Christian Living - Australian Church Record

When vice presents as virtue: stopping sin before it’s too late

February 23, 2021February 23, 2021 by Nathan Milham

‘Personal style’ is a popular term. It’s a way of articulating that God has made us with different wiring, different preferences, different habits and gifts. Our personal styles impact the way we serve in ministry and the roles we get asked to…

Five tips for getting your kids involved in ministry (and why you should want to)

February 16, 2021February 16, 2021 by Jocelyn Loane

I have come to call February my month of ‘extra-curricular angst’. I spend hours trying to somehow mesh five kids’ schedules so they can all have a go doing the things they want to do (mostly obnoxiously loud instruments) and the things I think…

Christian Living

Love, grief and identity

February 3, 2021February 3, 2021 by Scott Millar

This is part three of Scott Millar’s reflections on grief. Read part 1 and part 2 on the ACR website. You learn a lot about what a person meant to you when they’re taken away. Separation magnifies all the intricate and beautiful nuances of what you…

Christian Living

A word in grief

January 28, 2021January 28, 2021 by Scott Millar

This is part two of Scott Millar’s reflections on grief. Read part one here. Two days after Susie’s death, the kids and I walk up the hill to church. The July cold bites us in more ways than one, and yet to be outside brings some sense of relief. Our…

Christian Living

Grief and love

January 26, 2021January 26, 2021 by Scott Millar

I like to believe she died in my arms. Suse was fond of my arms. “They make me feel safe”, she’d tell me regularly. So I like to think that her last earthly memory was of me holding her, caring for her, even as she was being carried into her Saviour’s…

Christian Living

How to make godly decisions in a high-ambiguity context

January 21, 2021January 21, 2021 by Brooke Hazelgrove

How well you can handle change depends on a trait called ‘ambiguity tolerance’. Someone’s ambiguity tolerance describes how well they handle a situation being unclear. Sometimes the situation is unclear because we don’t have…

Christian Living Ministry

Making our churches a safe space for the separated and divorced

January 14, 2021January 14, 2021 by Ruth Baker

Here’s an interesting thing: according to the 2016 census, 12% of our population is separated or divorced.[1] Yet only 6% of our church population is separated or divorced.[2] What does this discrepancy mean? Are our churches just excellent…