RAISING THE BAR ON LEADERSHIP
We are very grateful for your continued support. Your prayers are like gold to us and my recovery from the heart attack is thus going well.
I am now focussing on my new role with Caleb Ministries as Mentor/Coach. I get the privilege to mentor two excellent men. It is now official that Shanan Barnett a young pastor from Blenheim is the new Director of Caleb Leadership Ministries. He will be part-time working 10 hours per week and working for his church 30 hours a week. His key result area will be in the Caleb Leadership Course. He has some exciting ideas around how the course may be delivered which I fully support.
I have picked up a couple of new supervisees which is exciting. It is interesting the pressures pastors are experiencing and to help them process all this intensity is energising for me. I have the possibility of a consultation with a church that is going through some rough stuff currently and hope to work with them in May.
The Brisbane course has been put out to October due to a major international conference happening in Brisbane at the time we had planned the leadership course. It will give us more time to get people to sign up. It will be an interesting ‘pilot’ course to evaluate future development.
I have preached several times in the last two months. Two Sunday’s ago, I was able to preach on the topic “There is no fear in death for a Christian”. I used my experience of God’s cocooning me in His love and peace in the ambulance as confirmation on this scriptural truth. I also had the opportunity to speak to a homegroup about my heart attack experience. PTL for being able to witness to Jesus’ work on the cross and its implications for we who are followers.
I am preaching on the last Sunday of this month and again on Easter Sunday. Please pray I get those two sermons written without stress.
I know, all of this is part of the ‘rest’ prescribed for me by Dr Heaven.
We are doing well and our granddaughter Ada is walking much better so thank you for your prayers. Next week she turns 5 and begins school. There is also the possibility that she like her brother is autistic. The medical people are working to confirm this diagnosis. Like her brother, she is high functioning. We hope and pray that she settles well in school and the right support networks will be put in place early.
Yvonne Hannah and I will be going down to support Rachel and Jonny for a week and a half late April. When I had the heart attack we had to cancel our December support trip. Air NZ graciously gave us a credit for those flights and so we are using those for this upcoming trip.
Our granddaughter Kayla began school in February. She is going to a Christian school in Manurewa and seems to be settling in well.
Hannah is still using the growling sound and at times when she is feeling emotional tension, she can be growling near constantly which is hard for all of us. Please pray that the Lord will remove this from her repertoire and release her back to speaking out what she is feeling. We’d love Him to restore her singing as well. She still loves to sit with Yvonne at the piano and have her favourite worship songs played.
At the beginning of January a very close friend lost his battle with cancer. Ten hours before he went to glory we were again visiting him. He was in a coma but suddenly sat up pointed at Hannah and said ‘beautiful’. These were the last words he spoke. It was a profound moment for us and our friend's family in what appeared to be a spiritual declaration of how God viewed our daughter. I participated in my friend's funeral. A couple of weeks later a young man I’ve mentored for years contracted Strep A and went into septic shock. PTL he has survived but his fight is with his hands and feet which are not fully returning and may self amputate. We are praying and visiting him in hospital weekly. Two weeks later a dear friend who we’d had lunch with a couple weeks before had a massive stroke and died. I was asked to take the funeral. The day after, I preached at a Presbyterian Church. That afternoon I was completely exhausted but knew that the Lord sustained me through these important ministry times.
With the years starting so intensely, I have had to force myself to take rest and work on my recovery. I go back to see the Cardiologist in a couple of weeks time. I will also be having a fitness test at the hospital then given a rehabilitation/exercise programme to follow.
On 23 Feb the church we have gone to for 20 years closed and we are working through the grief of that and listening for the Lord to guide is on where we shall go to be part of a worshipping community. We are still listening for the Lord’s word on when and if we are to start the House Church again. Yvonne and I feel that the House Church is resonating within our spirits more. Please continue to pray for clarity and getting the timing right if we are to go ahead.
I leave you with this wonderful hope for each day from Ps 25; ‘Lead me in Your truth and teach me. For You are the God of my salvation. For You I wait all the day.
Every blessings
Rex, Yvonne, Rachel, Jonny, Caleb & Ada, Jeremy, Sakura, Kayla & Chloe, Tim & Aimee & Hannah.