Rowland Croucher

Rowland Croucher (born 1937) is an Australian pastor, counsellor and author.

Early life and education

He was brought up in the Open Brethren in Sydney.[1]

Rowland Croucher graduated as a teacher from Bathurst Teachers' College; BA University of New England; LTh., Dip.RE, Melbourne College of Divinity; ordained as a Baptist pastor, NSW Baptist Theological College; Master of Education University of Sydney; (post graduate) Bachelor of Divinity MCD., Doctor of Ministry Fuller Theological Seminary.

Career

After a five-year career as a high-school teacher, Croucher began training in 1964 for the Baptist ministry in New South Wales. He worked for the InterVarsity Fellowship (1968-1970) (now the Australian Fellowship of Evangelical Students (AFES)); then pastored churches in Australia: Narwee and Central Baptist Church - both in Sydney - and Blackburn Baptist Church in Melbourne, which became a "megachurch" in the late 1970s, with seven pastors, a salaried staff of 25 and 1,000 attending; plus several interim ministries. He was then, briefly, pastor at First Baptist Church, Vancouver, Canada. From 1983 to 1991 he worked for World Vision Australia.[2]

Since 1991, Croucher has been founding director of John Mark Ministries, serving pastors, ex-pastors, church leaders and their spouses throughout Australia and elsewhere. The John Mark Ministries website, with 20,000 articles, claims to be the most accessed non-denominational religious website in Australia.[3]

In 2011, Croucher added his voice to those of other Christian leaders calling for the introduction of same-sex marriage in Australia.[4][5]

Books

  • Recent Trends Among Evangelicals, (Sydney: Albatross Books and Kent: MARC Europe, 1986; ISBNs 0 86760 025 X and 0 947697 45 4)
  • Still Waters Deep Waters: Meditations and Prayers for Busy People (Sydney: Albatross Books and Herts: Lion Publishing, 1987; ISBNs 0 86760 031 4 and 0 7459 1187 0)
  • High Mountains Deep Valleys: Meditations and Prayers for the Down Times (Sydney: Albatross Books and Herts: Lion Publishing, 1991; ISBNs 0 86760 090 X and 0 7459 1299 0)
  • Rivers in the Desert: Meditations and Prayers for Refreshment (Sydney: Albatross Books and Herts: Lion Publishing, 1991; ISBNs 0 86760 137 X and 0 7459 1709 7)
  • Gentle Darkness: Meditations and Prayers for Illumination (Sydney: Albatross Books and Herts: Lion Publishing, 1994; ISBNs 0 7324 1007 X and 0 7459 2431 X)
  • A Garden of Solitude: Meditations and Prayers for Encouragement (Sydney: Albatross Books and Herts: Lion Publishing, 1998; with bibliography and index to all five volumes in this series: ISBN 0-7324-1074-6)
  • Grow! Meditations and Prayers for New Christians (Melbourne: JBCE, 1992; ISBN 0-85819-822-3)
  • Live! More Meditations and Prayers for New Christians (Melbourne: JBCE, 1993; ISBN 0-85819-881-9)
  • The Best of GRID (with Grace Thomlinson): Leadership, Ministry and Mission in a Changing World (Melbourne: World Vicion of Australia, 1993; ISBN 1-875140-11-5)
  • Your Church Can Come Alive (Melbourne: JBCE, 1991; ISBN 0-85819-809-6)
  • Sunrise Sunset: Prayers and Meditations for Every Day of the Year (HarperCollins, 1995; ISBN 1-86371-402-2)
  • The Family: At Home in a Heartless World (HarperCollins 1995; ISBN 1-86371-389-1)

References

  1. ↑ Rowland Croucher's Story: Some childhood memories
  2. ↑ Autobiography
  3. ↑ JMM Press Release, 1 December 2004
  4. ↑ Clayton Hinds (18 August 2011), Same-sex marriage movement targeting Christians with new website, Christian Today Australia
  5. ↑ Clergy back marriage equality, Star Observer, 15 August 2011
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