Credible Witness: Companions, prophets, hosts & other Australian mission models

By Darren Cronshaw (Melbourne: UNOH Publications, 2006)

Australians long for expressions of faith that are genuine and practical. This book explores how clues for credible witness can be gleaned from Australian historical images - the Aborigine, convict, bushman, gold digger, Anzac 'digger' and migrant. A conversation between these historical themes and Christian tradition suggests models of mission which are authentically at home in Australian culture: spiritual companion, chaplain, shepherd, prophetic advocate, servant and community host. Credible Witness offers an overview of Australian cultural history and related models of mission that are biblically faithful, culturally relevant and that address poverty in all its forms.

The writer, Darren Cronshaw, is husband to Jenni, Dad to three children, partner at Connection Community, lover of good books and movies, and student of mission and Australian culture. Darren has been a Baptist missionary and pastor, and has studied and taught with Bible College of Victoria, Whitley College, Tabor College (Melbourne) and FORGE Mission Training Network.

This book will be available for order online at http://www.unoh.org, at UNOH events after the UNOH Benefit Dinner and book launch (25 November 2006) or at Koorong.

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Endorsements for Credible Witness include:

"A personal and perceptive overview which weaves together the past and present to give an authentic picture of Christian mission in Australia. Credible Witness is an inspiring read and an insightful analysis for creative thinking and practice. I highly recommend it."

- TIM COSTELLO

World Vision Australia

"A thought-provoking and welcome addition to the discussion on the unique aspects of Australian spirituality and church. For too long Australian Christians have displayed 'cultural cringe' in the assumption that other western countries offer a purer form of the Kingdom of God in their history and missiological practice. This book is an indication that Australian Christianity is coming of age."

-CHERYL CATFORD

Principal, Tabor College Melbourne.

"Darren Cronshaw has done us a great service in tracking the 'types' of Christian spirituality that have exerted an influence over the religious landscape of this country. He brings both a sense of objective scholarship to the subject, as well as the passionate heart of an Australian missionary. He has done a superb job, and by doing so has debunked the myth that Australia is a godless, irreligious society with little taste for the Christian message.

His assertion is that we have a long history of effective Christian spirituality in this country that can provide for us way-markers for the future shape of mission in this country. He is not naïve about the failings of Christian mission in the past, but helps to rehabilitate these missional types for the positive lessons we can learn from them.

This is far from a secular society, but that doesn't mean it is a society close to Christian revival or to a wholesale return to church attendance. Rather, it is a society still open to and ready for an expression of the Christian faith that sounds and feels indigenous to Australian soil and which is rich in integrity, justice, love and peace. I trust that this book fills you with courage, ingenuity, passion and creativity for the journey that is before us - the continuation of a credible witness to the claims of Christ to all Australians."

-MICHAEL FROST

Morling College, Sydney

"Darren Cronshaw's four loves permeate every page of 'Credible Witness'. They are his over-riding love for Jesus, his deep affection for his own Australian culture, his concern for the marginalised, and his heart for mission. The intersection of these four passions makes this book, which is both a theological exploration and a deeply personal memoir, a unique and stimulating contribution to Australian missiological writing."

- MICHAEL RAITER

Principal, Bible College of Victoria

"Darren Cronshaw has done the best job I've read applying historical, theological, and missiological ideas to the task of 'being Christian' in modern Australia. He suggests six complementary models to inform our thinking, all rooted in our history and psyche. It's well-researched (I'd buy the book for the bibliography!), well-written, well-thought-through, and Darren helps us see the Australian spiritual and social landscape on a broad canvas. It's not a book for leisure, but for discussion - and, hopefully, action."

-ROWLAND CROUCHER

John-Mark Ministries

"This is the sort of Australian missiology we need. Images are vital in shaping how we go about our mission, and Credible Witness contains a stimulating array, developed in critical dialogue with Australian history. Darren goes beyond the mateship myth and learns from indigenous and multicultural images as well. The gospel both resonates with and challenges culture and Darren gets the balance right, it seems to me. Some images are about listening or speaking and others are about acting. Together they provide a rich tapestry of ways to engage in mission."

-ROSS LANGMEAD

Professor of Missiology at Whitley College and author of The Word Made Flesh.

"In this labour of love Darren has offered the Australian Christian movement a real gift.

Because Credible Witness is essentially an insightful historical critique of how Australian

Christians have sought to pass on the message of Jesus, it can help guide the contemporary church to a greater sense of self-awareness and identity as a unique expression of God's people. As such it will also help equip us for present day mission as we engage the key issues of our times."

-ALAN HIRSCH

National Director of Forge Mission Training Network and author of The Shaping of Things to Come (with Mike Frost) and The Forgotten Ways.

"In an age of pluralisms and increasing diversity, Darren Cronshaw points out that ministry (and spirituality) in the Australian contexts was never monchrome. From the earliest days of white settlement ministers, often intuitively and heroically, went about the business of the care of souls in ways appropriate to their different cultural and church contexts. They were not always successful (ministry is a difficult business), but the work was done. The story Dr Cronshaw tells is careful, interesting and insightful, but never simply of a kind of antiquarian interest (this is what happened). Along the way he invites the reader to reflect critically on his traditions - the common Christian tradition as well as his individual denominational tradition, the usually overlooked or ignored religious/spiritual dimension of Australia's history, the present cultural kaleidascope of contemporary Australia, and to engage in an ongoing conversation with this history, these cultures, and the Bible."

-DARRELL PAPROTH

Lecturer in history and culture at the Bible College of Victoria

"Credible Witness is a product of the millennial coming of age of Australian mission theology represented by the 2005 Australian Missiology Conference at Whitley College and Frost and Hirsch's internationally recognised The Shape of Things to Come. It is also a product of the personal credibility of Darren Cronshaw as a pastor-evangelist-missiologist, an exemplar of many of the mission models he so freshly describes. I've seen Darren up close - he walks the talk. For anyone walking the way of mission in Australia who is after a wise and good companion, who listens and tells great stories, Darren will help you to talk the walk, and think and feel it too.

I always read acknowledgments to see what community has produced a book. Darren is more explicit than most heading it less formally 'Good Friends and Groups to thank', but influences appear throughout. Study and teaching at both BCV and Whitley, where he has been well-mentored give him a well-rounded missional theology. This is a revised version of his D.Min thesis but fortunately doesn't read like one. Other groups like Forge, Community of New Hope, UNOH (Urban Neighbourhoods of Hope), his Baptist pastorates and Zadok where Darren is a prolific part of our editorial group, have also played a part.

Cronshaw brings to this book vast reading, considerable experience in mission here and overseas, humility, honesty and imagination in trawling theology and Australian history and mythology for new models and metaphors of mission that resonate with the raw reality of the Australian landscape and spiritual quest. The book seeks to come up with a 'fair dinkum' mission theology in Frank Rees' terms. It seeks to connect the credibility of Christ with signs of spirituality beneath the surface of the apparent hard-bitten secularity of Australians that overseas visitors like Stanley Hauerwas comment upon. In doing so it seeks a radical middle beyond the naieve 'gumleaf theology' of the 70s and 80s and the cynical secular 'God is dead and has been replaced by 10,000 social worker models of mission.

Darren's method, like Avery Dulles' Models for the Church or Donald Messer's Contemporary Images for Christian Ministry is to pick on various metaphors that arise out of different periods of Australian history. He does this carefully and in a nuanced way so that it doesn't feel like the history has been put onto a Procrustean bed and had its legs chopped off.

The chapter titles and attached dates give you the backbone: '1. Spiritual Companions for the Journey - Indigenous peoples and the land, pre-1788; 2. Chaplains for Convicts - . and hell on earth, 1788-; 3. Shepherds for Settlers - Bushmen and mates, 1836-; 4. Advocates for the Marginalised - Eureka and other protestors, 1851-; 5. Servants for the Needy - Nationhood and Anzacs, 1901-; 6. Hosts for a Multicultural Community, 1966-. There is also a short appendix on 'Australian Theology'. Cronshaw puts plenty of attractive flesh on the bones while avoiding both black armband and white blindfold versions of Australian history.

Darren's writing is clear and crisp, full of spicy quotations and edifying, everyday prayers, reflections and stories without being pious. Darren drinks from a large number of wells in mission theology but with his own divining rod. My main quibble would be that in his openness to general revelation ala Rom 1:20 and Acts 17 as a basis for contextualised connection to Australian spiritual seekers that he doesn't take up sufficiently Paul's critique of the suppression of truth that takes place through human idolatry. Therefore we need not only connecting with our context but correcting of it in the light of the rainbow-coloured biblical images of God mission in Christ. This aside, it's a good read, a good feed for Australian souls, and something to which Australians who only correct, or connect with only one image or historical model of mission, should take heed in seeking a more holistic perspective on mission."

-GORDON PREECE

Director, Macquarie Christian Studies Institute (http://www.mcsi.edu.au) and Zadok Commissioning Editor.

"Darren Cronshaw brings alive the stories of credible witnesses to the grace of God as they journey alongside Jesus in Australia today. The witnesses we encounter in this book are always companions along the often rugged way; they are frequently prophets advocating for those who are forgotten; but most of all they offer overflowing hospitality that mirrors the indiscriminate invitation of God for all humanity to join in the Divine feast. Sadly, Darren's story is told in the midst of the confusion and anxiety that, in many places, is strangling the Christian celebration of Divine generosity.

Darren invites us to join other radical disciples and dare to engage with God's presence in unexpected places. It is a challenge that is consistent with our story as Australians of colonial heritage, and is even more relevant to those of us whose indigenous heritage has always told us of God's eternal presence as life-giving Spirit. It is an invitation to be truly ourselves and to help others to find themselves also. It is an opportunity to identify any pretence or avoidance that distances us from God's truth in order to find acceptance within structures that can only let us down in the end.

Darren has disclosed much of himself, and of his personal faith journey into mission. What emerges is not a theoretical dream, but a true reflection on his engagement in the task of discipleship, both at home and in distant places. I encourage you to enter the journey with Darren by reading this book, and then to share it with your companions on the road so that the missional hospitality of God will be celebrated amongst us even more."

-MERRILL KITCHEN

Principal and Lecturer in New Testament Studies, Churches of Christ Theological College,

"Credible Witness is a must read for everyone who is involved or interested in mission in an Australian context. Darren Cronshaw has gathered so much of the history of Christian spirituality in our country and from that perspective proposes exciting options for our day using a range of missional types.

The book draws on a very wide range of literature and therefore provides an excellent resource in regard to religious history and presents it in such a readable style that the reader becomes engrossed in the subject material.

The missional and cultural aspects are thought provoking, challenging and encouraging and although I found myself at times wanting to disagree, I was on most points persuaded by the logic of the presentation to revise my views. Reading Credible Witness was a very enjoyable experience and I recommend it to all."

-DAVID LING

National Secretary, Apostolic Church Australia

"Mission assumes that God is present before missionaries arrive. God uses people in fulfilling his work. God's creation is obvious. In addition, he has revealed something of himself to all people. The mind and heart of people - consciously or unconsciously - hungers for their fulfillment in God. God is also present in aspects of people's cultures.

In Acts 17:23, the Apostle Paul declares that the inscription "To an unknown god" on an altar was the basis to proclaim the Gospel. The second coming of Jesus Christ, acknowledged by Muslims, gives a superb entry to present the Gospel to them. The Chinese word for righteousness comes from two characters. The top is the figure of a sheep. Underneath is a picture of me. What a wonderful description of the Lamb who gives me righteousness. Every culture gives us clues how to be a credible witness.

Is God also in aspects of Australian culture? Darren Cronshaw says "Yes". This excellent book looks at Australian culture and suggests different methods of mission for local churches in Australia. Each method is faithful to the Bible, yet is authentically Australian"

-IAN HAWLEY

Pastor, Swanton Street Church of Christ

"The churches need models of mission that are at home in Australia." This statement (on page 99) neatly sums up the thrust of Darren Cronshaw's book Credible Witness. He has combined his knowledge of Australian history and sociology with a biblical understanding to produce helpful models to guide Christians in making meaningful connections between contemporary Australian society and the Christian gospel, lived and proclaimed. The appendix on Australian Theology, which explores the interface between gospel and culture, provides a rationale for the book, as well as a pointer to resources for further exploration of the relevant issues. Darren Cronshaw rightly understands mission in a broad sense, reflecting the biblical emphasis on the kingdom of God, rather than merely in terms of evangelism. While the reader may not agree with the author's analysis and suggestions at every point, there is much profit to be gained from reading the book, especially by Christians who equate mission simply with evangelism, and exploring how the various models might be fleshed out in and through the reader's own Christian faith community context. My own understanding of mission has been challenged and informed by the book. Congratulations to Darren Cronshaw for producing a book which I hope will be read widely and which should help churches be more effective as they share with God in God's mission to "the great southland".

-PETER RALPHS

Principal, Bible College of Queensland

Australians have increasingly found it difficult to identify their national character let alone what it means to be truly an Australian Christian. This book makes a significant contribution not only in this area but also in inviting us to comprehend the message of Christ and his mission in the context of what is essentially Australian. It is factual and down to earth, acknowledging the romance of our heritage but distilling its importance in the formation of an Australian mission imperative.

The highly urban and multicultural aspects of today's Australian society require the formation of a new vision for mission and for new expressions and ways of ministry to emerge. To be authentically Aussie in mission today requires a grasp of all that has gone before and the ability to consider left-field possibilities that many have ignored in recent years. Cronshaw's research has a freshness and his presentation a vigor that latches with modern missionary methodology. It should be set reading for all engaged in mission and seeking to win Australians for Christ.

-BRIAN ROBERTS

National Director, Bush Church Aid Society of Australia

"At a time when the churches are struggling to discover how to relate the message of Jesus to our friends and neighbours, this book provides some valuable insights into the shaping of the minds of contemporary Australians. Anyone interested in seeking to share life and faith with those around them will benefit from thinking about some of the key issues that are raised in this book, as it is a primer for contextualised mission in Australia. Darren writes engagingly about the way that national historical movements provide possible keys to unlocking authentic ways to be missional in Australia today. However this is not a book that simply looks to the past - woven through the text are examples of current forms of mission and ministry, which illustrate good practice based on historical precedent, and assist us in imagining other possibilities.

As someone reading the book as an immigrant, I learnt a good deal about my adopted country, and was caused to reflect about how significant one's own cultural history is in the development of faith and spirituality. I also met many people in this book - old friends and new, as Darren brings together an amazing number of 'saints' from Brigit of Kildare to Michael Leunig, from aboriginal elders to members of his own church community. In sharing their thoughts and prayers this book becomes an inspiring devotional resource as well as a valuable exploration in mission."

-ANNE WILIKINSON-HAYES

Regional Minister NW Metro, Baptist Union of Victoria

"Darren Cronshaw is an emerging Christian voice for our country. This new, inspiring book about models for Australian mission is drawn from characters in our founding as a nation. There is no sentimentality here, but neither is their cause for total despair. God has been and is currently at work in Australia. Darren shows us how to join this God who is found on the under-side of our history and offers us an opportunity to make a new, more just history too. This is the book every-one concerned with Australia's future needs to read and take seriously. If you want to be both faithful to God and relevant to our times, then don't miss out on 'Credible Witness'."

-ASH BARKER

Director, Urban Neighbours Of Hope

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UNOH Benefit dinner & Cronshaw's book launch - Saturday November 25

Don't miss this great opportunity to catch up with the UNOH (Urban Neighbours of Hope) team over dinner, to hear about God's work in our communities and to celebrate the launch of Credible Witness.

§ When and where?- Saturday, 25 November, 6.30 pm, Springvale Community Centre, 1 Osborne Avenue, Springvale (Melway 79 K8).

§ Cost-$25, concession $15 (special deal for early bird registration).

§ Speaker-Mike Frost.

§ Book launch-Darren Cronshaw's new UNOH publication Credible Witness: Companions, Prophets, Hosts and other Australian Mission Models.

To make a booking contact Russell unoh[at]unoh.org

... You can order Credible Witness on line at http://www.unoh.org, at the book launch at the UNOH Benefit Dinner (25 November) or at Koorong.