Peter Hobbs

22/05/2026

I’ve started a new project called Real Conversations with Peter Hobbs — a space built around honest conversations about life, faith, relationships, purpose, struggle, healing, leadership, community, and the things people often carry quietly.

I’ve just released a conversation with Ian Baxter, and I think many people here may genuinely connect with it.

The heart behind this project is simple: Create space for real human conversations in a world that often feels noisy, performative, and disconnected.

The full conversation is now available, and throughout the week we’ll continue unpacking different themes and reflections over on Substack.

You can join the conversation here:

Instagram:

Substack:

And if you ever feel like having a real conversation yourself — wherever you are in the world — feel free to reach out. I’d genuinely love to chat.

Watch last weeks video here.

What happens when two people sit down and have a genuinely honest conversation? In this episode of Real Conversations, Peter Hobbs sits down with Ian Baxter ...

17/05/2026

I wrote Heirs to the Empire after researching my own ancestor and reflecting on my experience inside institutional life in Australia.

What started as family history slowly became a much deeper exploration of belonging, loyalty, faith, colonial history, power and the systems that shape us without us even realising it.

If you’ve ever loved an institution, questioned one, served inside one, or wrestled with what it means to stay loyal while remaining honest with yourself, this book may resonate with you.

Heir to the Empire is a confronting and deeply reflective exploration of the lasting influence of the British Empire on Australia — and how systems of power, media, politics, organised religion, and c

07/05/2026

https://open.substack.com/pub/withpeterhobbs/p/what-the-last-three-years-have-taught?r=48bavw&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

The last three years have probably been the most misunderstood season of my life.

07/05/2026

Over the years I’ve had the privilege of speaking with many of you through community work, ministry, media, advocacy, and everyday life - and those conversations have genuinely shaped me.

The last three years have been one of the most refining and liberating seasons of my life. There’s been loss, rebuilding, healing, growth, and a deeper understanding of what truly matters.

For those who have followed parts of my journey through The Salvation Army years, community work, Drink X, media, or friendship — thank you. Your encouragement and conversations have meant more than you realise.

Out of this season, something new has emerged.

I’ve launched a new project called Real Conversations with Peter Hobbs — focused on honest conversations, meaningful stories, and exploring life, faith, culture, hope, leadership, healing, and the human experience.

If this resonates with you, I’d love for you to follow the journey — and feel free to DM me on Instagram anytime. I genuinely love hearing people’s stories.

YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/

Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/peterhobbsrealconversations/

Substack:
https://substack.com/

I genuinely believe people are longing for deeper connection and conversations that actually matter.

This is just the beginning.

12/04/2026

There are many good people still inside The Salvation Army.

People who care deeply.
People who are trying to bring change.
People who feel the tension between what they believe is right… and what they’re told to accept.

Some stay because they love the mission.
Some stay because they fear being pushed out.
Some stay because they don’t know what life looks like on the other side.

If that’s you, I want to speak to you honestly.

Jesus never lived as a slave to systems, expectations, or fear.

He surrendered fully to the will of His Father — knowing it would cost Him everything.
He knew He would be misunderstood.
He knew He would be rejected.
He knew obedience would lead to death.

But in that surrender, He became fully Himself.
And in that death, He revealed the power of resurrection.

There is something deeply freeing about that.

To live truthfully.
To walk in love.
To stand in what you know is right — even when it costs you.

Not driven by anger.
Not driven by rebellion.
But grounded in peace.

You don’t belong to any system that asks you to deny truth, suppress love, or live in fear.

You are not a slave to ideology, position, power, or control.

You are held by God.

And when you truly understand that…
you realise you are free.

Free to love.
Free to walk in truth.
Free to lay your life down for others without fear of what it will cost you.

Because your life is not in their hands.

It never was.

There is power in that kind of surrender.
There is life in that kind of obedience.
There is resurrection in that kind of freedom.

12/02/2026

Grab my new book: 📕Breaking the Narcissists Grip - A Christians Guide to Cutting the Strings of Manipulation, Setting Boundaries That Stick and Reclaiming Y...

05/01/2026

If this is resonating with you, it may be because something in you knows that peace has been missing for a long time.

Not the kind of discomfort that comes with growth or challenge, but the deeper kind. The kind where your body is tense, your voice feels smaller, your joy is thinning out, and your spirit feels worn down. The kind where you are faithful, committed, sincere, and yet you are being spoken down to, overlooked, controlled, silenced, or slowly eroded.

Jesus takes that seriously.

In Luke 10, he does not tell his followers to stay where peace is absent. He does not tell them to endure environments that crush the soul and call it obedience. He gives a clear instruction: where peace is not received, you are to leave, and not carry the dust with you.

This matters, because ongoing lack of peace is not neutral.
It is often a sign of harm.

When disrespect becomes normalised, when fear replaces freedom, when your dignity is repeatedly compromised “for the sake of the work” or “for the sake of the mission”, something has already gone wrong. Jesus does not spiritualise that away.

Shaking the dust is not anger.
It is not revenge.
It is not weakness.

It is Jesus protecting people from remaining in places that damage them.

And he does not send people out into nothing.

Just before he speaks about shaking the dust, Jesus says the harvest is plentiful. He promises that provision will come through people of peace, through those God has already raised up in your life over the years. Through family, community, friends, and relationships where peace is mutual, not conditional.

I want to say this plainly, as testimony and not theory: he really does give us everything we need. That has been my lived reality. Not easily, not instantly, and not without grief, but faithfully. What was needed came through the harvest: through people who welcomed, protected, and restored peace.

If you are staying somewhere only because you feel trapped, because leaving feels disloyal, frightening, or impossible, please hear this clearly and gently:

Jesus does not command people to remain where they are being harmed.

Trusting Jesus sometimes means trusting him enough to leave. Enough to believe that your life, your calling, and your worth are not owned by a system. Enough to believe that God’s provision does not depend on your silence or endurance of abuse.

This is not about impulsive decisions.
It is about honesty.
It is about refusing to call harm “faithfulness”.

You are not stepping into nothing.
You are stepping away from what is hurting you, and toward the people of peace God has already prepared.

So if you are carrying dust from somewhere that has taken more from you than it gave, you are allowed to put it down.

Keep your dignity.
Trust Jesus.
And keep walking.

08/11/2025

These past two and a half years have been the making of me.

What tried to press me down only refined the direction I was born to walk in.

Being pressed out of The Salvation Army wasn’t rejection; it was launching, the moment purpose found its path.

Standing at Fair Work, I realised the stand was never about winning, it was about bringing to light the inner machinery of fear and control that truth inevitably exposes.

In that light, manipulation and ego revealed themselves for what they are empty power. Those who thrived on control have no place in the journey ahead; they have forfeited any right to speak into my life.

Every challenge became alignment. Every moment, a reminder that light always finds its way forward.

The world needs this light, and we’re taking it into every dark place.

The mission that began at ordination is now moving with power, clarity, and peace.

The journeys have begun. New life is unfolding.

And somehow, every step keeps finding the way. ✨

To those who truly knew my heart and stood by me, thank you. Your belief helped carry the mission to this moment, and to all the people of peace, stay on the journey. There’s more ahead than any of us can yet see.

07/08/2025

The Soldiership Dilemma - Have we missed Jesus' missional intent? | Peter HobbsHave you checked out the July Viewpoint from The Salvation Army Australia's Ot...

06/10/2024

I’ve seen a lot of hype around The Salvation Army’s new Compass initiative, and honestly, it’s nothing more than window dressing. They’re treating it like some revolutionary breakthrough, but let’s be real—it’s just rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic while the world outside keeps burning.

This framework doesn’t address the real issues that are holding the organisation back. It’s not challenging the careerism and inauthenticity that plague the movement, where too many are playing the game to climb the ladder while putting on a good show of spirituality. The Army has traded genuine discipleship for institutional survival, and Compass does nothing to change that. It’s just another band-aid on a gaping wound, preserving the status quo while pretending to offer something new.

Where’s the real change? Where’s the challenge to power and privilege? Jesus didn’t spend His time crafting frameworks—He challenged and disrupted systems of power. But instead of courageously following that example, The Salvation Army has rolled out Compass, another round of institutional self-preservation dressed up as reform.

The sad truth is that they know exactly what needs to be done to bring real change, but they don’t have the will or the courage to do it. Compass isn’t going to save this ship from sinking—it’s just going to keep the same tired ideas afloat a little longer.

For those of us who have been pushed out or chosen to leave, it’s clearer than ever: I’m glad to no longer be part of this nonsense. I’ve lost everything, but in doing so, I found what truly matters. I wouldn’t turn back now—no matter what it may cost.

This post was inspired by a comment made to me by a Salvation Army officer who got offended because I put the laugh emoji on the fact he liked this framework.

19/08/2024

An interesting article written in 1971.

In a world that thinks of faith in terms of "crisis" and churches in terms of "embattled," the Salvation Army seems as foursquare and unchanging as the crisp Victorian bonnets...