Inside Sydney: An Insider’s view of the changes and politics in the Anglican Diocese of Sydney, 1966-2013

Posted on November 30, 2016 
Filed under History, Sydney Diocese

inside-sydney-bbjThe Rev Canon Dr Bruce Ballantine-Jones OAM, former President, and now Emeritus Vice-President, of the Anglican Church League, has published a significant history of the Anglican Diocese of Sydney.

Inside Sydney: An Insider’s view of the changes and politics in the Anglican Diocese of Sydney, 1966-2013 is available from The Wandering Bookseller. Click on the image for ordering details.

Here are some Endorsements of the book:

Inside Sydney is an insider’s personal perspective on one of Australia’s truly representative democracies, the Anglican Diocese of Sydney. Every democracy has a political dimension and Canon Bruce Ballantine-Jones participated in that democracy at every level for half-a-century. Here are the mature reflections on his experience, an analysis of how the Diocese works and why it does not and cannot work.

A lifelong lover and player of the political game, he must have been tempted, like professional politicians who write their memoirs, to engage in self-justification. But this account transcends that genre. It explains very complex machinery with exceptional clarity and never loses sight of its purpose: to support the proclamation of the gospel and to bring the people of Sydney to the new life in Christ which is the hallmark of his own life and ministry. It is essential reading for all who love the Diocese and also for those who do not love it, but need to understand it.

– Associate Professor Stuart Piggin, Centre for the History of Christian Thought and Experience, Macquarie University.

This is an important book that should be widely read and discussed among those with an interest in the Diocese of Sydney and the gospel of Jesus Christ. Inside Sydney is a substantial study of an important question: How should the considerable resources of the large and complex organisation known as the Anglican Diocese of Sydney be harnessed to serve the cause of the Lord Jesus Christ? It is not the last word on its subject, nor is it indisputable in its conclusions, but it does offer an ‘insider’s’ account of events from 1966 to 2013, through which the author draws his conclusions, both critical and constructive.

Those who know BBJ will not be surprised to find the book honest (at times frankly so), very well informed (the author was directly involved in much of this story), generous (where critical judgements are made there is also a warm recognition of positive qualities and contributions) and engaging. I highly recommend this book.

– Dr John Woodhouse, Former Principal Moore Theological College, Sydney.

Few developments in the Anglican world have been more significant and yet less widely understood than the remarkable growth and expansion of the Sydney diocese over the past half-century. This book offers us an eye-witness account of what has happened and an assessment of what it might mean for the future of the Anglican Church in Australia and in the wider world.

It is to be hoped that the publication of these memoirs will encourage others to share their insights as well, so that friends and observers of the Sydney scene will have a deeper understanding of the many forces at work that have produced this remarkable turn of events.

– Gerald Bray, Director of Research, Latimer Trust, London.

Available from The Wandering Bookseller: Inside Sydney: An Insider’s view of the changes and politics in the Anglican Diocese of Sydney, 1966-2013.

See also this interview with Bruce Ballantine-Jones, “Gospel Ministry and Church Politics: What’s the Connection?”