Ministry in Australia

school where most pupils were migrants themselves. Then we had a talk with the minister of the Port Kembla Methodist church about their programme with migrants, and finally we visited the steel works and had an interview with their Superintendent of the Employee Services and their Welfare Officer. Other delegates had visited Newcastle and various church programmes.

During the discussions it emerged that churches both in Indonesia and Australia had been looking for a more liberating style of co-operation, more church to church, rather than mission board to mission field. Both wanted to share the decision making process. Until then it was a one-way traffic. An Indonesian church would ask an Australian church for help, and the Australian church responded with some aid or personnel, always making decisions according to their priorities. By this concept of mission, all power lay in the hands of the Australian church, and the Indonesian church was left powerless. This had been my concern when I was still in Indonesia, and I felt greatly privileged to be part of and through my own experience be able to contribute to these discussions.

We also looked at our two different family structures, which had wide ramifications on our attitudes towards one another. The strong family relationships in Indonesia resulted in an acceptance of responsibility for all members of the extended group, providing social security and a style of life which placed high value on adjustment to other points of view and at arriving at consensus. This developed into a general attitude which was seeking to see the nation as one family engaged in one task. The emphasis was therefore, on "both and".

In contrast, Australian society was dominated by the nuclear family, individualism and individual possessiveness with a strong tendency to be more interested in "either/or" than "both and" issues.

The view of the family appeared to influence also the view taken of 'development'. The word in Indonesian is pembangunan or building/constructing, with the emphasis on the goal, that which will benefit all, whereas in Australia the stress is on the release of growing power, serving more the individual. The very strong competitiveness of Australian society seemed to be producing an attitude of ruthlessness toward other people and their opinions. Rather than discuss seriously different ideas, Australians tend to 'rubbish' others. This was seen by Indonesians as arrogant, paternalistic and domineering. They also saw that the churches didn't challenge the values of the acquisitive society, nor did they help people to face and make changes.

Our discussions led to a recommendation that the mission of the church in both countries would be greatly enhanced by the establishment of an Indonesia Australia Mission Group (IAMG). It was hoped that this group would become a forum where decisions were taken jointly.

These were high ideals, but the structure of the Australian churches didn't allow for a smooth development of this concept. It might have

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