A recent piece in Time Magazine was headlined, “Why 25 percent of millennials will never get married”. (https://time.com/3422624/report-millennials-marriage/) It based its finding on a recent report by the Pew Research Center, 25 percent of millennials are likely to never be married.. Marriage is a cultural battleground and we are all the victims. There is the pain and hurt and confusion of those affected, especially children. Particularly, the pain of growing up without a father or mother. And there is the confusion of same-sex marriage. Then there is the complexity of divorce and remarriage. A problem is that sometimes Christian’s have avoided addressing it. By not speaking making decision to let Christian be influenced by culture and drifting away from God’s Word. A topic we hear about frequently, often surrounding the question who should we marry. The common answer - If it makes you happy. But God created marriage and God’s instruction manual is the Bible. God has a great big plan for marriage, So what does God really say about marriage? And is God’s view really good for us?

Recently, we met with parents across our parish recently, to encourage one another to build relationships, especially between church families as well as leaders that we might integrate kids and youth more into the life of our Church family. In this short talk I discuss the danger of a Mickey Mouse model of youth ministry

Recently, we met with parents across our parish recently, to encourage one another to build relationships, especially between church families as well as leaders that we might integrate kids and youth more into the life of our Church family. You can listen to the recording here.

If politics involves promoting a cause. Christians are always involved, because they are always seeking to promote the goodness of Gods word for everyone. Culture has changed. To be Christian is no longer politically correct. So politics has become difficult. We are fast moving from a society where peoples of all faiths are invited to express their views. To a society that leaves no room for those who disagree. How should Christians think about politics? And how can we engage well with those we disagree with?

In this talk I look at the temptation for people to exclude themselves or others and how understanding how being chosen to be in the family of Christ helps us see everyone belongs and no one should be excluded. 

Have you ever watched some thing and wished, man I wish my life was like that? Good stories capture our hearts and our imaginations so that we can make sense of our lives and desire good things. Bad stories capture our hearts and our imaginations and make us long for things that are not good for our soul. In so doing, entertainment works on us at the heart level, not just the mind. In this talk we will describe some dangers with entertainment as well as how to live wisely as Christians.

If your like me, you love your phone. There are so many things that improve my life. But, while there are many good uses for our phones, we can all agree that technology has consumed our lives A study was done that showed 36 percent of eighteen- to twenty-nine-year-olds in America admit they are online “almost constantly”—a phenomenon made possible by the smartphone. If your phone is your world, and if the settings and apps are tailored to you and your interests, then with you at all times is a world that revolves around you. No wonder we like to be on our phones so much! Nothing else has the same effect of putting us at the center of things. Nothing else makes us feel more in control, more popular, more Godlike, more knowledgeable, more connected. As a Christian, you may wonder, does my phone help me or hinder me in my walk with Christ? We need to realise that our phone isn’t neutral because we aren’t neutral. So we need to ask, what does my phone expose in me? Too often what our phone exposes is what my heart really wants. In this talk we will explore how knowing Jesus shapes how we use phones and social media.

Josh Reid from Jesus Club runs training for our youth leaders on how to minister to youth with intellectual disabilities

Hear how to lead an effective discussion group from one of Barker's chaplains

Some adults from various congregations shared their wisdom and experience for putting Jesus kingdom first at uni and work.