Eternity - June 2021

June 2021

Feby Chan

How God rebuilt my faith after my husband was executed Naomi Reed’s faith stories Finding Jesus in jail The getting of wisdom

Eternity is back in church, and other places too, after a COVID break.

We plan a November edition this year as well.

Eternity is published by Bible Society Australia, Level 23, 100 Miller street North Sydney 2600. Edited by John Sandeman.

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I left fraud and jail behind when I met Jesus Rebecca Abbott

This story contains references to suicide and sexual abuse.

“Growing up, I had my first son at 16, so I was quite young.” – Mel Wells

I

“

still every day wake up and say, ‘Thank you, Jesus.’ You know, I tried to to take my own life on a few occasions before I went into jail. And obviously that wasn’t what he had planned for me. So, I look forward to seeing what he does have planned for me in the years to come.”

Mel Wells sits on a park bench as she speaks to Eternity over Zoom. Behind her, a Norfolk Island pine stands majestically, framed by blue sky above and a graceful river below.

Less than two years ago, from behind the walls of Emu Plains Correctional Centre, Wells could never have imagined sitting in such peace – not only because of her surroundings, but mostly because of a new outlook on life.

Those who read her story back in 2018 – splashed across the media here in Australia and even overseas – also would not have envisioned this as her future.

In March 2018, the then 35-year-old mother of four was charged with fraud offences related to making financial gain from a fake illness. Between 2014 and 2016, Wells (then known by another name) received thousands of dollars in community donations for cancer treatment – an illness she

never had. She pleaded guilty. In 2018, she was sentenced to two years and nine months in jail, without parole.

When asked about her background and the experiences leading up to her imprisonment, Wells speaks frankly and matter-of-factly. She doesn’t seek sympathy – in fact there are several key details about her childhood and her adult life that she leaves out altogether, until they unravel themselves later in the conversation.

“I grew up down in Sydney’s west,” she begins.

“There was myself and I have an older brother who’s nine years older than me. I lived with mum and dad, a normal family life I guess, in a few certain ways.

“I played a high level of cricket. I went to a sports high school and was the first girl selected [to go there] in a boys cricket program.

“Growing up, I had my first son at 16, so I was quite young. And then it sort of went from there and four kids later, now I’m from the [NSW] North Coast.”

The power of lies Wells fills in some blanks, such as receiving no support from the father of her first child, as it was not a lasting relationship.

A little reluctantly, Wells circles back to this monumental challenge of becoming a mother at such a young age, especially when she had a promising future as a cricket player: “I didn’t realise I was pregnant until I was probably about 16 weeks, I think ... So yeah, having a pregnancy at that age and playing a lot of sport and being active all the time did have a big impact on me. I suffered a lot mentally because of that.

“Also, I think everybody had very high

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expectations and I tried to live up to that. I think the more I tried to live up to that, the more I sort of became a person I wasn’t, so to speak. I think that was sort of the start of alarm bells for a few people throughout my journey of life.”

The alarm bells became clearer after Wells fell pregnant with her second son three years later, to a man she married (although later separated from).

“I was a compulsive liar. I was lying all the time about anything and everything, just to get out of trouble. The thought of me letting someone down or the thought of me doing the wrong thing, I just couldn’t bear that, so it was easier to lie about it.

“But I think as I got older, as a compulsive liar, you believe your own lies, don’t you? It’s one of those things where you start to lie and you believe what you’re telling people.

“So up until probably three or four years ago, that was what I did. That was normal. And so what then happened ... it started from little lies.”

Wells maintains that the lies which landed her in prison – saying she had recurrent episodes of cancer – were ones she actually believed herself.

“At the time, I didn’t realise I was lying about it. I honestly thought I had the illness, which I suppose made things a lot harder for me to try and come to terms with. Because once people said, ‘No, you weren’t sick,’ it was like, well, what was wrong with me then?”

It’s not until much later in the conversation that Wells opens up about her mental health at that time.

“I never believed in mental health, and I think a lot of the problem is that I wasn’t educated in it either.

“I’ve learned that it’s OK to talk about stuff, where before I never did. I used to just sort of bury a lot Continued page 4

From page 3 of the problems that were really going on inside me. And that’s what caused me to what they call dissociate. So instead of realising what was really going on with me, my brain decided to make another lie.”

And so, Wells says, when “two detectives rocked up to my door and confronted me with what had been going on, I was like, I’m not really sure what’s happening at the moment, but I had this big weight lifted off my shoulders.”

The day after Wells was sent to jail in April 2018, her oldest son turned 18. Her middle son was 15, her daughter 12 and her youngest child was only eight. Wells and her partner were due to be married that June.

“So obviously that all got canned. I didn’t know if he was going to be around after the charges,” says Wells, noting that only a very small group of people were willing to remain associated with her.

She started her time on the inside at Grafton prison, but was soon moved to Mid North Coast Correctional Centre in Kempsey.

“Kempsey was really good. I was working in the laundry there. A few of the girls that I lived with were really nice,” Wells recalls. “But then, the day before Australia Day in 2019, it all came to a halt because I was assaulted. I was rushed to hospital.

“Two weeks later I was put in what they call ‘seg row.’ So I was isolated from everybody for two weeks in this tiny little room. From there, I got moved down to Sydney, to Emu Plains.”

But just two days into her time at Emu Plains Correctional Centre, Wells’ life began to turn around. “I had a call over a microphone to go to an office. I knocked on this office door and this older man answered the door with a big smile on his face and he said, ‘Oh, you must be Melissa. I’m Bernard.

I’m the chaplain here,’” Mel recalls.

“I said, ‘Alright, well, you call me Mel and I’ll call you Chappie.’ So we formed this really, really special relationship him and I. “I remember walking into Bernard’s office and he had a couple of Bibles and all these different leaflets.

I was thinking, ‘OK, these are interesting,’ but I

wouldn’t take any to start with.

“I was just adamant that I was OK the way I was, and didn’t really need God in my life.

The power of love “Then, about a week later Chappie mentions about this Wednesday afternoon meeting, where Kairos [prison ministry] ladies come in from the outside.

He made it sound really easy and simple, and he said, ‘Why don’t you just come? It’s in the [visitor] area.’

“So I said, ‘Alright, well it can’t hurt.’ So I did.

“We walked in there and sat down. And the next thing you know, we’re singing these songs and reading these things out of the Bible. I’m like, this is all new to me. I’ve got no idea what this is all about.

The ladies were absolutely lovely though. So when it finished, I thought, I really like those ladies, but I ain’t going back.

“But the next Tuesday, Chappie said to me, ‘I’ll see you on Wednesday.’ So I kind of felt obligated to go.

After that second visit, I never doubted that I would go back.”

“Chappie” loaned Wells a Bible to read and she started asking him questions about it. Then about a month later, in May 2019, Wells agreed to take part in the Kairos Short Course – a four-day intensive course that explores a possible new identity in Christ. Wells says that without this course, she “wouldn’t be the person I am today.

“The big thing with the Kairos course is forgiveness and learning not just how to forgive yourself, but how to forgive other people and how [to let] other people maybe forgive you.

“There’s a certain part where you have to do something to help ‘release’ forgiveness, and I had written people’s names down that I had never mentioned, [related to my] childhood trauma.

“I was sexually abused a couple of times as a kid by different people over the course of three to five years.

“It was something that was rarely talked about. So for me to actually sit there and write these names, it was like...” Wells pauses, before continuing, “That was the day that I felt Jesus next to me.

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“And that was it. It was like a chapter had closed and I was forgiven – that was a big thing to me because [before that] I could never forgive myself.

That was my issue.

“It was truly a time that I will never forget. It holds deep to my heart. There’s a few [Kairos] ladies I’m still in contact with today and it will stay that way for the rest of our lives I hope.”

The rest of Wells’ prison sentence was different.

She still kept to herself (to avoid negative attention in a dangerous place), but she says, “I knew I had Jesus with me. And after that I was more inclined to read the Bible and I was praying more. It completely changed my perspective on life.”

When Wells was released from jail on August 30, 2019, her partner Rod was there waiting for her.

“We actually went and had breakfast with Chappie and a couple of my friends before we headed home.

So that was good,” she recalls.

There was still anger about her past actions among her small community, but Wells linked into a Christian church in a nearby suburb.

Today, at 38, Wells does Bible study every Friday night with a group of older ladies. She also volunteers a few times each week with the same group at a local soup kitchen. Wells is also involved in running online church for Beyond Church.

“You know, it’s not that I’m expecting people to forgive me. But it’s more of a fact that I’ve found forgiveness, and that’s up to everybody else whether they find forgiveness or not. One of the things we learned in Kairos was that by not forgiving people and by holding resentment and anger, it’s not healthy for the person who’s holding it.”

She adds: “I’ve always said to the ladies at Kairos, if there’s ever anything I can do to help with Kairos or if my story is going to help somebody, even if it’s only one person, it’s worthwhile.”

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Sweeter than honey to my mouth!

Ben P. George, External Engagement Manager One of my favourite explanations of the significance of Scripture in the believer’s life is Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

The writer focuses in on the importance of Scripture by looking at its impact, as the primary vehicle through which the Holy Spirit effects transformation in the life of the Christian church.

One of the ongoing legacies of Moore College has been a focus on deep, broad and sustained immersion in the text of Scripture. An example of this is the rich heritage left by former Principal Archdeacon T. C. Hammond, who began lecturing a small group of lay preachers in Newtown around the middle of WWII, in 1941. From these humble beginnings, the demand for good Bible teaching grew, as men and women were hungry for the food that God provided. T. C. Hammond’s lecture notes were developed, and over the years turned into what is now known as the Moore Preliminary

Theological Certificate (PTC), comprising twentytwo units of study from biblical studies through to Christian ethics.

As a young adult, I too benefitted from this rich history of Moore’s Scriptural focus through its alumni, well before studying the Bachelor of Divinity here myself. Having grown up in an Indian cultural church for the first twenty or so years, Bible studies and sermons focused on life experience and wisdom, and very rarely focused on an expository look at the text of Scripture. It was through meeting with an elder who had gone through the entire suite of PTC units, and a family friend who was an alumnus of the College, that I focused in on reading Scripture, and discovered how the Psalmist could say “How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!” (Ps 119:103).

In the end, the importance of a Scripture-soaked theological education is second to none. This is because the gospel message is precious, God’s people bought by the blood of Jesus are immensely valuable, and the task of a pastor-teacher is difficult and burdensome, irrespective of the

How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!

(Ps 119:103)

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privilege, because of the brokenness of this world.

For this reason, Moore aims to train people to proclaim Jesus and reach the lost. But in order for the College to keep doing this, we require the continued support of our numerous donors and prayers, for whom I am immensely thankful to God. Would you please prayerfully consider giving to: • The John Chapman House Capital Development Fund, to provide new accommodation and facilitate our learning in residential community • The Scholarships Fund, to help needy domestic and international students afford our online or oncampus theological courses You can give via moore.edu.au/eofy21 Of course, along with considering the above, may I be so bold as to ask you to pray? Please pray that: • God would raise up more men and women with the provision of another strong in-take of students in 2022 • the College community would continue to keep Scripture as our focus

INDIA

Indian Government gives medical supplies to Hindus over Christians Under Indian Prime Minister Modi, aid has become politicised.

Tim Costello

I

t has been so distressing to receive messages from close friends in India over recent weeks.

They are in grief and we are in grief for them and feel their helpless desperation. They tell stories of loved ones who have died gasping and writhing like fish out of water because they could not get oxygen or, in some cases, even a hospital bed. This wave of death numbering 4000 a day is apocalyptic and the number of burning bodies in funeral pyres is testament to the Indian variant B.1.617 that is so deadly in its speed of transmission. And now this variant is in many other nations including Australia.

Irresponsible government politicians have suggested cow dung and urine is a protection from infection and our television screens have shown scenes of pooh smattered bodies believing this is a vaccine. Others have called it fake news to even report that there is a lack of oxygen, and taken to regulating social media to suppress the crisis.

But my friends communicate on WhatsApp and fear the ping to hear of another death and facing further tragedy. They see with their own eyes what is unfolding and how their government either has no clue or doesn’t care.

After Prime Minister Modi boasted that India’s initial response had been so good that they had

“saved humanity” he became utterly complacent.

He ran massive political rallies with maskless millions. He was the face to encourage Hindu religious festivals on the Ganges with more than 10 million attendees. This political irresponsibility has become fatal.

Australia has found an extra $37 million for India in its budget announced in May. This is welcome although aid is still decreasing overall even as the pandemic rages and our economy roars back.

Sadly we remain in the bottom three of the 29 OECD nations when it comes to aid generosity.

But still my Christian Indian friends welcome our help but insist that Australia demands greater transparency on how that aid is used.

Under PM Modi aid has become politicized and goes to those states where his BJP party is in power.

A health crisis has revealed a religious crisis where a government that should be secular and impartial in service delivery is waging its Hindutva agenda, namely, that to be Indian is to be Hindu. Christians and other religious minorities are being victimised.

Many of the churches have become ICU centres, buying oxygen from wherever they can on the market and offering it to the desperate regardless of their religious background. Mosques have been doing the same. But Christian hospitals, which must go through the health purchasing system, are often missing out on government allocations. This is religiously motivated.

India, which has a nuclear program, a space program and extraordinary wealth has spent less than 2% of its GNI on public health and now in this pandemic is prioritising assistance to BJP Hindu states and higher castes. This is effectively religious persecution and we should be naming it

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and standing with our brothers and sisters. Where churches in Australia can help buy oxygen we can give you the names of Indian Christian hospitals and churches. And they are caring for those missing out. We believe that when dealing with the health of another human – any human – we are dealing with an image of God. In India it is beds, oxygen, ventilators, testing and tracing that are in short supply. It is also the desperation of 9000 Australian citizens or permanent residents caught in India who want to come home. It is the anxiety of 660,000 Indian Australians here receiving calls from desperate families and friends pleading for help.

Elsewhere it is the world’s poorest nations who have received just 1.3% of the global vaccine supply.

Nations like Kenya and Namibia are rightly calling this vaccine apartheid. COVAX the international mechanism was meant to deliver 2 billion doses to the poorest nations and so far has only delivered 54 million. The Christian church, born as the first internationalist or transnationalist body because everyone human carries the image of God, must help show the way.

Tim Costello is Executive Director of Micah Australia and a Senior Fellow at the Centre for Public Christianity.

INDIA

‘Utterly devastating’ says head of Bible Society India M. Mani Chacko is the General Secretary of Bible Society India (BSI).

Rebecca Abbott

L

iving in the middle of a national tragedy, Mani Chacko is the General Secretary of Bible Society India (BSI). He gives Eternity readers an update on the BSI team and provides a snapshot of what life is like in the midst of such devastation.

Every day, life is “utterly devastating,” says Chacko, who is based in Bangalore, India. With his nation swamped by more than 22.3 million cases of COVID-19, Chacko gets news each day that close relations, colleagues or other friends have been infected.

The chance of being infected within Bangalore – a city of 12.7 million in the southern state of Karnataka – is 40 per cent, according to local news source NDTV. Doctors in a government hospital there report having only one bed available to every 30 sick patients needing it, and only two doctors to care for 170 patients.

Across India every day, around 4000 people are dying of the disease, with the total death toll at more than 242,000 to date. One million people are expected to die of COVID in India by August 1, according to the Institute for Health Metrics and

Evaluation.

What is daily life like for staff at Bible Society India at the moment?

Utterly devastating, with news of several loved ones, colleagues, church leaders passing away and several being infected with COVID-19. This happens very often, on a daily basis.

How many BSI staff have contracted COVID-19?

Twelve of our colleagues or their parents have passed away. A number of more cases are being reported, off and on, that they are infected.

Are you able to continue work at Bible Society or is the focus solely on survival at the moment?

Continuing the work at the Bible Society of India (BSI) is indeed very challenging, as our income has been drastically low ever since the pandemic began as there are no voluntary contributions, no Scripture sales, no Bible Sundays, since almost all churches are closed due to the pandemic. We are struggling to make ends meet.

All our staff, almost 325 of them, solely depend on salaries they get from BSI. So, we are trying our best to at least pay the salaries on time.

What are some of the most pressing needs among your local community now?

Fear has gripped people and many have been traumatised. Several have lost their jobs as companies are forced to work with limited numbers of staff. Besides the passing away of relatives, there is not enough medical infrastructure available for immediate treatment.

It’s a daily sight to see people running from hospital to hospital for a bed with oxygen and ventilator support. It is also heartbreaking to see dead bodies lined up for cremation due to lack of enough crematoriums and burial grounds.

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Above all, the people who suffer from COVID-19 infection are stigmatised and people intentionally try to keep away from them even after recovery as if they are untouchables! In view of the above, words of comfort in the form of tracts and booklets, New Testaments and, if possible, the entire Bible, along with groceries, vegetables and some form of financial assistance to meet the medical treatment expenses will be helpful. The treatment has become very expensive, and our staff and others find it difficult to meet [the cost]. Bible Society of India very much wants to accompany them in their grief and pain.

What specifically can our readers be praying for BSI and for India as a nation?

• Pray that the federal government and the state governments would go out of their way to make medical facilities available for the suffering masses at affordable rates; • Pray that people also realise the seriousness of the virus and take needed precautions to safeguard themselves and others; • Pray that God would have mercy on the suffering humanity despite all our inadequacies, and protect us from this deadly virus.

Bible Society Australia is running an appeal for people in India affected by COVID-19. Donations will help provide biblical resources and necessities like medicine, oxygen and food through Christian hospitals.

For more about this campaign or to donate visit biblesociety.org.au/india

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Naomi Reed WRITER

TRACEY’S STORY

‘I’m here to hear about Jesus!’

Twice a week Eternity online runs Faith Stories where Naomi Reed captures a person’s journey to faith told in their own words

B

y the time I was 21, I’d finished my degree and got a really good job. My career was all mapped out. I had a nice boyfriend and a loving family. It all looked perfect. What more could I want?”

“Then slowly, things started to unravel. Looking back, I’m sure it was God working in my life. My boss started to become really difficult. He had mental health issues, and he was controlling and inappropriate. I remember going into the stairwell and actually crying out to God, which was weird because I didn’t even know God. “But literally, within weeks, a friend contacted me and said there was a job going at another company.

I moved across to work with her. It was a great opportunity. At the same time, two other people were employed, who were both Christians. They were really open about their faith. They talked about Jesus all the time, even though there were others who were anti-Christian.

“I remember listening to them and feeling quite angry. How did they know they had all the answers?

“How arrogant were they? But the angrier I felt, the more I thought, ‘This is ridiculous. Why

“

am I so angry? If there’s nothing to this, then it shouldn’t matter so much. What’s going on?’

“At the same time, I started to feel convicted that there was something wrong in my life, which was weird because in a worldly sense everything was perfect. But the feelings continued and at the end of that year, I asked my boyfriend whether we should get married. By then, we’d been living together for a year. He said yes. Then I said, ‘Where would we get married?’

“He said, ‘In a church, I suppose.’

“A crashing feeling of hypocrisy came over me.

How could we get married in a church? I didn’t feel like I could step foot in one. How could I ever be acceptable to God? “But at the same time, I said to myself, ‘Hang on, I’m a good person. I’m not that bad. There must be a loophole.’

“I knew my mum had an Anglican prayer book, so I went to find it. I looked up the section on marriage, trying to find a loophole. But there wasn’t one. The more I read, the more I felt there was no answer, and no way out. But somehow, the Holy Spirit kept convicting me and I began to talk to one of my Christian colleagues. She brought in a whole lot of Christian books and I devoured them.

In the back of one of them was the sinner’s prayer. I read it and thought, ‘That’s it!’

“It was amazing. I suddenly knew that Jesus was

11

real. He was God! He had died for me. God had already done it! I remember running around and telling everyone. I was in a euphoric, joyous state.

It was just like 1 Corinthians 2:14: ‘The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them.’ But now I understood the things of God! My boyfriend thought I’d lost the plot. On the next Sunday, I decided to go to church. I walked out the door and I kept turning left until I found a little, stone church. I went in. There were about three people inside and they were all really, really old. The pastor got up and he preached. Afterwards, he said, ‘Why are you here?’

“I said, ‘I’m here to hear about Jesus!’ He said I’d better come back to lunch. It turned out that the chapel was associated with a retirement village!

That’s why everyone was so old. But I kept going to that little church. The pastor really encouraged me.

And he ended up having a huge influence on my boyfriend’s life. My boyfriend came to faith later that year, through chatting with the pastor. But that’s another story!” www.eternitynews.com.au/people/faith-storieswith-naomi-reed/

The wise life Michael Jensen

A problem for now: Are we blinded by intelligence and skill?

P

rofessor Stephen Hawking was one of the smartest people who ever lived.

But was he wise?

A new biography by Charles Seife called Hawking Hawking: The Selling of a Scientific Celebrity shows that Hawking was indeed a genius, who changed the course of physics through his work on black holes and the Big Bang. He overcame the terrible suffering of motor neurone disease with tenacity. He achieved iconic status in 1988 with his book A Brief History of Time, which was famously a bestseller that nobody could read.

He became, as Seife shows, “shamelessly selfpromoting to the point of arrogance and heedless of what others might think.” It would not be too much to say that he was an atheist because there wasn’t room for another deity besides him.

Meanwhile, his personal life was complex.

He left his first wife of thirty years – Jane, a committed Christian – for one of his nurses in 1990. As an academic, he was known for not sharing the limelight with those who had done the actual work, and for the questionable treatment of his students.

Let me be clear: Hawking was not a particularly bad person. He had many virtues. But his profound intelligence did not give him exceptional wisdom for living.

I tell the story of Stephen Hawking because I think it says something about contemporary culture: we are so blinded by intelligence and skill that we have lost sight of what it is to be wise. We look to the famous, the wealthy and the clever for wisdom for life, but it turns out that they are no more wise than anyone else.

Three things have made it so: First, the specialisation of knowledge. It is one of the hallmarks of a sophisticated civilisation that we have become highly specialised. Through years of education and study, we apply ourselves not to general knowledge but to particular expertise. We find our niche, and we work in it.

But we don’t know much else.

Secondly, the success of science through technology. For 200 years, science has given us extraordinary prowess and eased our lives, giving us jet travel, air-conditioning and oncology. We start to believe there is no question that can’t be solved by an expert or a machine.

Third, forgetting God, the giver of all wisdom.

According to the Bible’s way of thinking, God is the source of all knowledge and wisdom, the single point that anchors everything all together and makes it cohere. Science and ethics, art, philosophy and the business of living – these are all part of living in the world God made and filled with his goodness.

This is expressed in a theme that comes up again and again in the Bible: “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.”

We see it, more or less, in Proverbs 1:7, in Proverbs 9:10, in Job 28:28 and in Psalm 111:10.

Let’s take it piece by piece: First: wisdom begins in the fear of the Lord.

What is this fear? The Lord is to be feared with a knee-knocking, bowels-turned-to-water fear. To encounter his holiness is to be rightly terrified. But this fear is different.

This fear is the sense of regard and respect. It is akin to trust. It is the fear, for example, that you ought to have for authorities. In a just society, you should fear the police and the judiciary and the government because you should have respect and regard for them. You don’t fear them because they are unpredictable but because they are entirely predictable. So what do you do? You take heed to what they say. You revere them, you honour them.

Likewise, with the fear of the Lord: fear of the Lord means giving him his due; regarding and respecting his authority in all things. It means worship and obedience. It’s another way of speaking about faith. That is to say: to fear the Lord is to have faith in him.

Which leads to the second piece of the sentence: “the Lord.” Who is it that you should fear? It is the Lord, the God of Israel, who we know as the Lord and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. He is the Creator who made all things and gives them their being. He is the source of all beauty, truth and goodness.

Who are we then to fear? Not an idol. Not a monster. Not the mob. Not the king. But the Lord – who is worthy of our fear, because he made all things, and judges all things, and because he redeemed people from sin, evil and death. And this fear means being humble, for he is the Lord and not you.

This fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.

In what sense is it the beginning?

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It is the foundational principle and the platform.

It’s the springboard from which wisdom can begin.

Now, notice that it isn’t everything that we need to know or everything we can learn. The fear of the Lord should prompt us to discover how the world works in the confidence that it is a meaningful world that makes sense. It should guide us at every point.

This means that Christians ought to have confidence in scientific and other knowledge, as far as it goes. You don’t have to be a Christian to find true things about the creation. That a scientist is a Christian or not does not stop them from finding true things. The Bible is not the answer to all life’s questions; but it gives us the key principle for understanding what we find. It tells us that the earth is the Lord’s, and filled with his truth.

And we’ve been equipped as his creatures to go searching for the truth.

It is a disgrace to our Creator if any Christians are anti-science, just as it is pathetic that atheists worship science. It is shameful that Christians are so easily swayed by conspiracy theories and halftruths, and not more disciplined and rigorous in looking for the truth. The fear of the Lord should make us more careful and more respectful, more suspicious about grand theories and more aware of our own tendency to believe what we want to believe.

So then: you may be well-credentialled, wealthy, respected, educated and successful. But are you wise?

You will find in the fear of the Lord the secret to true wisdom. It is the key to living well in his world. How? Because it will give you limits and because it will give you your freedom.

First: it will give you your limits. That great philosopher Clint Eastwood put it well: a man’s got to know his limitations. If you fear the Lord you know that you are not God. You will be humble. Second: the fear of the Lord gives us our freedom, because it enables us to live wisely. We live in a world that makes sense, even when we can’t see it.

When we fear the Lord, we know what truth, beauty and goodness really are, and we can pursue them and praise them.

Michael Jensen

IS THE RECTOR OF ST MARK’S ANGLICAN CHURCH IN DARLING POINT, SYDNEY AND THE AUTHOR OF SEVERAL BOOKS.

A celebration of wisdom Penny Mulvey

The Bible mentions it a lot. But what is it?

I

have been wrestling with what could be a weird question and I would love to hear what you think. Can a person be objectively wise? Or is wisdom subjective? Think about the people you describe as wise. Do you have a long list or is it very short? Do you think others who know the people on your list would agree with your view that they are wise?

Let’s turn for a moment to Solomon. Even those who know nothing of the Bible will be aware of this ancient king who suggested that a baby be cut in two as he mediated a dispute between two women. In 1 Kings we read that Solomon was wiser than the wisdom of all the people in the East.

He was so wise that he was “wiser than anyone else ... and his fame spread to all the surrounding nations” (1 Kings 4:30-31). In fact, people from all the nations of the world came to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, “sent by all the kings of the world, who had heard of his wisdom” (1 Kings 4:34). Based on all of that, I could argue that Solomon was objectively wise ... ... and yet, Solomon’s story is a timeless one of greed and lust and wanting what was not his to have. In fact, he is not the only leader across the ages who was placed on a pedestal only to come crashing down. Solomon might have had all wisdom, all wealth, everything he could have wanted and more, but it seems his sexual desires and flagrant disobedience to God took him down a path of rebellion.

Solomon, it seems, loved women. According to 1 Kings 11, 700 wives of royal birth and 300 concubines! And despite being the wisest man on the earth, he disobeyed God by marrying women who worshipped other gods, “and his wives led him astray” (1 Kings 11:3). The Lord became angry and withdrew his favour. The wisest man in all the world was able to blame women for his inability to obey God, but it came at a heavy price.

This is not an article about men’s failures. It is just that my heart breaks a little as I read that once again women were blamed for a man’s lack of integrity and will. Back to wisdom ...

How did Solomon come to be the wisest person in the world? 1 Kings 4:29 tells us that “God gave Solomon wisdom and very great insight, and a breadth of understanding as measureless as the sand on the seashore.” His wisdom came from God. Our eldest child, now well and truly grown up, married the love of his life earlier this year. We cut our parenting teeth on him. He was an only child until the end of grade 1. He tried to push his way through every boundary we put in place. His personality was almost too big for his age. In fact,

he probably didn’t fully grow into his enormous personality until he was in his mid-twenties.

Parenting is hard work!

Perhaps the most confronting period for us with our eldest, and there were a number, was when he was in grade 5, and we learned that he and a school mate had been avoiding sport by hiding in the classroom and they had stolen some items from their classmates! We were mortified.

It’s not often in my life that I have had the clarity to recognise that my response to this moment in time could have lifetime consequences. But it seemed to me then, that that was one of those times. Depending on how we responded to this event, we could send our child in a range of different directions. As we talked, my husband and I, we realised we could not do this alone. We desperately needed God’s wisdom. And of course, the way to access that wisdom, as the Book of James makes clear, is to ask.

“If any of you lack wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” James 1:5 There was no flash of lightning. No light-bulb moment. But I do know that God gave us wisdom on that occasion and we found a pathway forward.

Our son had to face his actions. It was not easy, but it was done with love and care.

My hope for you is that if you haven’t been asking for God’s wisdom much, that will change, because without it, we are not engaging our super power!!

For instance, have you ever considered that wisdom is found in those who take advice?

(Proverbs 13:10) If I stop to think about it properly, when I am at my most vulnerable and someone reaches out with a word of encouragement or help, and I actually take it on board, and the situation is improved, wow, is that life-giving! You could even say I was wise enough to listen!

For those of us who are parents, we cannot

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protect our children from the myriad challenges life throws up even though we want to. But one thing we can do is pray. Pray for wisdom. Pray for our children. Pray that they will be filled with the knowledge of God’s will. Pray the same prayer for your local politician. For the country’s leaders. For yourself. Pray. Pray. God promises his wisdom.

Ultimately, the wisdom we seek from God is found in the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ.

Our lives have meaning, due to God’s healing hand of redemption. Our wisdom is the daily claiming of that grace, hope and love. And as we continue our journey of faith, constantly seeking God’s wisdom, we will begin to display humility, gentleness, kindness and the other fruits of the Spirit.

God’s wisdom – you just have to ask!

How often do we talk about wisdom? Perhaps not enough.

This series unpacks where wisdom comes from, how highly it is rated by God (and Paul, James, Job and Solomon’s “fans”) and why it is a superpower for all Christians.

A 14-day Bible plan

by Penny Mulvey

Penny Mulvey

IS THE CHIEF COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER FOR BIBLE SOCIETY, WIFE, MOTHER OF THREE ADULT CHILDREN, AND A PASSIONATE ENCOURAGER OF PEOPLE!

FEBY CHAN’S STORY

How God rebuilt Feby Chan’s faith after her husband was executed by firing squad “I’m ready to tell the whole story from my side. My heart is finally free from all the anger. And I feel like I can share the right story.”

Feby Chan lets us into her world with the Bali 9’s Andrew Chan, the man she married on death row.

Kaley Payne WRITER

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ndrew and Feby were married just days before he was executed in Indonesia. Feby convinced herself that so many prayers would surely not go unanswered.

Everyone has an opinion about a woman who marries the guy she met on death row.

Feby Chan is used to that. In fact, years before she entered her first prison, she remembers seeing a woman on television who was dating a person on death row and thought, “She must be crazy!”

But Feby is not crazy. She is down-to-earth, thoughtful and open about her experiences. And yet, until the very end, she was also sure that Andrew would not be killed. God would save him.

God didn’t.

It’s been six years this week since Feby’s husband, Andrew Chan, was executed. Known as one of the ringleaders of the Bali 9, Andrew was one of nine Australians convicted of drug trafficking, after they attempted to smuggle $4 million worth of heroin out of Indonesia.

Feby’s book, Walking Him Home, which she has written with Christian author Naomi Reed, is also released this month. She says it has taken her this long to heal from the pain and confusion of her time with Andrew and his death.

“I’m ready to tell the whole story from my side,”

14

she tells me. “My heart is finally free from all the anger. And I feel like I can share the right story.”

Although the Bali 9 made headlines around the world for their drug arrest in 2005, Feby did not hear about them. But four years later, Feby received an email from a friend who wondered whether she could help set up a prayer ministry at Bali’s Kerobokan Prison.

The request for this ministry had come from one of the prison inmates: Andrew Chan.

Seven hundred kilometres west of Kerobokan, Feby ran the prayer tower at her church in Yogyakarta, near Java in Indonesia. The prayer tower was a public space, open 24-hours for anyone who wanted to come and pray.

Feby was employed as an intercessor, running prayer meetings and leading prayers for six hours each day, every day. Mostly, she took the graveyard shift: midnight to 6am.

Setting up a prayer ministry in Kerobokan Prison was, then, not such an unusual request for Feby.

“But I wondered, ‘Why would God want me to do this?’” said Feby. “Surely he could choose someone from Bali, not Yogyakarta?”

Feby’s friend was persistent: Come and meet Andrew in prison. She stopped asking questions, and got on a plane.

Cover and above photo of Feby Chan. Photo credit: Lena Pobjie, Others Magazine

FEBY CHAN

Feby had seen photos of Andrew – she looked him up on the internet.

“His hair was dark and he seemed to be of Asian descent. He was quite skinny and there were tattoos on his arms. I’m not a big fan of tattoos.

I also saw that he had a scar on his forehead. I thought he looked a bit scary,” she writes in Walking Him Home.

Kerobokan Prison in Bali was the first prison Feby had ever visited. By the time she arrived, in 2012, Andrew had been in prison for six years already. He had become a Christian while in solitary confinement, after reading and re-reading the New Testament and wrestling with his need for forgiveness. He was leading worship services within the prison and studying to become a minister (he was ordained in 2015, just before his death).

When Feby met him, it was his Aussie accent that first endeared him to her.

“I didn’t expect him to be so bright, so happy, so clean. He wasn’t what I thought someone on death row would be like.”

Feby spent five days in Bali, visiting the prison every day for a program of worship and Bible teachings that Andrew had arranged for interested prisoners.

“Andrew wanted to know everything about your day. He was interested in all the little details of the outside world. How long did it take to get somewhere? What colour something was. If my emails were short, he would respond asking me to share more. We emailed every day.

“Talking with Andrew about his life and his faith

encouraged me so much during those months in late 2012.”

Feby planned more trips to Bali and expanded her prison ministry to incorporate five other prisons in Java. She and her friend Linda raised funds for the needs inside the prisons.

Kerobokan prison was built to hold 300 prisoners, but there would usually be more than 1400 prisoners at any one time. They raised funds for a kitchen where Andrew started a cooking ministry, teaching prisoners to cook and talking to them about God.

By December 2013, Feby and Andrew had been friends for almost two years, and their relationship was changing.

“I knew that I admired him. I thought he was an amazing man of God, and I really liked him … but I hadn’t really considered what would happen if our feelings became more serious. Slowly, though …

I started to think about him in a different way.”

All the while, Andrew remained on death row.

Often, they would have only one hour together for their visits. Andrew would cook, and they would sit on the floor of the packed visitors’ area to eat.

There was no “dating.” No time alone.

Feby felt God’s hand on everything leading up to her falling in love with Andrew. She felt as if God had sent her to him.

“I had seen so many miracles! I expected a miracle, and I was sure it would be Andrew’s freedom. I never thought that he would die.”

In June 2011, Andrew Chan and fellow smuggler Myuran Sukumaran’s final appeals were rejected by the Indonesian Supreme Court. Their lawyers

15

appealed to Indonesia’s then-President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono for clemency in 2012. They were left off the execution list for 2013 and given a glimmer of hope.

Then, another two years in prison, ten days after Andrew’s 31st birthday in January 2015, his plea for presidential clemency was rejected. “On March 3, we heard that Andrew would be taken from Kerobokan Prison to Besi Prison on the execution island – Nusa Kambangan.”

Feby says millions of people were praying for Andrew – pastors all over Indonesia and Australia had been in contact with her. She convinced herself that so many prayers would surely not go unanswered. Andrew would be freed.

But on April 25, 2015, Andrew received formal notification that he would be executed. A 72-hour countdown had been announced.

Feby was in the hotel near the prison when she heard. She couldn’t stop shaking. But still, she hoped for a miracle. She was allowed to see Andrew the next day, and cried uncontrollably.

“It was the only time I cried.” The guards took off Andrew’s handcuffs so he could hug her.

Later that day, she was allowed to visit again.

And Andrew asked her to marry him. She said yes, but she was also wary.

To help set her mind at ease, Feby wrote a list of pros and cons of marrying Andrew just a few days before his scheduled execution.

“On the one hand, I knew that if I married Andrew, I would have a mark on myself. His story would be linked with mine for the rest of my Continued page 16

FEBY CHAN

From page 15 life. People would think I was crazy. They would assume all sorts of things about me and him. They would question my motives. But mostly, I thought about Andrew. Would it help his faith to remain strong? Would it help him in the end?”

And she prayed. The next day, they were married in the prison chapel. Andrew’s close friend and confidant, David Soper – a Salvation Army minister – performed the ceremony.

Just 35 hours after they were married, Andrew was executed by firing squad. As they were tied to wooden poles, the eight men to be killed sang hymns, including 10,000 Reasons which Andrew and Feby had sung at their wedding: Bless the Lord, Oh my soul. Sing like never before, Oh my soul. Worship his holy name.

And on that day when my strength is failing, the end draws near and my time has come. Still my soul will sing your praise unending. 10,000 years and then forever more.

At 1am on Wednesday April 30, they received word. It was over. He was dead. Feby felt numb.

His body was flown to Sydney for the funeral, and Feby and his family prayed over him for hours and hours. And Feby suddenly knew that Andrew would be staying with Jesus. He was not going to come back.

“I felt his hands and his face. He was so cold.”

“I thought, ‘I’m never going to see him again.’ My whole world collapsed. And I was angry.”

Feby struggled with her anger for a long time.

She was angry at God. Why did he not answer her prayer? Why would he want her to suffer?

“I had this image of a God who would not allow someone to go through such pain. And I know now that was the wrong mindset; it was a [misunderstanding] about how God deals with difficult situations in our lives.

“After what happened to Andrew, that’s what really shifted for me. I began to understand that being a Christian didn’t mean that bad things would not happen to me, but that when they did God would be with me. And he can use my pain and my difficulty in those dark hours to help other people.”

On April 29, it was six years since Andrew’s execution. Feby still believes in miracles. She has had a lot of time to ask God about what she did all those years ago: Why me, God? Why did you send me to Bali?

“I believe God sent me to Andrew to be with him and prepare him for what was to come. I believe I was there to walk him home.”

Walking Him Home: Learning to Hope Again After Loving and Losing Andrew Chan on Death Row

By Naomi Reed and Feby Chan Authentic Media $17.99 16

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Safe water enables girls to learn Where the local church brings access to clean water, a flood of blessings flow Collecting water should never get in the way of going to school. But that’s what is still happening to countless children in rural Tanzanian villages.

Tabitha, a woman who lives in the Rorya District of Tanzania, told us, “During dry seasons me and my young girls would walk to neighbouring areas to look for water. My girls missed classes and their results dropped badly compared to other seasons, as they had to wake up at 5am to collect water for cooking and drinking. They would take almost a half a day, each carrying 20 litres home.”

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If The Wind Goes Where You Send It So Will I I was happy, wasn’t I? I was a new age spiritual healer and teacher with a thriving global soul centre, offering courses, sessions, and products with the goal of self-actualization. I travelled internationally with my teachings and spoke on new age radio. I was the ‘creator of my own reality’, tuned into the invisible spirit realm to channel healing, spiritual guidance, and wisdom to myself and my clients. I was empowered and had purpose.

I felt I had control over life and access to hidden knowledge to explain all the mysteries. But after 13 years of ‘inner work’, why did I still find myself stuck in feelings of deep inadequacy, shame, unresolved grief, anxiety, and addiction? Moments of spiritual bliss were ultimately unfulfilling as I moved back into the reality of life. Relationships were challenged as it was difficult to be around people who had a ‘lower consciousness’. I kept searching and striving. I was exhausted being my own god!

One weekend, a friend invited me to church. I was surprised by a different church environment to what I expected. As I listened to the lyrics of “So Will I”, it hit me like a ton of bricks. My heart

Rebecca Brown was a new age spiritual healer and teacher with a purpose, but she was constantly dealing with feeling of inadequacy, shame and addiction. exploded. I had been worshipping creation (the universe), not the Creator.

I realised that He is the love that I had been looking for. I sank down to the chair and sobbed. I felt a powerful presence of love and wholeness that was inexplicable. This was different to anything I had ever experienced.

It was like a veil had been lifted. The fact that God was not a distant impersonal consciousness, but we could have a personal relationship with Him through Jesus blew my mind. I knew it was true. I was hungry and continued to explore.

Within weeks, I shut down my teachings and business. I ‘officially’ gave my life to Christ; however, I believe it happened in an instant that very first moment.

God called me to study not long after. I jumped into a Diploma of Ministry at Morling College, receiving a scholarship. God formed me through the class content and prayer, community life and

most surprisingly, through doing the assessments!

It was inspiring to connect with students at different points on their journey. I really felt God walking with me the whole way through it.

I realised that studying Theology is not only for academics but for all Christians. The study grounded my faith and taught me how to approach questions and understand different viewpoints, skills I continue to use as I grow in my faith.

Answering that call to study at Morling changed my life forever. If you have been called to learn, I encourage you to get in touch with a student advisor at Morling and let God do the rest.

Applications are open for July.

Morling staff often pray for the new generation of new students. If you have been thinking about studying, let them pray for you: morling.me/ lets-pray

JULY INTAKE

WE'LL MEET YOU WHERE YOU ARE Let's pray together

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BIBLE SOCIETY AUSTRALIA

5 kids. 1 salary.

But always able to give to those in need.

Rebecca Abbott

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You may think charitable giving is the last thing in the budget for a young family of seven.

But for the Posthuma family – members of Warnbro Community Church in southern Perth – it’s one of the first things they spend money on.

“We always felt in our hearts a call to serve and to help others in need,” says 37-year-old Johanna Posthuma, who, along with her electrician husband Conrad (39), has five young boys – aged 10, 8, twin 6-year-olds and a two-year-old.

“But given the current situation with COVID, and the fact that we have quite a young family, we can’t really go anywhere to serve in full-time ministry work. And so we feel like financial support is the best way for us to give for now.”

For the past three years, the family has been supporting the work of Bible Society Australia

(BSA) through monthly giving. This year they became “Lightkeepers,” along with other regular monthly donors, in BSA’s new Lighthouse program.

Johanna explains how they became BSA supporters in the first place: “In 2018 we bought some books from Koorong and they gave us the option to make a donation to Bible Society. So we thought, ‘OK, let’s do that.’ From there, we received some leaflets from BSA and the rest is history.”

Johanna says she feels a “personal connection” with BSA not only because of the organisation’s Christian ethos, but because of the “personal touches” their family has received from the organisation – like the gift of a baby Bible when their youngest son was born in 2019.

“I do feel a strong pull towards [Bible Society’s overseas] projects that support children in need or show love to people whose lives have been destroyed or who are in prison. But there’s also lots

Please help share the joy, comfort and guidance of the Scriptures by Opening The Bible to all here at home.

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of projects in our own backyard, in Australia. [The projects] are all wonderful!” Johanna enthuses.

Alongside their support for BSA, the Posthuma family also sponsor two children in Cambodia through Light of Hope. As their kids send drawings and cards to their sponsor children, Johanna hopes to teach them that “there are people in need.”

This lesson is also evident in the way Johanna and Conrad care for those in their local community.

Johanna often makes meals for those in need, and she takes the kids along when delivering them.

But giving and serving are not the only ways to share the love of God, Johanna points out.

“It could be doing something as small as just being loving and a humble friend, or using your gifts with the driving force behind that to lift God’s name high,” she says.

“Or to have that overflowing joy, especially when life gets hard and things don’t always go our way.

Then we have the opportunity to demonstrate [that joy], so people know that we have hope and we have God there helping us.

“A lot of people have noticed that we have hope in our eyes,” she adds.

When it comes to financial giving to organisations doing God’s work, Johanna says it is a privilege rather than a duty.

“I feel like God’s telling us to be generous like that, but it’s also for our own benefit. You feel lifted up when you help others, and you feel a connection with those you are helping. It’s wonderful.”

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20 minutes every five years will change the direction of your church, here’s why.

Our human need is to be heard and understood.

That’s exactly what the National Church Life Survey (NCLS) team has done for the last 30 years. Since 1991, NCLS has been helping churches listen to their congregations. The survey helps us listen to all voices, not just the loudest ones, to gain valuable insights to shape church health and vitality. In October and November this year, thousands of churches across 20+ denominations will take part in the 2021 NCLS.. All ages, backgrounds, and experiences, every voice matters.

Will your church join us?

“We started doing this mission research 30 years ago to support churches. It is humbling to now be custodians of the largest, longest running survey of church life in the world, with churches internationally asking for our help to run similar projects,” said Dr Ruth Powell, Director of NCLS Research. “How churches navigate both intergenerational and intercultural issues will be critical for the future.”

It’s no secret that the Australian church is

ageing, with 48% of church attenders currently over 60 years old. Yet, children attending church are very positive and a quarter to a third of Gen X, Y and Z say they would like to be more involved.

The last survey uncovered untapped potential among Gen Z with almost half who can play, sing or write music - a great way to contribute. The survey also revealed those new to church are most likely to be young adults who “belong before they believe”, highlighting the importance of belonging.

The 2021 NCLS Church Census will go to all churches to gather a snapshot of the extraordinary contributions local churches make. Reflective of our multicultural nation, 36% of Australian church attenders are born overseas. The 2021 survey is a tool to help you explore firsthand the cultural diversity of your faith community.

Ruth noted “Church leaders across denominations tell us it is now more important than ever - especially during a pandemic - to listen to church attenders and leaders for strategic and pastoral reasons.” Leader wellbeing has been

FOCUSED ON THE

future

NCLS Research is a world leader in research and for 30 years has been helping churches connect with their communities.

Your local church is invited to take part in the 2021 National Church Life Survey held in October and November!

This is your perfect opportunity to listen to all voices to gain valuable insights to shape the health and vitality of your own church.

Join with thousands of local churches In 20+ denominations.

Has your church signed up?

Sign up now 2021ncls.org.au 25

given sharp focus with the impact of COVID and leadership development is also a priority. These issues will be explored in the NCLS Leader Survey.

As Lieut. Colonel Lyn Edge of The Salvation Army said “we are inspired by the men of Issachar in 1 Chronicles 12:32 using the NCLS as a vital tool to understand ourselves and our times so we might adapt to serve Australia and Australians in our generation.”

For the first time the Local Community Survey is an extra option in the NCLS which will help you listen to those connected to your church who may not attend your services. It is a unique opportunity to find out what they really think and understand how to serve them better.

Every voice matters to create healthy and vital churches. Sign up to be part of the 2021 National Church Life Survey 2021ncls.org.au

CENTRE FOR PUBLIC CHRISTIANITY

How good are you at thinking?

Mark Stephens

At the Centre for Public Christianity they do a lot of thinking. So it’s a great place to help us discover how we can think better.

A “

Christian is someone who thinks in believing and believes in thinking.”

So said Os Guinness in his classic work Long Journey Home.

Christians are people who want to love the truth. But that never means we are immune from mistakes. If we are honest with ourselves, we all make hasty decisions. We all ignore wise advice.

We’re often certain we are right, but in the end find out we are wrong.

Why do we so often fail to think well?

Let me suggest three reasons, although I am sure there are many more.

First, part of our problem is philosophical. We have all had conversations over coffee where someone tells you what they “know” to be true.

And at least some of the time we want to reply – “how do you know that? I can see you believe that, but how do you know it?”

When you study philosophy, you learn early that you need to justify your opinions. It is a simple point – you should have reasons for believing.

This matters in every part of our life. It matters when your friend recommends an investment.

It matters in staff meetings at your church. It matters on your Facebook chat. It matters when a US president suggests injecting bleach.

Second, part of our problem is psychological.

In recent decades, psychologists have unveiled how our brains are highly motivated and easily biased. A great many experiments show that our minds are predisposed to process information in habitual ways, not all of which prioritise finding the truth.

The classic example is confirmation bias.

Confirmation bias is the habit that, once we believe something to be true, we then shut our minds off from seriously considering alternatives.

It’s the mistaken idea that what we see must be all there is. What we forget is how we sift evidence selectively, because all we want is confirmation of what we already believe. Turns out being openminded does not come easy.

Third, a part of our problem is statistical. We live in an age flooded by numbers. To a degree unknown by generations past, we think with the help of statistics. Look, this weight-loss program is supported by a pie chart. This weather graph proves that climate change is false. This political issue only receives 30 per cent support in the polls.

Doing statistics well actually takes quite a bit of skill, and results must be carefully interpreted.

The simple fact is you can lie with statistics without ever having to falsify the results.

Perhaps the biggest problem of all: we mistake

If you are not prepared to let thinking slow you down, wear you out, and make you uncomfortable, then you’ll end up cutting corners. correlation for causation. There is nothing more fun than using stats to blame or praise. Here’s how.

You chart two variables, and show that when one goes up or down, the other does too.

But correlation is not causation. The fact that two statistics track with one another never necessitates that one causes the other.

For example, between 2000 and 2009 the divorce rate in the US state of Maine almost perfectly correlated with the consumption of margarine. The less margarine used, the less people got divorced. Somebody needs to call those people and tell them to ditch eating toast altogether. It will literally save marriages.

If you are not prepared to let thinking slow you down, wear you out, and make you uncomfortable, then you’ll end up cutting corners. So to really think well, you are going to need to wrestle with yourself.

For the Christian, that means learning how to be a humble thinker. Humility is a core virtue for a disciple. The biblical story makes clear that human beings are both finite and fallible. Even at our best, our thinking is limited. We can’t know everything.

We are not God.

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Added to our finitude is fallibility. As the Bible says, our minds and hearts have been darkened (Rom 1:21; Eph 4:18). Sin affects every part of us, including our thinking. It should therefore not surprise us when sin leads us to think poorly, think selfishly, and where “truth” just becomes a tactic I use to get what I want.

As the authors Steven Levitt and Steven Dubner point out, some of the hardest words to say are “I Don’t Know.” But here we should follow the advice of the writer Alan Jacobs: value learning more than victory. Whether in casual conversations, Bible study groups or formal meetings, we are tempted to make “winning” our goal.

Yet it’s even worse than that. Because if it’s hard to say “I don’t know,” then it’s possibly harder to admit “I was wrong.”

Thinking is a precious gift from God. But like all of God’s gifts, without love it becomes nothing. My practice of thinking and desire for truth is in order that I might glorify God and love others well. So, to paraphrase 1 Corinthians 13, our thinking should be patient and kind, not envious, boastful or proud. This is the most excellent way.

Dr Mark Stephens is a Senior Research Fellow with the Centre for Public Christianity. This article is adapted from his new book The End of Thinking?, part of the Re:considering series, which is now available for purchase from Koorong Books for $7.99. Find out more at reconsidering.com.au

Pray Healing See God Move.

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GFA WORLD SPONSORED GFA WORLD PAGE SPONSORED PAGE

New Beginnings

New Beginnings can can bring Renewed bring Renewed Hope Hope during the during the Pandemic

Pandemic

One of the largest mission agencies in the world is launching compassion projects in One of the largest mission agencies in the world Africa for the first time -- a huge boost for is launching compassion projects in Africa for humanitarian efforts in the world’s poorest the first time -- a huge boost for humanitarian continent. efforts in the world’s poorest continent.

Millions of people and children are suffering all around the world because of impoverished Millions of people and children are suffering circumstances. From the day they are born to the all around the world because of impoverished cirday they die; many are unable to free themselves cumstances. From the day they are born to the day from its grip. It can leave a deep, unshakable they die; many are unable to free themselves from feeling of hopelessness. GFA national workers its grip. It can leave a deep, unshakable feeling of have dedicated their lives to bring them Hope. hopelessness. GFA national workers have dedicatMany families in the communities we serve ed their lives to bring them Hope. Many families do not have the basic necessities needed for in the communities we serve do not have the healthy living or are often rejected by society, basic necessities needed for healthy living or are like widows and leprosy patients. We meet these often rejected by society, like widows and leprosy needs with compassionate care through our patients. We meet these needs with compassioncommunity development projects that benefit ate care through our community development downtrodden families and their children. We projects that benefit downtrodden families and provide free medical camps to villages and remote their children. We provide free medical camps communities, clean water wells, water filters, to villages and remote communities, clean water income-generating Christmas gifts for needy wells, water filters, income-generating Christmas

Revolution in World Missions

by K.P. Yohannan

families, and offer encouragement through radio ministry. In the years ahead, GFA World expects to launch programs in numerous African nations, starting with compassion projects in Rwanda.

“It has raised Hope within us that everything gifts for needy families, and offer encouragement is not bad during this lockdown.” through radio ministry. In the years ahead, GFA Serving Others World expects to launch programs in numerous Throughout the duration of the lockdown, GFA African nations, starting with compassion projects field partners organised food-relief distributions. in Rwanda.

When restrictions eased and there was more freedom for people to gather, the people in one “It has raised Hope within us that congregation served alongside the pastor to help everything is not bad during this others—even in their own need. lockdown.”

They contributed eggs, vegetables, potatoes, spices and other items to give away. They cooked food for people and gave of their own minimal resources when they saw another who was in Throughout the duration of the lockdown, GFA greater need. field partners organised food-relief distributions.

One woman even gave half of her monthly When restrictions eased and there was more disability check to another woman who was freedom for people to gather, the people in one struggling during the lockdown. congregation served alongside the pastor to help “I look forward to becoming a help to people,” others—even in their own need. she says. “I want people to be helped through They contributed eggs, vegetables, potatoes, spicmy life, and I want God to help me become that es and other items to give away. They cooked food person who becomes a help to others.” for people and gave of their own minimal resources

Serving Others

With over 40 years of experience, GFA is equipped to meet the expanding needs of Africa. We’ll soon start training national workers, clean water projects, medical ministry, education for the underprivileged, women’s empowerment, and community development projects. Our aim is to help empower the poor to break the cycle of poverty and show God’s love.

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when they saw another who was in greater need.

One woman even gave half of her monthly disability check to another woman who was struggling during the lockdown.

“I look forward to becoming a help to people,” she says. “I want people to be helped through my life, and I want God to help me become that person who becomes a help to others.”

Revolution Revolution in World Missions K.P. Yohannan’s first book details the history of in World Missions GFA World and how important it is to bring the

K.P. Yohannan’s first book details the history of love of God to all corners of the world through GFA World and how important it is to bring the the men and women God has raised up in their love of God to all corners of the world through home countries. With more than 3.9 million copies the men and women God has raised up in their printed worldwide, Revolution in World Missions home countries. With more than 3.9 million copies seeks to invigorate and inspire readers to answer printed worldwide, Revolution in World Missions the Lord’s call to support missions. seeks to invigorate and inspire readers to answer the Lord’s call to support missions.

Reaching the people of Africa with God’s love!

BREAKING NEWS!

We’re moving into Africa!

Our prayers have been answered!

And Rwanda is just the beginning of an exciting new mission frontier. We plan to expand ministry to six other nations in Africa during the next few years.

gfaau.org/en/HelpAfrica

Health — Without access to medicines, Africans are susceptible to diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS Water — Around 340 million Africans have no access to safe drinking water

PO Box 3587, Toowoomba, QLD 4350 1300 889 339 • www.gfaau.org • infoau@gfa.org

Education — According to UN, 30 million children, mostly girls, still have no access to education

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