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Honest John bares warts-'n-all

JOHN McIntyre has a down-to-earth approach, SARAH HUDSON writes in the Weekly Times Now.

Not many Anglican bishops can boast a wife with tattoos and a daughter with a nose ring.

But John McIntyre, the Bishop of Gippsland, Victoria, even admits that when his son turned 18, he and his wife, Jan, gave him a tattoo.

"When we first came to Gippsland, grandmotherly-types came up to us and said if a bishop's wife can have tattoos then it must be OK for their grand-daughters," John, a father of three, says.

"When Jan met the Archbishop of Canterbury (the head of the Anglican Church), Rowan Williams, he even remarked that 'I rather like your lovely illustrations'."

It is this warts-and-all, down-to-earth honesty that has seen John become a favourite among parishioners and church leaders.

The mild-mannered man of the cloth admits he has a style that is a mix of the progressive and traditional.

"I think the best impact I can have on people is by being myself - warts and all," says John.

"I don't have a strong sense of having to give the impression that I'm good. You relate better to people if you are authentic and honest.

"I might not be seen as a traditionalist, but as a Christian, I still go back to basics, to the fundamentals of the Bible and Christ."

The path to the church was not always an obvious one for John, despite the fact that his father was an Anglican minister.

He originally wanted to study medicine, but after playing too hard in his final year of school, he ended up in science, didn't like it and dropped out.

Instead, he became a forklift driver at a Melbourne egg factory.

"I loved it, it was like a little community and I had a ball," he says. "One day the penny dropped though. I'd been involved in church activities and I thought, why not be ordained?

"It wasn't exactly a 'road to Damascus' experience - more an idea."

John studied at Ridley College for three-and-a-half years before becoming an assistant priest in Dandenong and then a parish priest in Thomastown.

The tough streets of Sydney's notorious Redfern, however, was where he earned his street cred.

For 15 years, from 1990 to 2005, he was the Redfern priest, dealing in numerous "tricky" and "gritty" situations of conflict resolution and community struggles.

He earned an Australia Day citizen of the year award for his work.

"You really do have to be yourself there because if you play any games they will be uncovered in five minutes."

John never dreamed of becoming a bishop but was asked to apply for the role and in 2006 was ordained.

He now is responsible for 30 parishes from Mallacoota near the NSW border through to Omeo, Phillip Island and East Pakenham.

John says the diminishing role of the church comes from the fact they have "lost the plot a bit".

"We have taken too much for granted and rested on our laurels for too long," he says.

"People in western society are asking more questions and not taking things for granted so much. The more materialistic we become, the less inclined we are to ask questions about the meaning of existence.

"I think the challenge now is for churches to recover their place in the public dialogue, because we have forfeited the right to be listened to."

He admits his commitment has been tested but says his faith has only grown.

"You do go up and down, mainly because it's a 24 hours a day, seven days a week job with big demands.

"But over the years my outlook has only strengthened and authenticated."

Source: www.weeklytimesnow.com.au/article/2009/04/09/68631_country-living.html