After all, if we who write for Fervr can connect with that specific demographic, then we’ll be more likely to connect with the wider youth audience… or so we imagine.

With that in mind, I’ve written an article about cute cats.

This article focuses on the reality of human conflict. I noticed that our cats had conflict, yet still appeared to remain as friends… and realised that the same was also true for humans.

It tries to encourage children to not freak out when their parents fight… and for them to realise that just because they have conflict with a friend that it doesn’t mean the end of the relationship.

Hopefully there’s something helpful in the article for all of us… whether we are 13 and love cats, or 40 and prefer dogs.

Here’s the article http://fervr.net/teen-life/lets-agree-its-ok-to-disagree

Sometimes we seem to have too many new ones. Sometimes there are too many old ones.

So, here’s a guide to choosing the right mix of oldies and newies… using the same formula as the radio stations.

Read the article here at sydneyanglicans.net.

I’ve written an article for the Fervr.net website that challenges us all to consider if we are Christians to the core, or whether it’s just on the outside.

Read my full article here: http://fervr.net/bible/are-you-a-real-apple

Jesus’ first words after his resurrection were to her, as he asked “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?”

His question showed that the resurrection of Jesus was a twist in the plot of his life that she never expected.

And this showed that she misunderstood the death and resurrection of Jesus.

But for us who understand the resurrection of Jesus, the empty tomb is the place of hope.

Listen to my sermon at Engadine Anglican Church on Easter Sunday, 8th April 2012.

The aim was to help youth think about how they use their time and money.

It would be great to share it  with any teenagers you might know (or just ‘Like’ it on Facebook), as you help them think through these big issues.

Regardless of what you think about it, you can be assured that our young people know about it and are trying to work out what they should think and do about it.

To help them and to help us grownups, I’ve written two articles.

The first I wrote for sydneyanglicans.net called ‘Talking to kids about Kony’.

In this, I offer seven things that adults should think about as they talk to youth and children about this topic.

The second I wrote for Fervr.net called ‘Should you help make Kony famous?’.

This attempts to apply the advice I’ve given in the earlier piece so that my seven ideas can be modeled to anyone trying to work out just how to put these thoughts into words.

You might also refer the youth in your church, whether believers or unbelievers, to this Fervr.net article.

Let’s pray that our youth are wise in responding to Kony, but far more importantly, wise for salvation.

Dear friends,

It is with a heavy heart that I announce that I will be stepping down as Executive Director of Outdoors next week.

They say it’s often a bad idea to make career choices over Christmas, but during our five weeks of holidays in January, Mandy and I prayerfully came to the decision that we would love to return soon to Word ministry in a parish setting.

Two weeks ago I informed the CEO of my intentions to leave Youthworks sometime before the end of this year to become a rector or perhaps an associate minister in a church team.

In the days after that discussion, we both came to the conclusion that it would be in the best interests of our ministry if I chose to vacate my position sooner rather than later, so that Outdoors can have the strongest, most focused leadership possible right now.

With this in mind, I accepted an invitation from Zac to work with him on some special projects and to also do some writing and study whilst I prepare for the move back to parish in the year ahead.

The past two years have been hard for our team as we have seen a drop in the number of guests and as we have felt the impact of decisions that were made that have been painful. These are the challenges of leadership in a ministry like ours which has such a great heritage of Word ministry to children, youth and families.

I have sought to help our team face the future with optimism as the world around us changes. Navigating these changes has been difficult but important, and I know that under God there is still much more for us to do to help build on our foundation of Word ministry as we approach this challenging future.

Nonetheless, over the last few weeks I heard three things that gave me encouragement about the future of Youthworks Outdoors.

Firstly, I spoke to a teacher who has been bringing camps here for seven years, and he told me that in recent years he’s noticed a significant improvement in the quality of the Word ministry of our outdoor ministers.

Secondly, I found out that for January and February our Division has had 17% more guest nights than the same time last year, which is a great start to the year. Having said that, it’s early days for 2012, and too early to call, but it’s a promising start and, I pray, a sign of good things to come.

Thirdly, I heard from the Principal of one of our biggest partner schools who said the reason he keeps bringing the hundreds of students away with us each year is because our staff believe in Jesus and model that to his students.

This is my tenth year at Youthworks and my fifth year at Outdoors, and I’m thankful to God for allowing me to be used by him to bring him glory, both through my strengths and often despite my failings.

I would ask that you would pray for me and my family that God would provide us with a church in which we might serve him with the gifts he’s given us. Please also pray for me that I would adjust well to a very different role within Youthworks, and that I would serve with energy and faithfulness.

At this time, I will be praying that the whole team of Outdoors will come together stronger than ever as brothers and sisters who are united with Christ by his death, and who share in the urgent and important mission to see children, youth and families be raised up as missional disciples to the glory of God,

Jodie.

Please pray for me and my family as we prepare for the next exciting chapter in the story of our lives that the Lord is revealing day by day.

On the one hand, it’s remarkable to think that this kind of internal intellectual property could be so brazenly released. If I was Julia Gillard, I would immediately call upon the Federal Police to investigate the leak. This lapse in security is just not tolerable.

On the other hand, it’s an exercise in cultural analysis to try and work out whether the leak will damage Rudd’s reputation, or in fact, improve his image. Us Aussies seem to like the image of a swearing, drinking, sports-loving larrikin, and in many ways, this video helps show the humanity of a man who has a greater natural affinity with the chess club than the footy club.

Maybe the answer comes in the reality of the inevitable leadership spill. It will be the sitting ALP politicians who decide on this ballot, not the happy little Vegemites who make up the voting public. Perhaps the real aim of the leak was to remind the caucus of the true, behind-the-scenes Rudd, so that they remember the past and don’t repeat history.

But this is nothing new to them. Most ALP politicians seem to hate Rudd, but because they love their job more than anything, they might be happy to swallow this bitter pill.

Interesting times ahead in Australia Federal politics.

More than ever before it seemed the message was that first aid was about helping the casualty stay alive so that the ambulance could take over. Nothing more.

Funnily enough, because I need to know less it means I feel more equipped for first aid than before.

This got me thinking about the way we do our evangelistic training.

Perhaps we need to be providing the everyday evangelists in our congregation with a few super-simple things to say that will help keep the enquiry ‘alive’ until they can get ‘professional’ help.

Read all my thoughts and join in the discussion at today’s post on www.sydneyanglicans.net

My training and lecturing in youth ministry has been strongly influenced by this understanding of the church, especially in terms of what we ‘do’ when we gather.

The latest edition of ‘The Briefing’ has an excellent summary of this doctrine, and I think it’s an important read for anyone who is responsible for shaping the content and context of a Christian gathering.

Read the article in full here at The Briefing online.