So why did I choose ‘In Darkest Australia’ as a title for my new blog?

It is an allusion to William Booth’s book titled “In Darkest England and the Way Out”. It is a seminal book for the Salvation Army, which sadly most Salvationists have never read. In it Booth (or perhaps more correctly WT Stead and James Barker) set out a plan for dealing with the social and spiritual poverty of London at the turn of the 20th Century. The culmination of the plan was the creation of “Colonies over the Sea” where people would be able to move to find a new life of employment and prosperity. It was a very Victorian Era plan but it aimed to deal with the problems of a society on a societal level.

It is also an allusion to Gary Bishop’s book titled “In Darkest England and the way back in!” Bishop’s book is itself an illusion to Booth’s work. But Barker is interested in calling Christians back into the darkest neighbourhoods in England to live and minister amongst the poorest and most marginalised in English society.

Both are great books and well worth the read. I am not wanting to suggest that this blog will be as interesting or as useful as either of those two books. I am however interested in asking the hard questions and dealing with the big issues that Christians, and specifically Salvationists, in Australia in the 21st century face. Both of those books were born out of a specific context and in Australia we need to be asking specific questions regarding our unique context. Hopefully that is where my thinking will be heading, I hope you come along for the ride.