Footsteps in the Outback

Although it is unlikely that any of the stories contained in this book will ever be as well-known as Banjo Patterson’s Bush Christening, or that the author will ever reach the notoriety of the whisky flask tossing preacher, the stuff Banjo Patterson’s poem is made of is very much the context and content of ministry in general but especially of that which one finds in the Outback. The small collection of stories offered in this book will hopefully be a resource for personal reflection and a pathway into thinking about how some of our stories can help us to think more about the church in remote and isolated communities. These stories take the reader on a journey into what ministry in the Australian Outback can look like, and through moments of comedy, seriousness, surprise, tragedy and personal spiritual growth, lead the reader in an exploration of the essence of ministry that is, a life that is focused on the other and flows out of one which is lived with God and a commitment to follow Christ.