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Colouring Outside the Lines: Celebrating postgraduate work in mission and ministry

I’m delighted with the publication of Colouring Outside the Lines. Celebrating postgraduate work in mission and ministry from the Adelaide College of Divinity 2010-2014. It profiles the unique work of the postgraduate pathway of the Adelaide College of Divinity over the last five years. (Uniting College, as a member college of the ACD, provides the teaching and supervision input for the postgraduate programme).

Colouring Outside the Lines includes essays from eight students representing the ecumenical student body (five different denominations). They provide a snapshot of action-reflection at the coal face of misssion and ministry across Australasia today. Many of the insights come from “missional experiences occurring outside of church and Christian framed spaces” (Barney, 52). In other words, as these students have located themselves at an Easter community event, in a community garden, as an artist working with the stories of the silenced, storytelling at a Fringe Festival. It also includes an introduction from Rosemary Dewerse and myself, the two postgraduate coordinators during these years. This introduction, along with a short conclusion, provides an intellectual frame for what is the ‘Adelaide school’ of postgraduate mission and ministry.

For a number of years we have wanted to find ways to publish our students work. This year six of our students presented at Australian Association of Mission Studies, with three of their papers gaining publication in a book resulting from the conference. Another student was published earlier in the year in Mission Studies.

Colouring Outside the Lines, published by MediaCom, provides a lovely way to end the year. For those interested, here are the Contents:

Colouring Outside the Lines …, Steve Taylor and Rosemary Dewerse

Dangerous Questions, Justin Driscoll

But is it Church?, Karyl Davison

Coorparoo Community Garden, Yvonne McRostie

Transformative Listening as Best Practice in Re-imagining Mission, Maree Aldridge

Learning to be Lovely, Mark Dodd

Storytelling as Mission, Peter Barney

Lessons for Ministry from the Lives of Hildegard von Bingen and Eugene Petersen, Anthony Risson

Imagination and Children’s Spirituality: Invitation to a Dinner, Janet Munro

Colouring Outside the Lines: Reflection on action, Steve Taylor