I came to faith in the 1970’s during that time of Holy Spirit outpouring known as the Charismatic Renewal. My faith journey commenced in the Roman Catholic tradition and was lead of the Lord to a fellowship whose Biblical orientation was that of: Pentecostal Holiness, Dispensationalist, Word of Faith.
In 1997 I was asked to pastor the church of which I had been a member for 20 years and was given the remit of “preserving the concept”, by which was meant; ensuring that the unique end-times teaching which had been one of that church’s distinctives was not abandoned. Holding a Bachelor of Commerce from Melbourne University with no seminary training whatsoever and knowing little more than had been taught me by my much loved pastor, I was poorly equipped to preach. Into this deficiency spoke my wife, telling me that I must read.
Never was a wiser word spoken, nor a wifely instruction more enthusiastically adhered to. With this advice in mind and with a growing suspicion of the faddish nature of contemporary Christian publishing, I commenced my journey into the world of books with the decision not to read anything that had been written in the last 50 years and not to read anything that wasn’t printed in hardback. At the commencement of my pastoring I was fortunate to gain the prayerful and generous fellowship of ministers from the Anglican, Baptist, Presbyterian and Pentecostal traditions.
Coincident with this expanded contribution to my theological perceptions, I encountered the work of Dr Glen Martin. This was the first time I had been encouraged to think of Christianity in “worldview” terms, as distinct from “religious” terms. Dr Martin’s lectures took me out of my Pentecostal sub-culture and caused me to realize that the Christian faith was both reasonable and intellectually robust. Whereas my life and faith had been lived in a bifurcated, almost schizophrenic sense, Dr Martin’s explanations brought me to a more reasoned faith. To this position was added the influence of Rousas Rushdoony. (Yes folks I am something of a theonomist!). These diverse influences have established me with a firm commitment to the absolute sovereignty of God (hence my Reformed position), a passion to see the applicability of God to everything (based on a cogent Gospel worldview) and a reverence for the Bible as being God’s Law-Word (because God’s law is the revelation of his character). Notwithstanding this intellectual journey and undergirding, I have remained steadfastly, joyfully and profoundly “spirit-filled” in my praxis and precepts.
Whilst this journeying benefitted my preaching, my pastoring and the saints whom Jesus placed within my care, I cannot boast that it grew the church. In the providence of God, 23 years of ministry saw minimal increase, indeed the conclusion of my tenure could be appraised with that trend in numbers which economists euphemistically refer to as “negative growth”. Additionally, I cannot say that I stayed faithful to the remit as first given me. Even so, it is the stated testimony of those who accompanied me for the whole or part of those 23 years, that their faith in Christ and love for one another grew because of the things that God had given me to share. I am hoping that those who come to oida will find the same.
As to other matters, I am husband to one wife, the beautiful Carla, father to two children and nonno to five grandchildren. I live in rural central Victoria and am accountable to God and spouse for the maintenance of 5 acres of God’s most attractive countryside. As to other interests, I am an AFL tragic whose team preferences have been shaped by the move of Melbourne clubs to interstate - so when the Sydney Swans play Fitzroy (err, the Brisbane Lions) I am at a loss to know which team to support? As to sustenance, prior to my retirement, I both pastored a church and ran my own business, a business which consulted in the areas of information systems and business improvement with particular involvement in quality management, environmental management and compliance management.
