Each day when I walk or drive out from our Victorian era bluestone house, I give a nod to the statue of the legendary Baptist Rev. Joe Goble who looks out over Footscray. His love of Jesus, football and the poor has inspired my family to also be lovers and baptisers of bodies in the Maribyrnong river watershed of Melbourne’s diverse inner north-west.
As a committed, enthusiast, generalist, I have participated in the birth, death and resurrection of various expressions of missional community, underpinned largely by 15 years of participation in the Collins Street Baptist inspired Urban Seed and churches in Melbourne’s west.
I have a passion for re-sourcing Christ-centered discipleship that is creative, radically engaged with the critical social issues of our time and which is as beautiful as an ordinary life. I have been variously described as an (avant)- garden variety local pastor; a bible hack-er; a community food and cricket enthusiast and an improv-comedy bible animator.
I am an oft heckled preacher who presently pastors a ‘kooky kinda spiritual’ mob of recovering drunks, gluttons and party planning saints at People’s Place: Newmarket, (a faith community of Essendon Baptist Community Church) where I am privileged to curate The Flemington People’s Pantry; a community food salvation project of welcome, work and worship for people of many nations and faiths who are ever growing in our understanding that if you read the gospels without getting hungry you’re not paying attention!
I wish I was better at lots of things especially prayer, sleep and vacuuming church floors.
I believe:
- a good wedding should be something of an eschatalogical apocalypse…
- bible study shouldn’t suck…
- the true Spirit of cricket is not owned by the establishment and will be played at the eschaton…
- good liturgy often involves risk…
- Kernow (Cornwall), the home of my forebears, is not England and…
- that you should not put sauce on a ‘proper job’ pastie!
marcus.curnow@gmail.com
The People's Table... 
Do you play snooker? Do you have a sister, Lorinda?
Henry Purcell
Lorinda is my sister
Hi, Marcus. I just stumbled onto your blog after looking up some things about Credo and Urban Seed for my pastor. (I met you in the Fall when my hubby and I visited Melbourne for a conference he did there,and you teased me about looking for the Wiggles). Thanks for taking the time to share with me about Credo and some of your others doings. It was very inspiring, with our fledgling Love the World homeless fellowship that I told you about at Truro that’s been meeting for about a year. Look us up at http://www.trurochurch.org. 🙂 I feel like God may be meeting our need with your strength at Collins Baptist (I mean, 20 + years for Credo, that’s amazing). It doesn’t feel like coincidence that I met those at Collins while I was there. Anne Junor is coming out to stay with my family in Virginia in a few weeks and coming to a service. Would you pray for Truro to connect up with you all in fellowship? I’m praising Him for whatever happens next. S.