life would be like there with the heat, poverty, dust and people. We met with various

people and connected deeply with a couple from Global Interaction, whose vision and values resonated with us. We had found our team, and we were delighted it was with the Australian Baptist mission agency.

Recently, I was asked, “Why Global Interaction?” For me, the organisation answered all the common objections to missions through their thoughtful and Biblical approach that emphasised dependence on God, contextualisation, innovation, relationship, teamwork, sustainability and life-long learning. Pointing to Jesus, rather than ourselves, we aim to “empower communities to develop their own distinctive way of following Jesus”.

I also saw that the cross-cultural workers displayed a rare humility that seemed to ask, “How can we best love our neighbours?” They never assumed these answers could be found without first knowing God and our neighbours deeply.

For us, there was still one hurdle. Could we actually do it? Were we good enough? Can we go? These questions were flipped on their head by the General Director of Global Interaction who simply asked, “Can you not go?” Steve and I knew after all that God had done, we couldn’t “not go”. So, it was with a tentative hope that “He equips those He calls”, and we decided to apply.

The process of applying, training and support raising (and welcoming another child) was faith stretching and character building. God knew I needed all the faith and character I could get, as well as the support of a faithful partnership team.

However, it wasn’t until we moved to Cambodia with our growing family that I was struck deeper by the transforming power of the Gospel – the very message I was seeking to share with others. But that is another story for another time.

For now, I am just thankful that God calls the ordinary and the weak, the young and enthusiastic. He doesn’t call super-heroes, because He is the super-hero who empowers us to follow where He calls.

We are mere jars of clay holding a magnificent treasure.

Lisa loves Jesus, people and coffee. She welcomes opportunities to equip, inspire and walk alongside youth and young adults and their churches as together they discern and respond to the call to work with God in what He is doing among the world’s least reached people.

Help Carinity to place chaplains in more hospitals

Ruth McCabe says her darkest days would have been even darker were it not for Noelene Kidd. Noelene, a Carinity chaplain, was by Ruth’s bedside when she spent two months in hospital fighting a rare form of cancer in 2013.

“I wasn’t supposed to live through the cancer, so the doctors were trying to keep me hopeful but being realistic at the same time. Because it was such a rare form of cancer there’s no support group for it and those who get it generally don’t live too long,” Ruth says.

“My four children and my parents were stressed, my husband was stressed, everybody was stressed. Noelene was the calm in the storm. She was great to talk to.

“You get so sick of people prodding you and poking you and doing medical types of things and with the psychologist the same thing happens, they’re evaluating your answers. It was nice to have

someone just to sit and talk with –someone who ‘gets it’.

“My time in hospital was pretty dark but I think it would have been much darker without Noelene being there. There were days when I was, ‘If I’m going to die anyway, let’s get it over and done with’, but she kept rerouting me to the hope.”

Carinity has around 60 chaplains serving multi-denominationally in hospitals, correctional centres and aged-care communities from Cairns to the Gold Coast. We seek extra chaplains to meet an increasing demand to support and assist more Queenslanders facing challenges.

Donations to last year’s Chaplains Appeal enabled Carinity to train more chaplains through our new Certificate IV in Chaplaincy and Pastoral Care. Recent course graduate Hadley Toweel, a former Christian worker in a ghetto area in South Africa, is now a Carinity prison chaplain.

“Chaplaincy is something that God has called me to. It’s the knowledge that I have done things in my past that could have landed me in prison and being fully convinced that God can and does change lives,” Hadley says.

Ruth encourages you to support the chaplains who bring comfort to people in need by donating to Carinity’s 2018 Chaplains Appeal.

“You don’t know when you’re going to need that support, and it could be the difference in someone’s life,” she says.

Help make a real difference to the lives of people in need by supporting the 2018 Chaplains Appeal, to enable Carinity to train more chaplains throughout Queensland. Your gift can be made online at www.carinity.org. au/donations, via mail at Reply Paid 85096, Mitchelton QLD 4053, or by phoning 07 3550 3737.

Content in God

BY THOMAS DEVENISH - PRESS SERVICE INTERNATIONAL

Contentment. It goes against everything this fast-paced, materialistic world screams at me to be. Amidst the whirl of busyness that blends weeks into months, it leans in and quietly whispers ‘When is enough going to be enough?’

If I am looking for my happiness in material things the answer will always be ‘never.’ No amount of security, wealth or prestige will ever be sufficient to infuse life with love, joy and happiness. They are qualities from a different realm, not summed up on spread sheets or built up in bank accounts.

Life has a way of pushing me along its tracks, a locomotive chugging with relentless force. It takes a concerted effort to be free from this force, to lift my head from the grind and look around at the views that actually give meaning to life. We need certain things to live, but it is a sad life that lives for those things.

The Bible has a lot to say on this subject, but one of the verses I’ve been looking at lately is this:

Hebrews chapter 13 verse 5 (NIV) –‘Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”’

Looking out for others

Money can buy a lot of things, but the love of it can outdo its physical provisions with its inward destruction. It is a selfish love, a love that seeks personal gain rather than the good of others. It is easy to devote my life to looking out for myself, that is the natural course of things, but when I start looking out for others I find my life takes on a depth and meaning I never thought possible. The irony of it – the more I look out for the happiness of others the more my own happiness increases!

But, being content with what I have is hard to do when constantly comparing myself to those around me, especially when what I’m seeing is only half the picture. Social media gives off the illusion of peers living idyllic successful lives, arousing

envy and jealousy from their series of highlights without ever seeing the ups and downs in-between.

I think being content is about knowing that you have all you need to live a fulfilling and satisfying life. You don’t need any extra things to bring your life up a level; the building blocks are already at your disposal.

God is enough

As a Christian, my relationship with God is my source of happiness and fulfilment. His promise to never leave me, never forsake me, enables me to live a life of confidence that I will always have a firm rock to stand upon. My security is not in paper and numbers but in a God whose word never fails.

It is hard to resist the urge to ‘need’ more things to have a better life. Every corner in life has a billboard promising more fun if you just get this one more thing. Just one shinier toy, one more piece of plastic. But God quietly whispers ‘I am here, I won’t leave. I am enough for you.’

Sensing God - Touch

BY ALLAN QUAK

You don’t forget the first time you held hands with that significant other who would become your spouse. At the time I was 17 and Corianna was 16. My car was a manual, column shift, EH Holden with a bench seat. There were six of us in the car and Corianna was in the front middle. As we were driving I noticed her hand was on the seat next to me. So … new plan. Change gears—don’t put hand on steering wheel but put it on the seat. Change gears—hand on seat. Sometimes our pinkies touched. Sometimes a couple of fingers. By the time I had dropped Corianna off the signals were very clear. We have now been married for 28 years. It started with the power of touch.

We all long for touch don’t we. However, the nature of touch means that, for us to receive touch, we often need to take a risk and make ourselves vulnerable. Those unplanned, unrehearsed, and unannounced moments which lead to a transformed relationship. This touch has power and, because it has such power, we know that this

touch is a significant factor in our relationship with God. Indeed, in Luke 5:12-16 we are given an insight into the power of God’s touch.

To understand the significance, we need a context. There is a man, let’s say in his mid-thirties, married with four children. He finally has a good job and a solid home. One day he comes home from work and shows his wife a small sore that developed on his hand. It’s not real painful, but it does keep him from working on his house that evening. So, he takes it easy for a couple of days. Unfortunately, more spots come and they start getting larger. Eventually his wife persuades him to go and see an expert … … not a doctor. … but a priest.

He is an expert in identifying skin infections. At the end of the visit their worst fears are fulfilled. “You have leprosy. You are going to have to leave your wife and children, your land, your home, your job, and go off to live with the other lepers out behind the town.” Why this radical outcome? Leviticus 13:45-46 says,

Anyone with such a defiling disease must wear torn clothes, let their hair be unkempt, cover the lower part of their face and cry out, ‘Unclean! Unclean!’ As long as they have the disease they remain unclean. They must live alone; they must live outside the camp.

In the days of Jesus, it was easy to identify a leper. This was done because touching a leper was a huge inconvenience. Anyone who touched a leper would be unclean until evening; and only after they had been through a ceremonial washing. Socially no-one would touch a leper.

Which is awful but, sadly, there is more going on here. Many people think that leprosy causes your skin to rot and fall off your body, but this is not really the case. The most common form of leprosy causes damage to the body’s nervous system and, eventually, the leprosy will cause your whole body to go numb.

How terrible is that!

When you have leprosy no-one can touch you.

When you have leprosy you don’t feel anything.

This is the situation of the man in Luke 5, covered with leprosy. Yet Jesus chooses to touch him. Jesus could have healed the man without touching him; He can heal with just a word. But not this time. The original Greek could literally be translated, “Jesus took hold of him”. It is a radical gesture of healing. Once healed, the first thing the leper feels is the hand of Jesus touching him. A touch which, according to the law, has now made Jesus unclean.

As we witness this touch of Jesus we see the touch of God and we see that Jesus came into this world to touch and to be touched (cf. Mark 5:23, 28, 41; John 20:27-28; 1 John 1:1). It is the touch of God-in-theflesh which says, “I am here with you. I sympathize with you when no one else does. I understand. I will become unclean for your sake”

Through the actions of Jesus, our God wants us to know that He reaches out to us and touches us.

We need that touch.

There are those moments in life when we go through heartache, pain and difficulty. We may feel isolated. We may wonder if society ever really accepts us. We wonder if we have a place. We may have even wondered if God wants us as well. We are like the man with leprosy. He doesn’t presume that Jesus is going to make him clean, so he says, “If You are willing”.

Jesus are You willing to come into my world of uncleanliness and isolation?

Jesus are You willing to enter my space, where I feel so unworthy, useless and sinful?

Jesus are You willing to make a sacrifice big enough to deal with my failings and short-comings? Are you really willing Jesus?

And Jesus says, “Yes”.

Jesus reaches out and touches us.

Then, as we are touched by Jesus, we are called to go out and touch the world so that, through us, the world can experience the touch of God.

Never under-estimate the power of this touch.

Sometimes holding a patient’s hand in a hospital room says more than 10,000 words of comfort.

Sometimes embracing someone who has experienced a loss, is of greater comfort than a raft of consoling words.

Sometimes a warm hand on the shoulder speaks greater volumes of welcome than anything else.

When it comes to spreading the love of God we might not know what to say, but every single one of us can spread the love of God with a touch. Reminding the world, our friends, our loved ones, ourselves—that God is a God who touches us with His unconditional love.

A MOTHER’S HEART

BY ROSE YOUNG

My 7-year-old daughter and I have an ongoing discussion about what she’s going to do when she grows up. She changes her mind often, but the other day the conversation took a different turn.

“I want to do what you do, Mummy,” she said, all wide-eyed innocence, “because you help poor people. Don’t you, Mummy?” I hesitated before I replied. “Yes.”

Sitting in an office chair, in front of a computer screen, tapping out work on a keyboard, it’s easy to feel somewhat removed from what goes on in the field – the projects that help families who struggle, every day, because of crippling poverty. But this comment from my daughter reminded me that, while the bulk of my job might be about encouraging Australian Christians to be generous, the people who are most impacted are the ones supported by your donations.

On the day I meet Rith, she is busy preparing food that she sells at the local school. She is shy at first. She places steamed sweet potato in front of us and walks back to cut up vegetables and cook rice over an open fire on the dirt. Later, I watch as Rith strains to pull the cart she takes to the school her young son attends, where she sells the food she has prepared. I see her daughter come home from school to feed the cows and walk them down to the rice paddy to drink.

As the day goes on, Rith shares her story with me. About her achievements she chatted happily. It is harder for her to talk about her past – having to drop out of school to care for her siblings as a young girl; the nights she lay awake hungry, wondering if she’d have enough to feed her family, or pay for a doctor for her sick husband; the days spent in back-breaking labour in the rice paddy, only to watch floods wipe out her crop.

Rith’s life was sad, lonely, and frightening. She wondered what on earth she would do for her children’s future. She had no way to make a better life for them. There was fear in her heart.

Reflecting on this today, even as a mum myself, I struggle to understand what Rith must have gone through. But what I can understand is Rith’s immeasurable, enduring, and fierce love for her children… and how it must have broken her heart when she was unable to give them every chance to succeed.

Next week, my daughter will probably move on to dreaming of becoming a teacher or a hairdresser. But whatever her next dream might be, I have no fear… because I can provide for my children’s future.

And now, thanks to your generosity, Rith can do the same!

Because of your gifts to the Matching Grant Appeal, Rith received all kinds of training, from fish farming to cattle raising. And, as it turns out, Rith is a brilliant entrepreneur! She has now built up six income streams –enough to give all her children an education… something she could scarcely have imagined a few short years ago.

Today, Rith has a new peace. The fear in her heart has been wiped out. It’s gone. And you can do the same for other mums like her.

I believe that the love I feel for my children, and the love Rith has for hers, comes from God. It is a shadow of what God feels for all people created in His image and it binds us to her story. It should drive us to see Rith, and others like her, as God does… and pour out our love in response.

Help stop the fear in a poor mother’s heart. Fill out the Matching Grant giving envelope in this issue of QB magazine and return it by the June 30 deadline. Or go to: www.baptistworldaid. org.au/matching-grant

algeria

Algeria has Christian roots dating back to the second century, but Islamist influence is growing. Islamic extremist groups including al-Qaeda are increasingly visible in society. The government is working closely with Islamists to strengthen its power. It continues to enforce an anti-conversion law which regulates the exercise of religions other than Islam. This is to control the Algerian Christian minority, particularly in the Kabyle region. Christian converts from Muslim families face legal discrimination from the state and hostility from their extended family.

A New Wave of persecutions against the Church in Algeria.

Christians are persecuted by both the state and the Muslim majority population in various ways. Christians cannot worship freely in Algeria because the state prohibits all non-Muslims from worshipping in venues it has not registered and recognised as places of worship. Christians have great difficulty getting state registration for their places of worship and in getting permits to build churches. They are also harassed and persecuted based on the laws that make it a crime to put pressure on Muslims to abandon their faith.

The introduction of Ordinance 06-03 in September 2006 marked a step backwards for the Algerian church. It prohibits Christian evangelism and education. Punishment is two to five years in prison and a fine. The law also prohibits Christian activity anywhere outside a state-recognised church building. Its vague wording leaves it open to making it easier to persecute Christians.

Many Churches have faced closure of their meeting places.

These pressures signal a coordinated campaign of the intensified action against Churches by the governing authorities.

So far, two of a group of churches in the south have been closed for meetings and activities. Nine others have been visited by local authorities, and it seems that this is the first step before ordering their closure.

All the accusations leading to the Church closures have been unfounded.

They seem to be trying to weaken the Church and render it ineffective.

One Pastor of a church which was recently closed said, “The Church of Jesus is not the walls or the roof, but it is Jesus’ people, His living Body!”

Praise and Pray:

• Pray for the strong roots of Christianity in Algeria to be rediscovered.

• Pray for Algerian Christians suffering at the hand of Muslim extremists.

• Praise God that His Church in Algeria is united now more than ever before and there is a lot of prayer, fasting and seeking His strategy for the trials they are facing and His way forward.

• Praise God for ALL the works He has accomplished in tens of thousands of lives over the years of relative freedom.

• Many Churches have been affected by the recent incidents. Many cases have been dealt with in courts. Pray that God provides the funding to face the unexpected costs.

FOR GOD, KING AND COUNTRY

BY DAVID A DRIVER

Does your church have an honour board or a roll of honour? The City Tabernacle has what is commonly referred to as “the honour board”, but the list of servicemen and women from World Wars I and II refers to itself as “The City Tabernacle Roll of Honour for King and Empire”. The two terms are often used interchangeably. The Australian War Memorial says:

Honour boards and rolls were erected in many local schools, halls, churches and offices as a means of acknowledging the commitment made by the community to the military forces.

The criteria used for inclusion of names on an honour board were determined by those creating the board, and can vary. For example, the board may only include those who were born in the town, those who enlisted in the town, those who were living or working in the town when they enlisted or veterans who became associated with the area after the war when the honour board was being created. Some honour boards include all those who served, and others only list those who died in the war. In some cases, an individual may appear on more than one honour board.

The criteria used by the leadership of the church for inclusion on the roll is unknown. The association of each of the 60 servicemen and women from The City Tabernacle varied considerably. Eighteen of the 54 men and four of the six servicewomen were in membership when they enlisted. Many of these had become members within a year of their enlistment. Another five servicemen came into membership soon after they returned from the front.

Some were actively involved in a variety of programs within the church, such as the Christian Endeavour, Pleasant Sunday Afternoon and choir or had previously attended Sunday School.

Three of the men, Robert Lachlan, Arthur B Mursell (a nephew of Rev James C Mursell who was the minister at The Tabernacle when war broke out, and was a senior army chaplain from 1911 till 1915) and Horace Page, were ordained before enlisting. Rev Lachlan was killed in action, Revs AB Mursell and Page did not resume their ministries after the war.

In addition to those servicemen mentioned above, nine gave their lives in the service of their God, King and Country: George Bremner (who unfortunately had his name

incorrectly spelt on the roll of honour); William JF Cooksley (the son of William P Cooksley, one of the Tabernacle’s deacons); Harry Gilmore Wilson (the son of BG Wilson, another of the Tabernacle’s deacons and grandson of Rev Benjamin G Wilson); Robert H Lind; Louden B McNeil; Wilfred P Simmonds; Ernest R Smith (the son of W Ritchie Smith, another of the Tabernacle’s deacons); William N Smith; and Joseph D Street (a grandson of Abraham Street, a deacon of the Wharf Street Baptist Church).

The sons of two other men who were deacons at The Tabernacle during the war, and the son of the minister also enlisted: Dr Harold K Denham (son of Hon Digby F Denham, former premier of Queensland); William S Bell MM (son of WH Bell) and Douglas H Pope (son of Rev William G Pope) enlisted.

The impact on some of the individuals and their Tabernacle families is difficult to gauge, but was almost certainly considerable, both physically and psychologically. And for some, there were spiritual impacts. These were often compounded, in that generation, by a reluctance to talk about their experiences and their impact. The impact, of the absence of so many

young men, on the church was also significant and was frequently commented on in the church’s annual year books.

The names of all the servicemen and women are listed below.

In 2014, Bill Hughes commenced the enormous task of researching the lives, service and ministry of the servicemen and women from The Great War. A brief excerpt of his work was included in Honouring People from the Past.

Since then, further research on all 60 men and women has been undertaken by Hope Colegrove, Daniel Davison and myself. In late 2017, we became aware of the availability of funding through the Commonwealth Department of Veterans’ Affairs’ Armistice Centenary Grants Project (ACGP). Following an initial expression of interest, the church was invited to apply for a grant. We are still awaiting the result of the application.

This provided the impetus to complete the research and to publish it by the Centenary of the Armistice in November 2018. To date, we have completed the research on the servicemen and several of the women. The biographies of 50 of the men has been completed and the editing is well advanced. We propose to publish the results of our efforts, in recognition of their service, as a book, titled For God, King and Country.

All this work has been undertaken by various members of the church on a voluntary basis. It is hoped that the grant will cover the cost of printing and some of the costs associated with a special church service on 11 November, the Centenary of the Armistice. Copies of the book will be available at the service and subsequently. We plan to invite all known descendants of the servicemen and women to that service.

But what about the men on women on your church’s honour board or roll of honour? It is not too late to organise some way of recognising those men and women.

A special service this coming Armistice Day, or a project such as ours may be appropriate. If you would like further information about this project, or some guidance regarding your own project, please feel free to contact the author via The City Tabernacle office.

Bell

Bissett

William Stewart

William Herbert Roy

Bramley William James

Bremner George Alexander Fraser

Cameron Charles Wilson

Cameron George Carstairs

Carson Ernest

Carson William Albert

Chisholm Albert Joseph Wilson

Cochrane Roderick Thomas

Cooksley William John Farmer

Dauth Ernest George

Denham Harold Knight

Dennis Charles Albert

England John Edwin

Grimes Alister Bailey

Hackett Henry

Hall Kenneth Alexander

Hall Leslie Warry Boyne

Ham Thomas William

Herrington Edward Guy

Hicks Herbert Richard

Hodgson Walter Carr

Keith Reginald Correy

Kent Reuben Henry

Lauchlan Robert

Lewis Arnold Gordon

Lewis George Norman

Lewis William Ewart

Lind Colin

Lind Robert Houston

If you are a descendant of one of the men or women listed below (or you know someone who is) would you please contact us (or ask them to contact us) at the church office. If possible, please email your contact details to office@ citytabernacle.com.au and include “Roll of Honour” in the subject line.

Alternatively, please write to David Driver C/- City Tabernacle, 163 Wickham Terrace, QLD 4000.

Marriott Frederick George

Marshall William James

Moore

Herbert Charles

Mursell Arthur Berkeley

McLachlan

William Peter

McNeil Louden Bain

Newman Walter Humphrey

Page Horace Page

Pope Douglas Hamilton

Ross Alexander Harold

Sampson Victor

Sault Henry T Burt

Simmonds John Lloyd

Simmonds Wilfred Price

Smith Ernest Robertson

Smith William Neville

Street Joseph Dandy

Tannock Alexander Fred

Watts Leslie Alfred

Wilson Lindsay Gilmore

Wilson Harry Gilmore

Wilson Kenneth J Gilmore

Wilson Frederick D G

Dennis Lillian Beatrice

Wilson Marjorie J Gilmore

Wilson Madeline Alice K

Wilson Evelyn Annie

Patterson Elsie

England Fanny Alice

WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT DEPRESSION?

BY DR. ANN SHORB

Major depression can greatly affect a person’s ability to function at home and/or at work, and inhibit the enjoyment of life in many ways. Some people suffer depression only once, but others may experience it several times in their lifetime.

WHAT ARE SOME SYMPTOMS OF DEPRESSION?

Everyone feels sad sometimes due to a significant loss such as a death, a divorce or losing a job. Anger turned inward can also cause sad feelings. When these feelings are not dealt with properly, and they continue over a long period of time, a person usually experiences a major depression.

LOOK FOR THESE SYMPTOMS

• Feelings of sadness for over two weeks

• Not wanting to spend time with friends and family

• Increased irritability

• Changes in sleep and appetite patterns

• Frequent crying spells

• Difficulty concentrating

• Forgetfulness IS DEPRESSION A SIN?

Christians often ask this question. The answer is Not necessarily! While harboring sin or sinful attitudes in your life can certainly produce depression, other possible causes include experiencing a significant loss, or having a physical problem that causes body chemistry to be imbalanced. Great men in the Bible, such as David (in many of his Psalms), Elijah (I Kings 19), Moses (Exodus 18), and Jonah (Jonah 4) experienced depression. In each of these situations God sent someone

to help the suffering individual, but He did not condemn him. Psalm 34:18 says, The Lord is close to the broken hearted, and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

Whatever the cause, God cares about the person experiencing depression.

SOME INTERESTING FACTS

• One in four women and one in ten men will develop depression some time in their life.

• Men experience depression differently than women. Men tend to get angrier.

• Depression can affect children as well as adults and the elderly.

• Suicide may result when depression has not been treated successfully.

• Depression has been called the common cold of the mind.

• Between 80-90% of the people seeking treatment get well.

HOW CAN YOU HELP A DEPRESSED PERSON?

We often feel uncomfortable around a depressed person because we don’t know what to say or do for them. So, what can you do to help?

Let them be honest about their feelings.

Allow them to talk about negative, depressed feelings. Don’t say, you shouldn’t feel like that.

Be there for them. A depressed person may have lost someone or something important in their life. Let them know you care and will be there for them.

Be aware. A depressed person often tries to avoid dealing with feelings, or pretends to be fine. Help them get help.

Avoid saying... Just trust God. Just get over it. If you would just do... You have lots going for you. You shouldn’t feel so bad.

WHEN TO SEEK HELP

Major depression is a serious illness. A person cannot face this illness alone. Seek professional help for yourself, or for someone you care for when you see:

• Three or more symptoms of depression

• No family or friends there for support

• There are suicidal thoughts

• The person turning to substance abuse

• The individual cannot take care of his family or themselves.

Dr. Ann Shorb is the founder of Christian Counseling & Educational Services, an accomplished professional speaker, and the author of A Light for My Path, a weekly email devotional.

Also visit www.blackdoginstitute. org.au or your local GP for Australian resources and assistance.

THE FOOLISH AND IRRESPONSIBLE CALL OF GOD

BY BRENT VAN MOURIK

Sometimes, God calls us to do things that seem completely irresponsible. We hear stories of missionaries who, having been called by God to share the good news with a tribe of head-hunters, bought a coffin for themselves and packed all their belongings in it so they could head off (pun intended) to follow this extreme call of God, fully expecting never to return.

God doesn’t call all of us to take such extreme measures, but the thing is, he could call any of us to do so. Often when we hear these sorts of stories we consider them outwardly; we are impressed by the faith of these extremists, but we are not actually open to hearing a similar call from God ourselves.

This is, of course, not the way it should be. All throughout the Bible God calls ordinary people to take extraordinary steps in His name. We need to be open to it if He calls us to do the same.

A foolish call

I am reading through the Old Testament at the moment in my daily bible reading, and was struck once again by the story of Abram’s call in Genesis 12.

Here we have a man called to do something that, corporeally, seems totally foolish: to go from his country and his kindred, and his father’s house, and go to a promised-butnot-yet-realised land that the Lord will show him. In antiquity, your kindred and your father’s house (extended family and immediate family) were your security. God was asking Abram to leave all this behind to follow His will.

Now, God did promise to bless Abram (verses 2-3), but otherwise, it’s all very restrained and without fanfare. This is what strikes me the most; God says “move countries” and Abram says, “Ok.” I think it hits me so hard because I can’t

guarantee that I would respond with such immediate and faithful obedience.

Preposterous giving

It’s not all about going in obedience either, sometimes it is about giving in obedience. Most of us will know the story of the widow’s offering, found in Mark chapter 12 verses 41 to 44.

Jesus sees rich people putting large sums of money into the temple offering, followed by a woman who puts in two copper coins, worth only a few cents. He then explains to His disciples that she has given more, for she gave everything she had to live on, whereas the rich had simply given out of their wealth.

In my role representing an aid organisation, I have seen some truly remarkable acts of generosity.

A man on a disability pension with barely enough to live on gave a wad

of bills worth more than a week’s wages. A single mum struggling to make ends meet felt compelled by God to take up another sponsor child, despite the ridiculousness of that action given her financial situation. A young man quietly and without fanfare gave more than a month’s worth of wages, seemingly, out of nowhere. Like Abram, these people were called and said, “ok.”

Behaving irrationally

As someone whose ministry involves asking people to give financially, I want to again balance the scales and note that it’s not just going and giving in obedience that are important to God. Sometimes God asks us simply to behave in irrational ways to achieve His purposes in our lives and bring more people to know and love him.

In Joshua 6, I am almost sure that Joshua would have found God’s command completely irrational. God tells Joshua to march around the city of Jericho for 7 days, blow trumpets the seventh day, and then shout at the wall, and it will fall down. The more you try to visualise this story, the more insane it appears!

Yet, this is what God asked of Joshua and his army, and this is what they did. And sure enough, the wall fell down.

God’s amazing faithfulness

Joshua was asked to behave irrationally, but what God promised, He did. In the same way, I have never heard a story of preposterous giving that didn’t end in that person having all that they needed because of God’s amazing faithfulness. Again, Abram indeed came into the land, and saw God’s promises begin to be fulfilled.

Because the truth is, God will call each of us to behave in a way that, to all our human understanding, will make us uncomfortable and maybe make us look irrational. Yet it is in these times that God can and will really show Himself in a fantastic way. I like what Francis Chan says on the subject:

“God doesn’t call us to be comfortable. He calls us to trust Him so completely that we are unafraid to put ourselves in situations where we will be in trouble if He doesn’t come through.”

Sometimes God calls us to do things that seem completely irresponsible, to take extraordinary steps in His name. The obvious reminder in all of this is that at the times when God does so, our unfettered response should be ‘Ok.’ Because it is in these times that God will reveal Himself to us, and more importantly, to those around us, as the amazing and faithful God that He is.

WHAT FORGIVENESS FEELS LIKE

BY CHRISTINA HUBBARD

“When you are praying and you remember that you are angry with another person about something, forgive that person. Forgive them so that your Father in heaven will also forgive your sins.” Mark 11:25 (ERV)

It’s making me squirm in my wooden chair, this idea of total forgiveness.

People talk loudly around me as I sip coffee at a restaurant and read Jesus’ words that rock me to the core. I wonder, can these people hear the secret welling up in my throat? I’m a Christian and I don’t know how to forgive.

I instinctively put my hand over the page to hide the words. I feel exposed.

I’ve walked with God for many years, but I’m struggling to get over past hurts. My relationships are suffering, and the same personal issues keep rising up in my life. I’ve realized I haven’t really shown mercy to those who have injured me, not completely. Forgiveness does not come naturally.

I thought it would be easier to love others like my Father in Heaven. But today, forgiveness feels strange, uncomfortable and radical, like the sun blazing hot on me through the cold cafe window.

Forgiveness is heat and exposure, my heart laid bare in front of God. It feels like surgery. I’m having to admit I’ve become angry and bitter. There have been times lately when forgiveness feels nearly impossible because my heart is bound up tightly like a kid’s knotted shoelaces.

I have pitted myself against others and fought hard for my own rights. I’ve justified myself under the cloak of righteousness and called it love. Slowly, I’m realizing I cannot change people. I am the only problem I can fix.

I think of those who have forgiven me. My husband who pardoned me after I walked out years ago. My kids who hugged me after I yelled. A whole roomful of people who loved me anyway when I threw something in anger.

The capacity to forgive means we are wholly reliant on these open hearts of ours walking around, alive and resurrected in Christ. Beating, open, raw. Forgiving, letting be, letting go.

To forgive is to be transformed completely and never bring up a fault again — no matter what it is. We are to pray and want the best for the one who has injured us. This is unsettling because it feels impossible. Even after I forgive, anger tries to sneak in again and again.

Forgiveness feels like letting people off the hook. Releasing our vise grip on “I told you so” and “You hurt me.” Without forgiveness, our hearts become hard as stone, petrified wood, rotting slower than time.

Today’s Scripture verse reminds us feelings cannot be trusted, but God’s mercy can. It’s not easy, this everyday surrendering of ourselves. We must keep our hearts open to be reworked day after day.

When past hurts rise up and our spiritual lives grow cold, it’s time to bare our hearts to our Heavenly Father, who changes hearts of stone into hearts of flesh. He is faithful to fill us with grace as many times as we need. On repeat. Forever.

We don’t have to be cold, dead wood. We can be heat and life to this world like God. He is constantly reminding us of places we need to let mercy in. He lays our hearts bare at the table, and we experience the great undoing, recalibrating work of grace. We forgive so we will be forgiven. Totally.

Dear Jesus, old hurts and feelings still threaten to hijack my heart, but I want to forgive like You forgive me. When I feel anger creeping in, let that be the signal to forgive again and experience mercy’s healing power. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Christina Hubbard is a U.S.based writer and speaker. She encourages influencers to live with compassion, courage, and creativity. Connect with her at ChristinaHubbard.com.

This article was first published at Proverbs31. org on Dec. 26, 2016.

reviews

THE BIBLE IN AUSTRALIA: A CULTURAL HISTORY MEREDITH LAKE PAPERBACK: $39.99 AT KOORONG

The revelatory story of the Bible in Australia, from the convict era to the Mabo land rights campaign, Nick Cave, the Bra Boys, and beyond. Thought to be everything from the word of God to a resented imposition, the Bible has been debated, painted, rejected, translated, read, gossiped about, preached, and tattooed.

At a time when public discussion of religion is deeply polarised, Meredith Lake reveals the Bible’s dynamic influence in Australia and offers an innovative new perspective on Christianity and its changing role in our society. In the hands of writers, artists, wowsers, Bible-bashers, immigrants, suffragists, evangelists, unionists, Indigenous activists, and many more - the Bible has played a defining and contested role in Australia. A must-read for sceptics, the curious, the lapsed, the devout, the believer, and non-believer.

“From the opening words about Bra Boy tattoos, this book had me gripped. It breathes colour, poetry and life into our understanding of the Bible in Australia. A vital, much-needed addition to our understanding of faith in our country.”

- Publisher

It’s the song that brings ultimate hope to so many ... often in the midst of life’s most challenging moments. Amazingly, the song was written in mere minutes by MercyMe lead singer Bart Millard. In reality, those lyrics took a lifetime to craft.

Although he found faith at a young age, life wasn’t easy for Bart. He leaned into an active imagination and his love of music as escapes from a troubled home life. As he grew older, Bart turned to football in hopes of somehow connecting with his abusive father. But a career-ending injury-combined with the vision of a teacher who saw unlimited potentialset Bart on a musical pathway.

Chasing a dream while running from broken relationships with his father and Shannon, his childhood sweetheart, Bart hits the road in an old, decrepit tour bus with his new band MercyMe-named for his grandmother’s favorite expression. With the guidance of a grizzled music-industry insider, the band begins a journey none of them could ever have imagined.

Directed by the Erwin Brothers, I CAN ONLY IMAGINE stars J. Michael Finley, Madeline Carroll, Trace Adkins, Priscilla Shirer, with Cloris Leachman and Dennis Quaid.

- Koorong

GOD OF THE IMPOSSIBLE LINCOLN BREWSTER CD: $19.99 AT KOORONG

Renowned worship leader Lincoln Brewster’s tenth album God of the Impossible comes from a place of rediscovering what he knows to be true: Our Father holds it all He is in complete control and nothing can separate us from His love.

Songs ‘No One Like Our God’, ‘Here I Am’, ‘Tidal Wave’, and others remind us that God is bigger than anything we face. We need only surrender and fall into His grace. It is a theme that echoes throughout Lincoln’s life... from a childhood overshadowed by abuse to a life filled with forgiveness and a ministry that has inspired believers around the globe.

Following radio favourites ‘There Is Power’ and ‘Made New’, God of the Impossible offers new anthemic songs of praise and worship for the Church.

As a Senior Pastor at Bayside Church in Sacramento California, Lincoln is immersed in teaching, leading, and mentoring his community, including Bayside’s creative arts team and worship band, Thrive.

- Koorong

www.koorong.com

Atheist-turned-Christian, Lee Strobel is the former awardwinning legal affairs editor of The Chicago Tribune. He holds a Master of Studies in Law degree, as well as a journalism degree and was a professional journalist for 14 years, winning Illinois’ top honours for investigative reporting and public service journalism from United Press International.

In 1981, after a two-year investigation of the evidence for Jesus, Lee received Christ as his Saviour, and subsequently became a teaching pastor at two of America’s largest churches - Willow Creek Community Church, Chicago in 1987 and Saddleback Valley Community Church, California in

2000. In 2002 he left Saddleback’s staff to focus on writing.

A New York Times best-selling author of nearly 20 books, he has been described by the Washington Post as “one of the evangelical community’s most popular apologists.” His journey from atheism to faith has been documented in the Gold Medallion-winning books The Case for Christ, Inside the Mind of Unchurched Harry and Mary and The Case for Faith.

His other best-sellers include Surviving a Spiritual Mismatch in Marriage, which he co-authored with his wife, Leslie; God’s Outrageous Claims and What Jesus Would Say? Lee also shared the prestigious ECPA Jordon Christian Book of the Year award in 2005 for a curriculum he co-authored about the movie The Passion of the Christ.

Lee is also co-author of the Becoming a Contagious Christian training curriculum, which is used around the world. And his articles have been published in a variety of magazines, including Discipleship Journal, Marriage Partnership, The Christian Research Journal, Guideposts, and Decision. He is also a contributing editor and columnist for Outreach on-line magazine.

Lee and Leslie have been married for 33 years and live in Southern California. They have a daughter, Alison, and son Kyle who is married to Kellie, both Alison and Kyle are writers.

- Koorong

FUN ZONE

WHERE IS THAT LITTLE PIGGY?

Sir-Save-a-Lot the Baplink piggy bank is hiding somewhere in the magazine. Can you find him? Congratulations! Congratulations! To all those who found Sir-Save-a-Lot hiding on page 29 (April/May 2018 Issue of The Qb Magazine).

CROSSWORD WORD SEARCH

Can you find the hidden words? They may be horizontal, vertical, diagonal, forwards or backwards.

Puzzle Choice www.puzzlechoice.com is the source of this Crossword. www.puzzles.ca is the source of this word search.

For solutions, visit Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/GaythorneOffice/

SUDOKU CHALLENGE

Sudoku rules: Each row, column and block must contain one of the numbers from 1 to 9. No number may appear more than once in any row, column or block. When you’ve filled the entire grid, the puzzle is solved.

Sudoku puzzle provided by www.sudokuoftheday.comvisit them and get a new Sudoku every day!

WORD UNJUMBLE

Zoo Animals

Unjumble the words relating to Zoo Animals. Then unjumble the red letters to answer the clue.

Clue: What is the largest type of ‘big cat’ in the world?

REBUS PUZZLE

Can you find the hidden word or common phrase in the picture puzzles?

Unjumble Answer

Fun with words is the source of the puzzleswww.fun-with-words.com

IS SEEKING APPLICATIONS FOR A FULL PART-TIME GENERATIONS PASTOR

Do you have a passion to see today’s children, teens and young adults find hope and faith in our fast-paced world?

Beacon Community is seeking to appoint a Generations Pastor to lead, resource and develop a children’s, teens and young adult’s ministry. The position is up to 20 hrs a week (negotiable).

For further information: email office@beacon. org.au or call Pastor Allan Jones on: 0400 991 311.

The Open Door

Queensland Baptists’ Retreat Lodge

IS SEEKING APPLICATIONS FOR A FULL- TIME LEAD PASTOR

Beacon Community, a mid-sized Church located in Brassall (Ipswich, Qld), aims to be a church with a community outreach that is:

• Growing

• Modern

• Inter-generational

• Disciple-making

We welcome your enquiry or expression of interest through the Pastor Search Team Committee Chair.

Contact: Ron Cran Ph: 0412 799 934 Email: pst.chair@beacon.org.au

The Open Door is situated 30km north of Gympie on Mt Kanigan in a rural setting with spectacular 360 degree views. The complex sleeps 27-30 people in seven bedrooms and one dormitory and there are two kitchens, two lounge rooms, four bathrooms, a dining room and fireplace. Other amenities include a children’s play area and games room (pool and ping-pong tables) and a small meeting room/chapel.

The Open Door is a relaxed, refreshing environment that provides a unique uninterrupted setting for leadership seminars, prayer retreats, team weekends and missionary holidays.

For further information contact: Queensland Baptists

Phone: (07) 3354 5600 Email: enquiries@qb.org.au

CHRISTIAN SINGLES

Travel with no single supplement. Register with Integrity Travel. For more information go to www.integritytravel.com.au.

www.qb.org.au

IS SEEKING APPLICATIONS FOR A FULL TIME SENIOR PASTOR

We desire a Senior Pastor who will work with us to implement our vision “Knowing Jesus, Making Jesus Known”

Where is Tent Hill?

Tent Hill Baptist Church is situated in a farming community 10km south of Gatton, in the beautiful Lockyer Valley one hour west of Brisbane & 30mins East of Toowoomba.

All enquires and expressions of interest can be directed to The Pastoral Search Team Committee.

Contact: Brett Garmeister Phone 0438 764 530 Email: brettobt@yahoo.com

POSITION VACANT: ACCOUNTANT

Gateway Baptist Church is looking for an Accountant to join our Central Services team, based here at Mackenzie. The Accountant is responsible for the provision of accounting services in accordance with accounting standards and legislative requirements, to support effective ministry and church operations.

This includes financial accounting and general ledger reconciliations, accurate monthly and annual reporting, preparation of management reports, preparation of end-of-year financial statements, preparation of annual budgets and regular forecasts, cash flow management, submission of BAS and maintenance of the fixed asset register.

For the full position description, please contact martie@ gatewaybaptist.com.au or phone the church office on 3291 5900. The position description is also available online at www. gatewaybaptist.com.au/positionsvacant.

Applications close 21 May.

BRISBANE: House available as a ministry for missionaries and church workers on the move. Three bedrooms, fully furnished, everything provided. Bus stop at the door. Minimal rent. Email: gtho4536@bigpond.net.au

CALOUNDRA - GOLDEN BEACH: Highset three bedroom holiday home. Weekends or weekly. Pets OK. Close to beach. Phone 0402 077 822 or lizottaway15@gmail.com.

CALOUNDRA: Sunshine Coast, Qld, beachside units from $400/wk, ph 0427 990 161.

SHARE ACCOMMODATION: Fairfield Christian Family (www.fcfchurch.org.au) is located in a vibrant inner city suburb close to universities. There are currently three vacancies for males (students or workers) in a share accommodation house adjacent to the church. Please contact Pastor Neil Pattemore, ph 0435 065 035 or tarragindipats@ yahoo.com.au.

LARGE AUDITORIUM: Seats 290. Queensland Baptists’ Centre at Gaythorne. Phone Sharon, 07 3354 5600 for more information or visit www.qb.com.au – venue hire.

INTEGRITY TRAVEL

Book all of your holidays and travel with Integrity Travel and help missions. Tours & specials at www.integritytravel.com.au Ph 07 3142 2242 for more information and bookings.

ORGANISING A SEMINAR OR CONFERENCE? A MAJOR TRAINING OR COMMUNITY EVENT? We can help you get the media part working so that your message is well presented. Video recording - live streaming - sound systems - rear projection screens. Call Darbeth to discuss how we can help make your event a success. 0422 414 829 and ask for Darryl or email info@darbeth.com.au

HELP US PLACE CHAPLAINS IN MORE HOSPITALS

Carinity chaplains provide hope, comfort and spiritual care to more than 10,000 hospital patients, people in prison and elderly residents in times of need each year. You can help us expand this support to more Queenslanders experiencing difficulty, loneliness or loss by donating to the 2018 Carinity Chaplains Appeal.

Our goal is to place chaplains in every major regional hospital across Queensland. With your gift, you will be partnering with us to deliver on-the-ground training and support necessary to provide chaplains in more parts of the state.

Ruth’s darkest days would have been even darker were it not for a Carinity chaplain who was by her bedside when she spent two months in hospital fighting a rare form of cancer.

“My children and my parents were stressed, my husband was stressed, everybody was stressed. My chaplain was the calm in the storm. My time in hospital would have been much darker without her being there. She kept re-routing me to the hope.”

You can make a real difference to the lives of those in need. Please act now to help us place more chaplains around Queensland. To give, donate online at carinity.org.au/donations or call 07 3550 3737.

“

My dark time in hospital would have been much darker without a chaplain being there. You don’t know when you’re going to need that support, and it could be the difference in someone’s life.

“

- Ruth