Born under a pew and raised in a Plymouth Brethren home in Queensland, Australia, Don (Beres) Bartlett never remembers a time when he was not interested in trying to understand religion. Speaking of his early shame based, behaviour modification style of upbringing, he says that he was in all liklihood the most “saved” kid in Brisbane. In spite of early efforts to try to make sense of harmonising his spiritual hunger with the ever changing cultural landscape of the 1960’s, and his dysfunctional family home (he claims that his mother taught him how to put the fun back into dysfunctional), he finally decided that living out his religion and living transparently were simply incompatible.
After 2 decades and a career in the music industry, he would return to his spitirual roots, this time becoming a full time Theology student at an Australian seminary. As a Pastor, Musician, Worship Leader and Music Director in some of largest and smallest churches in Australia, he found his greatest pleasure in small groups of individuals who found themselves uncomfortable with the business as usual cookie cutter style of set and forget, hunt and peck, cut and paste, hit and run, bait and switch Christianity. He was given a tape of an American preacher by the name of Mike Williams around the turn of the century, and in his words, for the first time he remembers, all the if’s, buts, and maybe’s were dissolved by the Gospel of Grace and Peace. He is fond of saying that, “believing as I do, is not nearly as important, as thinking for yourself, and when you find someone – ANYONE – who helps you to think for yourself, get around them!”
Don (Beres) is responsible for hosting the weekly podcast that Gospel revolutionaries have styled, “The PowerCast” which he also records, engineers and produces. He also serves proudly, as friend, sounding board, agent provocateur, and Chief Bottle Washer for Mike Williams Ministries and the Gospel Revolution.