An Alice Springs pastor who works closely with indigenous communities says his job is “to promote THE VOICE — Jesus our Saviour.”
Daniel Spakman told Vision Radio that in regard to the proposed Indigenous Voice: “The only thing we see that works is really just the pure Gospel and just preaching about Jesus. With the indigenous and Aboriginal people being so spiritual, that’s something they relate to the most and that’s our job.”
The pastor said he’s not sure how the political Voice will work. “I don’t want to say from my perspective that it won’t help at all. But I guess there’s definitely challenges, and I’m sure this is definitely not the answer. We know that, as Christians, it’s not the answer. Jesus is.”
He and his wife Katy are senior pastors at Living Hope Church which has a mostly Aboriginal congregation, but they try to steer clear of political issues.
Pastor Spakman explained: “I’ve tried to keep a pretty open mind as far as that [the Voice] goes,” adding that most indigenous locals aren’t aware of the Voice and what it could mean for them.
He recently asked an indigenous church plant leader about the Voice and he replied he’d never heard of it.
“I think that’s pretty widespread. Probably the people who need the Voice the most, my fear is that they won’t be represented. So, I guess that’s my concern,” he observed.
“Living here for 10 years and seeing how much money is thrown at the issues, I guess the other concern is that it’s just another organisation that’s going to look like just another organisation that’s going to find it very difficult to gather a one voice as well.”
“We’ve noticed that in every community that not everyone agrees, even within the families, they don’t agree. There’s often fighting going on between different families in the communities and they don’t agree on everything.”
“God’s challenging us as well. Jesus wants us to keep our eyes fixed on Him. Tuned in with his heart because all of these things around us really won’t matter at the end of the day anyway. What matters is whether we are following Him, whether we are going for the pearl of great price. Are we seeking Him? Are we devoting our lives to Him?”
“I feel like that’s really the challenge at any stage of our Christian walk. He’s our greatest reward. His salvation is our greatest gift and miracle. We’re all in need of salvation. We’re all in need of this perfect Saviour.”
To listen to the full interview, click the link below:
