New Zealand Christian Network (visionnetwork) National Director Glyn Carpenter is urging Christians again to be more careful before forwarding emails which depict other groups in a negative light, as they may be based on unreliable information. The most recent example doing the rounds is an email containing an article purporting to be written by a former Muslim and human rights activist, Nonie Darwish. Titled "The Joys of Muslim Women", the article claims to describe difficulties faced by women under Sharia law, and includes a number of extremist statements. Mr Carpenter says it appears the...

It's probably a good thing that vuvuzelas are not being permitted in the Cape Town conference centre where the Third Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization will be held in October this year. "There will be plenty of noise, but the focus of this will be voices raised in song and prayer," says New Zealand Christian Network (visionnetwork) National Director Glyn Carpenter, who will be heading the New Zealand contingent. Some 4000 leaders from around the globe are expected at the congress. "We have a growing sense of expectation that God is preparing us for something wonderful as we respond to...

New Zealand Christian Network (visionnetwork) leader Glyn Carpenter says the introduction of the ETS scheme on 1 July and the whole climate change debate has been mired in confusion. "Many people have heard one side of this issue without the chance to properly assess the other side," says Glyn Carpenter. "Christians need to get beyond slogans and mud-slinging, hear what each side has to say, and discover a position that will help us move forward." "It is for this reason we have co-organised the Clearing the Air forum being held in Auckland 16-17 July (Friday noon to Saturday noon). "If people...

Neil Evans, CEO of Resolve, says a restructuring of Resolve, The Christian Service for Disputes Resolution, will put it in a better position to present its services to a greater number of Christians around the country. Resolve offers training courses such as the Peacemaker Seminar, a mediator training course and a conflict coaching course. Ever since it was founded, Resolve has struggled to develop a sustainable administration and financial base. However, its members have supported a move for New Zealand Christian Network (visionnetwork) to take over the administration, with a new board comprising...

The National Director of New Zealand Christian Network (visionnetwork) is calling on Christians in every sphere of life to be more public and intentional about their faith. Christian faith has received unprecedented mainstream media exposure in Australia this year as high-profile business, community, sporting and political leaders have given deeply personal revelations of their faith. Reserve Board Chairman Glen Stevens, leading businessman Roger Corbett and NSW Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione have all made headlines in recent weeks. Their public witness follows extensive reporting of the...

The New Zealand member of the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) is calling on the government to make representation to the authorities in Afghanistan, asking them to honour their commitment to the United Nations declaration on religious freedom and desist from religious persecution. NZ Christian Network (visionnetwork) National Director Glyn Carpenter is disturbed at recent developments in Afghanistan, where parliamentarians have been calling for the death of converts from Islam to other religions. He has written to the Foreign Minister, Mr Murray McCulley, asking for intervention. The Religious...

New Zealand Christian Network (visionnetwork) National Director Glyn Carpenter reports that there is reasonable progress in the Religion in the Workplace discussion being organised by the Human Rights Commission. Mr Carpenter is a member of a reference group that had its second meeting on Friday 11 June. "The Human Rights Commission has organised a number of discussions on religion in our society in the past five years and it's important that NZ Christian Network is part of the process, even if our position is not always taken on board. "The points we make repeatedly are that the true significance...

New Zealand Christian Network (visionnetwork) Director Glyn Carpenter says he's 110 per cent behind his boss's call for unity issued at the Edinburgh 2010 conference. The conference, held to mark the centenary of the famous 1910 Edinburgh Missions Conference,
gathered streams of the wider Christian Church. Reflecting the realities of global Christianity, significant numbers of evangelicals, including Pentecostal leaders, actively participated. The 1910 conference was attended by 1,200 Protestant mission leaders, largely from North America and northern Europe. Edinburgh 2010 was attended...

New Zealand Christian Network (visionnetwork) says Queen's Birthday honours awards to two Christian musical entrepreneurs are a fitting tribute to the impact they have made.






The founder of the Parachute Music Festival, Mark de Jong (left), and the founder and director of Wellington's Kotuku Choir, Sharon Thorburn (right), were both awarded the Queen's Service Medal for services to music. NZ Christian Network National Director Glyn Carpenter says that since Mark de Jong and his wife Chris established Parachute Music in 1989, many thousands have...

A decision by the Charities Commission to decline an application for charitable status by Whakatane-based Liberty Trust is disturbing, says New Zealand Christian Network (visionnetwork). Begun by the Whakatane Baptist and Liberty Life Churches in 1989, Liberty Trust provides free-of-charge budget assistance to the public; free Bible teaching regarding stewardship, interest-free lending and giving; and helping each other. The Trust has established an interest-free fund based on the Bible to help New Zealanders own their homes and churches without debt and has loaned $19 million without interest...

New Zealand Christian Network (visionnetwork) welcomes changes to the Immigration Act that will allow churches to sponsor pastors from overseas who come to take up pastorates in New Zealand. The changes were announced to a National Refugee Conference in Wellington, attended by a member of NZ Christian Network, Bryan Johnson. In the Act at present, sponsorship has to be done by an individual, and representatives of various faiths have complained to the government that many religious leaders have been denied visas to work and stay in this country. NZ Christian Network's National Director, Glyn...

Glyn Carpenter of New Zealand Christian Network (visionnetwork) has again challenged the Human Rights Commission over their continuing assumption that secularism is the dominant belief system in New Zealand. Carpenter had made a written submission on the HRC's Freedom of Religion discussion document, and was among 25 people from various belief systems who turned up to an Auckland roundtable hosted by the Commission this week. Similar events were also run in Wellington and Christchurch. The initial document contained a foreword which said, "Matters of religion and belief are deemed to be a matter...

The New Zealand member of the World Evangelical Alliance is calling on the government to make representation to the authorities in the central Asian country of Uzbekistan, asking them to honour their commitment to the United Nations declaration on religious freedom and desist from religious persecution. NZ Christian Network (visionnetwork) National Director Glyn Carpenter says regular reports of harassment of Christians have been coming out of Uzbekistan over the past six years, but persecution is now being stepped up. He has written to the Foreign Minister, Mr Murray McCulley, asking for intervention. A...

New Zealand Christian Network (visionnetwork) commends the Government for a balanced Budget, but is disturbed at the behaviour of MPs in Parliament during the debate. NZ Christian Network National Director Glyn Carpenter says the Minister of Finance is on track with his four main objectives: lifting the long-term performance of the economy; reform of the tax system; better delivery of public services; and maintaining firm control of the Government's finances. If New Zealand returns to a surplus in 2015-2016, as predicted, that will be a welcome turnaround from the recession of the last two years. However,...

A recent major fire at the old Southdown Freezing Works in Penrose, Auckland - next to the Evangelism Discipling Centre building where NZ Christian Network has its offices - blazed for several days, but fortunately our office was untouched.

Firemen used the building for access to the fire, so there's some water damage, a broken door or two and the offices will be without power and water for a few days. In the meantime, staff can be contacted on their cellphones or by email.
Glyn Carpenter, 022 184 7466, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript...

New Zealand Christian Network (visionnetwork) National Director Glyn Carpenter helped save a major European Evangelical Alliance meeting disrupted by the recent volcanic eruption in Iceland. Mr Carpenter was en route to Turkey for a meeting of WEA regional secretaries when the volcano erupted and the airborne volcanic ash severely disrupted flights across the whole of Europe. A European Evangelical Alliance (EEA) business meeting was to be held at the same venue. However, a quorum of 32 members was needed but, because of the travel disruptions, only 12 reached Turkey. Mr Carpenter had not intended...

New Zealand Christian Network (visionnetwork), who made a submission to the Law Commission on alcohol reform, supports the general direction of the Law Commission's recommendations just released, but says they don't address the root cause of our binge-drinking culture. National Director Glyn Carpenter says the report highlights the balance needed between regulation and personal responsibility, but there is a need for a significant shift in regulation to break the drinking culture and its associated health and social problems. Mr Carpenter says the missing element in the debate over alcohol has...

New Zealand Christian Network, visionnetwork, says the leaky-homes crisis has dragged on for far too long, and has far-reaching implications for poverty.

"The lack of decision by councils and Government is leaving ordinary Kiwis in a position they should never be in," says NZ Christian Network National Director Glyn Carpenter. Some estimates put the cost of fixing the many thousands of affected homes as high as $23 billion. Mr Carpenter said it's time for both Government and local bodies to take leadership and do better. "I heard this week of a woman who had to spend $450,000 fixing...

Otago University's Professor of Theology and Public Issues Andrew Bradstock and Glyn Carpenter, New Zealand Christian Network (visionnetwork), say the report NZ Ahead published today by New Zealand Institute report should raise serious concerns among Kiwis. Bradstock and Carpenter ran a forum for 25 church leaders in February exploring issues related to economics and Christian faith. Inequality emerged as one of the significant issues in our society, and the pair say this is backed up in today's report showing New Zealand is ranked 23rd out of the 30 OECD countries. NZ Ahead said New Zealand...

New Zealand Christian Network, visionnetwork, congratulates The Press newspaper for the week-long series of articles it is running on the work of the Christchurch City Mission. NZ Christian Network National Director Glyn Carpenter says it's good to see such a vital contribution to the community recognised. He says it's typical of the work done by churches of every denomination across the whole country, much of it funded by their own congregations. "Not only do churches help communities in these very practical ways, they also help people connect with God, which is proven to result in numerous...

Comment from New Zealand Christian Network, visionnetwork, re current media attention on Destiny Church

From Glyn Carpenter, National Director, New Zealand Christian Network, visionnetwork.

1. Recent media attention on Destiny Church has focused mainly on money. There is a lot more to Church and the message of Jesus Christ than money, and there is more to Destiny Church than just money, so the money issue needs to be kept in balance.

2. As far as the money issue is concerned, attention has focused on gifts and tithing, eftpos machines, large incomes, and lavish...

visionnetwork, New Zealand Christian Network, is urging Kiwis to respond generously to the disaster in Haiti, which is reeling from the largest earthquake to hit the Caribbean in 200 years. The initial estimated number of 50,000 dead is now considered to be very conservative and there are countless injured.

visionnetwork is encouraging all church ministers, pastors and concerned Christian groups to make a submission on the Law Commission report, Alcohol in our Lives. The report, made at the request of the Government and including a review of the Sale of Liquor Act, was released at the end of July. Public submissions are due by 30 October.

The suppression of religious meetings and the arrest of Methodist leaders in Fiji is worrying churches throughout the Pacific region.

visionnetwork welcomes a decision by Australian clothing chain Cotton On Kids to withdraw what have been described as offensive and sexualised items of baby wear from its 17 New Zealand-based stores. The decision followed boycott calls from Family First NZ, the National Council of Women, visionnetwork, and Child Alert NZ (ECPAT), amongst others. visionnetwork National Director Glyn Carpenter congratulated Family First's Bob McCoskrie for his role in communicating the issues to key groups. In response to its complaints, Family First received an email from the Australian-based clothing company...