Next month the Rugby World Cup (RWC) erupts at different venues across Australia. Inspired by the successful evangelistic initiatives that flourished with the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, many Christians are preparing to take the gospel to rugby fans from home and overseas.

The future is not a happy place in the writing of Margaret Atwood. But then neither is the past or present. Populated with the cruel, the manipulative and the marginalised, her novels combine linguistic beauty with social and personal desolation.

Reading Bill Bryson's new book, A Short History of Nearly Everything, was, for me, a profoundly disappointing experience. After digesting his 420-odd pages of scientific ‘history', I can only assume that he is an atheist. From such a gifted writer, I admit I had hoped for much more. Bryson, an acclaimed travel writer, recounts mankind's greatest discoveries, ponders the mysteries of the universe, and analyses what has motivated the greatest minds throughout history. But he does so with literally no more than a few passing references to God along the way, replacing him with science and human achievement.

Reading is Believing has a simple aim: explaining the tenets of Christianity to our world through the use of ‘texts' (literary, cinematic, or both). Devoting one chapter to each of the twelve phrases of the Apostles' Creed, Cunningham explores the meaning of the ‘doctrine' contained in the phrase, then shows how one particular fictional text pertains to that doctrine. Each chapter closes with discussion questions, and a list of related theological texts and other works illustrating the doctrine in question.

Charles Spurgeon, the great 18th century English preacher and evangelist, described prayer as the ‘engine room' of his ministry. Whatever else he was doing, for Spurgeon, serving God began with prayer. For us – whether it's our Christian lives, ministry in our local church, or the bigger picture of the diocesan Mission – the fundamental starting point must be to pray.

Charles Spurgeon, the great 18th century English preacher and evangelist, described prayer as the ‘engine room' of his ministry. Whatever else he was doing, for Spurgeon, serving God began with prayer. For us – whether it's our Christian lives, ministry in our local church, or the bigger picture of the diocesan Mission – the fundamental starting point must be to pray.

While you are reading this, Bishop Reg and Dorothy Piper will be in (or just returned from) Sabah, Malaysia, leading a team of 15 people from around the Wollongong region on a ministry trip.