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Living for Shalom
The Story of Ross Langmead
Foreword by Alison Langmead
Imprint: Wipf and Stock
Ross Langmead will be remembered as one of Australia's leading missiologists, having established his credentials as a young man in founding Westgate Baptist Community after writing a report on the struggling churches in the west of Melbourne. His distinguished academic and teaching career led him to join the faculty at Whitley College until his death in 2013. He will also be remembered for his seventies folk group, Daddy's Friends, and the songs of love and justice he wrote over forty-five years that are still sung today. This biography starts with his missionary family upbringing and traces the influences that shaped his passion for sharing Jesus with the urban poor. He was a key player in the radical discipleship movement in Australia; his understanding of incarnational mission was that Christians need to be the people of God just where they are. Above all, he lived simply that others might simply live, his passion extending to ecomissiology and support for the unemployed, indigenous, and refugees. He would want this book to inspire readers to make a difference in the world.
Jeanette Woods is an Australian retired school principal with a background in education, mission, and theology. She is the author of A Voice For Veronica (2019).
“This is an affectionate, inspiring, and fluently written account of the life of Ross Langmead, a dedicated and infectious teacher and leader who turned many things upside down. It’s also a striking witness to the redemptive power of the love song that moves the earth toward healing, reconciliation, and wholeness. Very few people could have written this book. That Jeanette Woods has done so has helped us to see—see more and more—what we have loved in and learned from this good mate of a carpenter’s son.”
—Jason Goroncy, Senior Lecturer in Systematic Theology, Whitley College, University of Divinity
“Ross Langmead inspired people to feel good about doing good. An hour in his presence always made me want to be a better person. This excellent book captures the man I knew and deeply admired.”
—Tim Costello, former Chief Executive Officer and Chief Advocate of World Vision Australia