Last weekend Mandy and I attended the ‘Anglican Future Conference’ in Melbourne.

One of the keynote speakers, Wes Hill, encouraged us to think about the challenge of having our churches open to including people who experience unwanted, same-sex attraction.

He encouraged us to be ‘welcoming, not affirming.’

We are to be welcoming to people with all sorts of backgrounds and experiences, but do so in such a way that we do not affirm behaviour that is against God’s will.

As a basis for his encouragement, he led us through a Bible study on Romans 9 to 11, where he outlined the remarkable way in which God’s gospel makes believers go from spiritual death to life.

And when God acts to save his people, his salvation is unifying.

We who were excluded as non-Jews have been included into the nation of Israel, and it had nothing to do with how faithful we were to his law.

In fact, he included us in order that we might be dependent on God’s grace, not on our own merits.

The result is that “we must forsake our looking down on others.”

For this reason, our church welcomes LGBTQI+ people.

God’s saving message of his love and mercy is for everyone: we are all welcomed, but our sin is not affirmed.

For as we read in the Bible:

Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. (1 Corinthians 9b-11)

JODIE McNEILL

In the midst of a very messy few weeks in Federal Politics, our nation has ended up with a Prime Minister who trusts in Jesus as his Lord and Saviour.

In his maiden speech, Scott Morrison spoke of his “personal faith in Jesus”, noting his commitment to his faith at an early age.

We can be thankful to God that he has given us a man to lead our nation who himself follows Jesus as his own leader.

Nonetheless, it is a challenge for any Christian in public office to faithfully follow his own beliefs whilst serving a nation full of diverse faith positions.

Whilst he must not divorce his own heartfelt commitment to the teachings of Jesus, he must also lead politicians who represent a wide range of constituents.

Morrison has said “My personal faith in Jesus Christ is not a political agenda.”

Furthermore, he said that for him, “faith is personal, but the implications are social—as personal and social responsibility are at the heart of the Christian message.”

This will be a real challenge for our new Prime Minister.

We must pray for him that he will have great wisdom as he seeks to be a faithful Christian man in a very public office.

For, as he observed a decade ago, “it has become fashionable to negatively stereotype those who profess their Christian faith in public life as ‘extreme’ and to suggest that such faith has no place in the political debate of this country.”

We must pray that Mr Morrison would continue to profess his Christian faith in public life, and that he would have many opportunities to commend the truth of Jesus to those he speaks to privately and also in the public sphere.

JODIE McNEILL

Once there was a man who went to prison, and as he lay in bed on his first night, he heard someone call out, “49”, which was then followed by laughter from all the other prisoners.

Then another prisoner called out, “26”, which was followed by even more laughs.

When the new prisoner asked what was happening, he was told that the inmates have heard every joke so many times that they’ve given each joke a number to make things simpler.

So, the new inmate called out, “23”, but nobody laughed.

When he asked why his joke didn’t get a laugh, they said, “it’s the way you told it.”

Some verses in the Bible are so well known that we just need to say the reference in order to bring to mind the word of comfort and assurance.

The reference “Romans 8:28” is one of them:

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

When it feels like life is spinning out of control, we must remember, “Romans 8:28”.

When we are uncertain about the future, we can tell each other, “Romans 8:28”.

When things happen that are hard to accept, we can assure each other by saying, “Romans 8:28”.

We need to remember that God works in all things for the good of those who love him, and we are right to find great comfort in this assurance.

We never know what is in store for us, but we must always remember that nothing takes God by surprise.

And you can be sure that “Romans 8:28” will be a great source of comfort and assurance, no matter how you tell it.

JODIE McNEILL

The Archbishop of Sydney’s Anglican Aid has launched an appeal to help communities hit by the crippling drought in Western New South Wales.

The public appeal will raise funds to provide resources to churches in North and Western New South Wales, which are already dealing with requests for practical support for families impacted by what, in many places, is the worst drought since 1900.

99 percent of the state is now officially in drought and although the New South Wales government has launched an assistance package for farmers, the Vicar-General of the Armidale Diocese, the Rev Brian Kirk says “the suddenness of this drought has caught many by surprise.”

Mr Kirk says any help will be much appreciated by rural families.

He particularly has asked Christians to pray for rain, for farming families and businesses in rural communities, for farmers to make wise decisions and that Christians will not lose their faith in God.

Mr Kirk says clergy and church members are proactively offering assistance to farming families by providing food and clothing vouchers and visiting to provide practical and pastoral support.

Among the practical assistance is free labour to assist with the feeding of stock, maintenance and everyday chores as well as providing free drought dinners.

Funds donated through the Anglican Aid appeal will be disbursed through the Anglican Dioceses of Armidale and Bathurst which cover much of the most heavily drought-affected areas.

For more information about how to give to this appeal, visit www.anglicanaid.org.auor phone 9284 1406.

Given that one of our family’s favourite childhood movies was Pixar’s ‘Cars’, I was looking forward to watching the third movie in this series.

Even though it’s targeted at younger kids, the Pixar special sauce produced some terrific entertainment for older kids like me.

As the movie progressed, it was clear that it was a story designed to resonate strongly with older parents and grandparents.

Without spoiling the plot, the underlying message is about passing on the baton from the oldies to the next generation.

Lightning McQueen is no longer able to compete against the rookies, with their new technology and bulletproof confidence.

So, as his midlife crisis unfolds, he is given an insight into the often-hidden pleasure of those who are forced to deal with the realities of losing the ‘competitive edge’.

This is the pleasure of investing in the next generation, and experiencing their ‘wins’ as our own.

McQueen sees this as he discovers the delight that he himself brought to his mentor, Doc Hudson, who vicariously experienced the triumphs of his younger subject.

This is a timely reminder about the importance and pleasure of intergenerational ministry.

Those who are older can delight in mentoring and discipling the younger people in our church.

Furthermore, our elders can be enriched as we identify, recruit, train and encourage the next generation of leaders within our ministries.

Passing on the baton may involve some initial grief, but it will transform to a lifetime of joyful partnership with the next generation of leaders.

And then we will be able to follow the example that the Apostle Paul gave to Timothy:

“And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others.” (2 Timothy 2:2)

JODIE McNEILL