Stuart Robinson interviews Gavin Poole, on staff at Trinity Episcopal Church, Dallas, Texas.

“You can take a man out of the Shire but you can’t …”, well, you know how it goes. Gavin Poole grew up within earshot of Cronulla beach. His dad was a keen surf-boat rower who also loved to take his two sons sailing on Sydney Harbour.
Gavin recalls the time when a friend in Caringbah Primary brought a Bible to school. This friend read sections aloud to Gavin and explained the gospel. “I wanted to be a Christian but never really knew what to do about it”, he recalled.
I asked Gavin how he came to a clear understanding of God’s love for him in Christ. Here’s what he said.
“When I was 18, my favourite pastime was drinking with my mates at the local pub. One of my friends began attending Sylvania Anglican church. He told us that it was full of nice girls. We were very keen to follow through on this piece of information. I’d often go to the pub on Sunday afternoons and then straight to church, reeking of alcohol!
The congregation was very gracious. They befriended me and accepted me for what I was. I went looking for girls and found the Lord Jesus. Actually he found me. My father’s death, when I was 19, forced me to think about eternal life. The gospel was such good news to me.
Gavin now serves on the staff at Trinity Episcopal Church in Dallas, Texas. Gavin gives us a snapshot of life and ministry in what is locally referred to as the ‘buckle’ in Bible-belt, USA.

SR:  Five Poole’s abroad?
GP:  Right. I’ve been married to Bron for nearly nine years. Bron spent her early life in Fiji. Her parents were missionaries. We now have three children. Tom (5) was born in Australia and our two girls, Emma (3) and Sophie (1) were born in Dallas. Tom and Emma have slight American accents.

SR:  You had a successful career in sales and marketing, why full-time ministry?
GP:  Well the fact is that whilst I really enjoyed my work, it was not my passion. My real joy in life was sharing the gospel. I was encouraged by my local church to consider full-time ministry. It was the right decision.
My first posting was to St. Phillip’s, Turramurra South where I was responsible for youth, school Scripture, and young adults. Max Boys, the rector, has become a father in Christ to me. I was also privileged to be assisted in my preaching by Mike Raiter who was involved there at that time.

SR:  And Dallas?
GP: As it happened Bron and I were praying for an opportunity to serve in the States. I thought that I might be able to offer a Reformed, evangelical ministry in a denomination (the Episcopal Church, USA) plagued by liberalism and decline. Anyway we received a letter from Bishop Barnett about six months later. He had a friend, Bill Lovell, who wanted a Sydney evangelical to share in his Dallas-based ministry. Within 24 hours the deal was underway.
Dallas/Fort Worth is an extremely progressive ‘metroplex’. Many of the world’s leading corporations are based here. The work force is highly mobile and well educated. Dallas also has a huge migrant population 17 per cent of which is Hispanic. So Dallas also has a multi-ethnic flavour. Our church reflects this context. We have a Kenyan congregation that speaks English, Swahili and Kikuria. We’ve also recently begun an apartment ministry to the predominantly Hispanic sector of the city.

SR: Christianity Today magazine has described Dallas as the evangelical centre of the world.
GP:  Yes. Dallas is a very ‘religious’ city. Some 35 per cent of the population attends a church of some kind. I do fear that much of the evangelicalism in our city is shallow. The Word of Truth is not always handled with care. The Episcopal Church is a mixture of liberal and conservative elements and is predominantly Anglo-Catholic.

SR:  So where do you fit in, Gavin?
GP: I am part of a team. There are 12 in all. My main responsibility has been to plant a new congregation on Sunday evenings, ‘Trinity After Dark’. It is an informal, contemporary service. After three years we average around 35 people each week. These are men and women who would never ever attend a traditional service. Many have come to Christ through the ministry. This has been a real highlight.
I am also involved in evangelism and teaching. We are about to conclude our first ‘Christianity Explored’ course. I also teach the Moore College, ‘Introduction To The Bible’ external studies class.

SR:  Greatest challenges?
GP: A recent challenge has been to form a group within our diocese that promotes biblical authority. For me this also means working within the synod to form voting blocs. This is all very new.
Another challenge has been to convince the diocese to sign-up with the ‘Network of Confessing Parishes and Dioceses’. Many Bible-believing Episcopal Christians have been pushing hard for re-alignment since an allegedly practicing homosexual was elected Bishop Co-adjutor of New Hampshire. The general goal is to distance ourselves from such decisions and still remain within the Anglican Communion.
So this ‘network’ is the first step in the re-alignment. There is much opposition. Pray for us.