I grew up the oldest of three boys and my family moved from Melbourne in 1954 to live in Adelaide when I was 10 years old. Every relative we had (there were many of them) was left behind in Melbourne and we become virtually a nuclear family – it was almost as though we had migrated to another country. Prior to the shift I had experienced 17 shifts of school and home (living with relatives on many occasions) so I struggled very much in school. In high school I was in the lowest grade academically but in the first year I had an encounter with God and was filled with and baptised in the Holy Spirit and discovered God’s promise in Philippians 4:13: “that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me”.
I struggled through high school but managed to graduate and through prayer and the Lord’s grace achieved a scholarship to go to university. The end result is that by the grace of God I now have 4 degrees, having completed my doctorate in 2016; a living testimony of God’s grace and power to take the foolish things of this world to confound the wise. While experiencing great loneliness as a teenager studying at University, I had the joy of marrying a beautiful lady (Heather) I had known since teenage years in 1968 and we were blessed with three wonderful children and now nine grandchildren. It’s been wonderful to see the blessing of the Lord upon my children as Heather and I served as pastors planting 2 churches in rural South Australia and also 2 Christian schools. After 47 years of marriage Heather “graduated” to be with the Lord in November 2015 and I have the ongoing privilege of continuing to serve the Lord and his kingdom purposes in our community.
My heart is to see prevailing leaders raised up, who proclaim Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord in word and deed, reaching out to be lost and hurting in our community.