The High Court’s acquittal of Cardinal Pell reveals some interesting questions about justice and truth. If we truly care – about all people, whether victims or accused – then we will want our legal system, our leaders and our society to value truth above all else.

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Last Sunday (22 March) Christians could gather in churches for public worship and be taught God’s word.

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2020 Parliament Ecumenical Service

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Last week church leaders from a number of denominations gave evidence at a public inquiry against the idea of recognising overseas same-sex marriages. Catholic, Baptist and Presbyterian representatives gave evidence at the inquiry in Melbourne. The ACL's Lyle Shelton also spoke at the inquiry. The following radio packages features some of the comments at the inquiry.

 



 



 



 



 



 



 



 



 



The theme of the ACL Tasmania Conference 2013 is 'What should we expect from our leaders?'.



There is a gaping hole in confidence and trust in leadership integrity today. Whether it be in politics, sport, business or media - and sadly even sometimes in the church -we appear to have an epidemic of poor leadership and role modelling. King Solomon wrote around 3000 years ago...When just men rule, the people rejoice and If a ruler listens to lies, all his officials become wicked. Leaders are influencers and therefore have a huge impact on those they lead and therefore society as a whole. Shouldn’t we therefore have high expectations of our leaders? Our three speakers are proven leaders of integrity who together share a wealth of experience – in politics, business, military, church and community and aim to raise the bar on leadership in our country. We invite you to come along and learn how to be part of the solution to Australia’s leadership deficit. 



CLICK HERE TO REGISTER



Date: Friday 17^th May 2013



Time: Registration from 6.30pm. Conference runs from 7-9pm



Cost: $30 per person, includes supper



Venue: Tailrace Centre, 1 Waterfront Drive Riverside



The confirmed speaking lineup includes

• John Anderson, former Deputy Prime Minister



• Jim Wallace AM, ACL Managing Director



• Michael Vos, Chairman Vos Family Office and Vos Construction & Joinery Pty Ltd

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

In the last week, the ACL has been quoted in the media on issues such as the push by Attorney-General George Brandis to ensure that basic human rights are protected . See below for links to mentions in the media.



On human rights:

• Christian Today Australia - Australian Christian Lobby backs push to better protect basic human rights

Nick Jensen, from the ACL, writes in Canberra City News (7th February 2013) about the ACT Government's decision not to attend a church service to mark the beginning of the 2013 political term.



There has been a fair bit of ink spilled lately over the ACT Government’s unwillingness to attend a church service at the beginning of this political term. The new Speaker, Liberal MLA Vicki Dunne, has proposed an ecumenical service where people can pray for and bless their leaders. Although it would involve a Christian liturgy, leaders of other faiths have been invited to contribute as well to the service.



I may perhaps be a little biased, but the decision to refuse to even send a representative to such an event seems unwise. The latest census data from 2011 shows that around 52% of Canberran’s resonate with the Christian tradition, and another 8% belong to other faith communities.



The reason given from the government was one of ‘principle’, indicating that this would compromise the ‘secular nature’ of the Assembly. By ‘secular’ we can assume that they mean there should be no formal connection between government and religion. If this is the case however some consistency is required. Initially it would be prudent to remove the crosses on the ACT flag, and surely the ‘Goddess’ standing at the public entrance to the Legislative Assembly should be relocated.



Why stop there though if we are truly to remove any formal religious connection? Every MLA with ‘minister’ in their title will need a name change due to its Christian roots. The seating in the Assembly will need to be rearranged as well, based initially on a church-choir seating model. In fact, the very foundation of the Westminster system is based firmly on Medieval Christianity, so naturally this would need to go as well to preserve the ‘secular nature’ of our government.



Quite simply, I believe that there is a serious misunderstanding of what ‘secular’ or ‘separation of church/state’ actually means in Australia. It certainly does not mean that our elected officials need to stay away from religion and expressions of faith. Faith is a part of our history, our culture, our values, and the way many of us live our lives. To therefore reject a simple act recognising this significance is, I believe, not what true representative leadership is about.



In fact, I think that leadership is at its best when it works with faith. Our lawmakers need to be regularly reminded that there is a law and morality higher than the ones they decree. Those in positions of the greatest power need to be continually called to the profound humility that there are greater powers in the world. Those who command authority need to think deeply about the daily practice of sacrifice and service we expect of their position.



All in all, I fail to see the great threat of a community of people gathering around their leaders to bless them, pray for wisdom, and demonstrate support for their representatives no matter what they might believe. Leadership can be incredibly lonely, compromising, stressful, and unappreciated, and I am certain that our new assembly will need all the help they can get.

Jim Wallace is the Managing Director of the Australian Christian Lobby. He spoke to the ACL's Katherine Spackman about the recent passing of legislation redefining marriage in the UK.

A Citywide Inter-denominational Christian Conference



In May 2013 citywide Churches, Christian organisations and Christians in the Marketplace are delighted to bring Dr David Yonggi Cho to Melbourne for the River of Life Conference.



The purpose of the two-day conference on Thursday 9 and Friday10 May 2013 is to " To accelerate the capacity of the 21st Century church to bless the city and nation".



Today the Australian church is immersed in a world that is experiencing massive social, technological, economic, military and environmental changes. During similar times of uncertainty in South Korea Dr Cho started from humble beginnings to help grow the Christian population of South Korea to over 30%.  Today we need similar hope and inspiration for the Australian church in the 21st century.



Many people can teach principles of leadership but what we need is growth in faith.  Dr Cho has raised the faith of the church during previous visits to Australia and this conference will raise our faith capacity to live out the Christian faith in our everyday world.



The ACL is partner of this event and will be a conference exhibitor on Friday, May 10th.



Bookings for the event are filling up fast with 90% of the bookings sold for the Thursday.



For more information and to register visit http://www.riveroflifeconference.org/

MEDIA RELEASE



Removal of ATM’s from gaming venues a win for problem gamblers



The recent drop in poker machine spending in Victoria is a win for problem gamblers and their families and should inspire further reform, according to the Australian Christian Lobby.



The Victorian government in July this year banned ATMs from the State’s 511 poker machine venues. As a result there has been a significant drop in poker machine spending of 6.7 per cent or $62 million since the initiative.



ACL’s Victorian Director Dan Flynn said this is a win for victims of problem gambling and that further reforms such as $1 bets or mandatory pre-commitment should be pursued.



“Church and community groups – who all too often have to pick up the broken lives and families damaged by problem gambling – will welcome the news of successful gambling reform in Victoria, which includes a ban on poker machine headphones and rules out the possibility of a second casino,” Mr Flynn said.



“The reduction in gambling expenditure will make a dint in the cost to the state of $1.5 billion and $2.1 billion respectively in economic and social costs as estimated by the Victorian Competition and Efficiency Commission,” Mr Flynn said.



The ban on ATMs in gambling venues was announced in March 2008 by the then ALP Victorian government, effective from July 2012.



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