Why Martyn Iles is better off without ACL

The most interesting thing about Marty Iles was never the political campaigns the Australian Christian Lobby ran while he was the managing director of the lobby.

Not even the Israel Folau campaign that supported the footballer, but also significantly added to the ACL’s mailing list and financial support. In his farewell note, Iles states, “In terms of metrics, ACL’s annual income, supporter numbers, donors, and staff numbers have all roughly tripled.”

Iles has been a very effective strategist for ACL; he has a sound mind for campaigns and the use of social media.

Ask him his favourite work at ACL, and he would likely say his Babylon rallies – which struck me as evangelistic, the apologetics-laden “truth of it” videos, or the distribution of millions of gospels.

They would rank ahead over the failed wrangling with the dying Morrison government over the aborted religious discrimination bill or of leading a supporter base divided between vaxxers and anti-vaxxers. Or a similar divided support base with regard to the indigenous Voice.

An evangelist does not have to insert themselves into a vaccination debate. They probably should not. St Paul said, “To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some.” (1 Cor 9:22) Our polarized society makes that hard for any evangelist, and it even harder if you combine the job with political lobbying. Billy Graham learned that it was better to separate politics from gospel preaching.

Put simply, leading an organisation that needs to take sides on all sorts of political questions and likely advise people – or strongly hint – about how people should vote is not the best place to start being an evangelist. 

Many, including me, thought Martyn’s first love was evangelism. And in his farewell to ACL, he has now made that quite clear.

“The Board has reviewed ACL’s strategic direction and decided I am not the right person to lead the revised strategy, which focuses more primarily on political tactics, less on the gospel. Having heard this articulated, I absolutely agree with them that I am not the right person for that vision. I have always been a preacher first, a politician second (or third……).”

The Other Cheek understands that Martin Iles was becoming “detached” from his team – or, to put it a kinder way, he was way over on the evangelism side of things, which would have been a tad confusing for a political lobbying team. He was surprised by the Board’s move and rallied quickly, saying he leaves with no bitterness.

Martyn Iles is not about to disappear. He may go quiet for a bit, do some theological study perhaps, which I am sure he would love, and seek out mentors, But he’s a seasoned and proven evangelist in a land desperately short of them.

Watch this space. We have not seen the last of Martyn Lloyd Iles.

Of the last three leaders of ACL, Jim Wallace stepped up to become chair, and Lyle Shelton has returned to politics and is running for the upper house in the NSW state election on March 25. 

Both outcomes played to their strengths. When the dust settles, Martyn Iles will be an apologist and evangelist. That is his strength.

And he has already received hundreds, if not thousands, of emails and social media messages encouraging him on that path.

It is a painful separation, but it could be a win-win. We could see Martyn Iles as an evangelist full time, his true calling and ACL being what it wants to be.