And the Winner is Sydney: A Short Note on Australian Evangelicalism

Today I learned a very interesting fact.

The TGC website was visited by more people from Sydney than from any other capital city in the world.

According to the TGC FB page, the top 10 most-read cities are: 

1. Sydney
2. Chicago
3. New York
4. London
5. Louisville
6. Los Angeles
7. Dallas
8. Houston
9. Singapore
10. Minneapolis

So you might be wondering who are these Sydney folks visiting the TGC site. Well, here’s a few observations:

The single largest group are the Sydney Anglicans as Sydney is the largest evangelical diocese in the world. You might know names like Moore Theological College, the Center for Public Christianity, Matthias Media, people like Peter O’Brien, Peter Jensen, Paul Barnett, and John Dickson, and the like. Sydney Anglicans are more diverse than people recognize, but generally they are strongly reformed and evangelical and normally very complementarian. Moore’s graduates and faculty spread like breeding rabbits. When I taught in Brisbane (900 km north of Sydney), I brought in three guest lecturers  to a class once – a Baptist, a Presbyterian, and an Anglican – and all three were trained at Moore. The principal of Ridley College in Melbourne, Dr. Brian Rosner, is a former Moore College lecturer. The incoming principal of the Brisbane School of Theology (Brisbane), Dr. Richard Gibson, is also a former Moore College Lecturer. Recently, Dr. Con Campbell left Moore to take up a post at TEDS in Deerfield, ILL.

Sydney is also the home of Hillsong, the Pentecostal mega-church, Australias largest church, known internationally for its music ministry (“Shout to the Lord” anyone), bitterly despised by the staunchest and crankier side of Sydney Anglicanism, and routinely criticized in the media as a money making cult. But whatever its failings (prosperity gospel, shallow lyrics to its songs), it has produced some good people, does some good ministry work,  and is a Christian force to be reckoned both nationally and internationally. It now has churches in London, Paris, and even Manhatten. For a defense of them by an insider, see Tanya Riches piece here.

The Baptists in Sydney are a mixed group ranging from Reformed to Charismatic to Missional. Morling College, I think, is largest theological college in Australia. Though that honor might also lie with Sydney Missionary Bible College, a non-denominational college that is evangelical and reformed, stacked largely with Baptists and Anglicans and other friends. Mention should also go to Macquarie University where the history department has a long history of Christian influence with scholars like Edwin Judge and Paul Barnett. It is home to the Center for the Study of Early Christianity.

Australian does not have up teen species of Presbyterianism. The Australian Presbyterians are fairly homogeneous, though ranging from big “P” Presbyterian to little “p” Presbyterian, with many who are more evangelical than Presbyterian and some who are viciously reformed. They have tended to live in the shadow of Sydney Anglicanism, but still have their own excellent college, now called Christ College, and have a fairly vibrant church planting movement.

Sydney has a number of vibrant university ministries mainly through groups like Student Life and Australian Fellowship of Evangelical Students. Indeed, the AFES produces a lot of the future leaders, esp. in Sydney Anglicanism.

The Wesley Institute, a liberal arts college, probably deserves a mention and some of the evangelical segments of the Uniting Church in Australia too. Then there are a large number of ethnic churches, esp. Chinese and Korean.

If you don’t know about the Center for Public Christianity, you should be slapped in the face with a soggy fish.

Australia is a very multi-cultural and highly secular country and so is Sydney. As a friend once told me, “Sydney is a land of self-made men who live to worship their creator!”  But despite all that, Sydney has a  relatively strong, effective, and highly influential hub of evangelical faith.

So that is “who’s who of the zoo” in Sydney. Sydneysiders will no doubt offer further correction, rebuke, and nuance to what I’ve said.

The main thing to note is that Sydneysiders, and the state of New South Wales in general, really, really suck at playing rugby league against Queensland!

NB: I lived in Sydney between 1994-96 and came to faith through the ministry of Wattle Grove Baptist Church just south of Liverpool. In addition, when under duress, I sometimes visit Sydney.