Peter Robert
Green
Peter Green has been pastor of Marrickville
Baptist Church since 4. February 1984.
FAMILY
Peter is married to Christine, a Community/Welfare
Worker with a local Christian organisation. Their four children are Luke,
Joshua, Naomi who works in customer service and is studying Arts at Sydney
University, and Hannah, who is studying Rehabilitation Counselling at Sydney
University. Both work casually at nearby supermarkets. Born at Fairfield,
NSW in 1946, Peter is the elder of two children.
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Luke is a harpsichordist
currently studying at the Royal Academy of Music in London. He is married
to Yvonne.
Joshua is a Windows NT network
engineer and married to Helen.
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Peter was converted at
an Open Air Campaigners street meeting on Sunday 8 July 1962.
Significant factors in his early
Christian growth included Christians he met at Outward Bound in 1964 and
involvement in Scripture Union Family Missions (Children's Special Service
Missions) from 1964 to 1969.
God's call first came while walking
to work one morning around March 1964.
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FAITH AND CALLING
Peter was not raised in an actively Christian
family, but attended weekly Methodist Scripture Classes at school.
Aged 14, he first "came under conviction" through
one of these classes, however took no action at that time.
Early in 1962, he was invited, with his brother
and mother, to a baptism at Fairfield Baptist Church. The people were welcoming,
so he remained. In mid-1962 he surrendered to Jesus as Lord and Saviour.
In 1964 he was praying for God's directions in
life. He felt he had little interest in or aptitude for his engineering
studies.
God suddenly seemed to say, "Full time ministry."
-- An unattractive option for a stammerer! Would he have to be a missionary
-- the kind who does the books in a grass hut with spiders and snakes in
the walls while someone else preaches and teaches? Worse still (for a 17-year-old)
he was sure that the grass hut would be too small to fit him, his work
and girls!
However, if it were God's will, he was prepared
to do it... as long as God confirmed the call through someone else. That
seemed safe. He was curious about the outcome of this strange event, and
determined to say nothing to anyone.
That Sunday, the Pastor bailed him up at the door.
"Peter," he said, "I believe you have pastoral gifts, so I want you to
help me in following-up visitors."
Several years followed in which he gained experience
and confidence. Convinced that he was called to a pastoral ministry, he
began preaching without excessive stammering.
However a 1968 application for admission as a
ministerial candidate was rejected because he didn't seem sure of his calling.
This left him confused and uncertain.
In 1970, he and Christine married, and with children
arriving, dreams of ministry dimmed, but never entirely disappeared.
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EDUCATION AND EMPLOYMENT
Leaving Certificate (Parramatta High School)
1963
Part-time engineering studies (University
of NSW) 1964-5.
Consulting civil engineers (March - June
1964)
Fairfeld Municipal Council (1964 - 1969).
Although still working as an engineer, he had
found a calling to ministry. Failing maths in 1965, he ceased engineering
studies, but stayed with the Council.
Application for the ministry
rejected 1968
Holroyd Municipal Council (adjoins Fairfield
area) 1969 - 1982.
Evening Arts Degree (Sydney University,
1970 - 75): to become better equipped for ministerial training. Majors
in English and German, with additional units in History and Philosophy.
While working at Holroyd Council, he developed
an interest in Town Planning and, when the opportunity arose in September
1972 to transfer into the Town Planning Section, he made the move.
Local Government Certificate Examinations
in Town and Country Planning (1976 /1977).
Masters Degree in Town and Country Planning
(Sydney University, 1978 - 1981) Special interest in planning control mechanisms,
majors in Planning Law and control of non-traditional uses in residential
zones.
In 1982 he commenced work at Bankstown Council
as Senior Development Control Planner. |
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Depressed for some time due to inability to achieve
goal of ministry. Conflicts late in 1982 confronted him with the need to
make a choice about the ministry. A late application was accepted by the
Baptist Union. A range of "impossibilities" then occurred leading to his
entry to Morling College at the beginning of 1983 as an accepted Ministerial
candidate.
In 1984, he was assigned to Marrickville as student
pastor, and he has been there ever since.
Because the church periodically struggles financially,
he has several times worked part-time. He lectured in Church History at
Morling College for part of 1987, edited The Australian Baptist
from 1989 to 1992, and has worked intermittently doing market research
telephone interviewing. He also recently lectured for a term on the origins
of English at a local community college.
Early in 1999 he invited M B C to make him redundent,
to continue as honorary pastor from July. This was a trigger for the church
to become Silver Street Mission to affirm its mission focus and openness
to all people in the sphere of its ministry. In late 1999 he worked as
part-time Donor Database administrator for African Enterprise, then
returned to market research. Since early May 2000 he has been involved
in database work with the market research company.
He has a special interest in Revivals, both from
an historical point of view and from having experienced, on two occasions,
a special move of God's Spirit among groups of Christians. |
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