As we stood up to sing the first hymn and the elderly lady beside them burst into song, the two young guys almost collapsed in hysterics. My first reaction was to want to thump them, but then I realised they were not being irreverent or insulting, they simply had never heard anything like it. One of the great strengths that the Christian Church has is that it is a network and community of people who care for one another. You can see this clearly, for example, in work with teenagers and with isolated young mums. Over 70 per cent of Australians gamble in some form.
Statistics suggest that double-income families are increasingly common.
We are materialistic and yet not completely so. The young bride still wants the church wedding. The funeral should still be done by a minister. Australians still put family as their highest value. One of the great windows of opportunity for Christians in Australia is the family.