Join me for Open House this week for a candid chat with John Smith. We’ll explore his forty year journey riding with outlaw bikers, sitting with street kids, consulting politicians and living an unconventional, radical Christian faith.

Plus, What should I do with my life? The question confronting us all.

Hope you can join me.

I’d like your thoughts on a story that came out of NSW this week. While it’s based in that state it has relevance for all of us.

New South Wales is gearing up for a state election this month…and law and order is shaping up to be one of the hot button issues.

On Friday, the state Opposition leader Peter Debnam proposed a policy …which would see the criminal age of responsibility lowered from fourteen – to just ten. Currently laws in every state prevent convictions of children between 10 and 14 unless prosecutors can prove they knew their behaviour was wrong. This plan would abolish that.

FOR

• Mr Debnam says he’s representing police and local communities who feel impotent and fearful about charging rowdy children because of the hurdles in obtaining a conviction. He says the policy will ‘help break the cycle of crime’.
• If you commit a crime, at whatever age, you should be held accountable for it
• Even a ten year old needs to understand the limits of the law
• New South Wales shadow minister for juvenile justice, Catherine Cusack, says early intervention is the best option

AGAINST

• On the other hand, is a ten year old old enough to understand his or her actions?
• The NSW Government lampooned the idea as "going after children who should be in year 4, not a prison cell".
• Attorney-General, Bob Debus, said the law relating to children up to 14 was already "balanced and sensible".
• Others say locking up ten year olds will only turn them into hardened criminals

What do you think? Should ten to 14 year olds be held legally responsible for their crimes?

This week’s dilemma is one that I think a lot of working parents will be able to relate to.

Robin has two young boys (aged 7 and 5) at school – but she doesn’t get to see them a lot because she has to work most nights, to pay off the family’s mortgage.

Her husband hasn’t been able to work for the last 8 months due to a recent knee reconstruction, and his bad knee will prevent him from returning to work any time in the near future.

Robin picks up her kids from school each afternoon. Her shift work starts at 5:30 in the evening, so by the time she’s made dinner, she’s spending about half an hour of quality time with them each day.

Robin says she has to work because at the moment she’s the only one in the family paying off the mortgage.

She says if she quits her job as a pizza delivery driver, she’ll lose the house. On the other hand, she says her kids are missing their mum.

Robin HAS been sending out her resume and looking for other jobs.

We need your advice on this one.

• Should Robin just make the most of the half an hour she does get to spend with her children each afternoon?
• Should she look for a daytime job?
• Maybe she could ask her employer to consider changing her shifts to the daytime?
• If her husband’s knee wasn’t too bad, maybe he could help out making dinner at home?
• Maybe she should stick it out for a bit longer until she gets a new job?

What do YOU think Robin should do?

What have you done with your life? What influenced your decision to be where you are now?

Maybe you were at a crossroads at one stage and could have gone one of two ways…why did you decide to take one path over another?

In similar words to Douglas Brouwer, columnist Ross Gittins made the point this week that psychologists talk about three different kinds of work – you can either have a job, a career or a calling.

A career is identified by the amount of money you earn, or the opportunity for advancement, while a ‘calling’ Gittins writes, is “a passionate commitment to work for its own sake.”

I’d be interested to know what you do, and whether you consider it a job, career or even a calling.

Have you just finished school, or uni - and you’re now trying to figure out what to do with your life? Or have you worked in the same job your whole life – but are now ready for a change?

Maybe you have a really unique job?

Did you fall into your job by accident? Maybe you wanted to be something, but ended up being something else altogether!

What’s your story?

Rich and famous. That’s what a US study of 18-25 year olds suggests are Generation Ys highest goals. Eighty-one percent of those surveyed in a recent Pew Research Center poll said getting rich is their generation's most important or second-most-important life goal. 51% said the same about being famous.

Researchers say part of the reason for the result is that Generation Y has been raised in the glare of their parents' omnipresent cameras. They're been showered with awards and accolades and are used to being noticed. But MTV, reality TV and celebrity culture are primary influencers too. Shows like Big Brother make ordinary people incredibly famous, and give lucrative sponsorship deals to the most liked. Programs like The Apprentice celebrate wealth and success, and celebrity magazines applaud the glamorous homes and lifestyles of athletes, actors and music stars. As one twenty-something noted in response to the survey, ‘We see reality TV shows with Jessica and Nick living the life. We see Britney and Paris. The people we relate to outside our friends are those people.’

But wealth and fame is a double-edged sword. In a recently released report, US pollster George Barna surveyed American recognition and favourability of 34 public figures. Only four figures had higher negative than positive scores, and they included Paris Hilton and Britney Spears. And Donald Trump, of The Apprentice fame, had the fifth highest negative rating. As Barna says, ‘fame is both a tough nut to crack, and an even tougher condition to master.’

Barna’s research is eye-opening for those in the Christian world looking for a bit of fame too. After decades of public prominence, James Dobson is unknown to two out of three Americans in general, and 50 per cent of American Christians. Although his book has sold more copies than any other non-fiction title besides the Bible, four out of five Americans have no idea who Rick Warren is; same goes for two out of three Christians. Similar statistics can be shown for Joel Osteen and Left Behind author Tim LaHaye—both considered relative superstars in the Christian scene.

The figures I’ve quoted are from the US, and one wonders how different surveys results would b if done in Australia. Yet, the proliferation of pages on MySpace and YouTube are signs that Aussie 18-25 year olds are just as keen to be noticed as their US counterparts. As one psychologist said, ‘My fear is [the] sense of emptiness and depression these kids might have as they age. They're putting their resources and energy and validation and self-worth into what people who aren't close to them think of them.’

What seems to be missing from our popular portrayal of the rich and famous are the stories of those who haven’t been able to make it work. As singer-songwriter Alanis Morrisette says, ‘[Fame] was touted as something that would raise your self-esteem and provide you with eternal happiness. Food would taste better, people would be more exciting, relationships would be great… I wish people could achieve what they think would give them happiness in order for them to realise that's not the way happiness can be found.’

If only the reality TV shows and gossip magazines told us that.

Drop by Open House this Sunday for a dramatic story of survival. In 1987 Terry Waite travelled to Lebanon on a mission to free hostages. But instead, he became a hostage. Terry was held in solitary confinement for four years, with his family knowing nothing of his whereabouts, whether he was dead or alive.

How does someone survive such an ordeal, and who are they afterwards? Join me this weekend to find out.

How are you trying to get your work/life balance into place? What has worked for you, and what hasn’t?

• Are your work hours out of control, or if you’ve been able to reign them in?
  
• Have you done the sea or tree-change thing? The problem is that most sea or tree-changes require big dollars. Who can afford moving to Byron Bay?
  
• What did you think of Paul’s comment about European countries fairing better than us because they’ve maintained Sunday as a day off?
  
• What’s the greatest cause of your long working hours. Would you say it’s shareholder demands, as Paul mentioned, or simply to keep afloat? Are your working arrangements contributing to stress in your family life?
  
• Maybe you’ve recently started working strange hours…how do you cope? How do the people around you cope?

Or maybe you’ve had to work anti-social hours for a while now…and you’re trying to get a job with normal hours – because of the impact it’s had on your family. How have you gone?

What would help you get work back in its place?

I want to hear about your experiences with the homeless.

Statistically there are 100 000 homeless people on the streets. People have been on and off the streets, so statistically, that could be you.

If you were once homeless, I want to hear from you. I want to hear how you got off the streets and what you’re doing now.

If you work with homeless people - what did you make of what Brian said? I’d like to hear how your experiences fit with his comments. Maybe you’ve helped re-integrate homeless people in to society – what challenges have you faced – what’s worked and what hasn’t?

There’s a perception that many homeless people actually choose to live on the streets – do you think that’s the case?

They’re fast, they grunt - and they’re much easier to park than a car.

This week’s dilemma is from 22 year old Pippa whose boyfriend wants to buy a motorbike.

Pippa loves her boyfriend very much and wants him to have fun. But she doesn’t want him to have an accident and either injure himself – or become a statistic.

• When you’re going out with someone…how much influence do you have-or should you have on their life decisions?

• Even in a marriage – how much freedom should each person have?

• Last year, 230 motorcyclists were killed on Australian roads.

• The proportion of fatalities to the number of registered vehicles on the road is much higher for motorcyclists, than it is for car drivers.

• These are obviously statistics that Pippa is worried about, when Adam talks about buying a motorbike.

• However not every motorcyclist comes off their bike. Many people choose to ride motorbikes because they’re fun, because they require less petrol, and because of the inadequacy of public transport in some areas.

• That’s certainly why Adam wants one – he says motorbikes are heaps of fun and he loves riding them.

The Motorcycle Riders Association of Australia’s motto is “Let those who ride, decide!”

That may be – Pippa has voiced her objections to Adam, saying she doesn’t want him to buy a motorcycle. How should Pippa respond?

Is there a question that’s on your mind?  If so, email us dilemma@theopenhouse.net.au and we’ll make your dilemma our big question for next week.

Yet another aviation disaster in Indonesia. Yes, I say ‘another’ because while this week’s crash of Garuda flight GA-200 in Yogyakarta was horrific, it’s another in a long line of aviation mishaps for the country. Wednesday’s tragedy took 21 lives; as you know, five of them Australian. On New Year’s day an Adam Air flight went down, killing 102 people. In 2005 a dozen Indonesian airline accidents killed a combined 200 people. In fact The Australian newspaper reports that Indonesia suffers a major airline accident ever month, although, thankfully, not all of them claim lives.

Our hearts certainly go out to all the families involved, especially to those of the Australians killed: Morgan Mellish, Brice Steel, Mark Scott, Allison Sudradjat and Liz O'Neill. And our prayers must be with Cynthia Banham, the newspaper journalist who faces a lengthy recovery from severe burns and spinal injuries.

Tragedies like this are always reminders of life’s fragility. Just two months ago I was walking the same streets of Jakarta that have recently been flooded. And just two months ago I took that same Garuda flight from Jakarta to Yogyakarta. The situation reminds me that if there is an afterlife—and it’s my conviction that there is—then we should be prepared. You just never know your day.

The Yogyakarta tragedy reminds me of something else though—the inherent value of work.

Those in the helping professions can generally see the value of their work. At the end of the day doctors, teachers and missionaries can see that they’re helping people. But I’ve found that those in other trades occasionally find that process harder. A statistician crunching numbers on a computer, a builder bolting the struts of a carport, or a mechanic fixing a carburettor can all wonder if they’re work is really making a difference in the world.

Pilot error or mechanical failure are the possible causes of the Garuda crash. We won't know decisively for some time. It could come down to a single loose bolt somewhere. After Wednesday’s crash you can’t tell me that the mechanics in charge of tightening those bolts have meaningless jobs. Lives depend on them.

If you doubt whether your job has any significance, do two things: first, imagine your job doesn’t exist. Who would lose out? And second, trace your efforts to the end-user. Both questions lead us to people. Work is not just a means to make money—it’s an offering to humanity.

‘Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart,’ Saint Paul says, ‘as working for the Lord, not for men…’ (Colossians 3:23-25). Work is a divine calling and excellence should be its standard. And that’s true whether you’re a doctor, a teacher, a pilot… or an airline mechanic.

On Open House this Sunday, she’s a mother to the motherless. Marilyn Skinner is the founder of Watoto Child Care Ministries, an organisation that cares for over 1500 Ugandan children left parentless or destitute because of AIDS. Maybe you’ve heard of the Watoto Children’s Choir; now come and hear the woman behind the movement.

And is the world running out of oil? Join me this weekend to find out…

Nobody knows for sure whether Khalid was subjected to torture or not. He says he was, but the U.S government says he wasn’t.

Either way, should terrorists, or suspected terrorists ever be subjected to torture?

If one person has some information that would save thousands of lives…is torture ever justified to get that information?

What happens when people in the same family believe different things?

What happens when you believe something that your children don’t?

Alternatively, how do you feel when your parents don’t believe what you do?

That was the subject of a recent article in the Wall Street Journal – which found that an increasing number of American teenagers raised in secular families had become Christians.

The article pointed out this was a source of tension within some families.

The example of Kevin Ellstrand was a case in point. The 16 year old’s parents are self described secular humanists – but their son Kevin says he ‘started following Christ’ with all his heart two years ago.

While Kevin’s parents are mostly supportive of his Christian beliefs, Kevin’s mother said she found it appalling that her son does not believe in evolution.

In a more extreme case, the mother of 34 year old Tom Lin, threatened to kill herself when she found out her son chose to go into low-paying Christian ministry, instead of corporate law.

Maybe you’ve had a first hand experience of a ‘generation gap’ when it comes to religion and belief. Have you had a change of belief, and how have those around you responded?

Let me know your experience.

Stephanie has a step daughter who lives with her family. She married the girl’s father, and has a great relationship with 10 year old Jessica.

The young girl goes to stay at her mother's apartment on the weekend, however Stephanie is concerned that the girl's natural mother is not providing her daughter with the care that she needs.

Stephanie visited the birth mother's apartment when she was dropping off her step daughter - and was appalled to find evidence of illegal party drugs being consumed at the apartment, and a gay couple living in another room of the small flat.

Jessica says she loves her birth mother, and does want to see her, but doesn’t want to stay with her.

She is legally meant to be living with her mother, but her mother said it was fine for her to live with her father most of the time, so that’s what has been happening.

But now, Stephanie doesn’t want her step daughter staying with her natural mother at all.

But she is torn, because she does want her step daughter to maintain a relationship with her birth mother.

In this situation, who makes the choices about the girl’s future? Stephanie? The girl’s father? The girl’s natural mother? Or the daughter?

• If drugs are being consumed at the apartment, should the girl being staying there at all?
• What is the role of the birth father? Should he step in?
• Should the opinion of Jessica count? Or is it up to the parents to decide her future?
• What is the role of the step mother in a situation like this?

Well, here’s the scene. I’m sitting in a shopping centre food court. My body is tense, my stomach is knotted, my mind is overwhelmed. My to-do list is long and my progress this particular day is small. Unexpected delays and complications have slowed me down and I’m thinking of all the deadlines I have—a show to plan, a major interview to prepare, an editorial to write, a magazine article that’s due, some speaking invitations to respond to. There’s a multitude of details to cover for Compassion Day, which I coordinate. And there’s that second book contract sitting on my desk. I haven’t even begun to work on that one.

Sitting in that food court—my mind swirling with worry while busy people rush around me—I’m brought haltingly aware of my finitude; of my limits. I just can’t do all the things I want to do; at least not at once. There are books to read and conversations to have and ideas to explore, but I must limit them and prioritise. My mind and body are much smaller than my dreams and desires. I am limited—limited in time and energy and ability.

I unwrap my burger and take a bite. For a few minutes I’m forced to stop and take stock. And while everything in me wants to write a new to-do list and prioritise, another thought enters my mind. I begin to think about One who is unlimited—a Being with no lack of time, energy or strength; a Being with no tension between the desire to do and the ability to accomplish; a Being who never encounters stress because he can’t be exhausted. My stressful day leads me to imagine the infinite God.

I say ‘imagine’, although that’s not really the right word. God is unlike anything we’re familiar with. Everything we know has limits—human lifespans, electricity supplies, cash flows. Food has a use-by date, the earth has limited minerals, and even our oceans don’t have endless water. But imagine I try.

I remember a verse of Scripture: ‘I am the Lord, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me?’ (Jeremiah chapter 32, verse 26). I begin to contemplate what this really means. If God isn’t bound by time and space then there’s never a time he’s unavailable, and there’s not a place in the world where he isn’t present. We can find him in outback beauty, peak hour traffic, or the smog-filled streets of Kolkatta. If there’s nothing that God doesn’t know then he reads our every concern, dream, and secret. No cry goes unheard, no pain unfelt, no evil unrecorded. If God has unlimited power than he can attend to a Middle East war and a child’s prayer all at once. No crisis is beyond hope and no life beyond redemption.

I don’t like being limited. I wish I could do everything on my to-do list! But in that food court I was reminded just how limited I really am—and just how powerful God really is.

© 2007 Sheridan Voysey is a writer, speaker, broadcaster and author of Unseen Footprints: Encountering the divine along the journey of life (Scripture Union, 2005). www.thethoughtfactory.net

This year marks the 200th anniversary of the abolition of slavery. Unfortunately, 27 million people around the world aren’t celebrating. Join me for Open House this Sunday as we talk to award-winning author David Batstone about the rise of human trafficking and what you and I can do about it.

Plus, Michelle Tumes in the studio. Hope you can join me…

As we’ve just been hearing, West Australia was in shock this week with the news that AFL star Ben Cousins – had been suspended indefinitely from the game, after failing to show up for a training session.

Dr Stanley H Teitelbaum (Teytle-borm) has written a book called “Sports Heroes, Fallen Idols” – he writes about the ‘unreal sports heaven’ in which many elite athletes exist, where everybody says ‘yes’ and nobody says ‘no.’

He writes about some of the stresses that elite athletes endure...

-There’s the pressure of living up to expectations
-The pressure of performing at a consistently high level
-The strain of dealing with the media, management and fans
-Having the details of your private life splashed around
-Having to live through even small incidents being magnified by the press

Sure there are also the perks - salaries of more than half a million dollars, the glamorous girlfriends and high society events, not to mention the fact their job is to play a game they love.

But do you think we’re expecting too much from our young sports stars?
Surely it’s only human for them, like the rest of us, to make mistakes…?

Or, do you think that as sporting role models, they have a greater responsibility to make more of an effort in terms of their personal conduct?

Maybe you grew up in the country and moved to the city when you finished school….has the city lived up to your expectations?

Or maybe you’re living in the country and you don’t see any reason to move to a larger town or city. We want to hear about your experiences.

When it comes to a choice between the city and the country….which one did you choose and why? or maybe you grew up in a city and decided to do a ‘sea change’ or a ‘tree change’ – we want to hear from you as well.

There are many reasons why young people leave the country.

FOR:
• There are better facilities in the city, including health care, greater variety of university courses, better sporting grounds
• There’s the opportunity to meet more people from a variety of backgrounds
• There are jobs in fields that regional areas would not necessarily cater for
• More places to go out, theatre, big concerts and sporting events

But not everyone’s leaving the country… many do choose to stay.

AGAINST:
• There’s a greater sense of ‘community’ – in smaller towns people tend to know each other better than in a large, anonymous city
• Some prefer the relative quietness and slower pace of life in the country
• Affordable property in regional areas
• There can be career opportunities that would not necessarily be available in the city. For example many journalists ‘go regional’ to get experiences they would not have access to in the city…For the same reason, many doctors need to train in the bush.

I received a beautiful letter this week. I must share it with you.

Dear Sheridan,

Congratulations on a great and inspiring program. Please may I suggest an interesting topic for you.

I am a volunteer children’s and youth worker and have been unable to work since 1988. Whilst helping young people at Bidwell High School, children used to throw 5cent coins near me. After several years of picking up coins I got to thinking, ‘Can’t I do something to help needy people with these?’ I believe God touched my heart to put the funds towards Christian Blind Mission—to help prevent blindness in people, especially children.

With the help of some people at the Tregeor Presbyterian Church in Mt Druit, I raised $114 in 5cent coins in almost three months. Tregeor Presbyterian, St Johns Anglican in Minchinbury, some community groups and neighbours have helped me. To this point in time I have now raised $4800, mostly in 5cent coins.

$4800 equates to the following: eye ointment to prevent Trachoma for 100 children and another 20 families, Vitamin C capsules for 181 children, 5 cataract operations and 163 eyelid operations—that’s 168 people with their sight saved alone.

In addition, in May 2003 my wife Bev and I began collecting aluminium cans and, later on, old car radiators and batteries. I walked the streets and went to sports events to go through bins. I had to stop a couple of years later due to pain and extreme tiredness. But, praise God, by the time I stopped, many neighbours, two businesses and a community group started collecting cans, radiators and batteries as well. To date $3725 has been raised and sent to Christian Blind Mission.

$3725 equates to Trachoma prevention for 114 children and 15 families, Vitamin A capsules (to prevent blindness), 8 cataract operations and 136 eyelid operations—that’s 144 people with their sight saved. This has come mainly from aluminium cans, but includes the 678 car batteries I have collected.

I have been unable to work since injuring my wrists in 1988. I have since developed ankle, knee and lower back problems as well as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. My wife and I teach Special Religious Education in six schools.

I would love to encourage individuals, groups, Sunday Schools, etc to collect 5cent coins, cans, batteries, or anything aluminium. Raise money for missionaries, outreach charities and so on.

Yours in the name of Jesus Christ alone,
Dave Vincent.

PS: I forgot to total the money raised--$8525. That’s 312 eyelid operations and 13 cataract operations, totalling 325 eyes saved.

You know, it’s easy to celebrate the big successes and triumphant victories of Christian heroes past and present. But as Oswald Chambers once said, ‘The best measure of a spiritual life is not its ecstasies, but its obedience.’ Here’s a man who’s battling illness, but doing what he can for God and others. Let’s call it the ‘5 cent principle’—giving the little you have to God so he can multiply it.

You think you can’t make a difference in this world? Think your little efforts don’t amount to much? Remember the 5 cent principle. Small, repeated acts of Christian obedience.