Micks profile
Michael Duncan as a young New Zealander caught a vision for the needs of the world. In his early twenties he was converted out of the drug culture and eastern mysticism. After two years of Bible College training in Australia he pastored a growing church in Dunedin before responding to the needs of third world himself. In 1985 he and his wife, Ruby, with their two children relocated to the Philippines and moved into the very heart of a third world squatter community. For many years they lived and worked among the poor. Michael soon became the Team Leader of the work in Manila.
Their concern was to bring about holistic transformational development and this necessitated being fully engaged in relief work, community development, social justice, evangelism and church planting.
In 1994 the Duncans returned to New Zealand and since then Michael has continued to be involved in urban work both in Australia (Melbourne) and New Zealand (Auckland). He has been a Senior Pastor of churches in both of those cities.
Since 1976 Michael has also been a speaker in many countries of the world. His own personal testimony, his involvement amongst the very poor of the world and his gifts in communication has taken him to many different groups and places as a communicator. By way of example, whilst in Fiji he was invited to speak to the elite group of soldiers imprisoned in Suva who were caught up in the recent coup in that country. He has had the privilege of speaking to over 100 Hindu students, many of them lepers, whilst in India. He also had the opportunity to speak at a special memorial service In Australia for some of the victims over the Bali tragedy in Indonesia. Michael is often asked to speak to youth conferences, churches and mission gatherings. Recently (2009) he spoke at three New Wine Anglican gatherings in London, where over 30,000 attended!
Michael has written several books. Move Out (1984) and published in the United Kingdom was a call for churches to be involved in the wider world. And Costly Mission, published by MARC in the United States was voted one of the ten most outstanding books in Mission in 1996 and has recently been republished in Australia (2007). Two recent books include Who Stands Fast? (2006) and WIld Ones (2006). Michael has studied theology and sociology, and has also done work in Ethics and Development Studies at Oxford University. His Masters was on the life of the German activist, Dietrich Bonhoeffer with the Tyndale Graduate School of Theology. He is currently doing a PhD in his spare time, his topic being: The Moral Pathway Toward the Stranger in the Life and Thought of John Wesley.
Currently Michael is engaged in a number of ministries that he has started including Alongsiders, Intermission, Red Letters to name a few. He is also a `Portfolio Worker’ where he works with mission entities, mentors, teaches, speaks and writes. Michael is a visiting lecturer at a number of colleges in NZ, Australia and elsewhere. His particular passion continues to be as a speaker, calling people and groups to be all that which they were created to be and do.
Click here to see some photos from Micks life.