Can you share with us how you came to know God and became a Christian?

God and the Christian life were an important part of my juvenile environment. When I was growing up our family had a devotion with Bible reading and prayer each evening and this reinforced the family’s standard of conduct. In addition, a church met in our home at Fairfield and then Heidelberg each Sunday afternoon with about 15 participants. When a congregation began meeting in West Footscray on the other side of Melbourne in 1955, we also travelled there each Sunday evening to join with them. There was never any pressure from family for me to become a Christian, but I obviously thought about it a great deal, and made my own decision to respond to Jesus when I was 11 years old.

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You’re familiar with much of the history of non-denominational Churches of Christ in Australia. What significant developments do you observe within these churches, especially in the last 35+ years after the heyday of the 1970s-1980s when we had a considerable number of teachers and preachers from the US?​

After rapid growth in the 1960s and 1970s, there was slow growth in the 1980s, and slow decline in the 1990s. Since then, there has been slow growth. This growth appears to be more in some of the capital cities rather than in the country. The number of full-time teachers has declined markedly since last century, but the effect of this has perhaps been partially offset by increasing teaching opportunities at camps, seminars, lectureships, and similar special events.

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You trained at Macquarie School of Biblical Studies and later became its principal for many years. What benefits do you see in having such a training program in Australia? With MSOBS no longer operating, what can help replace it?​

I have always advocated that each church needs to be involved in training. When I was with the school, we often mentioned that our aim was not to provide the training needed for the whole country and we knew we couldn’t do that even if we wanted to. At the local level churches need to emphasise that God wants everyone to discover and develop their talents. All members can encourage each other to identify and develop their skills. Training programmes which utilise online training for a wider audience could be used, although face-to-face instruction should not be abandoned since obviously most people becoming Christians can be greatly helped and encouraged by in-person teaching, and this also applies to Christians growing in Christ.

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You’ve recently been appointed as one of three shepherds at the Macquarie Church of Christ in Sydney – in the congregation’s first ever eldership. What are some of the key challenges you see in that role?​

One challenge is to avoid the sense of developing a hierarchy in the congregation, as was the case in Roman society. Jesus warned against this (Luke 22:24–28). Perhaps this is why God used the common term ‘elder’ (an older person) to describe such men when lots of terms denoting authority could have been used. Many religious bodies have a whole pyramid of titles which tend to separate people rather than unite them. Another challenge is not to regard the appointment of elders as a final step but rather one step in the continuing maturity of the church. Future deacons and elders need to be part of the thinking of current elders, and indeed the whole congregation. One major challenge is providing help, through example and teaching, for the whole congregation, in order to develop unity and growth. All brethren need to see that the elders are interested in them and in the valuable role of each person in the church.