The coffee catch-ups with students has been going really well. I've gone from ACK! (nervous/excited) to YAY! (that was so great!).
I'm off to Brisbane this week to lead a workshop at the national Presbyterian women's conference on "Thinking Theologically about Christian Self Help Literature". Thank you so much for those of you who helped me crowdsource different points of view on this very broad topic.
Financial Update
UNITED STATES AND UK Financial Support: Tax Deductible Giving
I've got great news. Supporters in the US, CANDADA and UK can give to my work and get a tax deduction!
I still need to raise the remaining 40% of my monthly salary to be sustainable and work fully-funded for 2.5 days per week.
Your overseas support goes a loooong way. $1AUD = $0.70USD or 0.50GBP
That's $1386.33AUD/month of regular pledges.
If you'd like to become a regular financial supporter, please click on the SUPPORT button below.
Giving Back to You
Sharing resources is my way of giving back to you and supporting your own relationship with Jesus and your church family and your own ministry. All links have been shared in Christine: Behind the Scenes. Join us in the group to discuss how the content might affect our lives and gospel work.
Misbehaving in the Throne Room: "The abruptness with which David asks for things, and even the gall to demand action from God, confused me. This was misbehavior in God’s house if I had ever seen it. David, bow your head, fold your hands, appear meek. Always begin a prayer with “Dear Lord” and end it with “Amen.” All good children raised in church know these are the rules."
What We Can Learn from Early Christianity's Resistance to Infanticide and Exposure: "The early Christians, however, considered "conception, gestation, birth, and nurture as a continuous process" and therefore considered the termination of life at any point through this process as an act of murder."
Does Christ Speak in the Rape of Dinah: "When we witness Dinah’s violation and betrayal, watch revenge unfold in the name of justice, wrestle with the seeming silence of God, and search for answers, we hope for someone who will do better, someone who can save Dinah."
The Bible for All of Life: "The Bible recognizes this. It speaks pastorally to different circumstances—giving a rocket to the lukewarm in one passage, and sweet assurance to the tender conscience in another; requiring us to stand out as godly beacons of difference in one instance, and to give way in all-things-to-all-men flexibility in another; condemning the futility of works-based righteousness in one place, and the foolish presumption of faith-without-works in another."
New #SheToo Podcast Tackles Violence Against Women in the Bible: "I don’t want to defend the indefensible,” says Paynter. “I really believe in following truth where it leads. So I’m willing to ask hard questions of the text. What I’m not willing to do is to say that they should be ditched all together from our Bibles. And I’m not willing to say that God is not good in the end.”
Upcoming Speaking Events:
30 March: Connecting Conference 2019 (Brisbane) Workshop (Thinking Theologically about Christian Self-Help Literature)
4 April: MTS Training Day Workshop (Engaging the Media)
7 April: Cornerstone Presbyterian Church Missions Spot
11 April: Engage Conference Workshop (Social Media, Part 1)
28 April: Mt. Stuart Presbyterian Church Missions Spot
10-13 July: Mid-Year Conference Workshop (Thinking Theologically about Politics)
14 July: St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church Missions Spot
11 August: Women's Winter Festival Sermon (Jesus Is ... Light of the World)
12 September: Engage Conference Workshop (Social Media, Part 2)
22 September: Summerleas Christian Church Missions Spot