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Mark Tronson (1951 - July 2022) is an Australian Baptist pastor who established a nationwide sports and leisure ministry known as Specialised Life-Orientated Ministries (SLM), popularly known amongst Australian churches as Sports & Leisure Ministries.
Tronson was trained in theology at Morling Baptist Theological College in Sydney, 1977-1980. Following pastorates at Croydon Park and Warragamba (1979–1983), he served as a part-time industrial chaplain until 1992.
In 1984-86 he wrote a doctoral dissertation on sports mission, which earned him a PhD from Louisiana Baptist University in association with Morling College.
From 1978-1994 he was The Australian newspaper's hockey writer for Olympics, World Cups and Champions Trophies.
He founded the Sports and Leisure Ministry in 1982 and Well-being Australia in 2000.
Inspired at an international congress on sports mission in Hong Kong (1982) he pioneered the Sports and Leisure Ministry, in association with the Australian Heads of Churches. The Australian Cricket Board was the first to adopt the idea of a Sports Chaplaincy with the appointment of Tronson as their chaplain. Over the next 18 years he extended this ministry also to many other Australian professional sports associations - involving the placement of 150 chaplains - and developing networks of Christian athletes. He also arranged chaplaincies to Executive Ministries as many board members of sports were in the corporate world, also to the Entertainment, Media, and Tourism sectors.
Kevan Gosper, the Australian Olympic Committee President, invited Tronson to be a Chaplain at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. At subsequent Olympics, Tronson has appointed Australian Olympic chaplains.
In 2000 Tronson was invited to the IOC Lausanne Switzerland to assist in the development of an Olympic Villages Religious Services protocol.
Tronson has undertaken numerous study tours on sports mission, speaking at seminars and engaging in evangelism in United States, United Kingdom, South Korea, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, Israel, Turkey, Italy and France.
Sports Chaplains are well established and since May 2005, SLM has undergone significant changes and is now known as Sports Chaplaincy Australia Inc.
In 2000 due to ill health, the Heads of Churches released Tronson from the Sports and Leisure Ministry, establishing a new venture - ‘Well-Being Australia’. He continues to network with athletes, especially Australian cricketers and developed athlete respite facilities, Basil Sellers Moruya and Basil Sellers Tweed.
In 2005, Tronson was voted as one of Australia’s 25 most influential Evangelicals by the national evangelical newspaper New Life. Olympian of the Century Carl Lewis presented Mark Tronson and his wife Delma, 'Gold Medals' in February 2009 in Dallas, Texas, for their 27 years of sports and Olympic Ministry.
Tronson has also had published 16 books about his early job working with trains, including Driving Trains The Australian Way and Australian Diesel Locomotive Handbook.
The Acadia Divinity College (ADC) is Baptist theological institute located in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Canada. It is affiliated with the Canadian Baptists of Atlantic Canada. It is governed by a board of trustees with members appointed by the Convention and the Board of Governors of Acadia University. The college is also the Faculty of Theology of Acadia University.
Gordon–Conwell Theological Seminary (GCTS) is an evangelical seminary with its main campus in Hamilton, Massachusetts, and three other campuses in Boston, Massachusetts; Charlotte, North Carolina; and Jacksonville, Florida. According to the Association of Theological Schools, Gordon-Conwell ranks as one of the largest evangelical seminaries in North America in terms of total number of full-time students enrolled.
A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric, or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution, or a private chapel. The term chaplaincy refers to the chapel, facility or department in which one or more chaplains carry out their role.
Moore Theological College, otherwise known simply as Moore College, is the theological training seminary of the Diocese of Sydney in the Anglican Church of Australia. The president of the Moore Theological College Council is ex officio the Anglican Archbishop of Sydney.
The South Pacific Association of Evangelical Colleges (SPAEC) was an association of independent evangelical Bible colleges that operated from 1969 until the end of 2018. Colleges were located in Australia, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu and New Zealand.
Palmer Theological Seminary is a Baptist seminary in St. Davids, Pennsylvania. It is affiliated with the American Baptist Churches USA. It was founded in 1925 as Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary. Its parent institution is Eastern University.
Ross Richard Clifford AM is an Australian Baptist theologian, political commentator, radio personality and author. A former lawyer who later joined the ministry, Clifford became a campaigner on moral issues while a suburban Sydney pastor in the 1980s. He has served as head of several religious organisations and as an occasional media spokesperson. He unsuccessfully ran for a seat in the New South Wales Legislative Council in 2003 for the Christian Democratic Party. Until mid-2010 he had a radio program on Sydney station 2CH.
Christ College, formerly known as the Presbyterian Theological Centre, is the theological college of the Presbyterian Church of Australia in New South Wales. It provides theological education for ministry candidates and members of the laity. It is an approved teaching institution of the Australian College of Theology.
Sir Marcus Lawrence Loane was an Australian Anglican bishop. He was the Anglican Archbishop of Sydney from 1966 to 1982 and Primate of Australia from 1977 to 1982. He was the first Australian-born Archbishop of Sydney and also the first Australian-born archbishop in the Anglican Church of Australia. He was a prolific author and his works include several biographies.
Pastoral care refers to emotional, social and spiritual support. The term is considered inclusive of distinctly non-religious forms of support, as well as support for people from religious communities. It is also an important form of support found in many spiritual and religious traditions.
Rainer Michael Ratinac is an Australian former squash. He was one of the leading players on the North American hardball squash circuit in the 1970s.
Geoffrey Herbert Blackburn OAM was an Australian Baptist minister who served as Secretary and President General of the Baptist Union of Australia.
Rowland Croucher is a retired Australian pastor, counsellor and author.
A sports chaplain provides pastoral care for the sports community, including athletes, coaches, administrators and their families. In 2017, a Global Summit of Sports Chaplaincy ministries defined sports chaplaincy as “ongoing pastoral and spiritual care, by permission, to those of faith or no faith, for the holistic well-being of all involved in the community of sport.” Different sports and cultures may adopt the practice of sports chaplaincy but under different titles, such as sports mMentor, life coach or character coach. Consequently, the practical outworking of sports chaplaincy in wide in scope, but broadly fits into 5 models of delivery and is primarily a relational approach.
Intercontinental Church Society (ICS) is a global Anglican mission organisation. ICS is a voluntary Evangelical Society, a full member of the Partnership for World Mission, and therefore a recognized agency of the Church of England for overseas work through the medium of the English language. It supports ministry to people from all over the world and calls on people at home for prayer and financial support. Their current mission statement is "mission and ministry in English for everyone."
Roger D. Duke is an author, theologian, educator, itinerant preacher, and was a professor at several institutions of higher learning including Union University, Baptist College of Health Sciences, Liberty University, Memphis Theological Seminary, and Columbia Evangelical Seminary. Professor Duke also serves as a Consulting Editor for B & H Academic's Studies in Baptist Life and Thought series. He retired in 2016 to focus on a speaking and writing career by forming the Duke Consulting Group.
Morling College is a Baptist college in Macquarie Park, New South Wales. It is affiliated with the Australian Baptist Ministries. It is an approved teaching institution of the Australian College of Theology and a registered teaching institution of the University of Divinity, and is a member of the South Pacific Association of Bible Colleges. The principal is Rev Dr Tim MacBride.
Duncan Jamie Green is a British retired Anglican priest. From 2013 until retirement, he was Archdeacon of Northolt in the Diocese of London; from 2007 to 2013, he was the Church of England's Olympic and Paralympic Co-ordinator.
Silas Mead was an English Baptist minister who founded the Flinders Street Baptist Church and South Australian Baptist Association in Adelaide, South Australia, and is remembered for the missionary work in India which he inspired.
Graham Joseph Hill is an Australian theologian who is a former associate professor of the University of Divinity. He is the State Leader of Baptist Mission Australia. Hill's research focuses on World Christianity but he is also known for his work on biblical egalitarianism and women theologians of global Christianity. He has published in the areas of missiology, applied theology, and global and ecumenical approaches to missional ecclesiology.
