CWS is pleased to welcome Rev Dr Tim Pratt as the new National Director.

He writes:

Kia ora CWS whanau

I thought it worthwhile to introduce myself as the new Director of CWS, where I’m excited to share with you in our vision of a world where inclusion and diversity are respected, where human dignity, justice, access to food and housing are non-negotiables, and where we focus on proactively stewarding care for the environment and planet.

For many of us, faith forms a large part of our identity. For me, the Christian faith is where I have deep roots. During my early teenage years, the church (through a vibrant Presbyterian Bible class) became an important community for me, in that it offered refuge and a sense of family as my parents’ marriage collapsed. By my late teens, a sense of appreciation for the support offered during that time developed into a sense of indebtedness, which translated into a call toward Christian ministry. Following Baptist Theological College (Carey) I served within the church at a local and national level for around ten years. Since then, my focus has been to serve beyond church walls, where I found myself leading mature faith-based organisations through periods of transition, as they have wrestled with issues including internal conflict, loss of direction, or financial viability. Initially, this work was accomplished on a wing and a prayer until I perceived a need to return to university, where I specialised in studying, researching, and lecturing on change leadership and civil society management.

As I begin with CWS to embark on a fresh role at the intersection of faith and management, I am aware of a bunch of values that are embedded across the entirety of the Biblical narrative.

Values important to our organisation and which represent the character of the person of Jesus who postulated that God had chosen him:

“to preach the message of good news to the poor, to announce pardon to prisoners, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set the burdened and battered free, and to announce, “this is God’s time to shine!”

Similar values are articulated in the New Testament epistles, where Paul reminds the church in Galatia:

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.”

Equally, in the writings of the Old Testament the prophet Micah exhorted:

“But he’s already made it plain how to live, what to do – what God is looking for in men and women. It’s quite simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbour, be compassionate and loyal in your love.”

So, by way of introduction, it is these kinds of values that have motivated me to serve alongside you in bringing to fruition some measure of positive transformational change for people and planet.

I am very much looking forward to the opportunity of meeting with you – once I have my feet under the desk where Murray Overton has done a sterling job, and once I’ve learnt some of the ropes.

Ngā manaakitanga
Rev Tim Pratt PhD MBA Dip Theol

September 8, 2023