We liked this devotional this week, short and sweet, based on a conversation Melbourne church planter Guy Mason had with a blogging pastor in Florida while they went on a drive in Miami. It bolstered this blogger, remembering that the confidence to “tackle ever daunting task … as a follower of Jesus, comes from Jesus himself.” Read more … 

Withdrawing from the Marriage Act? 

Chris Ashton from The Spectator questions whether churches should be in the state-authorised marriage business anymore. This week, the NSW Presbyterians voted to ask their national General Assembly to consider whether to withdraw from the Marriage Act if the definition of marriage is changed. Read more here …

7 ways Christians lost the gay marriage battle and how we should (not) fight the war

St Eutychus blogger Nathan Campbell offers a post-mortem examining where he thinks Christians got it wrong (and continue to get it wrong) when speaking about gay marriage. He writes from a perspective of the inevitability of gay marriage in Australia – a view many Christians in Australia will not share (you can read why Eric Abetz thinks the fight for SSM is far from over, here).

“I can’t tell if our expectation was to win this fight. That’s certainly the language that has been used in this debate by people I’ve spoken to. I can’t see what creates the expectation that we should either win, or fight, when it comes to this sort of thing outside the boundaries of our own lives and identities, and the life and identity of the church. Our job isn’t to fight and win, it’s to follow Jesus who won by losing. Our job is to faithfully be different — to love — even in the face of those who want to fight us. This is how #lovewins” Read more …

Gurrumul’s gospel

Indigenous Australian musician, Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunu­pingu’s new album celebrates the sings of the Christian missions, the songs that he listened to growing up blind on Elcho Island, just off the northern tip of Arnhem Land. 

“These songs not only recast in new guise the congregational music of an old, established religion, they also illuminate a tradition most Australians have never come across — the singalong music of remote Aboriginal settlements, communities that descend from mission origins. Here on the album is Gurrumul’s rendition ofJesus is the Sweetest Name I Know, Let Us Come Near to God, and I Have a Saviour Today — all in Galpu or Gumatj, with the translations ascribed to various Yolngu men of high degree.”

The article from The Australian is behind its paywall, but worth the read if you’ve got access. And here’s a clip from the album: