What has led the Foreign Minister to offer such stringent criticisms of clergy and theologians? It's clear he has been stung by statements by Church leaders, among them Anglican Primate Peter Carnley, ‘the head of my own church' as Downer called him, and the then President of the Uniting Church, the Rev Professor James Haire. Professor Haire said, “egged on by both political groupings in the country, we as a nation had reached new depths of political depravity”. Downer said he found the accusation of political depravity “profoundly personally offensive as well as foolish”. He called a media release Archbishop Carnley circulated ‘erroneous posturing'.

At age 58, Jon Shuler is pioneering a bold initiative aimed at starting 200 new churches by the year 2020. Jon Shuler dreams about starting churches that start churches. Jon was the rector of a 2,000 member Anglican church in Knoxville, Tennessee when he accepted an invitation in 1994 to pioneer a new church planting ministry, the North American Missionary Society (NAMS). The brief was to facilitate church planting across the United States. To date, Shuler and his associates have ‘birthed' more than 60 new Anglican congregations in 37 Episcopal Church of the USA (ECUSA) dioceses.

Every university student in Australia must be reached with the gospel of Christ, according to the newly appointed National Director of the Australian Fellowship of Evangelical Students (AFES).

The sight of 50 fire fighters, police, paramedics and emergency services personnel swarming into a church building on Sunday morning might be cause for alarm. But the presence of police cars, ambulance, fire engines and police rescue truck at St David's, Forestville recently was not the result of a disaster but rather a new initiative to reach out to the emergency services that serve the local area.

There was cause for celebration recently, when a 57-year-old former IT executive was ordained a deacon at St Alban's, Epping. More than 400 people witnessed Cliff Stratton's ordination at Epping in August. Mr Stratton is now assistant minister at St Alban's.

This was the question St Paul's, Wahroonga asked when they first had the idea to run a weeknight healing service. Some years ago a book was published called How to have a healing ministry without making your church sick (by Peter Wagner, Regal Books). It highlighted that the very word ‘healing' can be unhealthy. It conjures up images of fast-talking personalities, or Christians suggesting that lack of healing is due to ‘stubborn sin'.

Northern Region churches are finding new ways to build on the success of traditional ministries to reach local children and families as part of the Diocesan Mission. Organisers say their efforts show that creativity and diversity are needed to realise the goal of evangelising all of Sydney.