An increasing number of New Zealand’s less fortunate families are benefiting as mainly music’s team expands its reach into needy parts of the community.

Since late 2008, mobile mainly music leaders have been introduced, specifically to mentor and help guide mothers with parenting needs. These mothers are most often at centres as ordered by the New Zealand courts, or at the Salvation Army’s Bethany Centre for pregnant single women, and mothers and babies in need.

Jo Hood, mainly music’s international director, says feedback from various sources indicates the mobile music leaders are having a positive social impact. “A re-occurring theme is that mainly music is a great tool in helping troubled mothers and their little ones.

US pastor Ken Ramey concludes his interview with Michael Hamilton by reminding us that we’re all sinners

"Churches and preachers must deal with sin.” This was a key message from US Pastor Ken Ramey, who was in the country recently to speak at an annual Bible Conference run by Riverbend Bible Church and The Shepherd’s Bible College near Hastings.

Mr Ramey, a pastor and teacher at Lakeside Bible Church in Montgomery, Texas, said the conference’s theme ‘Saved to be Holy’ was all about how Christians could make a good impact in the world, be well respected, and lead a life of significance for God.

“It’s to be holy. I think the greatest impact we can make in our culture is to be different from our culture,” he said.

Mr Ramey said he was troubled that too many pastors and Church members took sin too lightly. “I think that generally speaking the church, starting with the pastor and the people in general, tend to keep their sin to themselves. We all act like we don’t have sin in our life and so we silently struggle with our sin, instead of being open and honest and saying, ‘let’s face it, the Bible says that we’re sinners.

In part one of an interview with reporter Michael Hamilton, American pastor and teacher Ken Ramey discusses the Bible, his concerns about the Church in the Western World, and evangelism

It is imperative ministers and preachers in churches preach the Bible — the true and full Word of God, says US pastor Ken Ramey.

Mr Ramey told Challenge Weekly this while he was in New Zealand as one of three main speakers at an annual Bible Conference held near Hastings. The conference, which was run by Riverbend Bible Church and The Shepherd’s Bible College, had the theme ‘Saved to be Holy’.

Mr Ramey said Christians needed to clearly, accurately, boldly and relevantly preach God’s Word. “We need to hold up the standard of God’s Word, and say, ‘This is the only trustworthy centre of what to believe and how to live our lives.  This is black and white, this is right and wrong.  This is the standard and God will judge every one of us according to his standard.’”

Your teens won’t love you for it later, warns founder of Focus on the Family NZ’s ‘How to Drug-Proof Your Kids’ programme Jennie Milne, in the final part of our series on teenagers and alcohol

It is really important for parents to check out the values and standards of those they are entrusting with their children. They may find that their best friend or favourite coach or youth leader has quite different ideas about things than theirs. So it is a good idea to form networks with parents who share the same ideas and values.

Parents in general have a sense of what is the ‘right thing to do’ but in some instances other parents’ rules can be pretty loose and they in turn can exert enormous ‘parental peer pressure’.

In the third part of our series on alcohol and teenagers, the founder of Focus on the Family NZ’s ‘How to Drug-Proof Your Kids’ programme reminds parents to consider what they are modeling when it comes to drinking

One of the key influences on young people is the context of the family and the relationships within that, particularly between the teenager and their parent/s.

Within a strong, supportive relationship parents who role model low risk alcohol use and disapprove of and delay the onset of their children’s drinking reduce the likelihood of alcohol misuse by their young people. A wealth of evidence shows that children rise to the expectations of adults who love and care for them.

It’s therefore worth parents taking a moment to think about what they are expecting with regard to their teenager and alcohol. Are they expecting that they will probably drink alcohol underage or are they closing their eyes and praying and hoping that their teenagers won’t get into trouble or are they clearly communicating their expectations to them?

A good thing for parents to remember is that drugs and alcohol will be available to their children but that their attitude and example are the KEY influence on how their teenagers will respond.

In response to the viewing choices of Labour MP Shane Jones in his hotel room, both Labour leader Phil Goff and deputy leader Annette King said what their MPs did in the privacy of their room was none of their business.

While we always hope that our private attitudes and actions do not receive the same scrutiny as our public and outward appearance and words, they can not be separated because they define character. What we do in private manifests itself in the quality of our integrity, morality and leadership in the public domain.

Watching a movie containing bestiality or necrophilia, having an extra-marital affair, getting drunk and passing out, or purchasing the services of a prostitute can also happen in the privacy of our room and are legal. But are they right?