Greg J Clarke

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Greg Clarke
Greg Clarke mid shot credit Richard Smead (cropped).jpg
Clarke in 2019
Born (1969-01-19) 19 January 1969 (age 55)
Sydney, Australia
Alma mater University of NSW (B.A.(Hons)), University of Sydney (PhD)
Occupation(s)Education director, Charity leader
Employer Leprosy Mission Australia
TitleCEO
SpouseAmelia Haines
Children5

Gregory James Clarke is an Australian writer, academic and CEO. Since 2023 he has been the CEO of The Leprosy Mission Australia. Previously he has held roles leading research centres at University of New South Wales and Macquarie University and faith based media companies, such as CPX before moving to the leadership role at Bible Society Australia. A research academic in English literature, Clarke is a frequent newspaper contributor and the author of several books, largely on the intersection between faith and culture.

Contents

Early life and education

Clarke's spent his early childhood in western Sydney, living in Greystanes and part of a strong Anglican community in Wentworthville. [1] His father's career as an educator saw the family move frequently, so from age 8 he lived in Armidale, moving to Moree at age 14. [2] [1] Clarke did his high school years here, under his father, who was the school's deputy principal. [2] [1] Clarke describes the period of being formative, realising that in a new town he was free to reinvent himself, only to discover he still shared the same Christian faith of his parents. [3] In his HSC year, he was named regional Young Writer of the Year by The Sydney Morning Herald . [4]

Academic life suiting him, Clarke took research, teaching and leadership roles at several Australian universities and colleges. [5] At the University of New South Wales, Clarke studied English literature under the literary biographer, Professor Peter Alexander. [6] [3] A resident of New College, he won the university's 1991 English Society Prize and the Alumni Scholarship, enabling him to complete his honours year. [7] Clarke was Senior Tutor at the college from 1994 to 1996, and credits this time for the his subsequent leadership roles, particularly in arts and education. [8] [9] He began doctoral research at University of Sydney, with some course work at Moore Theological College, on Australia's only Nobel Prize winner, Patrick White, the writer's struggle with the Christian faith, and his nuanced idea of Eschatology. [10] [11] Clarke received an Australian Postgraduate Award for this research and he was awarded his PhD in 2001. [12] [10] This period saw several pieces of his poetry, short stories and reviews published in Australian literary journals, including Studio,Idiom and Southerly. [13] [14] [15] [7]

Media and think tanks

In an interview, Clarke has said his goal has been to see Christian faith communicated in public contexts. [16] Now outside formal academic settings, he joined the start-up Matthias Media, creating apologetics content, and eventually becoming the Managing Editor. [17] [16] In 2003 he was made the Director of the Centre for Apologetic Scholarship and Education, based out of New College. [18] This was followed by leadership of the larger Macquarie Christian Studies Institute in 2007 to 2008. [19] In these two roles, much of the work was, unexpectedly, prompted by the popularity of the book The Da Vinci Code , followed by the film, which challenged traditional Christian beliefs. [20] It led to lectures on university campuses, presentations interstate, along with the first of many appearances on ABC radio, along with a book. [20] [21]

In 2008, Clarke launched the Centre for Public Christianity with John Dickson, later handing on the leadership to Simon Smart. [22] [23] [24] A research and media group, CPX was established by a grant from Mission Australia to promote the public understanding of the Christian faith. [25] [19] [26] An early mover on podcasting and YouTube, the centre enjoyed endorsements from high-profile Christians such as Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, producing content that included interviews of noted intellectuals such as John Lennox and David Bentley Hart. [25] [22] With this platform he became a public speaker at conferences and events, authored over 200 articles and reviews in such as ABC, Eternity News and The Sydney Morning Herald. [27] [28] Again, much of this activity was prompted by the popularity of an anti-Christian book, in this case The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins, and the rise of what became known as New Atheism. [29] [30]

Charity and arts leadership

Bible Society Australia

In 2010, the businessman Richard Grellman, was given the task of creating Bible Society Australia from its six state-based movements. [31] His board appointed Clarke to the newly created position of CEO later that year. [32]

Clarke led several corporate acquisitions in the role, including the retail group Koorong, Acorn Press, Eternity News and the think tank he had co-founded, CPX. [17] He served in the role for nine years, by which time donations and bequests had risen to $12.1 million, the highest level since nationalisation. [33] [34] By the time he handed leadership to Rev Melissa Lipsett, the organisation had 407 staff, 1271 volunteers funded by total revenues of $55 million, with $9.2 million tagged for scripture distributions and missions in Australia and globally. [33] [35] [36] Clarke launched a digital campaign delivering 25-word Bible readings was able to engage 2,500 separate church communities in 2014. [37]

During this period of leadership, notable projects include the translation and publication of the Kunwinjku Shorter Bible and the Pitjantjatjara Audio New Testament for Indigenous Australians, which were both completed by 2019. [36] In that year, the group gave out 90,000 scriptures through grants to Australian chaplains working in schools, prisons, hospitals, and the Australian Defence Force. [38] At the global level, the Australian Bible Society had delivered the Maumi New Testament for local people in the Tailevu Province of Fiji. [38] Clarke had championed a partnership with the Amity Printing Company in Nanjing. [39] [40] Under this program, Bible Society Australia provided free paper for the printing of 1.4 million Bibles. [36] [41] Noted media productions from Clarke's time include the documentary "For the Love of God" shown on ABC series Compass; Mr Eternity, the first published biography of Arthur Stace and Our Mob, God's Story where 66 Indigenous Australian artists contributed Bible stories in visual form. [38] [42] [43]

Much of Clarke's work from this time was advocacy against "Biblical illiteracy" which gave Clarke media exposure, notably on ABC platforms. [44] [27] This came, in part, from the publication of The Great Bible Swindle where Clarke made the case that if education systems don't include the Bible, people will never be able to understand Shakespeare, the art of Leonardo da Vinci, the lyrics to U2 songs or The Simpsons . [11] [45] The book was named Australian Christian Book of the Year for 2014. [46]

Australian Institute of Music

Clarke served as the CEO of the Australian Institute of Music, Australia's largest tertiary music education school, from 2020 to 2022. [32] [47] Taking the role just as COVID-19 hit Australia, Clarke walked into "a silent music school." [22] As such, his role was dominated by supporting the rollout of the group's digital transformation. [22] [48]

The Leprosy Mission Australia

Beginning in 2023, Clarke has served as the CEO of The Leprosy Mission Australia. [49] [50] [51] A Christian charity based in Melbourne, it currently attracts funding from Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade for its work in the treatment and support of around 200,000 people who are diagnosed with leprosy. [52] [51] While connected to the global ministry The Leprosy Mission International, as of 2024 the Australian group funds projects in around 20 countries, including India, Nepal and Nigeria. [53] When interviewed by ABC radio, Clarke set the group's goals as being: zero transmission, zero new disability, zero discrimination, with the disease being "eliminated from the world after 4000 years of terror and suffering." [9] [51] [53] He has openly connected the work with its Biblical roots, that, "As we care for those who are the most rejected and outcast, we are Christ-like.” [51]

Personal life

Clarke is married to Amelia Haines, a medical doctor and podcast host. [54] [11] Together they have five children. [55] [11]

Selected works

Books

Dissertation

Documentaries

Journal articles

Lectures

Related Research Articles

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  33. 1 2 North, Malcolm (11 November 2019). "Bible Society Australia Financial Results for 2019" (PDF). Financial Results. Bible Society Australia.
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  37. ↑ Hatcher, Leigh (27 October 2012). "Greg Clarke- Living light". Hope 103.2. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
  38. 1 2 3 "CHAMPIONING THE BIBLE 2018–2019" (PDF). Sower: 14. 2019–2020.
  39. ↑ Lim, Anne (6 April 2018). "You can still buy a Bible in China – Eternity News" . Retrieved 17 May 2024.
  40. ↑ McEachen, Ben (23 November 2016). "Celebrating 200 years of the good book in Australia – Eternity News" . Retrieved 17 May 2024.
  41. ↑ Richmond, Kathryn (13 April 2018). "Bible shortage in China is an incredible opportunity". 96five Family Radio. Retrieved 16 May 2024.
  42. ↑ "Acorn Press | Koorong". www.koorong.com. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  43. ↑ "Indigenous artists share Christian faith through painting". ABC News. 11 March 2017. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  44. ↑ Bird, Michael F.; Euangelion (27 January 2014). "Biblical Illiteracy Is A Sign Of Ignorance Of Religion, History, Literature, And Art". Euangelion. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
  45. ↑ Holm, Neil (2012). "book reviews". Journal of Christian Education. 55 (2): 67. doi:10.1177/002196571205500209 – via SAGE Publications.
  46. ↑ Adams, David (15 August 2014). "THE GREAT BIBLE SWINDLE NAMED AUSTRALIAN CHRISTIAN BOOK OF THE YEAR". Sight Magazine. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
  47. ↑ Dodd, Tim, ed. (30 May 2019). "Margaret Noble appointed CEO of the Australian Institute of Music". The Australian .
  48. ↑ Brewster, Will (27 May 2021). "Jaxsta partners with the Australian Institute of Music". The Music Network. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
  49. ↑ "The Leprosy Mission: Responsible people". Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission. 4 June 2024.
  50. ↑ Adams, David (14 April 2020). "Conversations: Heather and Trevor Smith, 50 years with The Leprosy Mission in Thailand". Sight Magazine. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
  51. 1 2 3 4 Lim, Anne (11 October 2023). "Leprosy – didn't Jesus fix that? – Eternity News" . Retrieved 17 May 2024.
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  53. 1 2 Austin, Steve (17 April 2024). "Mornings". ABC listen. 2 hours 12 minutes on. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
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  55. ↑ McEachen, Ben (3 April 2017). "Luther, Lewis, Mary, Elizabeth, St. John: what's in a name? – Eternity News" . Retrieved 7 May 2024.
  56. ↑ "Seven screens Jesus' life". Sydney Anglicans. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
  57. ↑ Pilbrow, John (September 2011). "God, science: creation, Darwin and the end of faith". The Melbourne Anglican : 22.
  58. ↑ Clarke, Greg J.; Cameron, Andrew J.B.; Jensen, Michael P. (2009). "Toward a Christian understanding of the concept of human 'Community', with special reference to the praxis of a non-government human services delivery organisation". Evangelical Review of Society and Politics. 3 (2): 22–40.
  59. ↑ Olliffe, Vaughan (28 March 2008). "Outgrowing Religion – Centre for Public Christianity" . Retrieved 7 May 2024.
  60. ↑ Pilbrow, John (March 2018). Thirty Years of Dialogue: Science and Christian Faith in Australia. ICAST. p. 97.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
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