I have met many people in my travels, from the homeless to the wealthy, from workers to professionals, from students to teachers, from the lonely to the happy, across 56 countries I’ve visited. Some of the happiest people I have met lived in war-torn villages of Uganda. They offered so much to me out of nothing but their heart.
Many people have inspired me and encouraged me on my life’s journey, teaching me a lot about myself. Over time, I have developed various resources to help people in need, to encourage individuals in their situations, and to support chaplains in communities.
Please feel free to download any of the resources available on this site. I hope they serve as a source of encouragement for you and a learning tool for your situation. If you use these resources in any form, please acknowledge it as such.
Tools
Who am I? Is who you are determined by what you do? Or is what you do determined by who you are? Think honestly about this for yourself before reading on.
The more you reaffirm who you are in Christ, the more your behaviour will begin to reflect your true identity.
Neil Anderson, Victory over Darkness (2000)
MORE TOOLS AVAILABLE TO DOWNLOAD TO USE WITH YOUR CLIENTS:
including learning your core values, core beliefs, purpose and meaning.
Living Your Wellbeing, based on my research in mental health and wellbeing.
Dr Mel Baker’s published books
Includes my life story (Bridge trilogy), Painting Beauty with the Ashes, Confict to Hope
http://www.drmelbakerbooks.com
Coming in 2025 – Building the Bridge (includes my work in police chaplaincy) and in 2026 – Climbing the Bridge (includes my work in the Royal Australian Navy as a naval chaplain).
Tune in to Dr Mel Baker’s podcast to empower community.
A mixture of reflection and conversation. Free podcast available to listen anytime online to be encouraged in today’s fast paced “crazy” society. Available on the link below, Spotify, Apple, or Google ‘Dr Mel Baker podcast’.
Doctoral Thesis (2004-2009)
The Heartbeat of Community: Becoming a Police Chaplain
Opportunities to receive pastoral care in today’s fast paced society are often a rarity, but greatly valued. For nearly forty years, police chaplains have played a significant role in the community often bridging the gap between frontline officers and civilians in their dual role as chaplain and minister. Little is known about the emergence of this group, particularly the chaplains’ needs for learning, education, support and processes of acquisition of knowledge and skills. The training of chaplains is minimal and there were no strategies in place to assess consequences of change, to address work-related problems or to determine future training when I began in 2004 my doctoral thesis at UTS.
Contents and Abstract
https://opus.lib.uts.edu.au/bitstream/10453/20073/1/Front01.pdf
Refereed Papers
Full thesis converted in a textbook for community chaplains, peer workers, lived experience consultants, advocates for change – coming in 2025
Published works
Baker, M. 2022, Sleeping Under the Bridge, Atmosphere Press, USA.
Baker, M. 2021, Living Expressions: self-love, Vol 2: issue 4, Blurb, San Francisco.
Baker, M. 2021, Living Expressions: acceptance, Vol 2: issue 3, Blurb, San Francisco.
Baker, M. 2021, Living Expressions: purpose, Vol 2: issue 2, Blurb, San Francisco.
Baker, M. 2021, Living Expressions: connection, Vol 2: issue 1, Blurb, San Francisco.
Baker, M. & Brodie, S. 2021, Conflict to Hope, Blurb, Sydney.
Baker, M. 2020, Living Expressions: survive to thrive, Vol 1: issue 4, Blurb, San Francisco.
Baker, M. 2020, Living Expressions: mourning to dancing, Vol 1: issue 3, Blurb, San Francisco.
Baker, M. 2020, Living Expressions: illness to wellness, Vol 1: issue 2, Blurb, San Francisco.
Baker, M. 2020, Living Expressions: broken to open, Vol 1: issue 1, Blurb, San Francisco.
Baker, M. 2019, Painting Beauty with the Ashes, Blurb, Sydney.
Baker, M. 2018, A two-way street: Sleeping Under the Bridge Part 1, 2nd edition, Blurb, Sydney.
Baker, M. 2013, ‘Research Report in Defining Wellbeing’, BCA Australia.
Baker, M. 2013, ‘Sea Chaplains: serving their country with pride’, Navy Historical Journal, Dec 2013.
Baker, M. 2009, ‘The heartbeat of community: becoming a police chaplain’, EdD thesis, UTS, Sydney.
Baker, M. 2009, ‘Uncovering the culture of police chaplaincy’, Police Weekly, vol. 21, no. 18, pp. 4-5.
Baker, M. 2007, ‘Are churches safe for pastors?’ Mosaic, vol. 9, no. 4, pp. 4-5.
Baker, M. 2007, ‘Busy professionals: any time for community learning?’ SCUTREA 2007, eds R. Mark, R. Jay, B. McCabe & R. Moreland, SCUTREA, Queen’s University, Belfast, Northern Ireland, pp. 41-48.
Baker, M. 2006, ‘The continuing professional education of police chaplains as a community of practice’, Continuing Professional Education Conference, eds L. Beddoe & J. Jesson, University of Auckland, Faculty of Education, Auckland, New Zealand, pp. 14-22.
Baker, M. 2006, ‘Identify yourself: the church as a community of practice’ Mosaic, vol. 8, no. 2, pp8-10.
Baker, M. 2006, ‘Identify yourself: community ministries’ Mosaic, vol. 8, no. 1, pp8-9.
Baker, M. 2006, ‘Stepping Stones: a journey into police chaplaincy’, UTS Education Conference poster presentation, UTS, Sydney.
Baker, M. 2005, ‘Revisiting communities: an ethnographic approach’, UTS Education Conference presentation, UTS, Sydney.
Baker, M. 2004, ‘Analysing Professional Practice’, Paper thesis, UTS, Sydney.
Baker, M. 2003, Jade’s Story: a two-way street, A Baker Book, Sydney.