On 22 March Wycliffe Australia gavethanks to God for the seven Bibles dedi-cated in 2007-2008 in which Australianmembers had been involved.

Aboriginal performer Adrian Rossopened the evening with a piece on thedidjeridoo. Portions were then read fromthe different Bibles and re-told in Englishby Backyard Bard Rob Turnbull.

Via video, Maratja Dhamarrandjidescribed the coming of the IndigenousAustralian Kriol Bible as like taking a treeout of a pot and planting it in the earth.Kriol speakers can now send their roots down deep into God’sWord. Also videoed was Dr Derek Sikua, Prime Minister of theSolomon Islands, speaking at the dedication of the SI PijinBible. He said: ‘The Word of God is the best foundation onwhich government can lead people … The Pijin Bible is some-thing that can really make all of us come together as one peoplein one nation.’

Dr David Gela, Director of the Bible Translation Associationof PNG, gave the keynote address, encouraging translators toknow that whenever the work seemed hard and long, they couldthink of themselves as digging dry ditches, ready for God topour out His Holy Spirit on the people.

Each Bible was pre-sented, along with acultural item from thedifferent peoplegroups, and JohnBeaumont, RetiringChair of the WycliffeAustralia Board, dedi-cated them to God inprayer.

Steve Grace andAdrian Ross concludedthe evening with inspi-rational music.

These Are The Scriptures And The Australians Involved:Kriol Bible – Margaret Mickan, Barry & Marg Borneman (litera-cy), John & Joy Sandefur Aust/USA, David Crawford (training),Mally McLellan (training), Geoff Dyall (training), GordonThompson (desktop publishing), Paul & Ann Eckert (layout &illustrations). Published by Bible Society in Australia.Ramoaaina New Testament – Robyn Davies. Published byBible League.Kupang Malay New Testament – Stuart and MaryanneCameron, John Thompson (on-line Bible). Published by WycliffeBible Translators.Moba New Testament – Jann Russell. Published by WycliffeBible Translators.Auhelawa New Testament – David Lithgow (draft of NT), Bryan& Janet Ezard (translation consultant/checking, desktop publish-ing). Published by PNG Bible Translation Association.Solomon IslandPijin Bible – Gerry &Melinda Beimers,Hilda Steele.Published by BibleSociety South Pacific.Esbi New Testament– Pam & JohnBlakely Aust/UK.

AUSTRALIA’S CHRISTIAN NEWSPAPER

VOLUME 71NUMBER 18

www.nlife.com.au ‘Tell the people the full message of this new life.’ (Acts 5.20b)

Thursday 16 April 2009 $2.00 Print Post Approved No. 34918100419

Wycliffe CelebratesSeven New Bibles

Adrian Ross Steve Grace

Looking ForwardTHE Bible College of Victoria is looking for-ward to see how they can best achieve theirmandate in future years. For over 30 yearsthe campus has been located at Lilydale,Vic, which means there is now real need forrefurbishment and maintenance. The Coun-cil is seeking to know God's vision for thefuture. Is it to relocate? Is it to incorporatethe Chinese Department on one campus?Negotiations are in process and they seekyour intercession for them at this time.From Mukti In IndiaLORRAINE and Anil Francis will be visitingAustralia for the first time in May/June. Theyare senior leaders in Mukti India, havingserved there for 20 years, and will be shar-ing the story of Mukti in Melbourne, Adel-aide, Launceston, Sydney and Brisbane.Contact 03 9890 0211 orsarah@mukti.org.au for details.Seeking God's ProvisionGRAEME and Jane Peters, CMS Chile, askprayer for a site and a pastor for the con-gregation in the next 12 months.Long Service Leave?ROY and Hilary Hoevenaars were chal-lenged to spend their three month longservice leave with CMS in Tanzania. ThereRay is teaching bio-chemistry at St John'sUniversity and Hilary is teaching nutrition tonurses. May they be a blessing and also beblessed through this experience.Easter 2009REMEMBER the many Easter camps, con-ventions and other outreach ministries overthis special time of the Christian year.Moving To BerriJOHN and Stefani Minney with their familyhave relocated to Berri, SA, to be SeniorPastors at the Family Life Centre Church.Pray for them as they adjust to a new role.Rental Properties Supporting MinistrySTEER Inc is caring for several rental prop-erties so that the income earned can gotowards supporting Christian work. Many ofthe owners are serving overseas, so praythey will be blessed.Pioneers AustraliaLEADERS of Pioneers from across theworld will be meeting in Canada in mid-Aprilfor presentations, discussions and prayerfor strategic effectiveness in advancing theGospel. Pray that these will be superintend-ed by God's Holy Spirit.LightFMPHIL Gray has resigned his position as

General Manager at LightFM and is relocat-ing to the Sunshine Coast. Graham Haslerwill be acting General Manager for the fol-lowing four months.Indian Evangelical MissionPRAISE God for the Indian missionariesministering in Khammam, and ask that themore than 1,000 believers will be chal-lenged to reach out to their own people.New Director Of Theological EducationRIDLEY College has announced theappointment of Dr Tim Foster to this posi-tion as from April. He comes with his familyfrom Leichhardt in Sydney.Huge ResponsibilityNORM and Koniel are two workers withChristian Radio Missionary Fellowship inPNG. They have to cope with all of theradio repairs, being the only skilled radiotechnicians in the area. Pray for skill andinsight as they diagnose and repair radios,which are such a lifeline for missionaries.SIM UpdateTHE new SIM office in Shillong, NortheastIndia is sending two missionaries toSouthern Sudan and there are ten morecandidates being prepared for service.

The Kale Heywet Church in Ethiopia has6.5 million members, 7,000 churches and285 Bible schools. Now they are sendingand supporting missionaries throughoutAfrica, Asia and beyond. This church hasalso taken responsibility for establishing theMedanHIV and AIDS Counselling andTesting Project. Pray for them and otherSIM churches doing a similar work.'Holiness' DefinedON Fire, the Salvation Army magazine of 14March, has a letter endorsing a definition of'holiness' given in the previous issue: 'Aholy person is a “God-breathed, Spirit-ledperson who shows God's love to others;treating them as we would want to be treat-ed, and loving them as God loves us”.' Itwould be good for all of us who own theName of Christ to put that into practice.SMBC School Of PreachingTHIS will be held from 4-7 May at theCroydon, NSW campus or at Ryde.Speakers will be Jerry Bridge, BryanChapell, John Woodbridge and KanishkaRaffel. For details contactwww.smbc.com.au ... or 02 9747 4780.New Student AccommodationON 9 May at 2.30 pm SMBC, Croydon,NSW will officially open their new studentaccommodation and hold a Foundation

Fund Raisingafternoon tea.RSVP by 4 Mayto Maria Custodio02 9747 4780.How To Recognise MissionariesBARNABAS Aid reports that Turkey's Min-istry of Education has produced a schooltext book for 13-year olds to help themrecognise and identify missionary activity.Such activity is seen as a threat to nationalunity because it supposedly destroysnational and cultural values. Turkish Chris-tians are concerned this will re-inforce anti-Christian attitudes and result in harrassmentand violence. Christian Research AssociationTHIS group will run the National RuralChurch Life Roundtable to be held 18-19June at the Geelong Conference Centre. Allwho are concerned about rural ministry arewelcome. For registration or more informa-tion contact PO Box 206, Nunawading LPO,Vic 3131or www.cra.org.auReconstruction Of Sichuan, ChinaIT is more than 6 months since the devas-tating earthquake in this area and muchreconstruction is still needed. There arehuge psychological needs due to the trau-ma of the situation and counsellors arebeing sought to meet this need. Pray Godwill provide the right people to assist.'High, Wide And Handsome'THIS is the heading of an article in MAFNews (March-May) reporting the near com-pletion of a new, greatly improved buildingin Arnhem Land, built mainly by volunteerlabour. Work started in 2007 and is almostcompleted, providing space for 14 light air-craft, and other facilities needed for themaintenance of the planes, while upstairsthere is a conference room and offices. Allpraise goes to God for making this a reality.Deaconess Fletcher OAMHands On The BatonEARLIER this year Deaconess Fletcherannounced her retirement from active lead-ership of the South-East Asia AssistanceCommittee and the work has been trans-ferred to the Asia Evangelistic FellowshipInternational under the Federal leadershipof Dr Jonathan James. After 33 years withthis ministry Deaconess Fletcher has nowmoved to Strathalan Retirement Village inMacleod Vic.

Mr Gilbert Cann is the Victorian Staterepresentative.

HERE, THERE AND EVERYWHERE WITH THE WILSONS

Page Two – 16 April 2009 – NEW LIFE

NEW LIFE – 16 April 2009 – Page Three

Finding ChristEVERY Home for Christ reports that inMadagascar spirit mediums and witch doc-tors are coming to the Lord with openhearts and burning all their evil tools. Prayeris needed for their follow-up.More Finding ChristMARK Chapman, OMF Southern Philip-pines, reports that many are finding Christ,lapsed believers are back on the right path,and churches are being started. This wasthe result of MegaVoice players beingplaced in homes and villages of the neglect-ed Manobo people. Huge amounts of timehave been spent in preparing programs forthem with Bible stories, testimonies, songs,Scripture translations and health teaching.Some 900 have now been distributed andGod is bringing fruit.Ministering To The Mwani InMozambiqueMARGARET Papov is preparing to leave forMozambigue in July where she will servewith a team with AIM International Australia.Language learning, cultural understanding,developing friendships and sharing theirlives and faith with the people will be donethrough literacy work, health and maternitysupport. The Mwani people have a folkIslamic belief system and the team needsour prayers and support as they seek toenter this area.Archaeological ExperienceDR Bryant Wood, Director of Associates forBiblical Research, has sent the following

news item: 'I am glad to report that the Is-rael Antiquities Authority has approved myrequest for an excavation permit to resumethe ABR work at Kh. el-Maqatir in 2009.[This is probably the biblical Ai – Ed.] Thedates for the dig are 20 May - 7 June. Wevery much need your prayers for this en-deavour. First, for volunteers. Because ofthe increased cost and the state of the USeconomy at the present time, very few peo-ple are signing up. We are proceeding infaith, however, with the hope that we canrecruit volunteers from among students andothers who are living in Israel. Second,since our faithful surveyor from our 1996 -2000 seasons, Peter Briggs, is unable to bewith us, we are in need of a surveyor to layout excavation squares and provide eleva-tion points. Third, as always, we need God’sguidance and protection throughout the en-tire enterprise. Thank you for praying andplease join us if you can!News From Bruce And Ivory ShieldsBRUCE continues to lead two home groupsat North Shore Baptist Church, Qld, andthey both fill in when necessary at thechurch’s ministry centre (‘North Shore Cen-tral’), which includes a coffee shop. Ivoryhelps with a weekly Mainly Music programfor pre-schoolers and their parents or car-ers. They also attend the monthly meetingof the Sunshine Coast’s Global Participantsmissions’ support group. Ivory enjoys thefortnightly Craft mornings. Presently someclub members are making quilts for the

bush fire victims in Victoria. Bruce has stu-dents doing his Mission PerspectivesCourse by extension from the MuellerCollege of Ministries. The students sendweekly assignments to him by e-mail forassessment. He has completed all that hecan do on the Zimakani Revised NewTestament, and is now waiting until theZimakani Church has raised the money forthe printing, and the Bible Society of PapuaNew Guinea calls for the copy.Iranians Coming To ChristWYCLIFFE Bible Translators report thatmore Iranians have come to Christ between1980 and 2005 than in the previous 1,000years combined. Praise God.News From David And Margaret PriceTHEY have an extensive ministry travellingand encouraging members of Pioneers.Following the Easter Convention at Bel-grave Heights they will both be flying toCroatia for the Europe Region Conferenceof Pioneers. David will be bringing the dailyBiblical studies and Marg will be sharing ina special time with the ladies. Pray for dailystrength and spiritual freshness for them.Victorian Indigenous Prayer NetworkANN Green writes telling us about CathSolomon who works in the Lakes En-trance/Bairnsdale area and has a deepdesire to lead the local indigenous familiesto Christ. Pray God will grant her health,strength and the resources need for theministry. Pray for God to heal both the landand people who have seen such tragedies.

DR Michael Nazir-Ali, Bishop of Rochester(UK) will retire in September, according to anews report on the BBC website, which saidDr Nazir-Ali, the Church of England's firstnon-white diocesan bishop, has been in theposition for 15 years, and received deaththreats last year after saying that someareas of the UK had become no-go areasfor non-Muslims because of Islamic extrem-ism.

The bishop, who turns 60 in August, hassaid he wants to work with a number ofchurch leaders after he retires, the BBCreported. ‘We thank God for His blessingsand for friends we have made in the dio-cese in the past 15 years’, he said.

‘I am so grateful to God for the friend-ship and loyalty of those around us and ask

for people's prayers as we take this step offaith “not knowing where we are going”.’

The Archbishop of Canterbury, RowanWilliams said: ‘Bishop Michael's decision toundertake this new and very challengingministry will leave a real gap in the ranks ofEnglish bishops.

‘His enormous theological skill, his spe-cialist involvement in the complex debatesaround bioethics, his wide international ex-perience and his clarity of mind and expres-sion have made him a really valuable col-league, and he has served the Church andthe wider society with dedication and dis-tinction.’

The Bishop of Tonbridge, the Rt Rev DrBrian Castle, said: ‘Bishop Michael has hada distinguished ministry locally, nationallyand internationally. He has been a trueprophet in the way that he has courageous-ly spoken out against both injustice andcompromising the Word of God.’

Dr Nazir-Ali's last service will be held atRochester Cathedral on 12 September.

– Michael Ireland, ASSIST News Service

Dr Michael Nazir-Ali, Bishop of Rochester, To RetireHERE, THERE AND EVERYWHERE (Continued)

Disqualified For Being Honest!AARON Baddeley is a fine Christian andhas testified to that fact many times afterwinning golf tournaments. He was in thenews for another reason recently when hewas in the third round of a Californianchampionship. He was about to play a holewhen an official told him he could not delib-erately move a stone that was actuallyunder his foot in a hazard at the hole.

He had not known the rule and suddenlyrealised that the previous day 'he had violat-ed a rule by moving a stone' in a similarway to what he was about to do at the thirdhole. He immediately reported the mistakeof the previous day, and the report statesthat officials had no choice but to disqualifyhim because he had signed an incorrectscore card.

Good on you Aaron! It's tough when los-ing good prize money but, as the Scripturesays: 'A good name is rather to be chosenthan great riches.' You stood by your Chris-tian principles. Most commendable!Peking Man Puts On A Few Years?PEKING Man is the collective name givento a number of so-called homo-erectus fos-sils that were found near the Chinese capi-tal in the 1920s. Now we are told that thewhole group is some 200,000 years olderthan previously thought.

The findings about Peking Man are dis-cussed at length by Dr Malcolm Bowden inhis highly acclaimed book Ape Men – Factor Fallacy (p.104 etc). Remains of so-calledPeking Man really consist of a number ofabout 15 human skull pieces spread overmore than 12 kilometres, and animal boneswere mixed in with them – deer and otheranimals had apparently been hunted formeat. Dr Bowden states very clearly that:'There is very good reason to believe thatNelly (one of the so-called Peking Manspecies) was an extinct ape'.

The point is, this latest report wants toredate these specimens by a further200,000 years. Whatever the correct date

really is, that given date is quite unrealistic.Actually dating for Peking Man is by nomeans established, but probably dates toonly a few thousand years.

I did not always believe that, but havingstudied the evidence I hold firmly to thedates for the creation of man that the Biblegives us. I've recently been asked whatdate does the Bible give, and when I look atGenesis 5.3-32 I find that the age of thefather is given, his age at death, and howold he was at the birth of his first son. Inother words, the Bible is showing from thatportion of Scripture that we can add actualdates and come to a final figure of only afew thousand years since the creation ofman and all other creatures as well.Where Was The Siloam Tower?BECAUSE of my experience as a practisingarchaeologist over many years I am oftenasked questions that have an archaeologi-cal flavour. Both Barbara and I have exca-vated twice in recent years at the Pool ofSiloam, and very recently I've been asked aquestion that I'm glad to say I can answer.The question was: 'How do you explain thatthere was no tower found at the Pool ofSiloam when the pool itself has been knownfor generations?’

It's a good question and it is interestingthat I myself had never thought of it until thereal Pool of Siloam was discovered just afew years ago. The pool that has beencalled the Pool of Siloam for many yearswas at the terminal point of a tunnel that ledfrom the Spring Gihon, just outside theWalls of Jerusalem, underneath the city. Weknow that tunnel was built by the men ofKing Hezekiah, for a plaque has beenknown for many years stating that the menof Hezekiah came together from oppositeends as they dug the tunnel, and met withina metre of each other.

Over two seasons we were part of theteam of excavators who explored the newpool just a few metres from the one thathad been wrongly identified for so long.

Nearby evi-dence of thereal towerwas found – the Tower of Siloam mentionedin Luke 13.4. Huge stones were all col-lapsed on top of each other, and they werea very real evidence of a statement I haveused many times: 'The Bible was right afterall!'. I'm proud to report that Barbara was aField Supervisor at the actual excavation ofthe tower. It is interesting to note that stepsalso were found leading from the properlyidentified new pool towards the Temple, at amuch higher level. They do not go all theway, for houses cover some parts, but thesteps clearly lead from the real pool to theTemple.‘The Year Of Darwin’?2009 is being celebrated by humanists as'The Year of Darwin' as it is the 200thanniversary of Charles Darwin's birth and150 years since the publication of his infa-mous book The Origin of Species. CreationMinistries International, Queensland, reportsthat their Darwin film has been completedand has been called 'The Voyage thatShook the World'. They succinctly report:‘You have probably seen the virtual venera-tion of Mr Darwin to almost god-like status.The secularists believe his “deification” isjustified because Darwin's work changedthe world forever.' As the Queensland groupreport it: 'Unfortunately we have to whole-heartedly agree with them about his pro-found effect'.

Darwin's book and his other writingshave influenced vast numbers – but in waysthat are most unfortunate. Nehemiah's WallWORK on the excavation of Nehemiah'swall in Jerusalem has continued. It is nowreported that he built Jerusalem's easternwall in the Persian period. The excavator,Eilat Mazar, states that she 'has the burials,the bullae (seals), and the biblical names toprove it.' God's Word continues to be vindi-cated!

CURRENT COMMENTS – CLIFFORD WILSON

Page Four – 16 April 2009 – NEW LIFE

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NEW LIFE – 16 April 2009 – Page Five

AUSTRALIA’S CHRISTIAN NEWSPAPER

Published by New Life Australia. LtdABN 15 005 035 138, of 56 RutlandRd, Box Hill Vic 3129, and printed byNewsprinters Pty Ltd, Melbourne Rd,Shepparton Vic 3630. (All letters toNew Life please).

When A Bishop Moves On ...THOSE of us who have had the privilege of meeting Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali knowwhat a fine, godly man he is and that he is everything a bishop should be as measuredby the standard of the Word of God.

There is therefore a certain element of surprise and regret at his resignation asBishop of Rochester to become a defender of persecuted Christians. (See story p.3)

In the wake of his resignation, one commentator has written: ‘Dr Michael Nazir-Ali isonly 59 and could have stayed for another decade in his post, one of the most senior inthe Church of England, but has chosen instead to devote the rest of his career to work-ing in communities where Christians are in a minority.

‘While this is likely to see him involved in the Middle East and Pakistan, the bishoprevealed that he also plans to work with Muslim converts to Christianity in Britain. Hesaid he has been inspired by the story of Hannah Shah, an Imam's daughter who facedbeing killed by her family for refusing an arranged marriage before becoming aChristian.

‘Bishop Michael is hoping to work with a number of church leaders from areaswhere the church is under pressure, particularly in minority situations, who have askedhim to assist them with education and training for their particular situation.

‘In a letter to clergy in his diocese, the bishop said: "I have decided that the time isnow right for me to step down as Bishop of Rochester. I have valued my modest part inthe life of the Church locally, nationally and globally. We take this step of faith notknowing where we are going”.

‘Dr Nazir-Ali, who is the Church's first and only Asian bishop, received death threatshimself after warning last year that parts of the United Kingdom have been turned into"no-go" areas for non-Muslims. He has been unafraid to speak out since being appoint-ed as Bishop of Rochester in 1994 and has risen to become a leading champion of tra-ditional Christianity in Britain. Many saw him as a likely contender to succeed GeorgeCarey as Archbishop of Canterbury in 2002, but he has instead become a focus for theconservative evangelical wing of the Church’.

It has also been widely reported that when he made that claim he received scant, ifany support from his fellow bishops, most of whom were at pains to distance them-selves from those comments.

Dr Nazir-Ali’s prophetic voice is badly needed in the Church today and we mustearnestly hope and pray that avenues will open widely to him to become that stridentvoice and strong ally of the persecuted – and that people in positions of influence willhave the constitutional fortitude to stand with him.

– Bob Thomas

Page Six – 16 April 2009 – NEW LIFE

WITNESSING my sister give birth late lastyear, I was amazed by the quality of med-ical care she received. Surrounded by fami-ly and with the attention of an experiencedmidwife, my sister was able to labour in abirthing suite at her local public hospital.She had access to a large room, privatecourtyard and ensuite. She chose a com-pletely natural water-birth and, thankfully,experienced no complications in bringing abeautiful baby girl into the world. My sisterwent home that afternoon after receivingassistance with breastfeeding and was visit-ed by midwives for the next few weeks.

I came away from that day struck by thestrength of the female spirit (not to mentionframe). We women really are incrediblebeings and expertly designed to help Godwith His special task of creation. What aprivilege! Thanks to her experience, my sis-ter considers giving birth to be a positiveand deeply spiritual event. Sadly, this is notthe case for many women in our world.

This year, as Micah Challenge onceagain ramps up the Child and MaternalHealth campaign, I can't help thinking backto that day at RPA hospital and wonderingat the inconsistencies between my sister'sexperience and that of women living inpoverty.

How unjust – that half a million expec-tant mothers die every year, 99% of them inpoor countries. Having witnessed the birthof my niece, I feel all the more indignant atthis statistic and all the more moved to act. Itruly believe that with great privilege comesgreat responsibility, and we Australians whocelebrate mothers every year in May, havea responsibility to speak out.

We can respond by taking part in a sim-ple advocacy action, such as signing acard, and encouraging others to join us.Basic measures like better education abouthygiene and breast feeding, and more train-ing of skilled birth attendants could bringabout profound change. But in order for thisto happen, governments like Australia’sneed to prioritise child and maternal healthin their aid budgets.

Micah Challenge is calling supporters tosign a Mothers Day e-card to The ForeignAffairs Minister, Mr Stephen Smith, remind-ing our government that we care aboutwomen and children. We want to see thenumber of mothers who die reduced by 3/4and the number of child deaths cut by 2/3,in accordance with the targets outlined inthe Millennium Development Goals.

These goals are not being reached, sowe need to call our politicians to support

child and maternal health in the developingworld.

I know that my sister and her daughterare no more precious to God than womenand children in Sierra Leone or Afghanistanor Papua New Guinea, but the standard ofhealth care across the globe does notreflect this. As people who believe that alllives are precious, we need to get involvedwith advocating for mothers and children inpoverty.

You can find out more about the MicahChallenge Health Campaign and sign aMothers Day e-card at:www.micahchallenge.org.au/health.

To order hard copies of materials, con-tact info@micahchallenge.org.au or phonethe Micah Challenge office on 02 94531586.

– Tabitha Horsley, CommunicationsCo-ordinator for Micah Challenge Australia,a global movement of Christians aiming to

deepen engagement with the poorby integrating social justice

as an essential aspect of our faith.Micah Challenge seeks to encourage

the leaders of all nationsto fulfil their commitments

to the Millennium Development Goals,to halve absolute poverty by 2015.

FOR the seventh consecutiveyear, Christian ManagementAustralia presents one ofAustralia's most significant con-ferences for Christian leaders,managers, board members andexecutives. If you're involvedwith leading or managing achurch, Christian school, or nonprofit mis-sion, ministry or charity, you'll find this con-ference an outstanding combination of net-working, professional development andinspiration.

Led by the 'Truefaced' team from USA,the conference will cover themes of SpiritualLeadership, Managing Ministry in a Reces-sion, Church Management and Administra-

tion. Managers in the busi-ness world will appreciateengaging with these topicsin the context of faith.

Leadership that's full ofhype, heroism and hubrisis not what God calls us to.A TrueFaced leader trusts

God, and others, with who they really are. ATruefaced Leader creates a community ofgrace, where people trust each otherbecause pretence is outlawed, and God isfree to work.

When the economy stumbles, financialand staffing issues can become more chal-lenging than usual for churches andChristian organisations. This conference will

highlight what you need to be doing to notonly survive, but thrive in a changing econo-my, while treating people with care andrespect.

Church Administrators, ExecutivePastors and Business Managers have oneof the most varied and multi-faceted jobsaround. The CMA Church Administrationstream, running right through the confer-ence, will provide networking, insight andtraining in this vital area of ministry.

For further details and to register, con-tact Christian Management Association, aministry of Evangelical Alliance, at theirNational Office: PO Box 459, NorthTamborine QLD 4272, phone 07 5545 2004,email cma.net.au

CHRISTIANS IN THE ACTION ...

Sign Up With Micah Challenge To HelpMums & Bubs In Developing World

TrueFaced – Spiritual Leadership In Time Of Recession

– Major CMA Conference For Melbourne

NEW LIFE – 16 April 2009 – Page Seven

A TIME TO REMEMBER ...

‘Remembering ’59’ – Billy Graham DVDRecords Precious Memories‘REMEMBERING ’59’, a one hour docu-mentary DVD on the impact and legacy ofBilly Graham’s four month visit to Australiain 1959 premiered at two free screeningsrecently.

The first was in Scots Church, Mel-bourne on Tuesday 31 March and Sydneyfollowed on Thursday 2 April in WesleyMission. Both events attracted enthusiasticaudiences, many of whom had gone for-ward as enquirers in response to DrGraham’s appeals at the crusade.

In Melbourne, over 100 people attended,while in Sydney additional seating had to bebrought into the Lyceum Theatre, whichonly holds 250 people.

Mr Graham Want, of the Wesley Missionstaff, welcomed those present and present-ed a greeting from the Superintendent, RevKeith Garner.

Graeme Pearson, Chairman of the BillyGraham Evangelistic Association, Australia,shared personal memories of the crusademeetings and the influence in his own per-sonal and business life. He commented thatalthough the DVD is looking back 50 years,the ministry continues today.BGEA’s Continuing MinistryHe told of ongoing outreach through cru-sade meetings around the globe by BillyGraham’s son, Franklin Graham and grand-son, Will Graham. In Australia, plans arealready underway for the training of teammembers for the Billy Graham ResponseTeams, who provide physical and spiritualassistance following natural disasters.

Crusades are also being planned withWill Graham reaching into country areas,‘leaving the larger cities to his father, Frank-lin Graham.’

Leigh Brown, Executive Director of theBGEA in Australia, led many down memorylane, recounting events that are still lookedback upon as the beginning of a new life –in Christ.

The DVD opens with a coverage of theman, Billy Graham, and his growing years.Archival footage was made available andviewers can see the actual first major cru-sade in Los Angeles in 1949 and the subse-quent London Crusade of the mid 50’s.

Throughout thescreenings, manycould be heard hum-ming the well-knowncrusade songs.

The Remembering’59 host, Karl Faase,explained that the DVDwas produced in asso-ciation with the BillyGraham EvangelisticAssociation. The onehour special featuresinterviews with crusadeorganiser, JerryBeavan, crusade com-pere and choir conduc-tor Cliff Barrows andwell-loved soloist,George Beverly Shea.

Jerry Beavan heard of the DVD launch-es in Melbourne and Sydney and comment-ed: ‘I remain absolutely convinced thatAustralia-New Zealand, 1959, representedthe most effective undertaking in Billy's min-istry. Nothing before or since has had theimmediate and lasting impact on two entirenations.’

Producer/Director Martin Johnson re-called that: ‘We were very privileged tomeet Cliff and George and spent a wonder-ful afternoon with them at The Cove, theBGEA’s Conference facility in Asheville,North Carolina. Although Cliff Barrows is inhis mid 80’s and George Beverly Shea wasthen 99 (he celebrated his 100th birthday inFebruary) their memories of their four-month long Australian Crusade wereremarkable.’

‘One of the things we wanted to bringout in Remembering 59 was the long-lastingimpact of Dr Graham’s first visit’, said Karl.‘When we asked Cliff if he had any strongmemories of anyone who came forward, heimmediately told us about Ron and BerylBaker. Ron was an alcoholic and very anti-Billy Graham, but the story of his coming tofaith, together with his wife at the Sydneymeetings is the high point of Remembering’59’, said Karl.

In Sydney, Ron Baker was invited to

share his testimony and close the meetingin prayer.

Also featured in Remembering ’59 areinterviews with several people, as well asGraeme Pearson, Dr Peter Jensen, now theArchbishop of the Sydney Anglican Dioceseand Rev John Mallison who was involved indeveloping a discipleship and follow-up pro-gram for those who responded in Sydney.

In addition to the one-hour documentary,the DVD also contains the complete inter-view with Cliff Barrows and George BeverlyShea plus a one-hour film special made atthe time called Southern Cross Crusade.

Mike and Nikki Thompson, who re-searched Remembering ’59 have written a30 page book, included with the DVD.

‘Their research was invaluable,’ saidKarl. ‘Whilst it is the backbone to the script,there is so much information that couldn’tbe included in the film, so we’ve produced abooklet which we know people will find fas-cinating reading,’ he said.

‘It was a great privilege to work on thisproduction and to produce what we believeis a fitting tribute to the first Billy GrahamCrusade in Australia,’ Karl said.

Remembering ’59 has its own web site:www.remembering59.com.au with images ofthe filming plus some short clips from thedocumentary and the opportunity for peopleto buy on-line.

(Left to right) Graeme Pearson, Martin Johnston and LeighBrown at the launch. – Worldwide Photos

Page Eight – 16 April 2009 – NEW LIFE

LOOKING FORWARD ...

THE world has changed radically in the 200years since William Carey first proposed aninternational missionary conference in CapeTown, but the Great Commission to take theGospel to the ends of the Earth remains thesame.

‘There are a number of things that weare dealing with in the 21st Century thatJohn Stott and Billy Graham could not haveimagined – the rise of the megacities, hed-onism, the global phenomena of diasporapeople to name a few. Those challengesare new and coming into full blossom in the21st Century,’ says Rev Douglas Birdsall,Chairman of the Lausanne Committee forWorld Evangelisation.

From 16 to 25 October 2010, more than4,000 Christian leaders will grapple withmajor obstacles to world evangelisation atCape Town 2010, the ten-day congressorganised by Lausanne in collaboration withthe World Evangelical Alliance.

Six issues in particular will dominate thecongress agenda: the uniqueness of Christin a pluralistic world; religious fundamental-ism; obstacles to world evangelisation with-in the church; the shift within the worldchurch from the Global North to South andWest to East; the development of a theolo-gy of suffering and reconciliation; and thebuilding of new partnerships to help thechurch advance in the unfinished task ofworld evangelisation.

‘There are many themes that impactworld evangelism. Cape Town 2010 willfocus on the most important of these,’ saysDr Geoff Tunnicliffe, International Director ofthe World Evangelical Alliance. ‘And ofcourse we will look at these themes in thecontext of some wider issues like poverty,environmental degradation, religious perse-cution, HIV/AIDS, and the movements ofpeople. Our hope is that one of the key out-comes will be a commitment to a deeperlevel of co-operation and demonstration ofbiblical unity.’

With Cape Town 2010 now firmly on thehorizon, Lausanne and the WEA are hard atwork with preparations to ensure the Cong-ress impacts as many evangelicals as pos-sible – and that means engaging them in aglobal conversation on the issues of the daylong before the congress has even begun.

‘We live in a day of multi–opportunities.There are all sorts of conferences whichevangelical leaders can attend. So one ofthe challenges is to help leaders understandthat Cape Town 2010 has the potential forbeing a historic gathering that can helpshape the evangelism agenda for decadesto come,’ says Dr Tunnicliffe. ‘We are seek-ing to work in an integrated way with our

Lausanne colleagues in making sure wehave the right program, the right people andthe right lead up to Cape Town.’

From October, Christianity Today willpublish a monthly article exploring a differ-ent item on the congress agenda, while apre-Lausanne curriculum and study guide tothe Lausanne Covenant are also in thepipeline to help congregations prepare forthe congress. In the months ahead, Lau-sanne will continue to explore the possibilityof online discussion groups, chat rooms,email, streaming audio and video,SMS/MMS and other mobile and Internettechnologies. And for the first time, evangel-icals around the world will be able to tuneinto key discussions throughout the con-gress via the Cape Town Global Link.

‘We want to make it possible for manymore people to participate in the discus-sions on the key issues than those who areactually able to attend the congress,’ ex-plains Rev Birdsall. ‘It makes a much biggerconversation possible and is just one of thethings we can do to prepare the global

church, create awareness and get churchesinvolved.’

Engaging the Lausanne and WEA inter-national networks is not only important interms of readying delegates for the con-gress; it is crucial if the congress is to haveany impact long after the discussion ses-sions have ended and delegates havereturned to their local settings.

‘Through our nationalalliance structures we have astrategic framework to helpnot only promote this impor-tant congress but also deliverthe results back to many ofthe nations of the world.Cape Town 2010 has thepotential for being a historicgathering that can helpshape the evangelism agen-da for decades to come,’explains Dr Tunnicliffe.

The congress may beinternational in scope, butLausanne and the WEAremain keenly aware thatturning its outcomes intoeffective global evangelisa-

tion remains a grassroots church preroga-tive.

Says Rev Birdsall: ‘We are very excitedabout the role of the local church in worldevangelisation, and what comes out fromthe congress in terms of breakthroughs andhow we think about and practise missionsthrough the local church will be greatlyaccelerated if churches are aware of thecongress and are involved in the conversa-tion prior to it.’

All in all, Dr Tunnicliffe and Rev Birdsallare optimistic about the impact that CapeTown 2010 is going to have on the witnessof the global church in the 21st Century.

Dr Tunnicliffe sums up: ‘It is my hopethat Cape Town 2010 will be catalytic inmobilizing millions of Christians around theworld to be good news people living out andspeaking about the transforming Gospel ofChrist. Our hope is to see thousands ofchurches around the world become God’sinstrument that will bring transformation toindividuals, families, communities andnations.’

The Road To Cape Town 2010

‘It is my hope that CapeTown 2010 will becatalytic in mobilizingmillions of Christiansaround the world to beGood News peopleliving out and speakingabout the transformingGospel of Christ.’

– Dr Geoff Tunnicliffe

NEW LIFE – 16 April 2009 – Page Nine

BREAKPOINT:

Copyright (c) 2009 Prison Fellowship Ministries. Reprinted with permission. ‘Breakpoint With Chuck Colson’ is aradio ministry of Prison Fellowship Ministries. Prison Fellowship Australia National Office, PO Box 579, Eltham Vic3095; Phone: 03 9431 3877; Fax: 03 9431 3830; email: pfaus@vicnet.net.au

Charles Colson

THE Australian Christian Lobby has calledfor compensation for church-based and not-for-profit job agencies which have lost theirgovernment contracts and will now be hitwith increased costs and loss of incomewhich is likely to impact their assistance forthe most needy.

ACL Managing Director Jim Wallace saidthat Federal Government changes to em-ployment services were likely to have signif-icant flow-on effects to other social welfareservices provided by those charities –something the community could ill affordduring the current economic downturn.

‘The loss of contracts for these vitalcharities – seemingly despite their past suc-

cess – will obviously mean that they will befaced with restructuring their organisations,as well as being forced to pay out redun-dancies and suffering a loss of someincome,’ Mr Wallace said.

‘Unless the Government compensatesthese charities for these funds there can belittle doubt that it will cause considerabledisruption to the services they provide forthe most needy. This is something thatshould always be a cause for communityconcern – but particularly in the current eco-nomic climate.’

Mr Wallace said that a number of thechurch-based and not-for-profit agenciesthat had lost contracts have had an impor-

tant role which went well past just skillstraining to also work with those with moresignificant needs. The restructuring they willbe required to do will invariably impact onthese services.

‘These perhaps unintended conse-quences of the tender process and its con-centration on skills training are likely to becostly for the vulnerable unemployed whodon’t easily fit into the usual skills trainingprograms,’ he added.

Mr Wallace said that, as well as callingfor compensation, ACL also supported callsfor an independent review of the process forallocating the employment services con-tracts.

FOR years I have prayed that God woulddo whatever it took to get our attention – toturn us from false idols and back to Him. Ifthe current economic meltdown is ananswer to prayer, God is certainly gettingour attention.

Like everybody else, I find myselfsquirming. My personal retirement plan hastaken a hit and our ministry, like so manyothers, has to cut its budget.

As bad as things are, though, I’ve alsoseen good things emerge. Christian friendstell me unsaved acquaintances are increas-ingly asking about their beliefs. Many Chris-tians themselves are rethinking their priori-ties. Americans, maybe, are relearningimportant lessons: the need to lean on God,depend on one another, and to create asense of community – the kind we forgetabout in our affluence, but which I remem-ber from my childhood.

I grew up during the Great Depression.Few complained about hardships; we weretoo busy helping worse-off neighbours. Andwe’re seeing the same attitudes developtoday. For instance, when a Texas womanrecently lost her home to foreclosure, she

cried as she watched it auctioned off.Observing her, another woman impulsivelybid on the house, won, and then gave itback to its original owner – a total stranger.

Why did she do it? Her answer was:‘People need to help each other, and that’sall there is to it.’

Other people – newly on tight budgets –are discovering that it’s much nicer to eat ahome-cooked meal as a family than to graba burger somewhere. Others are openingtheir homes to adult children who can nolonger afford their own apartments – andenjoying family life once more.

Another surprising benefit of renewedcommunity spirit is that history tells us crimerates will go down.

An extensive study by HarvardUniversity, the University of Chicago, andthe Kaiser Institute, found only one reliablepredictor of crime rates in a community:whether it had, or lacked, a strong sense ofcommunity values and a willingness toimpose those values on public space –what researchers called ‘community cohe-sion.’ Crime was low in neighbourhoodswhere people felt free to discipline neigh-

bourhood kids caught skipping school orscrawling graffiti on walls.

Sociologist James Q. Wilson found that,contrary to conventional wisdom, crimealways drops in hard times. ‘The Depres-sion pulled families together, and this cohe-sion inhibited crime,’ he writes.

It also lessened divorce, as Mike Gersonnoted in the Washington Post. ‘Many Ameri-cans adopted a set of moral and economichabits such as thrift, family commitment,savings and modest consumption that last-ed through their lifetimes – and that havedecayed in our own’, Gerson writes.

Finally, a 2007 study by Professor DavidBeckworth shows evidence that the Churchgrows in hard times.

While I did not wish for this economiccollapse, we can at least be glad to seesome lessening of our moral decay andsigns of renewed spiritual interest.

As the recession plays out, Christiansshould be looking with confidence to God,living radically holy lives, truly loving Godand our neighbours – and letting a fearfulworld watch us. That would be a powerfulwitness.

ACL Calls For Compensation For Charities Put Out Of A Job

Blessings In Tough Times –Rediscovering Community

UpsetI was upset with the editorial in the 2 Apriledition of New Life regarding Senator SteveFielding's stance in the Senate against the‘Alcopops’ tax.

Rev Thomas appears to have receivedhis ‘information’ from the Melbourne Herald-Sun only, a newspaper that has opposedSenator Fielding since day one and is con-stantly misrepresenting him and his ideals.He would do better to contact SenatorFielding for the reasons behind his opposi-tion to the bill, or at least read his website atwww.stevefielding.com.au and he may beless inclined to give a superficial thought-less response to what is a complicatedissue.

For example Senator Fielding has stat-ed: ‘We all know binge drinking is a culturalissue, not a tax issue. What the governmentwas doing was just not good enough. Thoseof us worried about violence in our streets,worried about our children going out safelyat night, worried about the alcohol relateddeaths on our roads must demand more ofthis government when it promises to tacklethis issue. Why should we let them hidebehind a tax grab when they are doing solittle to fix this terrible problem? I’m not pre-pared to. I’m demanding they do more by

unhooking the proven link between alcoholadvertising and sport. The link that allowsthe alcohol giants to prey on our impres-sionable young people who believe it mustbe cool to drink because they see alcoholads plastered all over sports events.’

So why does Rev Thomas accuse himof not upholding Christian values? SenatorFielding continues to obviously be ‘a strongvoice for Christian values’ and Rev Thomas

does him and Christians in Australia a dis-service by carelessly and untruthfully accus-ing him publically of anything different.

That said, I am a Christian who hasnever met Senator Fielding and never tast-ed an ‘alcopop’ in my life!

– Glenys Dettmann

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Page Ten – 16 April 2009 – NEW LIFE

THE NSW Parliamentary Theatrette was fullof interested Christians on Wednesday 1April eager to join together to learn aboutand support the influence the ChristianDemocratic Party is having in the NSWParliament and in the community.

The Christian Democratic Party contin-ues to present their positive and excitingvision for the future in their monthly Chris-tian Worldview Forums hosted by Rev HonFred Nile and led by Pastor Peter Rahme inthe NSW Parliament.

These events bring CDP’s growing num-ber of members and supporters together foropportunities to hear first class Christianspeakers, attend premiere film events,enjoy fine Christian musicians, be intro-duced to Christian authors and hear up todate reports of State and Federal legislationbeing raised, for prayer and practical inter-vention. Many ungodly laws are beingpassed in Parliament and CDP’s presencethere is an essential expression of salt andlight in the Parliament.

The April meeting saw the film premiereof the film The Voyage That Shook TheWorld, outlining Charles Darwin’s life andthe voyage that ultimately brought him tothe conclusions outlined in his book Originof Species.

This first class documentary was en-joyed thoroughly by those present, whowere pleased to hear that it will soon bereleased in many theatres across thenation. CDP recommends that all Churchesand Fellowships obtain a copy of the DVDin an endeavour to counteract the damageDarwin’s theories have wrought across thecenturies.

This documentary film presents anincredible opportunity for every dad, mumand ordinary layperson to stand up and becounted. Whenever you hear an expert onthe TV, radio or in print you can respond byreferring to this high-class documentary,featuring experts from many camps. It gen-tly but powerfully challenges the viewer tothink again, with information about which

most are unaware, as to what helped shapeDarwin’s views. It also dares to reveal howmany of the evidences that helped convincehim of evolution over millions of years were,in the light of modern science, clearly misin-terpreted by Darwin.

Miss Celeste Baissari, worship leader atthe Glorious Hope Baptist Church in Toon-gabbie was the guest soloist. Dr Mark Har-wood of Creation Ministries summed up ex-pertly following the film and took questionsfrom the audience. This documentary is awonderful tool and the Christian DemocraticParty thoroughly recommends it. For moredetails on the film please visitwww.thevoyage.tv

CDP’s next Christian Worldview Forumwill be on 6 May in the Jubilee Room wherethey will celebrate the 61st Anniversary ofthe establishment of the Modern State ofIsrael. Book with Pastor Peter Rahme:editor@saltandlight.org.auor phone 1300 667 975.

– Judy Russell

National Premiere Of 'The Voyage That Shook The World'

PRAY FOR CRITICAL ELECTIONSIN INDONESIA AND INDIAINDONESIA and India are due to hold elections that could prove pivotalfor religious liberty. In Indonesia the issue arises because fundamentalistIslamic parties, whilst too small and unpopular to win power in their ownright, could secure the balance of power. In India the threat arisesamidst heightening sectarian tensions because the past four years ofaggressive Hindutva (Hindu nationalist) campaigning has been veryeffective in securing religious-political conversions to boost the Hindutvavote. The Indonesian elections were scheduled for 9 April, whilst theIndian election season runs from 16 April through to 13 May, with theresults out on 16 May. Religious liberty hangs in the balance. Post elec-tion violence is also possible. Please pray.

– Elizabeth Kendal, WEA Religious Liberty Commission

NEW LIFE – 16 April 2009 – Page Eleven

IT was a rare sight on Saturday 4 April when Scots Church Mel-bourne was filled to capacity with Presbyterians from all aroundVictoria for a Service of Thanksgiving to commemorate the 150thAnniversary of the formation of the Presbyterian Church of Victoria.

To mark the occasion, the Very Rev Dr Allan Harman and hiswife Mairi co-authored a brief history of the denomination, ReachingForward: From A Rich Heritage To A Certain Goal, which drawstogether past history, present reality and future vision.

Church leaders, Rt Rev Robert Benn, Moderator General; RtRev Douglas Robertson, Victorian Moderator; Rev John Wilson,Clerk of Assembly; Andrew Vines, Youth Worker, participated in theservice led by Dr Harman. Presbyterian Youth Victoria presentedmusical items and the Korean and Samoan Church Choirs sang.

The highlight of the evening was the preaching of the Word ofGod by the Rev Dr Ligon Duncan, recent Moderator of thePresbyterian Church in America, Professor of Theology atReformed Theological Seminary, Jackson, USA, and Minister ofFirst Presbyterian Church, Jackson, Mississippi.

Speaking from 1Timothy 1.1-5 on the theme The Goal Of OurMinistry, he demonstrated how the Word of God is the Christian’sguide for ministry as to both its message and method. He said thatin many places today, too much emphasis is placed on what menwant the church to be like, but the important question for the churchto answer is: ‘What does God want the church to be like?’

He called on the church to proclaim God in His ‘Big Grace,Deep Truth, Great Love.’

A joy-filled reception in Queen’s Hall, Parliament House, fol-lowed the service, when Reaching Forward, The Centenary PWMUCook Book and A History of the Presbyterian Mission in Korea werelaunched.Conference For Christian WorkersThe previous day Dr Duncan spoke at a seminar in DonvalePresbyterian Church for those involved in Christian ministry.

In his first address Dr Duncan exhorted Christian workers to bepeople of prayer. Speaking from Ephesians, he noted that fully halfof the letter was taken up with prayer; that even Paul the greatapostle asked his friends to pray that he would have ‘utterance ashe opened his mouth’; that Paul relied on God to give him thewords to speak; that Paul prayed for holy boldness. Dr Duncanasked: ‘If the great apostle needed such prayer, how much moremust we?’

His second talk wasan exhortation topreach the atonementfaithfully! In his intro-duction, he mentionedhow many young peo-ple are flocking toreformed churchesbecause they are crav-ing doctrine. Speakingfrom Romans 8.32, DrDuncan noted that thebig idea is that God

loves us and He demonstrates that by sending His Son to die in ourplace. He noted that the Father initiated salvation, the Son is pre-cious to the Father, and the Father didn't spare the Son. Eventhough people betrayed and killed Jesus, it was ultimately theFather who made it happen. He didn't just sit back and hope itwould happen. Jesus was completely abandoned, He was utterlyforsaken by the Father. This is a great comfort to us because itmeans that God will never utterly forsake us since He has done it toJesus instead.

To approach God and say: ‘Let me into Heavenbecause I've been good enough’ is the greatestinsult against God and His love. If there was anyother possible way than His Son dying, He wouldhave done it, but obviously it was the only way.

In his third address, Dr Duncan called forChristians to live a life of purity and forgiveness.Numbers 5 shows that adultery defiles Israel andpollutes everyone, and our conduct must match ourtheology.

Our unfaithfulness to a spouse is tied to unfaith-fulness to God. Marriage is sacred and fidelity is aspiritual issue. May we witness to the Gospel by ourfaithfulness in marriage and forgiveness in marriage.

A BIG NIGHT OUT ...

PCV Celebrates 150th Anniversary

Dr Ligon Duncan

Page Twelve – 16 April 2009 – NEW LIFE

A reader asks: Why is the Tribe of Danomitted from the list of tribes in Revelation7.4,5?THE International Christian EmbassyJerusalem reported on 21 March that 'thenearly 4,000 year-old "Abraham's Gate" atTel Dan in northern Israel has been re-opened to the public after a decade-longrestoration project.’ This report comes fromthe Israel Nature and Parks Authority.

Located near Tel Dan at the foot of MtHermon, this archaeological treasure (thegate) is believed to have been constructedaround 1750 BC, during the CanaanitePeriod. It is under consideration for beingnamed a World Heritage Site by UNESCOlater this year. (Possibly it should be datedeven earlier.)

Scholars are not agreed as to this beingthe actual gate mentioned in the Biblicalstory of Abraham and Lot (Genesis14.14),but it is beyond doubt that it contains theoldest arches ever found in Israel, locatedamong other remains of an ancient Israelitecity. ‘The exposure of the gate to the publicat large is a holiday for anyone who holdsdear the preservation of heritage in theState of Israel,’ said Eli Amitai, DirectorGeneral of the Israel Nature and ParksAuthority.

As far as the Bible is concerned, thename is associated with one of the twelvesons of Jacob – his mother being Rachel'smaid-servant Bilhah (Genesis 30.1-6) – andthat Dan is recognised as the ancestor ofthe tribe and the city bearing his name. The

city is near one of the sources of the RiverJordan and its early name was Laish(Judges 18.29). It was the most northern ofall the cities in Israel, and it is referred to inthe expression 'from Dan to Beersheba'(Judges 20.1).

It is interesting that the tribe of Dan ismissing from the list of tribes given inRevelation 7.5-8, andscholars explain this in twopossible ways. One is thatit is simply missed out, orthat the reference hassomehow become deleted,but the other reason some-times claimed is that Danis deliberately omittedbecause of the judgmentagainst him when Jacobgave those remarkableprophecies on hisdeathbed. Although hesays: 'Dan shall judge hispeople as one of the tribes of Israel'(Genesis 49.16), he goes on to say that hewill be a servant in the way, a horned snakein the path that bites the horses' heels, sothat his rider falls backward (verse 17).

The Danites introduced idolatry into Is-rael, not just as a passing phase but on anofficial basis (Judges 18.30-31). Dr C.C.Ryrie says in a note to his Study Bible, 'Thismay be the reason Dan is omitted from thetribes in Revelation 7.4,5.’

We go to that passage and we find that,except for Dan, 144,000 is sealed from

every tribe of the sons of Israel, and whenwe come to the sons of Joseph – who alsowas one of the twelve sons of Jacob – histwo sons Joseph and Benjamin are listedseparately, each having the same numberof persons sealed. Not only was Dan guiltyof idolatry, but he also slept with one of hisfather's mistresses. Also, at I Kings 12.28-

30 we read of two golden calves being setup as the gods of Israel, to be worshippedinstead of Jehovah. One was put in Betheland the other in Dan.

In the life and death of Jacob we findthat Joseph was given a double portionover his brothers, and as Joseph's two sonsare each named as a tribal leader, it doesnot seem to be a mistake to leave Dan outin a deliberate act of judgment. Otherwisethere would be 13 tribes and not 12 as thelist states.

The Bible had it right again!

ARCHEOLOGICAL ADVANCE:

Restored ʻAbrahamʼs GateʼRe-Opened To Public

Q & A

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Abraham’s Gate at Tel Dan

NEW LIFE – 16 April 2009 – Page Thirteen

ON the eve of the G20 Summit, the Bishopof London, the Rt Revd Richard Chartres,called for action to help the world’s poorestpeople who are suffering most in the currenteconomic climate.

He was speaking to a congregation of1,200 at the Put People First ecumenicalservice in Central Hall before the mainmarch and rally for jobs, justice and climatesupported by tens of thousands of people incentral London.

Bishop Chartres described the world asinterconnected and said those in the devel-oped world must not forget those in thepoorest parts. ‘It is imperative we stand withpeople in this global emergency,’ he said.

Father Joe Komakoma, SecretaryGeneral of the Zambia EpiscopalConference and CAFOD partner alsospeaking at the service said: ‘Being a coun-try that is dependent on copper mining formore than 80 per cent of its foreign earn-ings, we have about 3,000 mine workerswho have lost their jobs in recent months,and the number is likely to go up.

‘Whereas rich countries can afford tocome up with stimulus packages worth bil-lions of pounds, the poor countries, likeZambia have limited opportunities to copewith the current global downturn.’

The joint service was co-ordinated byTearfund, CAFOD, World Vision, MicahChallenge, Progressio and The SalvationArmy among many other church-basedgroups.

According to the police, 35,000 peoplemarched through London under the bannerPut People First – March for Jobs, Justiceand Climate – a coalition of developmentagencies, unions, faith and environmentgroups, demanding jobs and public servicesfor all, an end to global poverty and inequal-ity and a green economy.

Rev Joel Edwards, International Directorof Micah Challenge, encouraged the churchon its persistence in being present in cam-paigning on these issues through actionslike Jubilee 2000, Make Poverty History andnow Put People First.

He sent those gathered out with a call tocontinue in this persistence: ‘There is a callto be persistent people for justice – that'swhy we are here. We are here not just fortoday, but for the long haul.’

Paraphrasing Martin Luther King’s com-ments about injustice, Mr Edwards said: ‘Inpolitics they ask – is it expedient? In eco-

nomics they ask – is it profitable?Conscience asks – is it right? If it is right wewill do it.’

SPEAKING UP FOR THE DUMB:

Church Urges Rally: ʻDon't Forget The Poorʼ

The Rt Revd Richard Chartres, Bishop of London, withTEAR Fund demonstrators.

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PERSECUTION WATCH ...‘Remember those in prison ... and those who aremistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.’

(Hebrews 13.3)

Page Fourteen – 16 April 2009 – NEW LIFE

A CHRISTIAN human rights organizationhas learned that four Iraqi Christians wererecently killed in Baghdad and Kirkuk.

A news release from Christian humanrights organization International ChristianConcern reported that while the perpetra-tors are as yet unknown, Islamic fundamen-talists, criminal gangs and other armedgroups have been behind attacks againstChristians in Iraq in the past.

ICC said that according to the MiddleEast Times, on 1 April Sabah Aziz Sulimanwas killed in Kirkuk. The following day Nim-rud Khuder Moshi, Glawiz Nissan and Ha-naa Issaq were killed in Dora, a historicallyChristian neighbourhood of Baghdad.

‘The killing of four innocent people withinthe last two days has put a renewed fear inour hearts. What is important is to keepthese continuous atrocities in the media and

on the policy makers' radars. What we needis a more safe and secure Iraq for all Iraqi's,especially for the Christians who have facedethno-religious cleansing,’ said Julian Tai-moorazy, president of Iraqi Christian ReliefCouncil, in an interview with ICC.

ICC said that Iraqi Christians have beenpaying a heavy price due to the instability inthe country following its invasion in 2003.ICC reported that in a recent press confer-ence, Archbishop Louis Sako said: ‘A totalof 750 Christians have been murdered inthe past five years, including Archbishop ofMosul Paulos Faraj Rahho.’ Sako is theChaldean Catholic Archbishop of Kirkuk.

ICC said that the persecution has alsoforced half of an estimated 1.2 million IraqiChristians to leave their homes. Many IraqiChristian refugees are living in Syria, Leb-anon, Jordan and Syria under difficult cir-

cumstances.ICC's Regional Manager for Africa and

the Middle East, Jonathan Racho, said inthe news release: ‘The suffering of IraqiChristians has been beyond description andis not yet over. More than ever, the IraqiChristians need our prayer and support.The latest martyrdom of our brothers shouldserve to awaken churches in the Westerncountries to come to the aid of their Iraqibrothers and sisters. We call upon Iraqi offi-cials and the allied forces in Iraq to avertfurther attacks against Iraqi Christians. It issimply unacceptable to watch the extinctionof the Christian community from Iraq.’

ICC asked that Christians pray for thefamilies of the martyred Christians and allpersecuted Christians in Iraq. For moreinformation go to: www.persecution.org

– Jeremy Reynalds, ASSIST News Service

Pakistani Christian Man Murdered A PAKISTANI Christian man was murderedon the night of 31 March in Samundri, locat-ed in the Faisalabad district of Punjabprovince, when he went to his brother’shouse to get medicine for himself.

The family of Rashid Masih were worriedabout him when he did not return despitethe passage of several hours. Rashid’s fam-ily looked for him everywhere in Sumandribut could not get any clue on his where-abouts. They were shocked to find the bodyof Rashid in a dried canal near their homeon 1 April. The deceased has left twodaughters Nomi, 8, Hansa 6, and two sonsShalom, 5, and Shalon, 2.

A murder case has been registered atthe Samundri Police Station, but policehave not made any arrests at the time ofwriting of this report. Pakistani Christianshave often complained about the apatheticattitude of the police towards them.

– Dan Wooding and Sheraz Khurram Khan

Police Raid Baptist Home In AzerbaijanTHREE Baptist women were detained andfined for ‘illegally spreading Christianity and

other faiths’ in the South Caucasus countryof Azerbaijan on 25 March. The three, whoare from Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan,were charged after police raided a Baptistreligious gathering in a private home in thecentral town of Agdash, where childrenwere receiving religious instruction.

Parents had been invited to send theirchildren to Zhuchaeva’s home to listen toBible stories during the Novruz spring festi-val, a holiday celebrating the arrival ofspring. Approximately 12 children werepresent. The police confiscated more than500 pieces of Christian literature, 40 CDs,and a CD recorder. The raid and the deten-tion of the Baptists has had widespreadmedia coverage, which has included thedisclosing of the addresses of thosedetained and fined.

Elnur Jabiyev, General Secretary of theBaptist Union of Azerbaijan, described thepublic disclosure of the addresses of thedetainees as dangerous. ‘Nationalists willknow their addresses. The police should nothave given journalists this information,’Jabiyev said.

Orissa's Believers Demand Rights –Church Moves ForwardORISSA'S Christians are calling for thewithdrawal of all anti-conversion laws andbanning of re-conversion. Dave Stravers iswith Grand Rapids, Michigan-based MissionIndia. He says, of all of their ministries thathave suffered from persecution, ‘The Chil-dren's Bible Clubs are pretty innocuousfrom the point of view of the Hindu extrem-ists. Although we have had a few caseswhere an extremist came into a communityand forced the club to shut down, this isvery unusual. The families like the clubs.They have made a huge difference in thelives of children.’ Stravers tells the story ofone child who went to the club, learnedabout Jesus, and made a commitment.Within two years, he was teaching theclubs. He started his own ministry, andtoday he's the head of a denomination of1200 churches. In spite of persecution,Stravers says there's a plan for growth.‘We're praying this year that we'll be able todo even more clubs than we have in thepast.’ – Mission Network News

Four Christians Killed In Two Days In Iraq –Violence Against Iraqi Christians Rising Again

PLEASE PRAY FOR THE PERSECUTED CHURCH!

FOR THE YOUNG ONES:

NEW LIFE – 16 April 2009 – Page Fifteen

‘Practice Makes Perfect’, Anthony E.Bird, 2007, Evangelical Press.THE Letter of James has tended to sufferone of two fates.

Because of its strong emphasis on thenecessity of living out the Christian faith indemonstrably practical ways, the more doc-trinally oriented have tended to overlook itor even deride it. Thus Luther called it ‘theEpistle of Straw.’

On the other hand, those of a practical,activist bent, have taken delight in James’sespousal of down-to-Earth, practical,sleeves-rolled-up Christianity. Thus a col-league of mine, believing that I put toomuch emphasis on upholding right doctrine,once challenged me to preach a series ofsermons on James. I took up the challenge,to my own and hopefully my congregation’sspiritual benefit.

But oh how I wish Tony Bird’s commen-tary had been available back then!

While for some, ‘faith’ is a ‘being’ word(a noun) and for others ‘faith’ is a ‘doing’word (a verb), Tony Bird shows that for

James, ‘faith’ is a gerund (a noun and averb at one and the same time).

He carefully unravels and lays out thevarious strands of James’s teaching andwhere necessary neatly assembles the evi-dence for the traditional view of the criticalquestions in James, such as the authorship.

His many historical, classical and poeticallusions, combined with contemporary illus-trations (Betty Cuthbert rates a mention)and a fluid style are reminiscent of WilliamBarclay. But a greater than Barclay is here.There are no ifs, buts and maybes, noquestioning of received wisdom to leave thereader wondering if ‘it ain’t necessarily so’.The reader of this commentary is gentlyassured of the veracity, authority and rele-vance of the quantitatively small but qualita-tively major Letter of James.

To sum up the helpfulness of this com-mentary for Christians in their devotions andits usefulness for pastor/teachers in theirministry, let the author speak for himself:

‘What is remarkable about this letter isthe glorious vision it presents of God, the

descriptions of whom are both extensiveand breathtaking. Reading it ought to driveus to contemplate afresh the wonder of Godand then lead us to worship Him. In fact themore we entertain true and great thoughtsabout Him, the more we shall be in a posi-tion to face the trials of life, the attractionsof the world, the ongoing battle with sin andthe unrelenting hostility of the Evil One. Inaddition we shall be better equipped to dowhat His Word says: to be practical Chris-tians who make a useful contribution to thechurch of Jesus Christ.’

We both heartily commend this com-mentary and eagerly await further volumesfrom its author. – Bob Thomas

Page Sixteen – 16 April 2009 – NEW LIFE

BOOKS WORTH READING ...

‘Failure Is Not Final, A Life Of C.H. Nash’,Darrell Paproth, 2007, Centre for theStudy of Australian Christianity, RobertMenzies College, Macquarie University,PO Box 1505, Macquarie Centre, 2113.THE writer's aim was to provide an in-depthstudy of the life of Rev C.H. Nash (b.1866)who is probably best known as the foundingPrincipal of the Melbourne Bible Institute.This is no purely historical over-view of theman and his accomplishments. Rather itbrings to life the man and his ministry as itexplores the various factors that were a partof Nash's early years, his struggles, hislife's work and his final years. These formthe framework through which we come toshare in the story of this man who had suchan enormous impact on Christian life inMelbourne.

In spite of conflict with some personali-ties within the Anglican Church hierarchy ofthat time, he remained faithful to the churchand above all to his evangelical faith.Rumours which plagued him at variouspoints of his life were not allowed to min-imise the enormous impact he had on thelife of the evangelical movement in Mel-

bourne in the period between the WorldWars.

Nash was a truly eloquent preacher andteacher of God's Word, working straightfrom his well-used Greek New Testament,and greatly loved by those who sat underhis ministry. He also had a great influenceon the missionary movement of that period.

I found this to be a fascinating book pro-viding insight to the person of C.H. Nash,his family life, his ministry, and his legacy inwhat is now the Bible College of Victoria.The appendices and notes referring to cor-respondence and personal interviews withthose who knew him make us realise thereality of spiritual warfare in ministry.

Over the years many have beenblessed, challenged, encouraged and sentforth in Christian service as a result of C.H.Nash, his life and ministry.

– Barbara Wilson

‘Teenagers: Biblical Wisdom ForParents’, Ann Benton, IVP, England, 2009ANN Benton has written a number of booksaround family issues (often with highlyamusing and appropriate titles). This bookonly needs the cover picture and the one

word ‘Teenagers’ to immediately interestany parent of teenagers or of children whoare about to grow into the teenage years.

Many preachers have used the book ofProverbs as a means of teaching wisdomfor the young adult as Proverbs is writtenprimarily to instruct the young on how to bewise in God’s sight, and much use is madeof Proverbs throughout this book.

More in-depth and thorough than otherbooks I have read by Ann Benton, this onedefinitely deserves a place on a family bookshelf along with other parenting books.Benton shows that the time to begin think-ing about parenting teenagers is long beforeyour first child becomes one. The patternsdeveloped between parent and young childwill set a foundation for seeing you throughwhat is universally acknowledged as themost challenging time for the family unit.

The little paragraphs of real life exam-ples that begin each chapter are aptly cho-sen. She says that the ‘three Rs’ of parent-ing teenagers are: Review, Regrets andRelate. Again helpfully chosen. She doesnot shirk from difficult, real scenarios.

(Continued p.17)

New Commentary On James DrawsTwo Extremes Together

NEW LIFE – 16 April 2009 – Page Seventeen

BOOKS WORTH READING ... (Continued from p.16)She encourages us to be ever vigilant as tothe spoken and unspoken messages thatare coming to us from our teenagers. I wasreminded of another book on parentingteenagers in which the counsellor said themost important advice for parents is thatthey be as healthy as possible so that theycan be thoroughly alert to the needs anddemands of their teenage children. This is not a time of life to give up spendingtime with your children assuming they onlywant their friends. It is rather the last con-centrated time a parent has to be involvedin the development of a child, very muchinfluenced by you into a person ready torelate to you adult-to-adult and who is readyto face the world at large. The quote on theback cover will resonate: ‘Under the hoodie,behind that eye make-up, there frequentlylurks a human being of immense charm,affection and wit’. – Mignon Goswell

‘The Mother Who Seeks After God: DailyDevotions For Busy Mums’, LauraMartin, Christian Focus, Scotland 2007.THESE 30 devotions follow a helpful pat-tern: a Bible verse or two, followed by ashort devotion starting with the author’s ownexperience and leading on to a little Bibleexposition with a prayer to finish off thereading. There are then follow up verses tostudy and questions for reflection. All in all,the individual can decide how deeply shewishes to extend the chapter. It could alsobe filled out and used as a pattern for shortdevotions at women’s meetings. While notbeing overly deep or insightful in their con-tent, the topics covered are important.

Chapters include ‘The Mother Who …Worships, Disciples, Teaches, Grows in theLord ... Is Wise’. Certainly Christian motherswould wish to exhibit these character traits.

This book would be particularly helpfulfor the young mother who has not beenbrought up in a Christian home herself, buthaving become a Christian is seeking tomodel Christ within her own family. It wouldalso be helpful for the mother who has not

had a settled pattern of daily devotions.The emphasis on prayer and Bible

study and the constant injunctions to be-come more godly and to see the role ofmothering as an absolutely vital one allmake this a good gift to give a ‘busy’ mumthat you might know! – Mignon Goswell

‘Concerning the True Care of Souls’,Martin Bucer, translated by Peter Beale,Edinburgh, Banner of Truth Trust, 2009.THIS famous work of pastoral theology,written in 1538, has never before beentranslated into English. In an historical intro-duction, the late Professor David F. Wrightgives a valuable survey and evaluation ofthe Strasbourg reformer and his work.

Wright points out that Bucer’s view of‘discipline’ was a broad one, namely theresponsibility of all believers to care for andadmonish one another. It is stating the obvi-ous to say that the lax practice of the con-temporary church stands in need of instruc-tion and correction in the area of church dis-cipline. One thing that shows that Bucer isnot hopelessly out of date is the focus in thefirst chapter on what today we would callthe ‘body life’ of the church or ‘all memberministry’. Bucer teaches that the church is afellowship of believers. He is certainly notpromoting a brand of clericalism.

Each chapter opens with the quotationof a series of biblical texts pertinent to theparticular topic to be discussed, for exam-ple, chapter 2 commences with eleven textson Christ’s rule in His church (that the Popehas hijacked, according to Bucer). Bucerinsists on the need for a diaconate to carefor the poor, and he argues that the office ofelder and bishop is the one office. The influ-ence he had on Calvin’s ecclesiology isobvious at many points, which is hardly sur-

prising, seeing that Calvin spent the years1538-41 as an exile in Strasbourg.

Bucer insists on the plurality of eldersdue to the pastoral demands of congrega-tions, even small congregations, noting thatthis was the pattern of the church from thebeginning. He lays stress on the exemplarygodliness required of those in ministry andon the care to be taken in choosing Chris-tian leaders. He differentiates the five maintasks involved in pastoral care, with a wholechapter devoted to explaining each task(chapters 7-11).

Reflecting the time in which he lived,Bucer gives secular rulers a role in promot-ing true religion and in punishing heretics.His repeated emphasis, however, is on theearnestness and diligence required of pas-tors in seeking the lost and bringing backthe straying. Though rejecting the idea thatpenance is a sacrament, Bucer insists onthe necessity of public confession and thepunishment of those who fall into gross sin,before they can be restored to the privilegesof church membership, which is how Bucerunderstands the ‘binding’ and ‘loosing’ spo-ken of in Matthew 16.19.

Finally, with a touch of realism, Bucerwarns ministers that those who are mostfaithful will often have troubled ministriesand experience misunderstanding andopposition, but he encourages them ‘to becheerful and indefatigable, however badlytheir ministry may sometimes be received’(p. 191). The value of a book like this is itsobvious grounding in Scripture. The factthat it comes from a different time adds toits usefulness, for it can help to show upsome modern blind spots in the theory andpractice of Christian ministry.

– Greg Goswell

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Page Eighteen – 16 April 2009 – NEW LIFE

ONESIMUS AND FRIENDS ... ‘Useful to me and to you’

'The prayer of a righteousperson has great power . . .'(James 5.16b ESV)

During March We PrayedConcerning:KANDHAMAL DISTRICT, ORISSA STATE,INDIA, where Christians made homeless bythe Hindu August-September 2008 pogromare too afraid to leave the relief camps.Those who do return to their villages arefinding that Hindus persecute and imposehumiliating and repressive restrictions onthem with impunity. UPDATE: CHRISTIANS BEING EVICTEDFROM ORISSA RELIEF CAMPS. On 16January the Orissa High Court rejected apetition from rights activist Keshamati Prad-han against the Orissa State Government'sforcible closure of Kandhamal relief camps.The High Court said this was because theSupreme Court was considering Kandhamalriot cases, so Pradhan took her petition tothe Supreme Court. However, the SupremeCourt returned the petition to the High Courton 23 March, saying it wanted to hear theState's position first. Meanwhile, the OrissaState Government is declaring peace andevicting Christians from the relief camps inorder to close them. The traumatised,homeless Christians are then forced to re-turn to their villages without any protectionor security. Pradhan's petition was to gobefore the Orissa High Court on 6 April.Please pray. ANOTHER RSS LEADER MURDERED INORISSA – SITUATION 'EXPLOSIVE' On 19 March some 15 suspected Maoistrebels shot dead Hindu nationalist RSS

leader Prabhat Panigrahi in Rudhiguma vil-lage, Kandhamal district. Just as in August2008, the Hindu nationalists are saying thata 'nexus' between the Maoists and Chris-tians is responsible. According to localHindu nationalist BJP officials the situationin Kandhamal is 'explosive'. Meanwhile theBJP has named the Hindutva activist AshokSahu as its candidate from the KandhamalLok Sabha (Federal Parliament) constituen-cy. According to Sahu, Kandhamal is the'model area' for Hindutva in the entire coun-try. The Indian elections commenced on 16April. Please pray. NORTH KOREA, where Christians areseverely persecuted. Re-Stalinisation is inprogress, living conditions are horrendous,isolation is deepening and the war rhetoricis escalating. UPDATE: CHRISTIAN MINISTRIES ATRISK. American journalists Laura Ling andEuna Lee were in China preparing a reporton North Korean refugees when they acci-dentally crossed the poorly marked borderand were arrested by North Korean borderguards recently. The two journalists havebeen charged with espionage and taken toPyongyang for questioning. They will doubt-less be valuable bargaining chips in thesedays of escalating belligerence. A seriousconsequence is the threat that now loomsover the Christian ministries that assistNorth Korean refugees on the Chinese sideof the border. North Korean security offi-cials, who will have confiscated the journal-ists’ cameras and recorded interviews, willbe keen to get as much information as theycan from the two young women. An inten-sive targeted crackdown may ensue. Prayfor wisdom, guidance and divine protection.

SOMALIA, wherethe al-Qaeda-backed al-Shabaabrules virtually all the south; neighbouringNorth Eastern Kenya, where fundamental-ists amongst the growing Somali-Muslimmajority are persecuting the Chris-tianminority with impunity; and the dispersedSomalis who have more religious liberty andaccess to the Gospel than any Somali livinginside Somalia. LAWYERS SUFFER FOR DEFENDINGRELIGIOUS LIBERTYIn countries where there is great officialand/or social hostility towards the Church,lawyers who courageously advocate for thehuman rights of persecuted Christians do soknowing that they will most probably pay forit with their own life or liberty. Asian Chris-tian lawyers presently suffering include GaoZhisheng (imprisoned) and Li Subin (perse-cuted) in China; Nguyen van Dai (impris-oned) and Le Tran Luat (persecuted) inVietnam. These lawyers are often over-looked or forgotten by the Church andregarded as secondary victims, not primaryvictims like pastors or those persecuted inthe course of worship or mission. Yet theselawyers are in every sense offering theirbodies as living sacrifices – an act of spiritu-al worship (Romans 12.1). Please pray forthem.

World Evangelical AllianceReligious Liberty Prayer List

is moderated by Ron Clough.Elizabeth Kendal

researched and authored this message.

‘Watching Unto Prayer ...’

Quotable Quote . . .‘A pessimist sees the diff icultyin every opportunity;

An optimist sees the opportunityin every diff iculty. ’

– Sir Winston Churchil l

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NEW LIFE – 16 April 2009 – Page Nineteen

DATA just released from a nation-wide studyin Iraq found that 97% of the population hasaccess to satellite television and that18.8%, or 5.3 million people in that countryalone (out of an estimated 2008 populationof 28 million), watch SAT-7. The study alsofound that 2.6 million are watching on a reg-ular daily or weekly basis!

Intermedia, the independent audienceresearch firm which conducted the study,also provides data on such channels as AlJazeera and BBC Arabic. In fact, accordingto the study SAT-7 is only 1.7 percentagepoints behind BBC Arabic in the number ofpeople aware of the channel!

SAT-7 CEO Terence Ascott says the fig-ures show that SAT-7 is offering tremen-dous return on donations given to the min-

istry. ‘It’s quite amazing when you considerthat BBC Arabic has an annual budget of 25million British Pounds. A year ago when theBBC channel launched, that amount wasworth about 50 million dollars. SAT-7’s total

budget, split among three channels in 2008,was only 13 million dollars. Talk about valuefor your money!’

In addition to reaching a high number ofviewers for a low cost, SAT-7 is also provid-ing vital support to the struggling Christiancommunity in Iraq. ‘Iraqi Christians havereally suffered in recent years and manyhave fled the country,’ says David Harder,SAT-7’s Communications Manager. ‘Iraqisoften call and text us asking for prayer.Fortunately, through our programs SAT-7’sArabic producers and hosts can show God’slove and offer encouragement. We’ve hadresponses from Iraq for years, but now weknow that literally millions of Iraqis,Christian and non-Christian, are watchingthe broadcasts.’

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Room For 500Christian TeachersIn BhutanEXCITING opportunities have come up inBhutan. Less than one percent of Bhutan isChristian, and evangelism is forbidden.But Mawii Pudaite of Bibles for the Worldrecently went with her husband and a fewothers to Bhutan, where they met with theEducation Secretary, the Prime Minister, the King, and finally the Education Minister.

‘The Education Minister asked if wecould provide at least 500 teachers forBhutan, specifically to teach English, math-ematics and science. If you are qualifiedand interested in teaching any of these sub-jects in the schools in Bhutan, please let us know.’

Teachers should be Christians: ‘Wewould like to send as many well-seasonedmen and women as possible: believers whowill live out their faith there.’ To learn moreabout teaching in Bhutan, visit:http://www.mnnonline.org/article/12498

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NEW LIFE – 16 April 2009 – Page Twenty

Five Foreign ChristiansDeported From MoroccoTHE Moroccan Government announced on29 March it had expelled five foreign femaleChristians for trying to ‘proselytize’ in theIslamic country, although sources said theywere foreign visitors merely attending aBible study with fellow Christians.

According to a story by Compass DirectNews, the accused women were among 23tourists, expatriates and Moroccans arrest-ed in Casablanca on the Saturday duringwhat the Interior Ministry called a ‘prosely-tizing’ meeting involving Moroccan citizens.Police seized numerous pieces of evangel-istic ‘propaganda,’ including Arabic booksand videos.

But a source told Compass that every-one in attendance was a Christian and thatthey had merely gathered for a Bible study.The source told Compass that falls withinMorocco's constitutional right of freedom toexpress one's faith.

Compass said arriving at the meeting at5pm, 18 plainclothes police officers arrestedall in attendance and transported them to apolice station. They were detained andquestioned until 5am Sunday.

‘This was a great humiliation for thesewomen, most of which were of the samefamily, to be arrested as criminals,’Compass reported the source said.

Prior to the arrest, all the materials attheir meeting had received official govern-ment approval. Compass said those inattendance included 15 Moroccan womenand one man, two female expatriates ofIraqi and US origin, and the five women vis-iting Casablanca on the group's invitation.

The women the government called ‘mis-sionaries’ – four Spaniards and one Ger-man – were deported to Spain via ferry,according to Morocco's official MAP newsagency.

While the decision to expel the fivewomen indicated lack of religious freedomin Morocco, it likely has more to do with a

Moroccan bias against missionary activity ingeneral, not against Christian evangelismas such, said Elliot Abrams, senior fellow forthe Council on Foreign Relations.

Compass said Morocco severed tieswith Iran in early March on suspicion thatthe latter was supporting Shiite Islamic mis-sionary activity, which officials believedwould disrupt the unity of the 99-percentSunni country.

Earlier this month a Shiite school wasclosed after accusations that it was attempt-ing to convert students, and rights groupsclaim that about a dozen people have beenarrested for allegedly converting to ShiiteIslam, according to the Associated Press.

In light of these moves, Abrams said, thegovernment would have been hard-pressedto allow Christian activities the five womenwere suspected of undertaking after it shutdown Islamic missionary enterprises.

‘(Morocco) is generally more sensitiveabout missionary activity, and cannot beseen to allow Christian activity while stop-ping Muslim activity,’ Compass reported hesaid.

A Christian worker agreed with thisassertion. He said the government may beattacking Christians ‘for balance,’ even ifthey are only having a Bible study, afterlaunching an initiative against Shiites.

Compass said the North African countryprides itself on its religious freedom and tol-erance. The constitution provides for free-dom to practise one's religion, but Article220 of the Penal Code criminalizes anyattempt to induce a Muslim to convert toanother religion.Official Church Leaders PounceCompass said without directly mentioningthe women, representatives of Morocco'sofficial churches swiftly condemned allforms of ‘proselytism’ – a term with a pejo-rative connotation of asserting one's will, asdistinct from ‘evangelism,’ or proclaiming

Christ for people to respond freely.Compass said the representatives

added that the role of the nation's churchesis only to guide Christians on their ‘spiritualquest.’

Archbishop of Rabat Monsignor VincentLandel and Chairman of the EvangelicalChurch in Morocco Jean-Luc Blanc issued ajoint statement that Catholics and Muslimsshould focus on dialogue, which ‘by defini-tion rules out proselytizing activities.’

‘This dialogue has an intellectual andtheological dimension and copes with thesocial and cultural realms,’ Compass report-ed they wrote. ‘Thus, Christians areengaged in various activities alongsideMuslims, share the same values and goalsand are not afraid of showing their differ-ences.’

Compass said Blanc pastors a FrenchPentecostal church in Casablanca, a con-gregation mostly made up of expatriatesfrom across Africa. He has criticized inde-pendent foreign mission groups, mainly outof worry that they could upset a delicatereligious balance in the Sunni Muslim coun-try.

Catholic and Protestant churches havebeen operating in Morocco for more than acentury, and ‘have learned over the years tolive in harmony with the country and its peo-ple,’ Compass reported he said in the state-ment.

In 2007 the Ministry of Islamic Affairsand Endowments claimed that foreign mis-sionaries had converted more than 3,000people to Christianity, particularly in remoteareas of the country, according to the 2008US Department of State Report on Inter-national Religious Freedom.

Compass said a source with contacts inMorocco said that radical Islam is perceivedas far more of a threat than evangelicalChristianity.

– Jeremy Reynalds, ASSIST News Service

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NEW LIFE – 16 April 2009 – Page Twenty One

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Page Twenty Two – 16 April 2009 – NEW LIFE

GOOD NEWS FROM ABROAD

LAST year, Australian mothers and MercyShips supporters of a special Mother’s Dayappeal exceeded all expectations.

Gary Regazzoli, CEO of Mercy ShipsAustralia says: ‘Our goal in 2008 was toraise $250,000 to fund 500 fistula surgeries,asking 5,000 Australian mothers to give $50to help 500 suffering mothers. The final totalwas $350,000. This allowed us to increasethe number of surgeries from 500 to 700.On behalf of those 700 mothers, thank youfor your generosity.

‘This year we dare to dream of funding800 surgeries. This means we need 8,000Australian mothers giving $50 to reach ourgoal of helping 800 suffering mothers. Youcan help. Please join us this Mother’s Dayas we mend the broken bodies and heal thebroken hearts of our distressed sisters inthe developing world.’

The story of Memuna reflects the plightof one of the estimated two million womenin West Africa who live in shame year afteryear because of an injury during childbirth.

Most of these women are destitute, ostra-cised by their community and surviving bybegging for crumbs of bread and bits offood. The lucky few like Memuna will re-ceive corrective surgery so they can returnto a normal life.

At 18, Memuna was preparing for thedelivery of her first child. In her small vil-lage, everyone anticipated the arrival of newlife. Memuna went to a maternity clinicnearby, but something went terribly wrong.The delivery was not progressing. For threedays Memuna laboured trying to push thebaby out. Those at the clinic were not ableto help her, and the infant did not survivethe trauma of the delivery.

While still grieving the loss of her child,Memuna discovered that she was not ableto control the flow of urine from her body.Thinking this was just a side-effect of thedelivery, she lay very, very still in bed forseveral days trying to give her body time toheal. Soon, though, she also discoveredthat she was not able to control her bowels.

It is not unusual in these circumstancesfor the victim to be ostracised from theircommunity. This had been a way of life forMemuna now for 12 years.

Memuna was greeted with smiles andtender touches as she was met by MercyShips volunteers prior to receiving free cor-rective surgery.

The bright smile on Memuna’s face re-flects the happiness she feels as she cele-brates the complete success of the secondsurgery. The final entry in her medical chartstates,: ‘Patient went home with husband.’ Amended body brought about a healed heart.

Onboard the Mercy Ship Africa Mercyand at a dedicated land-based clinic in WestAfrica, Mercy Ships performs free fistularepair surgeries for affected women. Thehealed patients are given new outfits andhead dresses as symbols of their restoredlife.

For further information on the 2009Mercy Ships Australia Mother’s Day appeal,go to www.mercyships.org.au

Mending Bodies, Healing Hearts On Mother’s Day

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MORLING College, the Baptist TheologicalCollege in NSW, is sad to announce theresignation of Dr Bridget Aitchison, Principalof Southland College, a subsidiary of Mor-ling College which offers post-graduateteacher education degrees by distance edu-cation. Dr Aitchison has been withSouthland for just over five years and lastyear took on the additional responsibility ofAcademic Dean (Course Accreditation) forMorling College. Her work has been exem-plary and we appreciate the dedication andcommitment she has shown to bothSouthland and Morling.

Dr Aitchison's resignation comes aboutas a result of being head hunted to serve ina new position at Indiana Wesleyan Univer-sity in the United States. She has beenappointed as Vice President for the Collegeof Adult and Professional Studies at the uni-versity effective 1 July 2009.

Indiana Wesleyan University is the sec-ond largest evangelical university in Ameri-ca. The College of Adult and ProfessionalStudies is the largest of the University'sthree colleges, with 17,000 students en-

rolled in its programs across Nursing,Business, Education and Liberal Arts. DrAitchison will head a team of 1,700-2,000faculty and staff and manage 14 regionalcentres in addition to the College's facilitieson the 350-acre main campus of IWU.

Indiana Wesleyan University's Provost,Dr David Wright, has said: ‘After a rigorousprocess of interviews with the SearchCommittee, the faculty and staff of theCollege of Adult and Professional Studies,the IWU Cabinet, the President, and theChair of the IWU Board of Trustees, DrAitchison emerged as the clear and com-pelling person God has called to this crucialleadership position at Indiana WesleyanUniversity.’

A search will now begin for a candidateto replace Dr Aitchison as Principal ofSouthland College and Director of Edu-cation programs at Morling College. For ajob description and application criteria,please contact Dr Bridget Aitchison at prin-cipal@southland.edu.au or on (02) 98891633. Applications close on 25 April, 2009.

– Rev Dr Ross Clifford

Big Move For Aussie ScholarOPPORTUNITY

Global Care Invited To SpeakAt Day Of Healing CeremonyGLOBAL Care’s Regional Co-ordinator forKinglake, Russell Wright was asked tomake a presentation at a Day of HealingCeremony held at Eltham, Vic, on Sunday 5April.

The day of entertainment featured per-formances by Kate Ceberano and DarrylBraithwaite.

Russell spoke four times between2.30pm and 5.00pm on the day – and saidhe was humbled by the request.

‘It was a fantastic day and a greatopportunity for Global Care,’ Russell said.‘When I was asked, the organiser said thatit would be a great honour to have us there,I would have thought it was the other wayaround!

‘It’s been a great opportunity to raiseawareness for the work that Global Care isdoing and continue the fundraising effort’.

This is\\was just one part of a hugeweekend for Global Care, with the majorfootball celebration in Kinglake onSaturday, featuring Peter Garrett and a con-cert after the game.

CHANGE OF WORSHIPVENUEPRESBYTERIAN REFORMEDCHURCH MELBOURNE advises that we have changed our placeof worship from:Laburnum Primary School TO NUNAWADING PRIMARY SCHOOL104 Springvale Rd Nunawading(Between Luckie & Esdale Sts)Melway Map 48 Ref. F8Service each Sunday @ 10.30am preceded by prayer @ 9.45amEnquiries phone: Rev Graeme Hulls, 03 9876 5346,or Mr Barry Gregor, 03 9877 4006.

Hear ‘Amazing Grace’ 98.1 Eastern FM, each Sunday 7amFor more information visit our website:www.prc.org.auPresbyterian Reformed ChurchMelbourne Inc (A0049333Z)

Page Twenty Four – 16 April 2009 – NEW LIFE

‘NEW LIFE’ – AUSTRALIA’S CHRISTIAN NEWSPAPER

RACE car driver Andrew Fisher is quicklybecoming one of Australia’s highest-profileChristians, particularly within the main-stream market.

Andrew races in the Yokohama V8 UteSeries and the Fujitsu V8 Supercar seriesat motorsport events right across Australia,with the name of Jesus right down the sideof his car.

One million people see him race live atrace tracks every year. Another 30 millionworldwide watch the races on television.

The ‘Jesus V8 Ute’ was featured at therecent Top Gear spectaculars at Sydney’sACER arena, where it was highlighted infront of an estimated audience of 70,000people.

Off the track, Andrew has extensive pub-lic speaking commitments which includepresentations to more than 50,000 highschool students every year, where hespeaks about the importance of havingcourage both on and off the racetrack.

Andrew recently lined up alongside pre-eminent Christians Tim Costello and BrianHouston at the Champions Men’s Confer-

ence in Brisbane at the Brisbane CityChurch in Bowen Hills.

More than a thousand men attended theevent, which aims to encourage men to beReal, Strong and Connected.

Brian Houston and his wife Bobbie arethe Senior Pastors at Hillsong in Sydney,speaking to around 20,000 people everyweekend. Brian is also the National Presi-dent of Australian Christian Churches,which is a movement representing morethan 1,000 churches and 210,000Christians across Australia.

The Rev Tim Costello is one of Aus-tralia’s leading voices on social justice. Hehas been the CEO of World Vision since2004 and has been instrumental in placingglobal poverty on the national agenda. Timwas named Victorian of the Year in 2004,was given an Order of Australia in 2005 andnamed Victorian Australian of the Year in2006.

Andrew spoke about the importance ofdoing things with intention, as well as hisrelationship with international aid organisa-tion Compassion and his recent trip to India,

where he witnessed Compas-sion’s worksfirst-hand.

Andrew is also the face of the ‘Jesus. Allabout life’ campaign, which is a massivemulti-media project which will run through-out Sydney and the whole of NSW inSeptember this year.

All of the Christian denomi-nations have registered theirsupport for the Bible Societyprogram, which focuses onadvertising to encourage peo-ple to consider the person ofJesus – or at least start askingquestions.

More than 500 churcheshave also signed up to be partof the campaign. It is expectedthat by September, more than2,000 churches will be onboard, to leverage off theadvertising campaign withinlocal communities.

For more information aboutAndrew Fisher or ‘Jesus. Allabout life’ please call LindsayFisher on 0413 020 261 or goto:www.jesusracing.com.au orwww.jesusallaboutlife.com.au

Race Driver Andrew Fisher To Speak AtChampion Men’s Conference

IT has always been the way of man-made religion thatsalvation be achieved through works. Contrary to this,God in His grace freely gives salvation to those withnothing but faith, which is itself a gift from God(Ephesians 2.8,9). When we are helpless, God is gra-cious and mighty to save. God's ways are not our ways,And His thoughts are not our thoughts.By HIM the weak do shame the strong– the poor the rich – the fool the wise.By HIM the humble carpenter from Galilee, Though crucified does rise,Confounding Roman guard and Pharisee. By HIM the lamb has victory. That which is true of salvation is also true of life.Contrary to all worldly wisdom, God calls us to a life offaith. This is a critical message for our times, for theChurch is entering dark days when faith will be tested.His warning as always is: 'If you do not stand firm infaith, you will not stand firm at all. (Isaiah 79 ESV)'Islam has advanced phenomenally.The jihadists are ascendant. Hindutva is forging ahead in India.Immorality and false religion are on the rise the world overand those who enjoy their sin and errorare increasingly intolerant of thosewho espouse Biblical principles.The call is increasingly for 'peace at any price' – sothose who threaten violence are constantly appeasedand empowered, increasing the likelihood of violence.Economic hardship will doubtless trigger conflict in manysocieties. In totalitarian states such conflict could behijacked by regimes intent on winding back openness toprolong regime survival. All over the world, persecutionof the Church is escalating.

Despite all this, God's way is still theway of faith. Dear believer, neverdespise prayer by viewing it as a lesserform of advocacy. It is the greatest andhighest advocacy of all. A faithfulbeliever in prayer is an advocate in thecourt of the highest authority in the uni-verse: the court of the SovereignLORD God Almighty, who is also our

Father and our Friend. Indeed, God in His wisdom hasordained that His love, justice, power and glory berevealed through the answering of our prayers. May our faith not rest in the wisdom of men, but in thepower of God (1 Corinthians 2.5). I offer all my life to Thee, That Christ's life might reflect through me.His crown of thorns,His scourging and His cross;His love, His grace and resurrection power.May this pathetic worm – poor mortal,Be refreshed by Easter's memory;Though helpless in myselfI have Christ's remedy,For He has shown the way,and made provision for me.Forgiven, cleansed, empowered;We follow Him to glory via Calvary. Obeying, trusting and enduring,Until we rest with Him for all eternity.

PLEASE PRAY FOR:� the Holy Spirit to increase the faith and empowerthe witness of all those who are suffering onaccount of Jesus Christ. May their faith and witnessconfound demons, amaze angels and be used bythe Spirit of God to bring many more into theKingdom. May this renewed faith impart comfort,peace and hope in divine measure. � God in His mercy to bring a revival of faith tochurches in every nation, so the Church might bepreserved and built up and the Lord might be glori-fied in all the universe as He answers the prayers ofmany.

REFLECTIONS ON EASTER, PERSECUTION, FAITH & PRAYER By Elizabeth Kendal

NEW LIFE EXTRA:

NEW LIFE – 19 April 2009 – Page Twenty Five

'For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but tous who are being saved it is the power of God.' (1 Corinthians 1.18ESV) ... 'But He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for mypower is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all themore gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may restupon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weakness,insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I amweak, then I am strong.' (2 Corinthians 12.9,10 ESV)

NEW LIFE – 19 April 2009 – Page Twenty Six

ALL across the world this Easter season, Christians willbe remembering the death and resurrection of their Lordand Saviour, Jesus Christ. This is even true in manyArab nations of the Middle East and North Africa.

Though their communities are small in most Arabcountries, in some nations the number of followers ofChrist is significant. This includes Egypt, whereChristians make up about 10% of the population (atleast 8 million people, mostly Orthodox believers butincluding some Protestants and Catholics) and Syria(mostly Catholic) and about 3% of the population in Iraq(mostly Catholic, but also Assyrian and Protestant). ButLebanon has the largest indigenous Christian communi-ty by percentage (at one time more than 50%, but todaybelieved to be around 30%) made mostly of Catholicsbut also including Greek Orthodox, Protestant and otherChristian communities.

These Lebanese Christians play an important role insociety and hold many high positions in government,business and in the influential Lebanese media.Lebanese satellite TV channels are very popular acrossthe Arab world, but many viewers don’t know that manyhosts appearing on these channels are Christians. Butthis Easter several famous Lebanese media personali-ties will be talking about the importance of their faith dur-ing a special program being produced and broadcast bySAT-7.

These hosts include Ricardo Karam (from the LBCchannel) who is well known for interviewing Americanand French presidents and famous celebrities like

Celine Dion and Pavarotti. Other Lebanese celebritiesappearing on the program include Hiam Abou Shdeed(the main presenter for Studio AL Fan), Maggy Aoun(LBC), and Katia Khoury Mounadalak (LBC, MTV). Allthese famous hosts donated their time to appear onSAT-7.

During the SAT-7 Easter special entitled And FollowMe the guest hosts will profile a number of ministriesworking to help the poor, refugees and orphans in thearea, and each host is presenting a special gift to theseministries. The program also features a number of musi-cal performances recorded in front of a live studio audi-ence.

SAT-7 believes its viewers in the Middle East will bedeeply touched as they learn about the Christian faith ofthese well-known TV celebrities. This special program isjust one of dozens of Easter shows being broadcast onSAT-7’s channels during the Easter holidays. Other pro-grams include a number of live youth and children’sshows, films (including the JESUS Film and The MiracleMaker), live church services (from Lebanon, Egypt andBethlehem) and documentaries that describe the impor-tance and reality of Christ’s resurrection.

The And Follow Me Easter special will air at 8.00CET on 11 April. For more information about the otherEaster specials, check the SAT-7 broadcast schedule atwww.sat7.org

SAT-7 is broadcasting programs for both Westernand Eastern Easter celebrations one week later, includ-ing Holy Week live events for both Christian calendars.

NEW LIFE EXTRA:

Famous Lebanese Media Personalities Appear In SAT-7 Easter Special– Unique Telecast Being Broadcast By SAT-7 Into The Middle East And North Africa

(Continued from p.27)‘I need a prayer for my health. Two of my kidneys

are failing. I need healing from God to restore a newkidney.’ Linda (38)

‘To always get along and live a long time and oneday meet my dad.’

So it seems the children’s honesty is leading othersback to faith and prayer. The Aussie Awakening Easterprograms will climax on Easter Sunday with marches inevery capital city celebrating the new life that the mes-sage of the resurrection promises. Hundreds of youngpeople will be commissioned from the capital city march-es to be ambassadors for reconciliation on an annualpilgrimage to Uluru.

Open Doors Strongly UrgesMonitoring Of Aid MoneyEritrea could soon receive millions of dollars in aidmoney from the European Commission, despite ongo-ing persecution. Open Doors USA and concernedorganizations recently wrote a letter asking the EC toensure that aid money reaches suffering citizens, notjust the government. As of late 2008, nearly 3,000people have been arrested and detained without trial.Three Christians have been martyred.

Pray that prisoners will know they're not forgotten,and that God will strengthen them in mind and spirit.

NEW LIFE – 19 April 2009 – Page Twenty Seven

NEW LIFE EXTRA:

THE financial gloom, bullying in schools, personal sad-ness, the Victorian fires, floods, and the earth quake inItaly are the dominant themes in this year’s kids prayers.

For the 20th year, hundreds of children’s prayershave been gathered from all over the country, providingus with one of the most sensitive annual polls taken inthe nation. These prayers will be prayed in dusk to dawnprayer vigils throughout Australia on Good Friday night.

The Victorian fires might be off the front page of thenewspapers and the television news but it is not off theheart of kids around Australia. They have not forgottenthe folk who saw their homes burn. A remarkable bunchof prayers has come in from what is probably the mostsensitive of all the polls taken.In their own words:‘That the Victorians start to rebuild there homes andstart living there lives again.’ Zoe 10.

‘Help the Victorians in the bushfires.’Jacinta 7.‘I pray that the fires in Victoria will stop. Thank you

that we can live in a free country.’ Sarah, age 9, TASAlong with the impact of the fires comes the finan-cial crisis ...

‘My prayer for Australia … please help Australia getthrough the financial crisis, the drought and help familiesrecover soon from the fires and floods.’ Leah, aged 12,TAS

‘My prayer for my family … please pray fore my fami-ly because if my dad dose not get enough money, wewill have to leave our house.’ Melody, age 10, TAS

‘My prayer for my family … to get more money tobuy food.’ Sassie.Family difficulties and conflicts showed what thekids often suffer:‘Dear God can you please help our family get along?’Kristy (9).

‘My prayer for my family … that all the issues will besorted out and we (mum, emma & i) won’t stress 2much.’ Lucy, age 12, TAS.

‘My family will keep watching me play tennis 4 eva.My mum stays sober … and that I don’t go to fostercare.’ Jesse from the Gold Coast

‘Make my mum and dad get back together.’ Holly 8Tas.

‘My prayer for my family … for my dad as he teachesmummy to drive.’ Faith, age 6, TAS

Some had quite fascinating prayers:Patrick age 8 was concerned for the welfare of thebees. ‘Dear God I know the bees are not doing well inAustralia. Please help them not die.’

Jet from Bendigo: ‘Dear God please help me begood for Mum and Dad and love my rabbits, and let myDad stay home from work more so he can play with us.’The family’s health weighed heavily on some:‘For my mum who has emphysema and is a smoker.Please pray she’d want to quit smoking and go to healthresort to help quit that I pray for her. Thank you.’ Jimfrom NSW.

‘Dear Lord, I pray that I will stop being gluten intoler-ant and that I won’t get hurt. I pray I will stay a Christianall my life.’ Jessica, age 9, TAS.

‘Dear Lord, I pray that my dad doesn’t have skin can-cer and thank you that my family is still alive. Arman.’Samantha, age 9, TAS.

Samantha also had an unpleasant experience withan ant: ‘Dear Lord, I pray that my knee would get betaand thank you for letting me now that I’m alergick tosome things and that I’m still alive from the ant bite.’

‘My prayer for myself … my side where I fell off themonkey bars.’ Sam, age 5, TAS.

‘Dear God pleas help my mum and to get her threwher lekemier. Please help me better at scoolering.’Michael 12 QLD.

‘Dear Lord, please help that none of my family getsgastro. Armen. David, age 7, TAS.Some were having a crisis of confidence in the faith:One young man prayed: ‘I’d like to trust you but I have abully named Dillon and I was hopeing you could makehim a little kinder please.’

‘Dear God, could you please help me to believe inyou because sometimes I feel sad and sometimes I fellsuspicious. Paris (9) NSW.

‘I pray to good to tell me why my Nanny is dead.”Courtney (11) NSW.Many of the prayers will bring a tear to the eye ...For the first time some older people who were supervis-ing, got drawn in by the children’s faith to the processand added some prayers of their own.A 40 yo called Anne-marie prayed: ‘Dear God pleasehelp me get through my issues and become that kind offriendly happy person I used to be again.’ (Cont. p.26)

Kids ̓Easter Prayers Reveal Haunting Trends

THE Reverend Tara Curlewis, anordained Minister of Word &Sacrament, has been appointedGeneral Secretary of the NationalCouncil of Churches in Australia(NCCA). Tara is the 3rd GeneralSecretary of the Council since itsinception in 1994.

The NCCA encourages andenables its member Churches todevelop their existing relationshipswith each other in order to visiblyexpress the unity willed by Christ forhis church, and to work together on key issues of theolo-gy, peace and justice.

Tara has developed her ecumenical skills as a longtime supporter of the movement in Australia and over-seas. She was ordained in Sydney in 1994, and is cur-

rently the President ofthe NSW EcumenicalCouncil.

Appointed as theGeneral Secretary fora five year term, com-mencing 1 May 2009,Tara will work withmember and observerChurches, managethe day to day work-ings of the Council,and represent it in a

number of public settings. The NCCA has a membershipof 17 national Churches, including the Anglican, Catholicand Uniting Churches, 7 Eastern and Oriental Churches,and a range of Protestant Churches, the Salvation Army,and the Quakers.

NEW LIFE EXTRA

NEW LIFE – 19 April 2009 – Page Twenty Eight

Uniting Church Minister Appointed General SecretaryOf The National Council Of Churches In Australia

New Life Now Available ElectronicallyFOR over 70 years, New Life has come to subscribers and readers throughthe post or Christian book shops, but we can now offer an alternative way ofreceiving New Life – by email. The email edition contains an additional fourpages of news and views we canʼt fit into the print edition, subscribers receiveit a few days ahead of the print edition, and it costs half the price!TO SUBSCRIBE to the email edition, contact Alison on 03 9890 3377 or emailher at alison@nlife.com.au

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