When I first sought to undertake higher-level study on the topic of hearing Godâs voice, I prayed for divine guidance on the matter. It seemed a logical thing to do, given the nature of the pursuit and the clear Spirit directives Iâd experienced previously. But after weeks of dogged prayer, no grand revelation was forthcoming. Instead, I found myself consulting my inner circle. âOf course, you should do it,â said one. âItâs a no-brainer,â said another. While God never did speak specifically about my quest, my friends had got it right â as they so often do. It is to them I owe my greatest gratitude for this book. These âfriends like familyâ â Anita Pahor, Peter Wallis, Claire Cowen and Tara Reid â have been my conversation partners from the beginning, listening to me for hours while I tested my ideas. I am forever grateful for their patience, encouragement and input.
Further thanks go to the God Conversations Leadership team members, Dave Crafts and Vicki Clarke, as well as my ever-faithful Executive Assistant Jenny Snook and the wider gc team, Erica Vakis, Emma Rutland, Ali Kennedy, Aaron âRuffyâ and Steph Polenz. A final round of thanks goes to those who have hosted me when Iâve sat buried in my books in their guest rooms in between overseas ministry gigs: Pernille and Andreas Liland, Ian and Jane Long, Peter and Annette Sewell and Emma and Woz Parker.
Another round of gratitude is extended to my formal conversation partners through the doctoral program at Harvest Bible College and Alphacrucis College. To Brendan Roach who labored so faithfully to bring the vision of higher education to the Pentecostal world; to my primary supervisor Jon Newton who enthusiastically embraced my topic from the beginning and faithfully rode the bumps along the way, and to my associate supervisors â Angelo Cettolin, whose quiet reflections were always profound â and Darren Cronshaw, who came in at the latter stages to whip the project into its best methodological shape.
Along the way, I have benefitted from the feedback of various academics. Thank you to Craig Keener, Mel Robeck, Scott Ellington, Frank Macchia, D.J. Konz, Mark Hutchinson, Matthew Del Nevo, Jon Ruthven and Wolfgang Vondey for patiently listening to this passionate Australian who is so committed to understanding Godâs personal communiqués. A special mention to Mark Cartledge whose question of âso what?â to the academy I echo and whose early encouragement and insight was invaluable. To Philip Hughes for his generosity in sharing his sociological expertise (who knew statistics could hold so much interest?) and to undoubtedly the best librarian in the world, Kerrie Stevens for
To my readers, I pray the message of this study will bring greater fruitfulness of the Spirit in your life and among those with whom you come into contact. May we all learn to recognise Godâs voice more clearly in our lives and in doing so, find the courage to follow.