An address to the Baptist Historical Society of NSW by Rev. Rod Benson, 4 November 2010.
Introduction
The year is 1968, the year of my birth. There are student riots in Paris; the Tet offensive is drawing to a close in South Vietnam; in Memphis, Tennessee, the Baptist preacher and social rights campaigner Martin Luther King Jr is assassinated; the island of Nauru declares political independence from Australia; Pope Paul VI condemns birth control; Boeing rolls out its new 747 aircraft; Australia wins five gold medals at the Mexico City Olympics; Mao Zedong advocates the “re-education” of young urban Chinese; Robert Askin is in his third year as the first Liberal Premier of NSW; the Baptist Union of NSW celebrates its centenary; and the denomination’s Social Issues Committee (SIC) – then known as the Public Affairs Committee – is born.
The idea of “social issues”
What is a “social issue”? In 2008 the SIC considered this question and settled on the following definition: “A social issue refers to a problem or development with important practical implications for people on a local, national or global scale. Social issues are often shaped by scientific advance, social change and/or government policy; they attract media coverage, generate sharply differing perspectives, and are poorly addressed in sermons and other church activities.”[1]
There had been earlier denominational initiatives in public affairs and social issues. In 1904 Assembly appointed Rev Ebenezer Price and Mr A.E. Dykes to represent the denomination on a Committee of Public Morals.[2] The 1914 Assembly created a Standing Committee on Public Morals comprising Revs C.J. Tinsley, William Lamb, and Cleugh-Black (convenor), and Messrs William White and George Ardill, but enthusiasm seems to have waned.
The 1927 Assembly created a Social Questions Committee whose purpose was “to take steps to counteract or suppress the numerous social evils which menace the highest welfare of the Community … and generally to promote the well-being of the Community.”[3] This too languished.
In 1937 the Executive Committee appointed a sub-committee to prepare draft motions on social issues for presentation to Assembly. In 1938 the EC established a Social Questions Committee and appointed four members, but in the immediate postwar years the SQC again lost its way.
In 1988, the leading Baptist layman Mr Fred Church observed that “Prior to the War and for a few years thereafter Baptist Union Assemblies discussed matters of social and public concern. As the Baptist Unions developed full-time staff the tendency to not raise controversial matters appeared and now are seldom debated. I fear at times they are deliberately diverted from Assembly agendas.”[4]
This situation was increasingly untenable. The 1966 Assembly requested that the EC establish a Commission on Church-State Relations and report to the 1969 Assembly. The Commission’s Charter was “to consider all aspects of Church and State relationships as they affect Baptists,” and its final report was presented to the Centenary Assembly in 1968.[5] The report sought to define “first principles” governing church-state relations, but the sole recommendation was “That a Public Affairs Committee be appointed by the Executive Committee.”
Evidently strong political undercurrents were present. In the Commission’s view, individuals had a duty of obedience to the state and should use their influence for the good of others, but “the institutional church” should not “formulate specific pronouncements about political or economic problems.”
This was unacceptable to the 1968 Assembly, and Rev Ken Manley proposed a clarifying amendment that the church was indeed “entitled to make specific pronouncements on moral and religious issues even though political and economic issues be involved.”[6] The amended motion, “strongly carried,” represented the opposite of what the Commission had recommended.[7]
The purpose of the proposed committee was “to collect and present to our people information on social questions referred to it by Executive”; it was not envisaged that it should become “a group making public statements on behalf of the denomination.”[8] Assembly adopted the recommendation and the Executive Committee established the Public Affairs Committee (PAC) whose terms of reference were:
- to prepare draft statements on public affairs for submission to the Executive Committee for that Committee’s consideration;
- to prepare material on social and public affairs for dissemination among the Denomination.[9]
The Rev Neville Andersen, Mr Fred Church, Mr Merv Cooper, Mr R. Dodd, Rev Ian Emmett and Mr W.H. Jones were appointed members.
Organisation
The history of the Public Affairs Committee (and, from 1986, the Social Issues Committee) may be divided into four parts. The formative period, from 1969 to 1983, set the general standard and ethos, and saw four chairmen lead the committee: Mr Merv Cooper (1969-72), Rev Dr Ken Manley (1973-77), Rev Ron Ham (1978-80), and Mr Phil Dart (1981-83).
The second period, from 1984 to 1997, saw the long and productive chairmanship of Mrs Joy Connor (wife of Rev John Connor), with a break in 1996 when Mr Allan Smith chaired.
The third period, from 1998 to 2003, saw three chairpersons, Professor Barry Marx (1998), Rev Dr David Jones (1999 and 2000), and Rev Belinda Groves (2001 – December 2003).
The fourth period, from 2004 to the present, involved the parallel operation of the SIC and the Centre for Christian Ethics, an arrangement which, although born in adversity, has arguably proved amenable.[10] Chairpersons during this period were Rev Guy Johnston (January 2004 – March 2005), Rev Scott Higgins (April 2006 – July 2007), Mr Ron Syme (October 2007 – November 2009), and Mrs Kristine Morrison (from November 2009).
Meetings
The newly established committee held its first recorded meeting on 2 July 1969, and identified the following issues for possible future consideration: censorship, Sunday observance, war, right of protest, gambling, homosexuality, abortion, liquor, divorce, “White Australia,” drugs, and race relations. Also noted for deliberation was “The Christian’s and the Church’s responsibility in social problems.”[11]
The committee agreed that it would publish occasional papers on social issues, the first of these to be on censorship. The first annual report, to the 1970 Annual Assembly, notes that the committee had conferred with similar groups in Australia and overseas, examined relevant literature, written to the NSW Chief Secretary opposing proposals to stage the play, Oh Calcutta (an avant-garde theatrical revue subsequently prohibited in NSW), and begun work on a denominational statement in response to what was described as “the rapid expansion of obscenity and pornography” in Australia.[12] It was off to a modest start.
Chairpersons
Those who chaired the PAC and SIC have had a wide variety of backgrounds, interests and perspectives on political, social and cultural issues. What they all share in common, apart from their Baptist affiliation, is that none of them have died.
The first chairman was Mr Merv Cooper (1969-72), a solicitor and a member of the Hornsby Baptist Church.
Rev Dr Ken Manley (1973-77) was Lecturer in Church History at the NSW Baptist College and a member of the Epping Baptist Church.
Rev Ron Ham (1978-80) was Lecturer in Theology and Homiletics at the NSW Baptist College and Minister at Central Baptist Church.
Mr Philip Dart (1981-83) was a marriage and family counsellor with Family Life Movement of Australia, and a member of the Frenchs Forest Baptist Church.
Mrs Joy Connor (1984-95, 1997) was a member of Petersham Baptist Church where her husband Rev John Connor was minister from 1977-1989. She worked as a casual teacher and in various positions with the NSW Department of Education.
Mr Allan Smith (1996) was a member of Westview Baptist Church (Doonside) and worked for Australian Baptist World Aid.
Prof Barry Marx (1998) taught International Business studies at UTS Sydney and was a member of Narraweena Baptist Church.
Rev Dr David Jones (1999-2000) was Senior Pastor of Northside Baptist Church (Crows Nest) and now heads Baptist Rural Support Services based at Braidwood in southern NSW.
Rev Belinda Groves (2001-03) was Student Associate at Northside Baptist Church during the time she served as chairperson.
Rev Guy Johnston (2004-05) was Pastor of Kingsgrove-Beverly Hills Baptist Church, and resigned to take up a pastoral position in Launceston, Tasmania.
Rev Scott Higgins (2006-07) was a member (formerly pastor) of Edgeworth Community Church (NSW Central Coast) and worked for Baptist World Aid Australia.
Mr Ron Syme (2008-09), who worked in the insurance industry, is a longtime member of Wentworthville Baptist Church and stayed on to chair the committee for two years following his year as President of the Union in 2007-08.
Mrs Kristine Morrison (2010-present) is a member of Ashfield Baptist Church where her husband John is pastor, and manages the antenatal ward at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney.
Structure and functions
The Public Affairs Committee and its successor, the Social Issues Committee, have always been a functional committee of the Executive Committee empowered by By-Law 6.C.2 “to prepare statements on public affairs for submission to the Executive Committee and material on social and public affairs for dissemination among the churches,” and consisting of the President of the Union and not less than six elected members,[13] who are almost never drawn from the Executive Committee.
A perennial dilemma is whether to draft public statements and engage in political lobbying on behalf of the denomination, often at short notice, in the absence of specific resolutions of Assembly. A proactive approach risks alienating those at odds with a public statement, while a timid approach stifles an informed Baptist voice and ceding authority to others.
Baptists in the 1960s and 1970s were less diverse and less experienced at socio-political engagement than they are today. A 1970 survey of 84 NSW Baptist ministers on social change conducted by Barry Marx found that “most ministers were of the opinion that the Church as the Church should stay out of politics and leave this area to the individual.”[14] A similar survey today might well return the opposite result. Yet many attempts have been made to resolve the dilemma.
In his “President’s review” in 1973, Mr Max Hamer recommended a muscular approach: “For too long we Baptists have been reluctant to express a viewpoint on public affairs, largely on the ground that such subjects were divisive and we should not do anything to ‘rock the boat.’ I believe that era is passing and while it is not possible to give a directive to our churches we can at least let them know that the leadership of the Baptist Union has a viewpoint and will express it in no unmistakable way when the welfare of the State demands statements of where we stand.”[15]
The March 1975 PAC meeting discussed the question of the committee’s freedom to make public statements without first having the statement vetted and approved by the Executive Committee.[16] In April the committee formally recommended emending the second of its objectives to read: “in its own right to prepare material on social and public affairs for dissemination among the denomination for discussion.”[17]
In 1980, the PAC expressed concern that it was not equipped to address the range of current issues, and resolved that its work be expanded to include ad hoc research commissions.[18] This was difficult to achieve in a community where the most competent and the most convinced of the need for Baptist social action were already fully committed. Yet the committee had drawn on external expert opinion from time to time, and would do so increasingly in the 1980s and 1990s as its workload increased and its profile grew.
There were often clinical, sociological and philosophical matters to consider as well as biblical teaching, theological perspectives and respect for Baptist tradition; and there was the constant problem of adequate scanning and analysis of media and other reports.
There was also pressure from well-meaning individuals and lobby groups who targeted denominational leaders, who in turn pressured PAC and the churches to take particular actions on public policy matters. The most powerful of these lobby groups was the Festival of Light, based on the British group led by Mary Whitehouse, established in Australia in 1973.[19] As early as 1974 PAC expressed dismay that the lobby group was being incorrectly portrayed by media as “the voice of the Churches” when according to PAC it represented only a fraction of opinion within even the evangelical churches.[20] This would continue.
Another even more effective Christian lobby group, the Australian Christian Lobby, would emerge in 1995. To their credit, such organisations were well organised and sharply focused on policy reform, but they were arguably politically partisan and not accountable to Baptist churches. Indeed they sought to set the political agenda of evangelical churches and emphasised matters relating to personal sexual morality at the expense of broader political, social and economic concerns.
Proposals to restructure the committee
In 1984, as part of a widespread denominational restructure, PAC suggested that responsibility for its activities be taken from the EC and assigned to the General Council, as was proposed for the Planning Committee. In a letter to Mawhinney in July 1984, PAC Secretary Rev Don Crawford proposed the following objectives for a renewed Public Affairs Committee:
- To be responsible to develop a comprehensive and accessible media resource
- To enlist resource persons with specialist expertise, willing to advise [the President “and other persons”] on specific issues at short notice
- To provide an educative role in matters of social justice and public concern and encourage increasing thought and debate in these matters
- To develop consultation with other denominations and Christian organisations with similar goals.[21]
The EC rejected the proposal.[22]
Twenty-three years later, the SIC again reviewed its activities and recommended the creation of a new multi-agency “Justice, Mercy and Peace Taskforce,” convened by the MSD Council, which would work on discrete projects to fulfil the requirements of the By-Laws that governed the SIC, operating on an ad hoc, project-oriented basis with a steering group and other members. There was no interest from other parties, and the SIC scrapped the proposal in November 2009.[23]
The demand for an effective media strategy
For many years NSW Baptists have struggled to resolve the problem of effective media representation with respect to public issues. In 1983 the Baptist Union of Victoria appointed a media spokesperson, and the Baptist Union of South Australia was exploring a similar appointment.
On advising EC of these developments, the PAC received the following advice from Secretary of the Union Neil Mawhinney: “The procedure for statements, at present, is that they are firstly made by the Assembly, secondly by the Executive Committee and thirdly, by the President of the Union. All of these sections of our Union have the capacity to draw upon expert advice as is appropriate and also to delegate the responsibility of making statement [sic] on particular issues from time to time.”[24]
The matter was raised again in 2002 when Rev Chris Leech tabled a flow chart and a document explaining the “authorization procedure” between the SIC and EC.[25] These principles for making public statements apply today.
The crisis in 2003
There was one other major restructure, this time imposed by the EC. On 20 May 2003 Rev Paul Falconer advised that he intended to resign as SIC Consultant. He subsequently tendered his resignation to the Secretary of the Union, Mr Alan Soden, and the EC advertised for a replacement with a closing date of 31 July. However, at a meeting on 12 August the EC resolved “not to immediately consider candidates to fill this position, in order to permit other options raised at the meeting to be explored.”[26]
What had happened was this. On 17 July 2003 the National Assembly of the Uniting Church in Australia passed “Resolution 84” allowing UCA Presbyteries to ordain persons who were living in homosexual relationships. On hearing this reported in the news, someone searched online for NSW Baptist statements relating to sexuality and ministry, and came across a 1995 research paper written by Rev Scott Higgins on the SIC website, titled “What Christians say about sex: An overview of interpretations.” The paper concludes (p. 74) by stating three different conclusions which biblical scholars have made on the subject, namely:
- The bible condemns all forms of homosexual behaviour as a violation of the created order…
- The bible condemns all forms of homosexual behaviour but on grounds that are no longer applicable to Christians.
- The bible condemns only some forms of homosexual behaviour. Committed, monogamous, permanent and mutual homosexual partnerships between homosexually oriented adults are not discussed in Scripture and may be a legitimate expression of God’s will today.[27]
The paper clearly indicated that it was not a Baptist policy document, but it is easy to see how the summary text could be misconstrued as supporting the UCA’s Resolution 84. The anonymous reader contacted a member of EC who arranged for the matter to be placed on the agenda of the 12 August meeting.
That meeting also resolved to quarantine the SIC website, strip the SIC of its annual funding allocation from the denomination’s cooperative budget, and instead offer the funding to Morling College to establish a “Chair of Ethics,” which had been a part of the College’s vision for some years.[28]
The SIC felt betrayed by a lack of consultation and apparent heavy-handedness, and asked the EC to re-examine its decisions and clarify its thinking on the matter.[29] The EC agreed to appoint SIC chairperson Rev Belinda Groves as Interim SIC Consultant until 30 January 2004, which she subsequently turned down.[30]
The Leadership team discussed SIC matters at its meeting on 10 September. The SIC met again on 15 October in the hall of Morling College chapel with NSW Baptist President Mr Dick McLellan and President-Elect Rev Barrie Kidson present. There was tension in the air. The SIC indicated its refusal to remove the Higgins paper from the website, but made the disclaimer more prominent, and did the same for all the background papers currently on its website.
The committee was informed that the College would move to appoint a full-time Chair of Ethics, and that the SIC would remain a functional committee of the EC.[31]
Early in the new year, the College advertised the new position of Director of the Centre for Christian Ethics. I was the successful applicant and commenced on 1 March 2004. In April, Rev Dr Jim Kime, Ms Carlyn Chen, and Rev Robyn Richardson resigned from the committee.
Rev Belinda Groves, who had stepped down as SIC chairperson in December 2003, formally resigned from the committee in a letter to the EC on 4 May. In her letter of resignation, she said, “Sadly the actions of the Executive over the last twelve months have made belonging to the Social Issues Committee an increasingly thankless task. I felt incredibly disheartened about association with an organisation that does not appear to share my conviction that justice is the guts of the gospel and that freedom of faith and thought is part of Baptist identity.”[32]
Seven years have passed since these events, and we can now look back and make some observations on their outcome for the denomination.
Negatively, the disaffection and resignation of several hard-working core members of the SIC was immediately felt and is still apparent. An unknown number of other NSW Baptists were also disaffected. The SIC lost direct control of the work of the Social Issues Consultant and his/her priorities, and had no involvement in the appointment of the College ethicist and no direct influence on his (my) agenda.
For my part, while I remained a member of the SIC, I have been solely responsible to the College Principal, Rev Dr Ross Clifford, for my day-to-day work. I have also tended to respond directly to issues as they arise. The semantic shift from “social issues” to “Christian ethics” signified a shift away from the grass-roots social responsibility for which the SIC was well known toward a more academic and potentially elitist approach to issues. Direct control of the Centre for Christian Ethics by Morling College, and direct responsibility of the director to the College Principal, also represented a watershed for the way in which ethical issues were addressed by NSW & ACT Baptists.
Also significant is the fact that from 2004-2006 the ethics position that I accepted was half-time, with the remainder of my week filled by university chaplaincy, interim ministry at Helensburgh and Northside Baptist Churches, and parachurch consultancy work.
Finally, it is apparent that fewer social issues are raised or debated at denominational gatherings. The shift in financial and human resources away from the SIC to the College has been a contributing factor to this trend, along with changes in denominational culture and other factors.
Positively, the academic location and title of the new position allowed greater access to media and government networks, and better opportunities for active engagement with ecumenical councils and lobby groups, specifically the ultra-conservative Australian Christian Lobby. The new environment has provided better administrative support of the SIC, and has led the EC to regain its confidence in the SIC and to slowly renew its support for social responsibility. The range and focus of issues has not substantially changed.
Today the SIC is better resourced, the College is better staffed, and the churches are better supplied than ever before. The groundwork now exists for a steady expansion of Baptist resources and action on social issues. One wonders, however, when the next church-political crisis will hit, and what repercussions it will bring.
Staff
For many years the PAC/SIC operated on the goodwill and generosity of a team of volunteers, led by the chairperson and usually managed by a dedicated committee secretary.[33] In March 1983, the committee advanced plans to employ a research officer.[34] Funds were eventually released to employ students to develop the PAC resource file, supervised by College librarian Rev Brian Powell. These included Rodney Macready, Tim McCowan and Kevin Warner.[35]
In 1991, Mrs Joy Connor was employed jointly by SIC and Baptist Inner City Ministries to conduct “essential research on social issues.” In 1994, Ms Rae Goth and Mr Doug Taylor were appointed as consultants, presumably unpaid. After many requests for funding from the Baptist Union’s cooperative budget, Rev Chris Leech was employed as SIC Consultant on a temporary basis from February-June 1996 at three days per week, and on a permanent basis from October 1996 at a rate of two days per week following a decision at the September 1996 Assembly. In 1998-99 and 1999-2000 the role was shared with Doug and Cathy Taylor as the SIC pursued ambitious and effective Annual Campaigns.
In 2001, Rev Chris Leech resigned to pursue studies in primary school education, and in 2002 the committee appointed Rev Paul Falconer as SIC Consultant on 2.5 days per week. This arrangement ended in 2003 when Paul resigned from his paid role as a result of a crisis precipitated by the Executive Committee.[36] From March 2004 the ethicist based at Morling College facilitated much of the day-to-day social issues work of the SIC and the denomination, in particular research and lobbying.
Activities
1969-1983
Events
The first public event convened by the PAC was a symposium on abortion on 22 June 1973 featuring Dr John Kleinig (Lecturer in Philosophy, Macquarie University), Dr Stephen Leeder (Research Scholar, University of Sydney), Dr Bruce Peterson (also from the University of Sydney), and Dr Barbara Thiering (Lecturer in Semitic Studies at the University of Sydney).
Summaries of the addresses by all but Peterson are available in SIC files, while the paper by Peterson appears in Abortion Report,a publication of the Ethics and Social Questions Committee of the Church of England in Australia, Sydney Diocese, 1970. The content and format proved successful. It appears that these public meetings, where experts presented their views, were in part intended to guide the committee in its subsequent production of literature.[37]
A second symposium, on “Christian attitudes to homosexuality,” was held on 5 April 1974, followed by one on “The role of women in the churches” (11 April 1975), and on “Christians and industry” (30 April 1976). The 1977 symposium was on “The use and abuse of energy: Some Christian viewpoints” (Friday 29 April 1977). No transcripts are available and the minutes criticise the seminar for placing “too much attention on the uranium debate.”[38] The 1978 symposium, on “The Christian response to poverty in Australia” (14 April 1978) drew a disappointing 18 people, and the committee decided to concentrate on writing articles.[39]
The PAC also convened seminars at Annual Assembly of the Baptist Union of NSW. The first of these took place in September 1973, on “The battle for the mind of the young: School literature and pornography,” with a panel of education experts comprising Miss Bird (PLC Pymble), Mr Stone (Newington College) and Mr Packer (Parramatta High School).
Subsequent Assembly seminars were on “Sex education in the schools?” (September 1974), “Perspectives on Christian marriage and the family” (September 1975), “Affluence and Christian lifestyle” (23 September 1976), “Facing death and grief” (22 September 1977), “Christian response to South-East Asia and its problems” (14 September 1978), “Human rights: Our responsibility” (21 September 1979), “Is unemployment working?” (18 September 1980), and “A Christian response to handicapped persons” (17 September 1981).
At the Assembly seminar arranged by PAC on 23 September 1982, Dr Keith Suter spoke in favour of disarmament, while Dr Lesley Kemeny spoke against it. The Assembly was so moved by the debate and deliberations that it passed a unanimous resolution urging nations to work toward “progressive, verifiable multi-lateral disarmament,” and to apply savings from disarmament “to needs which serve to reduce the economic gap between nations and between social strata within nations.” [40]
As a result, both PAC and the EC fielded criticism from conservative Baptists. Perhaps the most interesting letter in response to the 1982 Assembly came from Mr M. Field of Canterbury, Sydney, who denounced Dr Suter as “a leading figure in the Uniting Church” and a collaborator with the Communist Party, and outed several NSW Baptist ministers as corrupted by the political “left.”[41]
Mawhinney replied disarmingly, avoiding responsibility for the choice of speakers, and claiming that the resolution in question clearly indicated “the leading of God in the Assembly.”
In September 1983, the PAC arranged an Assembly address on the subject, “Unemployment is not working,” with Dr Ron Sider, then Professor of Theology at Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary, Philadelphia USA. Sider rebuked Baptists for their pursuit of middle class affluence, and the privatization of faith, and called for a revival in the church so that it could “become a new world movement for peace and justice in our time.”[42]
In response, the Assembly instructed the Executive Committee to bring a full report on the issue of unemployment to the 1984 Assembly for discussion, which Don Crawford viewed as “a major step forward in our dealing with matters of social justice.”[43]
Writing to Sider, Crawford observed, “As far as I am aware this is the first time in many years that a matter of social justice has been taken up by our full Assembly and dealt with with such enthusiasm.”[44]
Critics accused Sider of promoting “liberal” or “liberation” theology, but one young Baptist woman welcomed his message in a letter to the editor of The Australian Baptist, adding, “we must invite Ron Sider back next year – not everyone’s got the message.”[45] That young woman is now the chairperson of the SIC, Kristine Morrison.
PAC members also spoke occasionally at churches on request. For example, in 1973, Merv Cooper was scheduled to speak on gambling at a Christian Endeavour rally; Phil Dart on alcohol at Mortdale Baptist Church; and Ken Manley on pornography at Castle Hill Baptist Church.[46]
In 1982, EC approved the PAC recommendation that Social Justice Sunday be promoted in NSW Baptist churches;[47] in 1984, the committee convinced the School of Theology (an annual event arranged by and for Baptist pastors) discussed unemployment;[48] and the committee launched a book prize awarded to the top Morling College student in ethics.[49]
Publications
The committee found that the most effective way to inform the churches on social and ethical issues was through the production and dissemination of brief background papers. The first, on pornography, was written by Rev Harvey Volke and dispatched to churches in March 1971.
The first pamphlet was followed by one on gambling by Merv Cooper in 1972, with a first print run of 10,000 copies.[50] Following the success of the first PAC symposium in June 1973, Cooper presented a paper to a meeting of the committee titled, “A layman’s working paper on the Christian attitude to abortion,” which formed the basis of the PAC pamphlet on abortion.[51]
Subsequent PAC publications were on drugs (by Mr Phil Dart, 1974), homosexuality (Rev Ron Ham, 1975), “Authentic Christian lifestyle” (Mr R.A. Scott, 1977), “Facing death and grief” (Rev John Helm, 1978), “Human rights” (Rev Ron Ham, 1980), and “Unemployment” (Dennis Johnston, 1981).
By October 1980, PAC was offering four pamphlets, in a series titled A Matter of Concern, on pornography, homosexuality, drugs and grief); and transcripts of six of its public seminars including three with accompanying study guides.
In early 1983, concern was expressed that there was “inadequate promotion of Christian ethics in our churches as an aspect of the gospel,” and Rev Ron Wilson expressed interest in preparing a series of Bible studies on ethical issues.[52] Detailed plans for the series remain in SIC files, but it is unclear whether any of the proposed studies were published.
The committee produced a pamphlet on handicapped people written by Mr Bill Saville, and examined a draft paper on Aboriginal land rights by Mr Derik (Des) Carne of Camperdown, apparently unsolicited, which he was encouraged to resubmit “in a less confrontational form.”[53]
In 1984 there was strong support for a series of video presentations on ethics based on scripts to be written by Rev Ken Manley or Rev Gordon Preece (who at the time taught ethics at the Baptist Theological College), but the project was scuttled in November 1985.[54]
A pamphlet on land rights was published in 1983, along with a pamphlet on alcohol and other drugs, a Bible study guide on Jesus and Handicapped People, and a discussion paper on employment issues. The pamphlet on homosexuality was reprinted, accompanied by a Bible study guide written by Joy Connor.[55]
The committee also approved a paper on euthanasia by Mrs Lindy Spence following a meeting of PAC consultants,[56] and commissioned papers on the implications to the Christian church of artificial insemination by donor, in-vitro fertilization, and embryo transplantation (by Mr Philip Dart), heart transplants (Rev Ross Clifford; the new heart transplant program had just been suspended in NSW), disarmament (Mr Paul Holding), Aboriginal land rights (by Mrs Joy Connor), “Christian morality in a secular society” (Rev Ken Manley), and prostitution (Mr Denis Johnston).[57] It was a most productive period for the Public Affairs Committee.
Other activities
(a) Resource collection
At a meeting on 30 June 1972, PAC agreed to create a file of resources for its own reference purposes, and the use of NSW Baptists. The collection included copies of government reports, legislative bills, journal articles, pamphlets and occasional papers on a wide range of issues.
For some time, these resources were kept in an office at Morling College, and later relocated to the library. By 2004 it had been forgotten by the SIC, but after I commenced as ethicist, the librarian asked me to take charge of the collection. Now greatly revised and expanded, the collection occupies four four-drawer filing cabinets in my office in the Tinsley Institute, and the most significant documents are being scanned and catalogued for electronic storage and retrieval. So far about 700 documents are available electronically.
The SIC resource collection included a number of pamphlets on specific issues. There are six series of pamphlets and several miscellaneous booklets and pamphlets. The oldest, dated from 1967-1969, were published by the Christian Life Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, whose Executive Secretary-Treasurer was Foy Valentine.[58]
This series, titled Issues & Answers, includes pamphlets on abortion, alcohol, communism, drugs, extremism, honesty, juvenile delinquency, “law, order and justice,” peace, pornography, poverty, race relations, totalitarianism, urban crisis, and violence. It may have been these pamphlets which were tabled at an Executive Committee meeting in 1968.
In addition to the other five series of pamphlets there are miscellaneous pamphlets on various issues, including one titled, “A statement of social principles for Christian social concern and Christian social action,” which is Foy Valentine’s summary of the biblical rationale and scope of Christian social responsibility.
Many of these pamphlets, along with other printed resources, were used by successive generations of PAC and SIC members, and possibly also by college students, as they sought to respond to issues. It is noteworthy that there appear to be no British Baptist social issues publications in the SIC resource collection, and only one (on death) from another Australian state Baptist Union.
(b) Letters
The Public Affairs Committee wrote occasional letters to churches encouraging action on issues such as censorship, abortion and gambling. In June 1972, PAC sent a letter to churches campaigning against literature prescribed for public school examinations, including J.P. Donleavy’s campus novel The Ginger Man, which had been prescribed for the NSW Higher School Certificate and, in the opinion of the committee, contained “a good deal of unsavory material.”[59]
On the other hand, following complaints from NSW Baptists about the inclusion of J.D. Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye in school reading lists, PAC received advice from honorary legal adviser Gary Tyler that “the work was not necessarily unsuitable for Sixth Form study,” and PAC members were requested to read the book prior to a discussion at the following PAC meeting.[60]
Churches and individuals also wrote to the committee. In early 1972, Wollongong Baptist Church wrote seeking advice on formulating a motion to the 1972 Assembly regarding television censorship, and PAC formulated the following motion:
That the Baptist Union of NSW urges each of its members to adopt a positive attitude of watchful vigilance in relation to morally unsavory and offensive material on television, radio and in the press and to protest by letter, telephone or personal representation to parliamentary representatives and other relevant authorities in particular cases that come to notice.[61]
Later the same year, Gymea Baptist Church contacted local candidates in the coming federal election (in which the Labor Party led by Gough Whitlam won its first term), asking for their views on social issues with a view to circulating their replies among members for guidance in voting, and suggested to the PAC that this be done at a denominational level. The committee discussed this and declined, arguing that
While social issues were involved such action might come close to interference by the Church as an institution in a political election. However, it would be a good idea for individuals to act in this way and a suggestion would be made at the [1972] Assembly.[62]
In 1980 the Doyalston Baptist Church wrote to the committee, concerned about the use of blood products as a food additive. The committee considered the matter at its August 1980 meeting, but no action was recorded.[63]
From time to time the Executive Committee took action on social issues without consultation with PAC, or before it could respond to a request for advice. In 1982, the EC released a strongly worded statement on homosexuality to the media, and the President, Mr J.H. Kidd, had apparently contacted PAC requesting “close and prompt co-operation on matters of morality and social concern.” In response the committee assured the President that its members were available to him, and to the Secretary of the Union, “for consultation at short notice to assist in the preparation of statements on public affairs.”[64]
There are many more letters in SIC files, especially from the 1970s and 1980s, as well as minutes of meetings, that would add to this brief window into the activities of the PAC in its early years.
(c) Assembly resolutions
The committee also played an important role in selecting issues and drafting motions that would be debated by NSW (and ACT) Baptist delegates and become resolutions of Assembly. Elsewhere, I have identified and examined the almost 500 resolutions on social issues passed by the Assembly between 1870 and 2010.[65]
From the mid-1970s, PAC/SIC has consistently encouraged motions on social justice issues (such as overseas aid, poverty, disarmament, sweat shops, asylum seekers and climate change) as well as more traditional moral issues (such as gambling, censorship, abortion, euthanasia and other bioethical issues).
An example of this is the recommendation of three notices of motion by PAC to the Executive Committee in 1976 calling the federal government to increase foreign aid from 0.49 per cent to 0.7 per cent of Gross National Product (in line with the UN aid target); opposing the legalisation of casinos in NSW; and urging Baptist participation in industrial organisations.[66]
Similarly, in 1982 PAC resolved that the Baptist Union of NSW “should actively promote Social Justice Sunday in association with other denominations (normally the last Sunday of September each year) and that, where appropriate, study materials be prepared and Churches encouraged to undertake group studies on social issues.”[67]
In 1983, in response to a federal bill to amend the National Services Act 1951, the PAC was asked to identify any Baptist historical material on conscientious objection.[68] In the same year, the Liberal Leader of the Opposition in the NSW Parliament, Mr John Dowd, offered to discuss social issues with members of PAC, and the Secretary was instructed to contact Rev Fred Nile to obtain the names of suitable Labor Party MPs who could provide a balanced discussion. Nile refrained from obliging, and Dowd subsequently enjoyed more than one audience with the committee.[69]
Detailed analysis of the period from 1984 to the present day is beyond the scope of this address. Selected highlights appear below.
The period 1984-1997 coincides with the long chairmanship of Joy Connor, and I will only mention selected highlights.
Events
- 1984 Assembly seminar on Christian morality and the law
- 1986 residential conference (Feb) and one-day conference (Aug) on peace (International Year of Peace)
- 1986 prayer for world peace in place of Assembly seminar, very well received
- Apr 1987: first gathering of SIC consultants (i.e. experts)
- 1987 Assembly seminar on shelter for the homeless
- 1990 visit of Jim Wallis emphasising prophetic contribution to national policy
- 1990 visit of Dr Phil Strickland of the Christian Life Commission, Baptist General Convention of Texas
- 1991 monthly lunch time forums for business people in the city in partnership with BICM
- 1991 first Annual Forum with Rev Dr Thorwald Lorenzen on “Break down the walls – politics and faith in Eastern Europe” (2nd in 1992 by Dr Graham Garrett on “Ecology, economy and the gospel”)
- 1997 first Annual Campaign on Violence: Causes and Cures.
Publications
- 1984 bibliography on disarmament
- 1989 Guidelines for churches addressing social issues, in Handbook (reproduced in Here We Stand)
- Regular church bulletin inserts on social issues
- From 1991, a quarterly Social Issues Bulletin (with features on “the whole gospel,” war and peace, poverty and homelessness)
Issues addressed
Issues addressed during the period 1984-1997 included the ethics of heart transplants, brothels and prostitution, decriminalization of homosexuality, anti-discrimination legislation and religious freedom, euthanasia, war and peace, Aboriginal reconciliation, Aboriginal deaths in custody (in response to the Muirhead Royal Commission), reduction in funds for teaching ESL, human embryo experimentation, video pornography, HSC English texts, victims of crime, surrogacy, child abuse, AIDS kit in schools (allegedly promoting sodomy), marketing of ‘Kix’ alcoholic coolers, capital punishment, the Sydney Mardi Gras, stewardship of the earth, the ethics of limiting life-sustaining treatment, abortion, multiculturalism, Sydney casino proposals, a code of ethics for the telecommunications industry, rainforest protection, export of weapons, adoption legislation, video game violence, and the plight of Karen Christians in Burma.
1998-2003
This was the period in which SIC consultants were most active. The 1998-99 Annual Campaign was on rural social issues, and my first contact with the SIC on arriving at Blakehurst Baptist Church was a phone call from Cath Taylor asking about rural issues.
The 1999-2000 Annual Campaign, “Hear the Cry, Help the Hurting,” was on suicide awareness and prevention.
There was also a six-week training course on social justice issues at Burton Street Baptist Tabernacle in partnership with BICM. Responses by the SIC on Burma, East Timor, gambling, internet pornography, “third world debt,” and the Jubilee 2000 Campaign. The committee conducted a trial of a rural training seminar on crisis counselling and conflict management at Inverell, organised by Kevin Hummel and facilitated by Rev Eric Hudson (Clinical Director of Lifecare). A website was under construction.
The 2000-2001 Annual Campaign, “Advance a Fair Australia,” was on aspects of citizenship. The campaign centred on two publications written and produced by Chris Leech, Hot Topics – Case Studies on Active Citizenship featuring discussions on “people of the margins,” addiction, rural decline, consumerism, industrial relations, and immigration, and Jesus and Rights, a booklet of 30 biblical devotions on global citizenship based on the UN Declaration of Human Rights.
In 2000 the SIC monitored developments on refugees, Aboriginal reconciliation, mandatory sentencing, genetically modified foods, the environment, and gambling. Its Annual report noted that it was exploring closer relationships with ABWaid, ABMS, BICM and BCS in order “to promote a theological perspective on social justice issues which have applicability to each of these organisations.[70]
Chris Leech and Cath Taylor concluded as SIC Consultants in December 2000.
In 2001-02 there was no annual campaign but the SIC convened a seminar at Morling College on 30 July on “Preaching with a prophetic edge” featuring presentations by Rev Michael Frost (CEGM) and Cath McKinney (Care and Communication Concern, Victoria), and an Assembly seminar on “Mission with the Marginalised” (in partnership with other Baptist agencies). SIC Consultant Cath Taylor produced a new leaflet, Open Your Mind, Touch Your World, introducing a wide range of justice issues for consideration,[71] and two new articles were posted to the committee’s website (housed within the Baptist Union of NSW website) on the mandatory sentencing debate and environmental degradation caused by salinity.
In 2002 no annual report was published but a two-page response to the Union’s “Directions 2007” initiative was widely circulated and deals with the committee’s purpose and role.[72]
In 2003 the Annual Campaign was on “Christ and Creation,” with resources including Bible studies, sample liturgies, sermon ideas and audio-visual material. Rev Paul Falconer stepped down as Consultant in July “to take a larger role in his wife’s [chocolate confectionary] business.”[73]
The 2003 Annual Report notes that during the year the committee had been engaged on issues including bioethics, national security, refugees, war, the Sexual Offences Bill, and bullying, and observes that “There are often diverse opinions and theological positions on these subjects, but the Social Issues Committee encourages the Churches of NSW and ACT to think, pray and act on these issues guided by Biblical understanding and Christian love.”[74]
2004-present
In this period, the SIC coexisted with the more academically focused and better resourced Centre for Christian Ethics at Morling College. A proper historical study of the SIC during these years needs also to assess the focus and productivity of the Centre. As the current writer was Director of the Centre, this is best left to others. There is, however, one important action by the SIC that deserves special mention as it highlights the perceived needs of the churches and presents an ongoing challenge to both the SIC and the Tinsley Institute (which took over the work of the Centre for Christian Ethics in 2008).
Social issues survey of the churches
In February 2008, the SIC proposed a comprehensive survey of NSW & ACT Baptist churches on social issues. The rationale was that, although the denomination had been active in developing its profile on social issues activities, the perception persisted that the wider denomination was unaware of the “grass-roots” activities of many of its churches. The committee argued that the information gleaned from the survey would enhance its ability to communicate effectively, meaningfully and helpfully with the churches.[75]
The Executive Committee readily agreed to this proposal and the Finance Board supplied $5,000 funding to employ a researcher to conduct the survey and collate results. The researcher, Daniel Mallison, briefed the committee in September 2009, noting that 19 per cent of respondents had never heard of the SIC and that 62 per cent had never visited the SIC website.
The three most prominent clusters of issues currently faced by members of NSW Baptist congregations were health (including substance abuse), marriage and family, and lifestyle (including stress and time management). The three least prominent were human rights, all bioethics issues (including abortion, euthanasia, cloning and suicide) and technology.
Other issues identified by respondents but not identified in the official questionnaire included global warming, rural lifestyle issues, population growth, the occult, parenting of teenagers, debt and unemployment, “the hidden problem of porn and same sex relationships,” and the social marginalization of Christianity.
When asked what their church was doing to deal with social issues, 75 per cent indicated “topical sermons,” 36 per cent topical Bible studies, and 24 per cent “discussion forums.” Only 6 per cent indicated that they had a local church social issues group. On training and resources, 79 per cent indicated the need for “biblical responses to current debates,” 71 per cent wanted pamphlets on issues, and 45 per cent thought that a regular social issues newsletter would be helpful.
A large amount of additional information was collected, and the SIC resolved to focus attention on developing sample sermons on moral and ethical issues; pamphlets on biblical perspectives on social issues; a list of speakers on social and ethical issues; a list of sources for training on how to deal with lifestyle issues; and multimedia presentations for church gatherings.[76]
Conclusion
Was the work of the Social Issues Committee incidental or essential to NSW Baptist life and ministry? That is a very subjective question, but to be silent on social issues is a denial of both Christian conscience and Christian vocation.
Yet for all our good work in social concern and social action (whether personal, community-based, national or planetary in scope), an awkward ambivalence has often made itself felt beneath the surface of our denominational life. We find it extraordinarily difficult to divorce our politics from our theology, or our social conscience from our social class.
The voices of the most powerful, influential, eloquent and (sometimes) the intelligent among us are most often heard, but they are not always right, and not always just, and not always gracious.
One thing is clear: the evangelistic imperative almost always takes priority among us. That is as it should be, in my opinion, but not at the expense of a robust commitment, at least as intense and persistent, to social responsibility.
In his new book, The Making of Evangelicalism: From Revivalism to Politics and Beyond, Randall Balmer observes that “the real value of historical understanding is that we can learn from the past and use its lessons to chart a better future.”[77]
Let me conclude this address by taking you back to an event in October 1986, when the Castle Hill Baptist Church organised a weekend church leaders’ retreat at William Arnott Lodge, Elanora Heights. Rev John Reid was pastor of the church at the time. The speakers were the General Superintendent of the Baptist Union of NSW, Rev John Robinson, and the College’s Lecturer in Theology, Rev Brian Powell, who was also a member of the SIC.
On the Friday night and Saturday, Robinson taught three sessions on the theme of “loving mercy and walking humbly” (a reference to Micah 6:8), while Powell gave one address on the Saturday evening on “Social issues and the local church.” A copy of the notes he used to present his talk is in the SIC archive.[78]
He began by affirming that “God is concerned about social justice, and calls his people to share his concern,” citing Amos 5:21-24; 8:4-8; James 1:26-27; 2:15-16; and the fifth clause of the 1974 Lausanne Covenant. He then identified four characteristic features of the social responsibility of the local church:
- prayer (Jer 29:7; 1 Tim 2:1-2)
- salt (Mt 5:13; Rom 13:17; 1 Pet 2:12-17)
- light (the ‘lighthouse model’ – Mt 5:14-16; Jn 13:35; and the ‘street light model’ – Amos 1:3-2:3; Mt 14:3-4; 23:23-26).
- servanthood (Mt 25:31-47).
He noted that the SIC needed more help in modelling the ‘street light’ approach to social responsibility, and concluded by saying, “We should seek as local churches to find ways in which to ‘do justice,’ both immediately and indirectly.
That is as good a summary of the purpose and place of the Social Issues Committee of the Baptist Union of NSW as you will find in the records, and it accurately sums up the committee’s continuing vision of Christian social responsibility for our churches.
Thank you.
References
[1] Email from Rod Benson to SIC members, 7 Sep 2008 (in SIC letters file).
[2] Minutes of Annual Assembly (AA), Baptist Union of NSW, Sep 1904, p. 523.
[3] AA, 30 Sep 1927, p. 594.
[4] Michael Petras (ed.), Australian Baptists Past and Present, p. 68.
[5] BUNSW Year Book 1968-69, p. 50; report pp. 50-60.
[6] Ibid. See also The Australian Baptist (AB), 16 Oct 1968, pp. 1, 2, 6; 6 Nov 1968, pp. 2f; 13 Nov 1968, p. 2.
[7] Ken Manley notes, “Fred Church rang me afterwards to say he supported my argument.” Email to the author, 26 Oct 2010.
[8] Ibid., p. 59.
[9] BUNSW Year Book 1969-70, p. 40.
[10] In January 2008 the Centre for Christian Ethics merged with the Centre for Evangelism and Global Mission to form the Tinsley Institute (situated at Morling College), but leadership and job description of the ethicist remained the same. The author of this paper has been a member of the SIC since 2001, and the College-based ethicist since 2004.
[11] “Summary of Committee Meeting Held 2nd July 1969,” PAC minutes, July 1969-April 1982 (loose leaf folder).
[12] Report dated 21 Jul 1970, BUNSW Year Book 1970-71, p. 56.
[13] “By-Laws and Rules,” in BUNSW Handbook 2001, p. 288.
[14] Document titled “What some Baptists are thinking,” annexed to the Report of the Committee Studying Social Change, BUNSW, 1970.
[15] Executive Committee minutes, 31 Jul 1973.
[16] PAC minutes, 10 Feb 1975 and 17 Mar 1975.
[17] PAC minutes, 30 Jun 1975.
[18] PAC minutes, 11 Nov 1980.
[19] The Festival of Light was rebranded as Family Voice Australia in 2009; I am on its NSW Advisory Board.
[20] PAC minutes, 11 Nov 1974.
[21] Letter from Don Crawford to Neil Mawhinney, 19 Jul 1984.
[22] Letter from Neil Mawhinney to Don Crawford (PAC Secretary), 1 Aug 1984.
[23] “Proposal to create a Justice, Mercy and Peace Task Force,” 21 Feb 2008. See also SIC minutes, 22 Oct 2007 and 17 Dec 2007.
[24] Letter from Neil Mawhinney to Don Crawford, 15 Apr 1983.
[25] SIC minutes, 7 Feb 2002 (documents appear in minute book after 3 Dec 2001 minutes).
[26] SIC minutes, 20 Aug 2003.
[27] Scott Higgins, “What Christians say about sex: An overview of interpretations,” unpublished paper, no longer available online.
[28] EC minutes, 12 Aug 2003.
[29] SIC minutes, 20 Aug 2003.
[30] SIC minutes, 15 Oct 2003.
[31] SIC minutes, 10 Dec 2003.
[32] Letter from Belinda Groves to EC, dated 4 May 2004. This account of the 2003 crisis is my personal view, not based on EC minutes or discussions with EC members, and there are no doubt other valid perspectives.
[33] Rev Don Crawford served as minute secretary from 1980, and was elected Secretary on 18 May 1982 (PAC minutes, 18 May 1982). Other minute secretaries included committee members Rev Brian Powell, Mr Paul Holding and Mrs Joyce Morling. Miss Jean Hanbury, personal assistant to the General Superintendent and/or the Secretary of the Union, served as minute secretary from 1998 – 2002. Rod Benson was elected Secretary in January 2004 and continues in that role.
[34] PAC minutes, 26 Mar 1983.
[35] SIC minutes, 11 Feb 1988.
[36] Paul Falconer remained an active member of the committee until 2005.
[37] PAC minutes, 30 Oct 1972.
[38] PAC minutes, 31 May 1977.
[39] PAC minutes, 20 Jun 1978.
[40] PAC minutes, 22 Nov 1982.
[41] Letter from M. Field to Neil Mawhinney, 28 May 1983. Field did not attend the 1982 Assembly but had read reports of it in The Australian Baptist.
[42] AB, 19 Oct 1983, p. 2. See also letters by Maxwell Fyfe (AB, 5 Oct 1983, p. 6), E.S. Ozlos (AB, 2 Nov 1983, p. 6), and Kristine Morrison (AB, 16 Nov 1983, p. 6).
[43] Letter from Don Crawford to Graham Jensen, 26 September 1983.
[44] Letter from Don Crawford to Ron Sider, 26 Sep 1983.
[45] AB, 16 Nov 1983, p. 6.
[46] PAC minutes, 12 Feb 1973.
[47] PAC minutes, 18 May 1982.
[48] PAC minutes, 11 Oct 1983. PAC had received a request for this from Rev Des Woodward and rev Mark Tronson.
[49] PAC minutes, 8 Dec 1983.
[50] PAC minutes, 30 Jun 1972.
[51] PAC minutes, 9 Jul 1973.
[52] PAC minutes, 8 Feb 1983 and 26 Mar 1983.
[53] PAC minutes, 28 Jun 1982 and 23 Aug 1982. PAC consulted with Rev Graham Paulson and missionaries including Mr Ed Kingston and Mr & Mrs Whitburn, and Carne attended the August 1982 meeting of PAC to further discuss his paper.
[54] PAC minutes, 9 Aug 1983 and 21 Nov 1985.
[55] PAC minutes, 9 Aug 1983.
[56] PAC minutes, 12 Jul 1983. The consultants on this issue were Dr Bob Batey, Dr Rob McMurdo, Dr R. Hooper, Dr M. Werry, Mr Justice Morling, Mr Peter Dooley, Mr Denis Johnston, Rev Ross Clifford, Rev Don Crawford, and Mrs Lindy Spence.
[57] PAC minutes, 8 Mar 1983 and 13 Sep 1983.
[58] On Foy Valentine see David Sapp, “Foy Dan Valentine (1923-2006): Helping changed people change the world,” in Larry L. McSwain & William Loyd Allen (eds), Twentieth-Century Shapers of Baptist Social Ethics (Macon GA: Mercer University Press, 2008), pp. 296-310.
[59] PAC minutes, 30 Jun 1972.
[60] PAC minutes, 11 Dec 1972.
[61] PAC minutes, 30 Jun 1972.
[62] PAC minutes, 24 Aug 1972. Other churches conducted similar surveys/forums of local political candidates from time to time. For example, the Kings Langley Baptist Church held a successful forum with Labor and Liberal candidates ahead of the July 1987 federal election (SIC minutes, 23 Jul 1987).
[63] Letter from Paul Holding to Doyalston Baptist Church, 12 Jul 1980; PAC minutes, 11 Aug 1980.
[64] PAC minutes, 14 Dec 1982.
[65] Unpublished papers on social issues resolutions passed by Assemblies of the Baptist Union of NSW for the periods 1868-1945 (2007) and 1946-2010 (2010).
[66] PAC minutes, 16 Sep 1976.
[67] PAC minutes, 2 Mar 1982.
[68] PAC minutes, 9 Aug 1983.
[69] PAC minutes, 8 Feb 1983; email from Ron Ham to the author, 27 Oct 2010.
[70] SIC annual report 2000, in Secretary of the Union’s Report to Annual Assembly, p. 32.
[71] This leaflet is not currently filed in SIC files.
[72] Paul Falconer, “Directions 2007: A response by the Social Issues Committee, Baptist Churches NSW & ACT,” dated 28 May 2002, inserted after SIC minutes, 5 Jun 2002.
[73] SIC annual report 2003, in Secretary of the Union’s Report to Annual Assembly, p.
[74] SIC annual report 2003, in Secretary of the Union’s Report to Annual Assembly, p.
[75] “Social issues profile of our churches” (project description), dated 18 Feb 2008.
[76] SIC minutes, 11 Sep 2009.
[77] Randall Balmer, The Making of Evangelicalism: From Revivalism to Politics and Beyond (Waco, TX: Baylor University Press, 2010), p. 84.
[78] Brian Powell, “Social issues and the local church,” in “Sermons on social issues” file, SIC archives. Brian was later appointed Lecturer in New Testament.
Image source: The Sydney Morning Herald.
iDigress 