Take a Poll?

G'day.

Now that you've finished electing your favourite Big Brother housemate, and before you get voting for your Australian Idol, want to have a vote that won't cost you a cent?

Even if I've already offended you by associating you with reality TV, please come over to
the site [chaplainchaps.blogspot.com] and join in our new poll on Funding and Schools Ministry:
I'd actually like to see where the opinion goes on this one, from people like us....
Come over.... vote now.

Al

Should Christians Fund Christians?

Starting this 'blog' thing is very new for me - feels like a cross between writing form letters to a group of people ,with writing a journal and emailing it to all your friends.

I thought I'd pose a question for anyone who's tuning in, which has exercised my
mind for a few months this year. In light of the new National School Chaplaincy Programme...

How ethical is it to be Christian ministry workers/ministers that choose to
receive government funds to assist what is (to us) a ministry?

I've noticed that guidelines for this program speak in terms of "chaplaincy services", and not
in terms of funding a school to ensure that they maintain a chaplain/minister/youth worker.
I don't care particularly about the title, because I've never had a title professionally acknowledged in my workplace (but do have one in the church.) But it seems that it's
a continued "separate church & state" position from the Federals throughout this
whole funding plan; IT AMOUNTS TO:
Religious people may come and work in schools to do a range of school & ministry
functions (as they have for years,) but under this generic 'state' offer they are
engaged by the government to provide a range of care services. One pastor
at my church said that he's against us taking assistance, even if it would expand
our services and impact. His reasoning is revealing: Our work for schools should
be GIVEN by churches & Christians as a GIFT to their local school community.

Well, what do YOU think about that?
Al