Australian History
The National Baptist Fellowship 2010 (Brisbane)
The Independent Baptist’s largest annual convention has been taking place this week in Brisbane. I’m really glad to see that it’s being live streamed. I almost went this year but my budget and schedule conspired to strangle the life out of that idea. But I wanted to share a few thoughts: First, some would view [...]
Evangelical Christianity (From the End of the 19th Century to the Present)
Recently, a friend was asking me about modern church history. By the time I’d finished explaining bits and pieces of it, I had the broad scheme of Evangelical Christianity over the last century—at least my take on it—scribbled on a scrap of paper. Discerning that there could be value in graphing the history of modern [...]
Church History & the independent churches in Australia
I would like to discuss church history within the context of the independent church movement from a historian’s perspective. Independent churches (by nature of their definition) are not connected to formal denominations. What this means is that the pastoral emphasis is usually on historical personalities or thematic developments correlated to the Bible. Without association, independent [...]
Good Books
I once read a survey which listed top books recommended by evangelical leaders. It was fascinating to discover which books had influenced the minds of great pastors and leaders. Theological titles comprised most of the list, while some were biographical or fictional. Have you ever considered what books have impacted you? I browsed the bookshelves [...]
Australia: A New History of the Great Southern Land
Why do we celebrate Australia Day? Based on a 2006 federal survey of 10,000 Year 10 students and 10,000 Year 6 students, more than three-quarters of Australian teens did not know that Australia Day commemorates the First Fleet’s arrival and British settlement. (but YOU knew that, right?) If you have only a basic or faded knowledge [...]
Our Country, Our Responsibility
Revival in Australia, Part Four By Jason Harris This brief series on revival in Australia has not been an overview, but merely a few brief windows into the rich spiritual heritage of our nation. We could yet talk of the great evangelistic works of Lionel B. Fletcher and John G. Ridley, of Chapman and Alexander [...]
A Hunger for God’s Word
Revival in Australia, Part Three By Jason Harris The glowing evangelistic days of Torrey and Alexander’s Melbourne mission in 1902 were not one-off events. There were many campaigns held around the country. One of the most notable was held in 1909 when Charles Alexander returned to Australia, this time with J. Wilbur Chapman. Chapman was [...]
The Great Melbourne Mission
Revival in Australia, Part Two By Jason Harris It was in April of 1902 that R. A. Torrey, the well known Bible teacher and successor to D. L. Moody in Chicago, held his great Melbourne Mission. The churches of Melbourne had been a long time in preparing for the meetings. Their organisation was so strong [...]
Do It Again, Lord. Please. Do It Again.
Revival in Australia, Part One By Jason Harris When I was in Bible college, I lived in a suburb of Wollongong nestled on the heights leading up to Mount Kembla. Every time I walked out the front door, there she was, that mountain peak just begging me to climb her. So one day I did. [...]
Martyrs of Australian Missions
By Jason Harris It has been said that the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church. Most Christians are familiar with the great British and American missionary martyrs of previous centuries, but perhaps less familiar are the martyrs of Australian missions. The first Australian missionaries to plant their blood in the seedbed [...]
