My church is Glenfield Presbyterian, a small church on the North Shore of Auckland. We are like most suburban evangelical family churches, with robust enthusiastic worship, great biblical preaching, modest children’s and youth ministries, some small groups, a traditional and contemporary service, and a real desire to see people healed, helped, and come to Christ.  Read More...

As is not unusual, our political scene is a bit messy at the moment. The big talking point is the Kim Dotcom-John Banks donation scandal. The situation has emerged because allegedly John Banks asked Dotcom to split a $50,000 donation into two $25,000 donations and then declared them anonymously when he should have named the donor. So now there is a he-said, she-said type of situation with Banks denying wrongdoing and knowledge, and the wolves gathering to prove he did. It sounds a little messier today with John Banks having lobbied Maurice Williamson over Dotcom’s proposed purchase of his Coatesville home. Read More...

Like many Stimulus readers, we at Laidlaw College greeted the news with a tinge of sadness that Stimulus, the New Zealand Journal of Christian Thought and Practice was to cease publication at the end of 2010. We had thought that Stimulus was the journal to inform and challenge thoughtful readers for the indefinite future. Consequently, we were grateful when the opportunity arose for us to consider re-launching it. We are pleased that this has come about, and grateful for the opportunity “to be part of the gospel imperative to transform minds and put faith in God into practice.” We are planning to produce the first edition of the newly re-launched Stimulus this week. Read More...

It is tragic that the scourge of racism has reared its ugly head in NZ society around Pat Lam, coach of the Blues rugby team. We all know racism is there, bubbling under the surface. We hear the anti-Asian comments, we see the marginalisation of people of colour. It is wrong! In my many years of interest in rugby I have heard many comments on talkback suggesting that Polynesian rugby players are not as intelligent as Pakeha, that they rely on brute strength, that they don’t train as hard, etc. Well this is incorrect from a human perspective, a Christian world-view, and from a sporting perspective. Read More...

Stuart Middleton’s EDTalkNZ article of 4 April http://www.stuartmiddleton.co.nz/?p=1391 asks if education can hold its head up high and say that we are doing our best and addressing the issue of preparing young people for jobs. He writes; “I am frustrated by the unwillingness of education systems to accept that the key purpose of each stage of formal education is to prepare students for the next stage of their lives – education, eventually being a responsible adult, and, yes, finally getting a job. “  Read More...