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An Interview with Sam Allberry

Sam-Allberry

British pastor and writer Sam Allberry was in Perth recently, speaking at Credo conference. Rory Shiner caught up with him for a brief interview.

RS: This is your second trip to Australia. What impressions have you formed about Australia in general? And what (if anything) strikes you about the Christian scene in Australia in particular?

SA: With all the caveats that two visits does not an expert make, I have very positive impressions of Australia. Bill Bryson hit it on the head when he described Australia as “Baywatch with cricket.” Australians tend to have the friendliness of Americans with the self-deprecation of the Brits. The Christian scene seems to be in both an encouraging and challenging time. Being a Christian anywhere in the Western world is getting harder, and yet the widening gulf between culture and Christianity is sharpening Christian witness and fostering evangelical unity. It has been lovely to see evidence of this in Australia.

RS: What writing projects are you working on at the moment?

SA: I have just finished the final edits on “James For You” which will be out in September; I’m working on a very short book called “Why Bother With Church?” (part of the Good Book Company’s “Questions Christians Ask” series); and hope to soon start working on a book on singleness.

RS: As someone who speaks and writes about homosexuality and Christianity, what do you observe in the evangelical scene? Are we getting better at handling this issue with faithfulness and sensitively? Where do we need to improve?

SA: I’m generally encouraged. We evangelicals are increasingly aware that this is a pastoral issue within the church and not just a political issue outside of it. Churches I’ve visited want to remain faithful to what the Bible says while also being winsome to outsiders and sensitive to fellow-believers struggling with this issue at a personal level. We seem able to talk about homosexuality in far healthier ways than in the past. One of the challenges is to develop a culture where same-sex attracted Christians can flourish in our churches and where long-term singleness is not tantamount to chronic isolation and loneliness. I fear we have a very long way to go on this, and need to recover some of what previous generations of believers understood about friendship and community.

RS: What are you reading at the moment? What are you finding helpful?

SA: I tend to have a few things on the go at any one moment, and have recently picked up some great stuff. I’m just finishing Tim Keller’s book on prayer and have found it to be hugely encouraging. C. S. Lewis’s Letters have been a pleasure to read, Christopher Ash’s recent book on Job is probably the best commentary on anything I’ve ever read.

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