Where do you fit into the latest census results? Have you changed your religious affiliation over the last decade?

The stats say that the number of people identifying as Christian has declined from 71 per cent to 64 per cent during the decade from 1996 to 2006.

But Christianity is still Australia’s most dominant system of belief – with 12 point 7 million people saying they’re believers.

Meantime the number of people who say they don’t believe anything has increased to 19 per cent.

The number of Buddhists and Hindus has doubled since 1996, largely due to immigration.

The Pentecostal church is growing rapidly (26% nationwide, 48% in NSW), but Catholicism is still Australia’s single most dominant religion. (accounts for 26% of respondents who say they have a religion)

The ABS also said that the Baptist churches and eastern orthodox churches have reported strong growth.

So we’ve heard all the figures and crunched the numbers – but now I want to hear the stories behind the numbers.

I want to hear why you decided to join, and how it’s going.

Let’s put a human face on these census figures.

How do you deal with intrusive parents?
 
Andrew recently separated from his wife.
 
He says he is still close to his wife, who is suffering from depression. He says he's trying his best to save the marriage.
 
The separation was triggered by his wife having an argument with his mother, when they were forced to move in with his parents due to financial difficulties.
 
Andrew says he's finding it difficult to now work through his family's problems because his wife's parents keep interfering in their affairs.
 
He says this was the case the whole way throughout their marriage - he estimates his wife's parents lived with them on and off for almost 4 years in total over the course of their six year marriage.
 
He says they haven't let go of their daughter and haven't respected their space.
 
He also says the intrusion has meant they haven't been able to tackle family problems as a family.
 
He wants the marriage to continue - and says she is the only woman he wants to be with - but doesn't know how to deal with sorting through the marriage, without the interference of intrusive parents.
 
DISCUSSION POINTS:
• Negotiating a relationship during a time of separation is tricky enough in itself…but how do you manage it with interfering parents?
• How can both Andrew and his wife get on a level playing field…where it’s just the two of them, to discuss the future of their marriage?
• How can they deal with their in-laws respectfully? Should they tell them they need some space?

What do you think about the Bishop’s advice to slow down? Do you agree with him when he says life moves too fast?

Have you ever tried slowing down the pace of your life? How did it go? Did you get bored? Or is it the best thing you’ve ever done?

Do you bake your own bread, brew your own tea with leaves and sometimes even take time out to do nothing at all?

What do you wish you had more time to do?

Or maybe there’s been a time in your life where you’ve actually run yourself right down because you were so busy, and have been forced to slow things down.

What are some of the things you’d do if you had more time?

Join me for Open House this week for a heart-to-heart chat with Jason Stevens. We’ll talk about life after rugby league, his faith, and his public stand for abstinence.

Plus, Gospel artist Mark Schultz’s mission to widows and orphans, and life without Jesus—just how much has the man from Nazareth changed the world as we know it?

What do you think of the fact that the nation’s leaders will be addressing the Christian constituency?

Are you going to be interested in what they’ve got to say? Does it even matter what the future Prime Minister believes? Or are personal beliefs irrelevant to running the country?

If you could probe John Howard or Kevin Rudd - what would you want to find out?

What qualities will you be looking for in the future Prime Minister?

Will a leader’s personal characteristics and beliefs make a difference to how you vote – or are you more interested in their policies? Can the two even be separated?

Do you believe God is completely in control of your life?

Or - have you ever questioned whether God is in control of your life?

Maybe there was a time in your life when you felt like God was far away...but with the benefit of hindsight, you can see that he wasn’t at all.

Can you look back at times in your life, and see evidence of God’s complete and utter control over your individual circumstances?

This week's dilemma is from Daniel.

His wife is now in a mental hospital, after giving birth to their first child.

She suffered pre-natal depression for the majority of her pregnancy, she then had the baby, and has now sunk into a deep depression.

She's so far refused to see their newborn baby - and now Daniel is worried about who will look after the child.

Soon he will have to return to work and doesn’t want to put the child into childcare.

He was excited about being a father for the first time, but this development has turned his world upside down.

What should he do?

DISCUSSION POINTS:

• Daniel has a wife and newborn baby to look after …who takes priority?
• Not only has the size of his family changed, his wife is now a different woman to the one he married.
• How can he balance all these changes…once he returns to work?

The African impala is a dear-like animal that can jump to a height of over 3 metres and cover a distance greater than 11. Yet it can be kept in any zoo enclosure with a 1 metre-high wall. Why? Because it can’t peer over the wall, it’s not tall enough, and it wont jump if it can’t see where its feet will land.

That’s like a lot of us—we wont take a leap of faith unless we can see where we’ll land—and so we never experience God’s miracles, never experience the adventure that the Christian life is supposed to be.

Two or three times now God has brought me to a point where I had to jump from the enclosure. Now, I’m not your model of courageous faith—each time I’ve been hesitant and cautious. But one story is worth passing on.

About three years ago, during a few days break in Tasmania, Merryn and I prayed seriously about my career path. I’d taken my radio job at the time as far as I could, and I’d felt a stirring for some time to write and speak more. We finally decided it was time to for me to take a leap—to leave my job and trust God to bring my feet down in the right place.

I had a lot of doubts. I doubted my ability. I doubted my relative youth. I wondered where our money come from. But I put in my resignation.

Around this time the youth pastor at our church asked me to lead a retreat for his youth leaders. We drove to a nice beachside setting, and after some teaching I sent the youth leaders away for some time with God. I wrote up a list of five Bible passages on some butchers paper, asked them to pick one, take it away, read it and ask God to speak to them through it. I thought I should do the exercise too, so I picked the last verse on the list—from the sixth chapter of the book of John. I still had my fears about my new direction. I wasn’t sure where my work was going to come from. Then I opened up this passage and read these words of Jesus: ‘Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you.’

I had hoped God would speak to the youth leaders. Instead he spoke to me, giving me a promise he’d bring me the work he wanted me to do.

Not long after that I received a very interesting email. It was from a reader of Alive Magazine, for whom I write a regular column. ‘Dear Sheridan,’ it began, ‘I can't remember if I've emailed before to thank you for your articles in Alive Magazine but on reading [the latest] I was prompted to be in touch…’ After some further comments the email ended, ‘I also wanted to say that if, either at the moment, or in the next year or two you find yourself with a book burning within that you want to bring to reality, I'd be very interested to talk with you. Sincerely, Sally Smith, Commissioning Editor, Scripture Union Publications.’

The result of that conversation was a book called Unseen Footprints. It won the 2006 Australian Christian Book of The Year Award, and it will be released this month in the UK and next month in the US.

‘Work which the Son of Man will give you, Sheridan.’

Not long after that email, the folks at Compassion Australia approached me. They asked if I would become the national coordinator for Compassion Day—a one day radio event that raises sponsors for children in poverty. I took it on and have had the privilege of watching people like you release children in India, Bangladesh, the Philippines and Indonesia from poverty.

‘Work which the Son of Man will give you, Sheridan.’

Not long after Compassion’s approach I had a call from Jeff Millar, then manager of Melbourne’s 89.9 Light FM. ‘Would you be interested in doing a Sunday night talk show for us?’ he asked. A similar conversation ensued with Sydney’s FM103.2 and the result was a 10 year dream coming to reality—Open House—now a national program.

‘Work which the Son of Man will give you, Sheridan.’

I am not your model of faith. I hesitate to jump from the enclosure. I share this story to encourage you that if God is calling you to jump, to relinquish what you have and take a risky leap into the unknown, he will indeed guide your feet to an exhilarating place. 

© 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

Join me this Sunday as we find out about the new spiritual movement that is sweeping the globe. It started in the UK, but now the 24-7 Prayer movement is seeing thousands join together to pray all night, for days and sometimes weeks on end, across the world. I’m sure you’ll find it inspiring.

Plus, we’ll review the latest in fiction, find out how Christianity changed the world, and review the state of Rwanda eleven years after its genocide.

Do you think there’s an imbalance? Do we have different standards for people in our immediate world and people we don’t know? Does this even matter? Should she stop reading celebrity gossip, or is celebrity gossip just harmless fun?

This week a few of us caught a pre-release screening of Amazing Grace—the film about William Wilberforce and the abolition of the British slave trade. I don’t like becoming an advertisement for things, but I must make an exception here. It is a brilliant film. I do hope you’ll see it.

In fact, I believe Amazing Grace is a 118 minute crash-course in social change. And since everyone wants to change the world at the moment—evidenced by the Make Poverty History campaign, Micah Challenge and other efforts—the movie is a timely primer on how to do it. When I got home from seeing Amazing Grace I scribbled down five points:

1. To change the world, get a call from God. William Wilberforce was elected to the British parliament at the age of 23 and a few years later experienced a dramatic Christian conversion. For a while afterwards he wondered if he should become a pastor, but John Newton, the former slave ship captain (and author of the hymn ‘Amazing Grace’, from which the film gets its title) convinced him to stay in politics and combat slavery. You get a clear sense through the film that Wilberforce couldn’t get away from this task. It was his life’s calling—his true vocation. And whether it’s Martin Luther King or Mother Teresa, the great change-agents of history have all had a similar experience. So, if you want to change the world, get on your knees and find out what it is that God wants you to do. This will safe guard against immature zeal on the one hand, and petty charity on the other.

2. To change the world, get exposed to the need. Wilberforce knew about slavery—it was enmeshed in his country’s economy. But with his calling firm, he got exposed to it personally. He toured the slave ships and listened to stories of brutality and rape from those who had survived the trip from Africa to Britain. There’s a lesson for us. While we can’t all jump on a plane to Africa, we must get as much first-hand experience of the problem we’re tackling as possible—even if it’s just talking to those who know.

3. To change the world, get a support group. In Amazing Grace we see Wilberforce meeting with a group of supporters who strategise each phase of the campaign. While they’re unnamed in the movie, this group was known as the Clapham Group—named after the suburb where their meetings where held. They were a group of prominent evangelical Christians who directed their wealth towards causes. They worked to ban bull fighting, to improve prisons, to better factory conditions—and to end slavery. They were instrumental in establishing Sierra Leone in Africa as a home for refugee slaves. We can have a romantic view of social change, and dream of being the sole hero. But Wilberforce and the Clapham Group show otherwise. You need a team.

 And, 4. To change the world, we must persevere. Wilberforce fought tenaciously for two decades to bring slavery to an end. He collected evidence, introduced legislation, and collected more than 390,000 signatures demanding its end. He was attacked in newspapers, physically assaulted, and even had a nervous breakdown—as shown in the film. In fact, the whole Clapham Group faced public ridicule, false accusations and the loss of much health and finances in their fight for slaves. But they persevered. And finally, on the 23rd of February 1807, Wilberforce won. Slave trading became illegal. He then fought for another twenty-five years for the freedom of all slaves, and won that fight in 1833—three days before his death. All up, his battle had taken forty-six years. That is perseverance.  William Wilberforce had a calling from God to end slavery, he got exposed to the need, he had a support group, and he persevered. Wilberforce changed the world, and the Amazing Grace film may just spur you to do the same. 

© 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

Stuart’s younger brother says he's gay, and says he's known it for a long time.
 
Stuart and his brother were raised in a Christian family. He knows their parents will be shocked to find out about his brother's sexuality. But, Stuart’s brother hasn't told her their parents - and it's easy to hide from them because they live overseas.
 
Stuart feels trapped in the middle - and doesn't know what to do. Every time he speaks to his parents he feels as though he's keeping it from them, and doesn't know whether it's his responsibility to tell them or not, since his brother isn't going to.

He doesn’t want to feel as though he’s deceiving his parents, but he also wants to respect his brother’s wishes. What do you do when you feel caught between family members?

Maybe you’ve been in a similar situation: where a sibling has kept something from your parents. What was your response? Should Stuart update his parents on this significant development in his brother’s life, or keep out of it and let whatever happens, happen?

Bookshops at the weekend were a frenzy with kids and parents alike queuing up to secure their copy of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows”, the final instalment of tales about the boy wizard.

What do you think of the Harry Potter books? Are you a fan of the series? Or do you think they’re dangerous for children, because the subject matter deals with witchcraft-type themes?

As author Connie Neal mentioned on the show, many parents initially banned their children from reading the books and then changed their mind later down the track after reading the series themselves. Is that true for you?

The series has been endorsed by high profile Christians such as James Dobson and Chuck Colson, and JK Rowling apparently calls herself a Christian. Last week the Church of England even suggested youth workers use the series as a way of exploring Biblical truths.

Nonetheless there are many who have their reservations. What do you think?

Merryn and I spent this past weekend with a couple who are becoming really good friends. We talked and ate and prayed and watched DVDs with Mike and Rachel—and just had a great couple of days. But the weekend was tinged with sadness. Mike and Rachel will soon board a plane to fly interstate to spend time with family, because Rachel’s brother was recently diagnosed with a rare form of cancer. The doctor’s say it’s incurable. He’s just 33 years old.

Rachel recounted the story to us of her brother’s medical examinations, the specialist’s reports and then the final diagnosis. She told us about the family’s response, the grief, and the tears. But when she shared how she was coping spiritually through it all, I was quite overwhelmed at how rich her faith was.

‘We as a family have had a pretty trouble-free existence so far,’ Rachel said. ‘Others have faced horrible trials. Why should we be spared pain? This is our family’s opportunity to prove our faith. If it can’t be proven now, when can it be?’

‘I haven’t experienced any anger at God—not yet anyway,’ Rachel continued. ‘How can I say Cameron’s cancer is unfair? God has been more than fair to us. He’s been more than fair to all of us, forgiving us when he wasn’t obliged to.’

Something special happened the day after Rachel heard of her brother’s diagnosis. In the previous days she’d been reading through the book of John in the Bible, and the very next paragraph to be read turned out to be the words of Jesus talking to his disciples: ‘In my Father's house are many rooms,’ he says to them in the fourteenth chapter. ‘I am going there to prepare a place for you’ (John 14:2).

Strangely, Rachel found immense comfort in these words. She knows that God can—and may—heal her brother miraculously through prayer. She knows that God may heal him unspectacularly through medical means. But Rachel also knows that she may lose Cameron. And while she’d do anything—give her own bone marrow if need be—to have him live, losing Cameron is ultimately not a problem. Because Rachel has a big view of life. She knows that this world is not all there is. There is a bigger reality—an afterlife. And she knows that her brother’s faith in Jesus will carry him there.

It could be argued that previous generations were, as the phrase goes, ‘Too heavenly minded to be of no earthly use’. But I wonder if our generation is so earthly minded that we have no heavenly hope. As the band Caedmon’s call sing:

This world has nothing for me, and this world has everything.
All that I could want, and nothing that I need.

There’s a place being prepared for those who cling to the Man from Nazareth. And that truth can put this life in perspective, both for those who suffer and for those care.

© 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

Did you hear the story about the nation’s credit card debt rising, for the first time, to over 40 billion dollars? The average credit card debt jumped up 7 per cent, to an average $2990 per card, per year.

What’s your relationship with your plastic like? Are credit cards your friend or enemy? Have they ever caused your finances to spiral out of control? How did you deal with it/how ARE you dealing with it?

Maybe you’ve been radical enough to actually chop up a credit card because you couldn’t trust yourself. Did that make a difference to your spending habits? Or maybe it’s never been that much of a problem for you, but there are one or two credit card purchases that you now regret.Have you ever put something on a card that you now wish you hadn’t?

My special guest this week is a contemporary of Martin Luther King. John Perkins was born in Mississippi in 1930. He grew up in grinding poverty and when his brother was shot, he vowed never to return to his home state. But he did, and his story is one of courage and tenacity in the face of racial hostility.

And The World According to the Simpsons! 400 episodes and a feature film later, we’ll discover what the most watched family on TV have to say on the big issues of life.

For the next few weeksI’m going to be asking you to “Open Up.” We’re going to explore life in all its varying forms – the people and ideas who’ve shaped you, as well as experiences from your own life,whether it be a highlight/a regret/a failure/an ambition.

Here's my first question: If you were given the opportunity to sit down with yourself as a 16 year old and give yourself some advice, what would you say? If you could rewind the clock what would you tell yourself?

Maybe it would be advice on a career, love, relationships, how to spend your leisure time, or even spiritual advice.

If you could travel back in time, what would you tell yourself as a 16 year old?

Samantha is a young professional who has a fear of flying. She will go to many lengths to avoid getting onto a plane. However she’s been forced to book a flight to her best friend’s interstate wedding in a couple of weekend’s time.

She hasn’t been able to secure time off work to justify an overland journey, and besides--it’s a three hour flight, or days by bus/train/car. She’ll only be able to make it if she flies.

However her fear of flying is very real, fuelled by television shows like ‘crash site investigation’ and also pictures of gutted, burnt out airplanes that appear every so often in the news, following a major crash.

As the date of the wedding draws near, she’s becoming more and more anxious, and has even considered telling her best friend she won’t be able to make her ‘big day.’

Is there a way around cancelling? Have you ever had a fear of flying, or some other kind of fear? How did you overcome it?

Mission Australia is calling on the government to provide greater support for grandparents who take on the role of primary carer for their grandchildren.

According to the organisation, it’s a social phenomenon that’s going to become more common – with more than 22 thousand families in Australia headed by a grandparent.

Is this a situation your family has been through? Or maybe a family you know of? Is it a difficult arrangement…or can it be made to work?

Maybe you’re a grandparent parenting your grandchildren. Or maybe you’re a grandchild who was looked after by your grandparents while you were growing up. How did you find the experience? Are you thankful or regretful?

Or maybe you’re a parent, and for whatever reason, you’ve had times when you've been unable to care for your children. I’d like to hear what you go through, when you’re left with no other option but for your parents to look after your children.

On Open House this week, the story of Diana Thomas. In 2001, as the ‘War on Terror’ had just begun, a group of aid workers were captured in Afghanistan—Australians Diana Thomas and Peter Bunch included. After three months in a squalid Taliban prison, with the constant threat of execution, Diana and her colleagues were rescued in a dramatic night time raid. Six years later, Diana will recount her story, and tell us what her life has become.

Plus, film reviews, the latest in music, and a priest who can’t help clowning around!