Hello after four long, hard and Interesting Years!

I have heard that a successful blog should have regular postings. I guess that means a four year plus gap between posts doesn't make for exciting blogging. From here on I promise to most more regularly - hey I might even do one a year : -). So what happened?

I continued my ministry in the small rural town of Delmas. I grew immensely as a person during this time. I also grew in my understanding of what it means to be a follower of Christ. I enrolled and completed a Masters in Organizational Leadership at Regent University in the USA (online). I gained great insights in what it means to be a leader and in how organizations work and develop. Then at the end of 2013 I called everything quits! There was a few reasons for this. My wife got offered a partnership at a hospital in nearby Benoni, a town in the greater Johannesburg area (she is a physiotherapist). Before being able to buy in, she had to work full-time at the practice for a year in 2014. It would have prevented her from much involvement with our son had we stayed in Delmas. She made many sacrifices for my career and I thought that maybe this time I should be making the sacrifice, find a job in Benoni and move the family. Also I just finished my MOL degree and wanted to gain some corporate experience and plain life experience outside of a church setting. I have to admit I also wanted more money. So I applied for a job as a sales rep at a pharmaceutical company, got the position and took the leap. It was a leap I would come to regret dearly...

At first I loved my new job. I met lots of new people, I enjoyed applying my people skills from ministry  to my new job and a part of my personality relished the competitive environment I found myself in. But soon I struggled with meaning. My tasks became repetitive and the admin load back breaking and boring. I got involved with a local church and soon felt a constant aching longing to return to ministry. I had to come to the painful conclusion that I was in fact a Jonah and a greedy one at that. I found myself in a dark fish of depression and anxiety and I saw no hope. What kept me going was my involvement at the local church where I preached regularly and later also my involvement with a church plant in a poor neighborhood.

Eventually I talked to my country manager at the pharmaceutical company with whom I never really connected and told him I wanted out. I have signed a two year contract but fortunately I let me off the hook. I will finish at the company at the end of December 2014. I currently work three days for the company and two days for the congregation in Actonville (through the generosity of a businessman with a passion for the church). From next year the chances look good that I will be employed by a local chruch in a 2/3 post enabling me to continue my work in Actonville. I am on my way back by the grace of God and very thankful for it!

One incident during my ministry in Delmas the past four years needs mentioning. It had a life changing impact on me. One day I got called out to a day care where a tragedy happened. The tragedy involved two of my congregants-the 67 year old carer and a five month old baby. Both have been brutally and senselessly murdered, presumably by the gardener. The incident soon attracted   the attention of the media and I had my hands full in comforting the devastated parents of the child and the family of the carer together with handling the questions from the media and the community. With the help of others we managed to handle all this quite well. We organized a night vigil attended by the parents at the house where the incident took place and in a touching way the community grieved together. But thing were about to turn for the worse...

A far right group, hearing that the alleged murderer  was a black man, interpreted the event as a racially driven crime (which it was not). The voiced their opinion in local newspapers and finally came with a group of about 80 people to our town and marched in a demonstration with racist slogans to our municipal offices. Here they burned the new Southafrican flag.

I decided to write a letter to the local newspaper explaining that this group was not members of the local community and that in now way their actions represent the thinking of the local white community of Delmas. After this letter got published hell broke lose. I got death threats and nameless letters. A far right wing group threatened to disrupt one of my congregations church services which they did. The notorious Piet "Skiet" marched up to the pulpit during my sermon on the need for reconciliation. Fortunately they sat when I asked them to and we had a discussion after the service.


I decided to arrange a multi-cultural community march against crime and racism and with the help of the community succeeded. 300 people gathered in the centre of town. A white-black chain of prayer was formed and it will stand out as one of the most touching events in my life. I was excited about the future prospects of reconciliation in our town. I was also drained after the months after this event and felt burnt out. This feeling might have played a role in my decision to leave Delmas. I was disappointed and somewhat angered by the fact that no real new actions for reconciliation came forth after this event.

So in short, this was what happened. There is much more to be told so stay tuned...