A final report on the unthinkable abuse and neglect of hundreds of thousands of children, youths and adults in the care of State and faith-based institutions in New Zealand between 1950 and 1999 has been published by the Abuse in Care/Royal Commission of Inquiry, calling the findings “a national disgrace.”
The proverb, “Sticks and stones will break your bones, but words will never harm you” has been proven wrong too many times as words have traumatized people, whether or not the speaker/writer intended to. The internet has lifted restraint on our communications and words are being easily weaponized. Here are seven disciplines to help followers of Jesus to use their words with Kingdom-minded intention.
As challenges increase in the world, knowing that facing struggle does not mean that life is out of control or terrible can provide great hope. It is hopeful to remember that a cold dark night on the side of Everest isn't a destination, it is a means to an end. Similarly, the stuff that life throws at us is a pathway to growth in Christ for the follower of Jesus.
According to the late Eugene Peterson, an unbusy person may be highly productive but his or her attitude is such that there is always time to care for others and develop fruit that will last. This is both a subversive act in our day and age and a testimony to our apocalyptic hope.
Evangelicals who ignore or gloss over the discipline of confession are setting themselves up for immaturity. Confession of sin to trusted others is an important part of the formation process for followers of Jesus, it strengthens the believing community and provides mutual support for helping each other grow in the faith and away from sinful habits. It is a healthy discipline that we dare not lose.
Two Australian Pentecostal megachurch pastors have temporarily lost their ministry credentials following allegations that the pair engaged in an adulterous relationship. Corey Turner, the global senior pastor of Neuma Church, confessed to having an affair with Stacey Hilliar, a female pastor within the megachurch, which has branches in Thailand and the United States.
In December 2022, the National Church Life Survey (NCLS) in Australia asked Australians what they would do if they were invited to church during Holy Week. The results reveal positive attitudes toward Christianity in the country.
![[Interview] Missions in the digital age: cyber missionaries, attachment theology and why AI does not bring life](/media/cache/thumbnail/0/04/444sp_240w_170h_1x_1y.jpg)
We are there to build relationships. An issue is that so much of what is taking place online tends to be individualist: individual speakers or presenters as representatives of Christianity. But what if we were to come as a group, as a cluster, as a community online, and create a space within spaces rather than trying to create our own space external to these spaces.
“The state of orphans and vulnerable children was improving for decades, then suddenly one crisis hit after another,” says Karmen Friesen, principal coordinator of World Without Orphans (WWO), a global movement that seeks to mobilize the Church to respond to the needs of vulnerable children in every nation.
![[Interview] Shifting paradigms: the Great Commission as a promise God will fulfill, not a task we need to achieve](/media/cache/thumbnail/0/03/359sp_240w_170h_1x_1y.jpg)
But when reading Matthew 28, where Jesus said in the gospel of this kingdom will be preached in all nations, to all the earth, I see that as a promise that God will fulfill, not a task that we need to achieve. But many times, we have focused on it as if it were merely a task. The difference there is if we focus on it as a task - this is that whole “industrialized” perspective of missions - then we are required to use our own agency to fulfill it. And as a result, if anything gets in the way or i
The first global database to track cases of anti-religion violence became available to the general public in January, providing rights advocates, ministries and others a plethora of information to defend religious freedom and belief.
In a historic milestone for Argentina’s faith community, six evangelical Christian legislators are set to take seats in the National Congress following Sunday’s elections — the first time a group representing these values has achieved such significant representation at the national level.
