One ABC TV pundit called last Tuesday 'the greatest day in Australia's macro-economic history'.

Given that even the forgotten depression of the 1890s gave us the shearers' strikes, Waltzing Matilda and the Australian Labor Party, this is an absurd over-statement.

But that is far from the silliest thing about 'recession' being said in the shallower end of the media pool, as one expert has pointed out. 

But there is no doubt that a further massive interest-rate cut,Rudd's $12.7 billion rescue package, and Turnbull's high-stakes attack on the package Wednesday night, dominated media talk this week.

Given that economics will be dominating people's headspaces over the following weeks, what tone should we be striking in our Sunday meetings to engage people? 

Here are some of my initial observations. Let me know where I've missed the mark.

"¢ THANK GOD FOR RUDD: It sounds trite. But it’s not. Andrew Cameron once told me that Australians are so cynical about their political leadership that thanking God for our PM's hard work is a profoundly prophetic and counter-cultural exercise. But what if you profoundly disagree with the shape of Labor's rescue package? I too hate hearing respected church leaders sanctifying a particular economic strategy. It comes from both right and left. Recently, US Baptist leader Al Mohler effectively said the US bail-out is unbiblical (although he does make a good point about the ease with which most of us western Christians adopt a form of prosperity doctrine). While in the Church of England, the messiah Marx has been raised from the dead - with the Archbishop of Canterbury even writing an article in praise. In Australia we can thank God for many blessings: not least stable government and competent leadership on both sides of national politics. The local debate over tax cuts v infrastructure spending is more over minutia than significant ideological differences. I'm glad to see an opposition doing its job and asking the right questions. But in short: there is little doubt Rudd is trying to fight unemployment first. Given the place of work in the creation order, this priority is justified. It's now up to the Senate to judge Rudd's tactical approach to meeting that goal. Pray that our Senators will vote in the national interest.
"¢ PREACH GENEROSITY BOLDLY: Some church families could be about to receive many $1,000s. Some need to be more prudent about retiring debt, but others are comfortable and in secure jobs. This is a moment when churches should discuss honestly the taboos around money. Despite the looming recession, can we look to follow Christ's call and be more generous and giving?

"¢ TAP LAY WISDOM: How do church leaders preach on giving without it becoming an unhelpful guilt trip?  The way forward is to have a wider discussion involving the laity (panel, testimony spots or open discussion). Some people may end up feeling resentful depending on the shape of the final package. Honesty about this natural human emotion can be spiritually cathartic, helping us to internalise the truth that all we have is a gift from God.

"¢ SMASH THE $$ IDOL: Our resident financial guru Warren Bird has made the point that as our society lost a common source of moral authority, economics became Australia's lingua franca. The budget bottom-line is the lens through which many issues are publicly debated in the media. This has had the effect of distorting good public debate and policy making. Despite people's understandable fears about unemployment, I think this is helpful to point out. Economic debate swamps us daily. We need to do more in our churches to separate the good gift of 'work' from the potential enslaving idol of 'money'. Having a meaningful job is certainly crucial to human wellbeing. But there is more to life than the mighty dollar. Can we cut back our hours a little to save our colleague's job? Can we sponsor a new grad struggling to find work so they can enter ministry training instead?