Bøger af Darren Cronshaw

Australian historical images ¿ the Aborigine, convict, bushman, gold digger, Anzac ¿digger¿, and migrant ¿ are a fruitful source for developing local models of ministry. Spiritual companions help people relate faith to everyday life. This model resonates with Aboriginal sensitivity to the sacred, and is at home with the Australian longing for everyday spirituality articulated by social commentators such as Michael Leunig. Chaplains get alongside people, although colonial chaplains were seen more as distant moral policemen and their evangelism was limited by their government employment. Shepherding was at home in the rural setting of the colonies, and continues to meaningfully express the nurturing aspects of local church ministry. The labour movement and the Australian value of a fair go suggest ministry as prophetic advocacy; and ministry as service fits Australian humanitarianism, the Anzac spirit and servant leadership. Finally, ministers as community hosts reflect God¿s hospitality and the multicultural ethos of Australia. Pastoral ministry can be imagined and expressed by various models, and the most effective models for Australia will derive from and critique local culture.

Baptist congregations in Australia face two important and contemporary challenges: to remain faithful and to regain relevance.The authors featured in this volume model the innovative and imaginative responses that are required to meet those challenges. Pastors, Christian leaders, and theological educators together address congregational innovation and cultural transition.At the heart of these two activities is a faithful exploration of the contours of worship and a relevant engagement with the contours of contextual change. But this is more than a volume about mere worship or mere cultural diversity. Rather, it assumes that worship implies sacrifice and service as much as it means liturgy and prayer. Secondly, it assumes that cultural diversity also implies sacrifice and service as much as it anticipates ethnicity and language.Innovation and sacrifice require a 'putting to death' of inherited assumptions and patterns of congregational practice. Service and imagination require a 'bringing to life' of new patterns of congregational innovation. It's the earnest prayer of the New Wineskins authors and editors that this volume contributes to the ongoing search for faithful and relevant Baptist congregations long into the 21st century.