Dave Andrews

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Dave Andrews

Andrews at the Greenbelt Festival, 2006
Born May 20, 1951 (1951-05-20) (age 57)
England
Occupation writer, speaker, activist
Nationality Australian
Genres Christian theology
Subjects Christian anarchy
Literary movement Emerging church
Official website

Dave Andrews (born May 20, 1951) is an Australian Christian anarchist author, speaker, social activist, community developer, and a key figure in the Waiter's Union, an inner city Christian community network working with Indigenous Australians, refugees and people with disabilities in Australia.[1] Andrews is also a trainer for the Vision For Mission of the Uniting Church of Australia; an educator at large for TEAR Australia, a Christian international aid and development agency; a teacher for the Bible College of Queensland, the Brisbane College of Theology, and the Australian College of Ministries.[2] He is the author of five non-fiction books including Christi-Anarchy, which describes in detail his excommunication from worldwide Christian mission organisation, Youth With A Mission and calls for a total deconstruction and reconstruction of what it is to follow Jesus.[3] He has been described as a "prophet" by both Mike Riddell and Rowland Croucher.[4] Andrews is married to wife Ange and the father of two.

Contents

[edit] From West End to India

Born in England, Andrews grew up the son of a Baptist pastor in the West End of Brisbane. After spending time in Afghanistan, he went to India with his wife Ange and stayed from 1972 until 1984.[1][5][6][7] Andrews was excommunicated from Youth With A Mission by their International Council. [3][8] The reasoning, according to Andrews, was that "I was a rebel and, as an unrepentant rebel, would be summarily excommunicated," and that "it 'was what the Lord told' them to do."[8] Andrews described the aftermath as devastating: "I became suicidal because all the significant people I turned to denounced me, no one else would speak to me, and the people who had promised to protect me ended up having psychological breakdowns. One guy was taken away to an asylum."[3]

[edit] After excommunication

Andrews has stated that he and his wife committed themselves to a creative, constructive course of action and experienced "a profound level of healing" over the next five to ten years.[3] In 1975, Dave and Ange and their friends started a residential community in India called Aashiana out of which grew Sahara, Sharan and Sahasee–three well-known Christian community organisations working with slum dwellers, sex workers, drug addicts, and people with HIV/AIDS.[2][5][6][9] Present in that country at the time of the assassination of Indira Gandhi in 1984, Andrews helped protect Sikhs from the backlash that ensued through non-violent intervention.[1] David Engwicht claims that Andrews and a friend "put themselves between an armed mob and a Sikh family and saved them from certain death."[10] Andrews and his wife were forced to leave that year.[5]

[edit] The Waiter's Union

Dave and Ange returned to Australia with their daughters Evonne and Navi, they were employed by Queensland Baptist Care.[6] Dave and Ange founded The Waiters' Union as a non-formal network of spiritually minded activists who serve the homeless and the needy in the streets of West End.[1][6][7] The Waiter's Union throws a Community Meal every fortnight to which those in halfway houses are invited, and members homes have different assistance objectives and are open to people in need. It is a structureless organisation relying on mutual, rather than hierarchical, accountability.[11]

[edit] Published works

  • Can You Hear the Heartbeat? with David Engwicht. Manila: OMF Literature, 1989.
  • Building a Better World. Sutherland: Albatross Books, 1996.
  • Christi-Anarchy. Discovering a Radical Spirituality of Compassion. Oxford: Lion Publishing, 1999.
  • Not Religion, But Love – Practising a Radical Spirituality of Compassion. Oxford: Lion Publishing, 2001.
  • Plan Be. Authentic, 2008

[edit] Reviews

[edit] External Links

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d The Spirit of Things. Retrieved on 2007-12-25. “Summary: The Waiters' Union was founded as a non-formal network of spiritually minded activists who serve the homeless and the needy in the streets of West End in Brisbane.”
  2. ^ a b Dave Andrews, Christian community worker and author in Australia.
  3. ^ a b c d Mitchell, Paul (December 1999). "Christi-Anarchy". Shoot The Messenger. 
  4. ^ NCYC 2007 (Agents of Change/Perth/2007).
  5. ^ a b c Lion Hudson: Christi-Anarchy - Dave Andrews. Retrieved on 2008-01-01. “Graduated from Queensland, Australia, and went to India in 1972 with his wife Angie to set up a home for junkies, drop-outs and other disturbed people in Delhi. They subsequently founded a community for Indians, which they developed and ran until they were forced to leave India in 1984.”
  6. ^ a b c d Author of Faith-based Community Work. National Church Life Survey Research. Retrieved on 2007-01-01. “Dave Andrews was brought up in the Baptist Church. His father, Rev. Frank Andrews, was a Queensland Baptist pastor, who, with his mother, Margaret Andrews, was involved in ministries in churches up and down the Queensland coast, from Cairns in the north to Southport in the south.”
  7. ^ a b Brian Thomas (June 2002). "Stirrer For Christ". sPanz Magazine (Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa). “"I would argue that contemporary Christianity is probably the anti-Christ - totally contrary to what Christ was on about."” 
  8. ^ a b Andrews, Dave (May 2001). Christi-Anarchy. Oxford: Lion Publishing. 
  9. ^ Praxis Volume two (pdf). Retrieved on 2007-12-25.
  10. ^ Dave Andrews; David Engwicht (1989). Can You Hear The Heartbeat?. Manila: OMF Literature. “There is one thing you need to know about Dave Andrews. He is dangerous. For example, after Indira Gandhi was shot, two or three thousand people were killed in twenty-four hours in the riots that followed. Mobs rampaged through streets looking for Sikhs to murder. Dave convinced Tony, a friend , that it was their job to go out and save these Sikhs. Finding a besieged house, they put themselves between an armed mob and a Sikh family and saved them from certain death. That's why Dave Andrews is dangerous. He is ordinary, yet believes ordinary people should take extraordinary risks to confront the cruelty in our world.” 
  11. ^ RealChange. Retrieved on 2007-12-26.