Newsletter #47

Dear Southcity It is unbelievable how quickly the years roll by. For some, this has been a great year, and for others, there have been challenges beyond what you could have imagined. But it is in these moments, when we reflect on the past year, that we often wish we had done things a bit differently at various stages and in various situations. Friends, as we enter this season where our focus should centre on the celebrating of the birth of Jesus Christ and his life that follows, may I encourage you with these words from the gospel according to John:   The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. (John 1:9-13 ESV) What a privilege we have to be called children of God, and to be reborn by the will of God. It is this which I wish to leave with you: During this season, I urge you not to lose sight of the great work and call you have received through Jesus Christ. The call to love Him, to love His people both righteous and unrighteous, and to be good stewards of all that He has given you: your time, talents, treasures, relationships and opportunities. Do not lose focus this season. Keep your gaze upon the author and perfecter of our faith, and continue to sow your lives in their entirety into Kingdom activity. Be strong friends. Looking forward to seeing you as we gather on Sunday. Much love Rich

Newsletter #46

Dear Southcity and friends

Wow! Time really can fly. It has been a good few weeks since my last letter, so apologies for those of you who thought I may have dropped off the planet. These past couple of months truly have been a privilege for me as I have endeavoured to be faithful to the call of God to me to preach the gospel in all the world, so thank you to all of you for releasing, sending and praying for me and my family over this period.

While preparing to preach to you a few weeks ago, looking at the call of God to his people through the prophet Hosea, the words "like people, like priest" were like a hot iron being pressed into me. Most of you will know the saying, 'like father, like son', which explained means the son takes on the likeness of his father, and in Hosea we see 'like people, like priest', which when explained means the priest takes on the likeness of the people. God gripped me with this and the question I believe being asked was this: "Why are the priests taking on the likeness of the people, rather than the people taking on the likeness of the priests?"

And I felt God go on to explain that the church, as the priests of God, are increasingly taking on the likeness of the people of the world, rather than the people of the world taking on the likeness of the church. Ouch!

As I have ministered this in various contexts around S.A. over the past few weeks, one thing is painfully obvious, this is true of the church across the nation. So friends, my request of us is that we would get before our heavenly Father, and ask Him in what ways we have allowed the ways of this world to become the perspective with which we view our faith or live out our faith. Today, we often find it easier to interpret Scripture through modern thinking (because it is more palatable and easier for us socially) than to interpret Scripture through the voice of the Spirit of God.

My deepest desire is that we would become a people who carry the witness of God in our day to day lives, in order that the people of this world desire to become like us, as we desire to become like our Lord and Saviour.

I am really looking forward to being with you all this Sunday, and in the morning meeting, we will have 50 men from Linc Church in Ballito joining us as they desire to end their men's weekend away participating in a local church's worship gathering. So come along and lets celebrate Christ on Sunday as we show the world a different way.

Much love to you all

Rich

Newsletter #45

Dear friends

I have been freshly moved by the reading of Boaz's redemptive act toward Ruth, which finds such great reality for all of us in this generation.

Ruth, who finds herself without a husband, without a people to call her own, without resource, and who's only option is to throw herself at the feet of a kinsman redeemer in absolute vulnerability in the hope that he would show favour and kindness and choose to redeem her in the fullness of redemption with provision, protection, care and love, stands as a forerunner of us before our great redeemer Jesus, as well as represents the many in our community who need us to act toward them in the capacity of a kinsman redeemer.

As the extent of Boaz's act has gripped me again, I want to quote the words from Scripture in the hope that the Spirit of God would make them alive to you also. Ruth 4:5-10:

Then Boaz said, “The day you buy the field from the hand of Naomi, you also acquire Ruth the Moabite, the widow of the dead, in order to perpetuate the name of the dead in his inheritance.” Then the redeemer said, “I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I impair my own inheritance. Take my right of redemption yourself, for I cannot redeem it.” ... Then Boaz said to the elders and all the people, “You are witnesses this day that I have bought from the hand of Naomi all that belonged to Elimelech... Also Ruth the Moabite, the widow of Mahlon, I have bought to be my wife, to perpetuate the name of the dead in his inheritance, that the name of the dead may not be cut off from among his brothers and from the gate of his native place. You are witnesses this day.”

What an incredible act of redemption. The one 'redeemer' turns away from redeeming because he did not want to risk impairing/harming his estate, while Boaz pays the price and redeems fully.

Friends, today I ask this question of you: is your life an accurate portrayal of the redemptive King we serve, who redeemed us even though it impaired his estate (through having to leave the Father to come to earth), so that when we come across people in the position of a Ruth, though it cost us and impair our inheritance, yet we will act redemptively to show the love of our Father?

My prayer for us as a people is that God would move on us this day and turn us into kinsman redeemers for the poor, the widow, the broken, the needy, and the lost in order that we may be witnesses of His glory to the ends of the earth.

My affections are towards you friends.

Richard

Newsletter #44

Dear friends

There is a saying that goes, 'there is nothing quite like home!' And never has it been more true than right now for me. Don't get me wrong, travelling to faraway places for the sake of the Kingdom truly is a privilege and always will be, but after 36 hours in transit, in airports and planes, there really was nothing else quite like home.

Unfortunately for many they have become more interested in finding the fault of home rather than the evidence of God's grace at home. I am so grateful for the record in Acts 11:

21 And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed turned to the Lord. 22 The report of this came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. 23 When he came and saw the grace of God, he was glad, and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose, 24 for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people were added to the Lord.

What an example for us to follow. Barnabas, being sent to see what was happening could easily have seen all the holes in the work being done, but instead, he went with the purpose of trying to see what God was doing there. And in this he recognized the grace of God and in so doing; many were added to the Lord.

Here, by recognizing the evidence of God’s grace and not the lack of the people, released the work of God amongst the people.

Unfortunately, too often, we celebrate everywhere else but home, both our family and our local church. We look critically at each other and the lack of the people, or of the leadership, or of our spouse, or of our children, rather than looking for the evidences of God's grace.

Friends, may I encourage you today to retrain yourself to look for what God is doing if you have become critical and your thoughts are tending to wanting to be anywhere else but at home. It is to your family, both physical and spiritual that you have covenanted yourself and if you want to see more of the life and power of God at work, let us take our cue off of Barnabas who went to see the evidence of God's grace and released the life of his Father.

It truly is good to be home and I am incredibly excited to see you all on Sunday and to share something of the life of God in me as we worship together both in the morning and as we launch an evening congregation.

Much love to you my friends,

Rich

Newsletter #43

Dear friends

While one of the men I am travelling with was being interviewed on servant hood and serving others, one of his comments triggered a God thought for me which has been spinning through my mind since.

This man has an incredible ability to serve others (I know, because it is not the first time I am experiencing his humility in service) and while questions were being asked of him, his answer to a question, 'How do you find the energy to keep going out your way to serve others?', he quickly responded, 'I am not going out of my way!'

In that moment, God highlighted the inevitable follow on to that comment, 'I am not going out of my way... It is my way.'

And as I have been surveying people's service, including my own, truth be told, most of the time we serve others, we feel like we can put a feather in our cap because we have gone out of our way to help. And here was a humble man, just saying it’s not about finding the energy to keep going out of his way to serve, but rather he has so allowed the Spirit of God to transform him and to position him as the least among men so that serving God and men has become his way. The very thing Jesus commands us to be and do!

So I ask you friends, your service to God and men, does it feel like you do it from a position of ‘I will do it even though it is out of my way’, or have you got to the place where you have substituted your way with God's will and way?

God, would you help us to be renewed and transformed in order that we might one day be able to say, 'in serving others, I don't go out of my way; it is my way.'

I love you Southcity and pray for God's protection over you while I am many thousand kilometres away.

Love

Rich

Newsletter #42

Dear Southcity and friends

What an incredible privilege it was for me to be able to be sent by you to go and encourage and support Clif and Sarah (and little Chelsey) and to see the work going on there in Doha, Qatar. I can truly say that God has gone before them and has opened a door for effective ministry. Clif, Sarah and Chelsey are flourishing and we have new partners in the gospel in Doha Fellowship. What a great joy!

While in Doha, I reflected on and prayed for much all of us as Southcity, and in a very sweet moment with God, he took me to see something for us. In Revelation 4:1, a voice from heaven says, "Come up here and I will show you must take place after this." And as I was with God he took me to Exodus 20:24 which says "wherever I cause my name to be remembered, I will come to you and bless you." In this moment I was reminded of our responsibility to disciple all people's everywhere and to call out of them the Imago Dei, the image of God, by helping them to remember the goodness of God in their lives in order that as they remember, they may dwell with him, know him as Father, and know his blessing.

Friends, we have an incredible responsibility to bring glory to our Father through being obedient to his desire for us to disciple all peoples. My encouragement to you today is to put aside your favorite preacher, author, evangelist etc and to heed the words of God, "come up here and I will show you what must take place." Let us increasingly be a people who respond to the Spirit of God and his promptings as we remain faithful in obedience to the will of our Father who is in heaven.

And as we do this church, I ask you to pray for Jacs and me in the coming weeks, as firstly I have the privilege to encourage and minister into the broader leadership team of Immanuel Church in Umhlanga on Thursday evening, followed by a trip to Los Angeles where I will be supporting and ministering with a team of men into that city. And next Friday, the 28th, Jacs will be ministering to the parents of the Olive Tree church in Durban, where she has the opportunity to unfold Gods purpose into the lives of many. Please pray that, with the power and work of the Spirit, there will be fruitfulness from our labour.

Thank you for your faithfulness in your giving which allows Jacs and I to minister in this way so that all of us together can impact all of creation for the Kingdom of God as partners in the gospel.

Much love to you all and I look forward upon my return to hearing many testimonies of God's goodness and power as you trust in him to lead your way.

Richard 

Newsletter #41

Dear Southcity

To the ekklesia, the 'called-out' ones, my brothers and sisters in Christ, today I write giving thanks and as one making two appeals.

Firstly, we thank God for his continued love for us which is always at work, always pursuing us, always drawing us toward him. His righteousness which he has given to us through his Son, Jesus Christ, now our righteousness. How even the angels long to share in the intimacy we get to share in with our Father in heaven. What a joy, what a privilege!

My first appeal is more to inform. As we are all aware, the economic environment is a difficult one at present. But we thank God that his Kingdom is not bound by earthly situations. One of Southcity's incredibly generous givers, a business, has found itself in a position, where for its future, it has to reduce its financial giving to the work of Southcity Church by R37 000 a month. As you can imagine, that is a generous portion which we are forever grateful for to get us to this point in our work. As a people who long to see God's Kingdom come on earth, we will always cut our suit to fit the cloth, however, my appeal is that as a community of faith, we again come before our Father and provider and ask if there is any part we can play in order that the breadth and depth of work into our city and the regions beyond can continue to press forward rather than shrink back.

The second appeal is this: The church that gathers in Mzamba have secured a piece of land, but have no means of paying for it. We believe this is one of the faith steps God was preparing us for when he highlighted Jeremiah's faith step to us a few weeks ago. In Jeremiah 32, God speaks over Israel and promises that homes, fields, and vineyards will again be bought in the land and despite the Babylonian invasion, Jeremiah was to purchase a field, which he does in faith. Today, in spite of the economic invasion which is our reality, we believe God is encouraging us to take a faith step and purchase 'a field' in Mzamba in order for God's kingdom to continue to advance and his relentless, pursuing love, to be made all the more visible and known in the Mzamba community. Church, I am appealing to you to see beyond the current Babylonian invasion, the current economic environment, and in faith to sow into the Kingdom for God's glory and grace. On the 30th of September, we will be taking up an offering, trusting that we will be able to raise upward of R40 000 in order to buy that field. My appeal is for you to humbly approach our Father in heaven and ask how you may give toward this.

Thank you for hearing my appeals and for giving me the privilege of leading us all into that which God has for us to enjoy and do.

Much love

Rich

Newsletter #40

Dear Southcity

I am so grateful to God for how he has taken so many of you by the hand and walking you on an incredible journey of love in his house, and I am equally grateful that he uses community activity to minister to us, like he did this past Sunday. Thank you to all of you sending in testimonies of how God touched you, healed you, encouraged you and urged you on. And there is already a testimony of a young man who was in our meeting for the first time who submitted his life to the Lordship of Jesus. Truly we have an incredible Father.

On Sunday, a young man has asked to be baptized, and we love to be obedient to Christ, so if there is any one of you who would also like to be baptized or you know of anyone who would like to be, please call in to the office so we can organise it for the weekend.

This is just a short note to ask you to please pray for the elders and their wives. We are going away today for a few days and trusting God to encourage, enlarge, and envision us in order that we may steward and lead this incredible community well.

Much love friends
Rich

Newsletter #39

Dear Southcity

I am not sure if you can sense it, but something has shifted in the atmosphere over us. The Spirit of God is working and moving and there is a very real sense of the Kingdom of God at hand. I cant quite put my finger on it, but I know that faith and courage have been sowed into our community; a faith and courage that looks heavenward for our provision, our protection, and our privilege. I encourage you to keep your eyes upon the author and perfecter of our faith and to live, and move and have your being in him.

On the back of our leaders time two weeks ago, Thandi was moved to write, and I cant help but share what she penned:

The Church

We are a people called to a superior reality

Gravity cannot keep us down

Even that law is subject to our Lord

The laws of this earth no longer apply

For our identity is found in The One who died

And was raised up, three days later

The One who holds the keys of life and death

The One and only creator of all we see before us

All that ever was and all that ever will be

He is our identity

We are His becoming bride

His bride becoming pure and lovely

Without wrinkle, blemish or stain

Washed in His blood and under His reign

Subjects in His kingdom

But sons and daughters in His house

Empowered with His spirit

In order to bring glory to His name

A people surrendered to His story

Agendas laid down, He alone wears the crown

At the sound of His voice all else fades

we run to obey

To cultivate this kingdom culture

To feed the hungry

Clothe the naked

Heal the sick

To prefer one another, to love our sisters and brothers

As Christ loves the church

The church.

That's us.

The body of believers saved by grace, moved by faith,

with Christ as our head, identity in Him,

surrendered to His story, overflowing with His love,

clothed with the power of the gospel,

lives laid down to do His will.

The church.

That He loves.

That He saved.

That He gave everything for.

We look forward to continuing our series this weekend as we uncover the Kingdom of God breaking into the State of the Nation. Thank you Southcity for rising to the opportunity to care for the orphans of the Sinekhono project. 60 people have committed to financially supporting the monthly feeding of the children and a total of 63 are praying for the children. We will have more prayer and sponsorship booklets available for anyone who would still like to pray for and or sponsor a child. For further info please contact Mark (0728439611) or Olivia Russell (0837351197).

Much love friends.

Rich

Newsletter #38

Dear Southcity and friends

What a joy it is to have a Father who loves us eternally and completely! Today, this letter comes to you with an encouraged and faith-filled heart, and I trust that after reading it, you too will be encouraged by the words of our loving Father.

While a group of us were praying together last Thursday, as is our practice, God caught our attention with the following words:

For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Houses and fields and vineyards shall again be bought in this land.’

Jeremiah Prays for Understanding

After I had given the deed of purchase to Baruch the son of Neriah, I prayed to the Lord, saying: ‘Ah, Lord God! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you. You show steadfast love to thousands, but you repay the guilt of fathers to their children after them, O great and mighty God, whose name is the Lord of hosts, great in counsel and mighty in deed, whose eyes are open to all the ways of the children of man, rewarding each one according to his ways and according to the fruit of his deeds.' - Jeremiah 32:15-19

Like Jeremiah, I too have prayed for understanding, and would like to highlight just three of the things I believe God wants to encourage us in at this time:

Firstly, 'Houses and fields and vineyards shall again be bought in this land' - Families will settle and enjoy the fruit of their labour on this coast. This is both for the church and for the people of the coast. Persevere and look to God to be your wisdom and great reward!

Secondly, 'It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you' - God is looking for men and women who will respond in faith, not to reason only. Reason can restrict because it deals with what can be seen and understood. Faith deals with believing God is sovereign and nothing is too hard. Will you move beyond reason, and act in faith and trust that God's purposes are mighty and deeds are great?

And thirdly, 'you repay the guilt of fathers to their children after them' - I believe God is saying that one of the fathers' responsibilities is to leave an inheritance for his children. It is a 'sin' not to. And when there is no inheritance, the children have to live in the difficulty of that. This is both individual and for the church. What are we sacrificing today in order to leave to our children tomorrow, both our bloodline children as well as the household of God?

I hear God ask us: Will you pursue the impossible in me, trusting my purposes, even when things around you seem to be screaming out 'no!'?

Our Father wants to fill us with faith and courage in order that we may accomplish his purposes on earth. Be encouraged friends.

I am really looking forward to seeing you all on Sunday as we worship God together, reconciled to him and to each other.

Much love

Rich

Newsletter #37

Hi friends

An incredible joy! That's what I think it is to know that we are part of God's family, and the varied and fullness of expression that is experienced therein. Having just had the privilege of being involved with three different churches these past 10 days, I am so grateful to God that we are part of something so much bigger than just Southcity Church.

Friends, I want to remind you of the incredible inheritance we have in the saints, all over the world. The joy of knowing and touching others who love Christ outside of our immediate context is being able to celebrate what God is doing amongst them or to stand with them through difficult times. It was humbling to see the honour that was given to Southcity amongst each of these churches. In Philippians 2 we read of imitating Christ's humility:

'If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should not only look to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.' - Philippians 2:1-4 (NIV)

I pray that each of us would imitate Christ's humility as we read here. That we would honour one another and prefer one another, not allowing Satan a foothold into our lives which leads to bitterness, envy, disunity, strife and being critical. Let us celebrate what God is doing amongst us and amongst others, and stand with those that need comfort.

On a different note, we received a phone call last week which was really quite funny and disappointing all in the same breath. So just to be integritful with you all, the director of the show that Jacs was interviewed on (and in which I might add, she was outstanding) phoned very embarrassed to say they had had a technical glitch and the interview is unable to be screened. And since it is due to be aired on Friday, there was no way of a reshoot so close to time, so it will have to take place another day. It was funny because it puts technical glitches in our Sunday meetings etc into perspective. Here is a professional studio, who produce for TV on a daily basis, experiencing what some of our volunteers experience once in a blue moon in our context. And it was frustrating, not for Jacs glory, but for the million viewers we longed to see hear the gospel through the avenue of parenting.

But, our lives continue to be an offering for Him, and it is our joy to serve Him and His people.

Church, I feel encouraged and excited for our future and look forward to being with you on Sunday as we worship our great King and God.

Much love

Rich

PS - Sarah and Chelsey's visa's have come through, so after a long five weeks for them, they fly out tomorrow (Friday) to make their new home with Clif in Doha, Qatar. Give her a call and pray for them as a family.

Newsletter #36

Dear friends

Paul's letter to the Romans has as one of its main points the following:

"I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. So I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome. For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek." - Romans 1:14-16

Paul's thrust is the power in the gospel for salvation and how his, and our, obligation is to preach it to everyone, everywhere. He writes how he is under obligation, a strong term to tie yourself to the gospel, and how he doesn't prefer a particular group of people but rather is obligated to all men and women, of every education, race and background, for the gospel is that all people may be reconciled to God through Jesus.

As I have relooked at these verses (and I will expound them in greater detail on Sunday the 22nd of July), and as we have been praying for a magnified voice into our city and the regions beyond, I am acutely aware of our responsibility to see, and take hold of, the opportunities around us.

This past week, Jaci had the privilege of being interviewed on parenting in the 'Dr Mol show' studio and this interview will be screened on Friday the 6th July to a viewership of 1 million people. As we have walked this journey, God has seen it appropriate to hold a microphone to Jacs' voice and to extend its reach as she represents Him, and those of us who live according to His ways. Let's pray as a community for salvation to sweep through the homes of the viewers, even though they will listen to talking on parenting.

Friends, I urge you to be under obligation to all men, to preach the gospel, and as we do this, our prayer is that our Father would magnify our voices into the lives of those around us.

Please pray for Jacs and me as we spend this week with Dylan and Tessa Jahnig and Linc Church in Ballito.

Much love

Rich

Newsletter #35

Hi friends

I often find it encouraging hearing others' views of different experiences and after reading Mark's letter to the community group leaders, I thought it would be encouraging to take an excerpt out of it and let you read it yourselves:

"Another week, another outpouring of God's grace and blessing on us at Southcity. I find it fascinating that God regularly tells the people of Israel to set up monuments so as to remember what God had done. He sets up wonderful celebrations and festivities to remember but he is always taking them forward. I believe this weekend was one of those monuments with Craig and Colette returning to minister to us but in doing so spurring us on to keep our eyes ahead of us.

Aside from the personal joy of dedicating Caleb and being ordained onto eldership, I regard this weekend as a monumental moment in our history as Southcity Church. We have been encouraged to maintain a holy discontent with the status quo by living with a "joyful but not satisfied" spirit. We have been encouraged to remember (for those who were here) and to know (for the rest of us who have joined) the history and the trajectory of Southcity. We who have joined are like tributaries merging with the main stream of a river that has forged a path from its source and is heading to its mouth. Everything we bring is who we are but we are no longer our own streams, we are part of a mighty river that is strengthened as its volume grows. Having the ministry of a couple like Craig and Colette this weekend has opened me to seeing this more greatly and helped me understand that what we have stepped into has a mighty story so much greater than our own personal stories."

What an incredible privilege to be part of something that is here today because of an incredibly faithful, kind and generous God, as well as faithful, kind, and generous people who contended for the future which we get to live in the blessing of. May we always spur one another on to contend for the gospel and for each other and for the generations to come, giving up our preferences, our resources and our time, in order that Jesus' name may continue to reach all nations now and until the end of time.

One of Craig's words to us as a church was that our voice would grow louder and reach further. With this in mind would you pray for Jaci as she has the opportunity to speak on a national television show about parenting. A journey started a few months ago writing parenting tips for a few young moms, and this has grown in influence to the point of a book being released this Monday past on amazon.com, and the hard copy being released this coming Thursday as she speaks in front of a national audience. May God's name continue to be lifted high.

Church, we are an ancient-future people. A people who have a history, but a people who are moving towards our future. Do not get stuck around the wells and monuments of the past, as good as they were, but keep moving forward in God on this journey he has each of us on.

May you know God's peace, love, and mercy.

Much love

Richard

Newsletter #34

Dear Friends

Today, as I sit and write this in my study, and as I look forward, taking stock of what has gone before and the trajectory that the elders, both past and present, have directed us on following God's lead, I can boast in no one but our heavenly Father for His overwhelming kindness toward us.

We believe what Scripture teaches us, both by faith and experience, when we are taught: "Where there is no vision, the people perish" ~ Proverbs 29:18. Our Father is acutely aware of our need to be directed, even in this day of Western thinking with the dominance of thought teaching 'each man to and for himself'. And it is this I have in mind, as I look how our Father continues to raise men amongst us who desire to take up the mantle and responsibility of being under-shepherds under Christ.

This coming Sunday, as a believing community, we have the incredible privilege of witnessing two men take up the responsibility of doing just this. We are taught a reasonable amount from Scripture as to why we need elders, and who qualifies, so let me just include a few verses to refresh us on this matter:

Paul, after listing qualifications for elders, ends his point with this: "I am writing you these instructions so that, if I am delayed, you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in Gods household, which is the church of the living God." ~ 1 Tim 3:14

"The reason I left you in Crete was that you might straighten out what was left unfinished and appoint elders in every town as I directed you." ~ Titus 1:5

"If anyone sets his heart on being an overseer, he desires a noble task." ~ 1 Tim 3:1

"The Elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honour especially those whose work is preaching and teaching." ~ 1 Tim 5:17 

Again, as I sit here, I am very grateful that God has taught us the way to conduct ourselves as a believing community, and that there are men who desire to fill the role of an elder amongst us.

When God releases gifts into action, the body benefits, and we are going to be the beneficiaries of the gifts being released on Sunday. So I ask you friends, to make every effort to be with us on Sunday, as our lives and futures as members of the family of God are intricately involved with each others and our leaders.

Let's be there in full support as Mark Russell and Johan Schoeman have hands laid upon them by a past leader of Southcity Church Craig Meyer, who will also be ministering on Sunday. I love what God is doing here; using an elder from the past to lay hands on two elders for our future.

What a great occasion to look forward to.

Much love to you all.

Rich

Newsletter #33

Dear friends

What an incredible privilege to be a part of a worshipping, witnessing community. As we survey Scripture and know our Father, we see two primary importances for the church. Firstly, we are to be a community who glorify God and give Him praise, and secondly, we are to be a witnessing community, attesting to the goodness and love of our creator God in order that those living in our region may come to have the same faith as us.

This past week has seen 'Southcity' involved in multiple expressions of both worship and witness. We had the privilege of hosting elders and pastors from the coast in a time together where we could partner with and encourage one another. We hosted a men's evening where just under 100 men came together from all walks of life and both the righteous and unrighteous heard of Jesus' fame and work. We hosted multiple churches praying together for our nation, and we were able to worship together in Ramsgate, Mzamba, and SCRC. What a rich inheritance we have together!

In all of these things, my prayer is that we would know the life and love of God, and not just be meeting attenders. That we would worship and witness because the love of Christ compels us to as it did Paul when he wrote:

For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. ...We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God." - 2 Corinthians 5:14-20

Church, friends, it is a great privilege and responsibility to teach and proclaim the word of God to you every week, and today I need to humbly apologise and correct an aspect of what a taught, and how I said it, on Sunday. I said that the 'Daniel fast' was attributed to Daniel chapter 1 where Daniel does not defile himself with the kings food, whereas it is attributed to Daniel chapter 10, where he cries out to God for his people and does not allow any delicacies, meat or wine to cross his lips. I spoke quite strongly, even critically, about our motives around this, and on this point, I was the one in error.

Please accept my apology and I thank God for placing a team around me that hold me to account for what I teach. The reason for writing this now is that I would choose to publicly apologise face to face with you on Sunday, as that is the context I spoke it in, but I will not be with you this Sunday, so will not be able to do it with the urgency I would like to without writing it here.

Be strong and courageous church. I end with Paul's encouragement to Timothy, which I encourage you to pick up and run with:

"... Set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity. ... be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them so that everyone may see your progress. Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers." - 1 Timothy 4:12-16

Much love

Rich

Newsletter #32

Dear Southcity

I have wrestled with whether or not to send this letter to you friends, as I am aware that we all face challenges and that our experience of Christian community is not always the same, but I believe in the end it is better for me to write this than not to. One thing I ask is that should your experience of God's love be different to the testimony below, may I ask you to celebrate God's kindness to another rather than to be discontent with your own experience. What follows below is Jaci's brief writing on what we as a family have experienced these past few months.

"In the past 10 weeks, since I injured myself and was confined to bed, we have had meals from 50 different families, ladies come and play with our children, countless school and ballet lifts done by up to 10 different friends, treatments by a physio, a chiropractor and a massage therapist in my own room, thousands of rands of medical treatments wavered, and further thousands covered by friends, an endless supply of flowers, gifts for our baby and for me, an extra full-time helper at home paid for by a friend, and communities and churches all over praying for us, sometimes with busy men and women gathered for an entire hour of prayer for our family.  

If I thought this in any way was because of who I was, or even who my husband was, I would keep quietly proud about it.  But I know it is not because of who we are, but because of what we are a part of.  

God does not intend for you to be lonely.  He does not intend for you to have just a small group of friends that you can depend on.  He came so that we could be reconciled to him, yes, but also so that we would be reconciled to each other.  Like any dad, he wants his kids to get along and to benefit from being a part of the family.  My husband and I chose to have a big family for the sake of our kids.  God's heart is the same - he wants us to have a big family that can stand with us like an army when we need them to.

I am very privileged to have both a natural family and a spiritual family to depend on.  But if that is not the case with you, do yourself the justice of making the most of the very large and very loving family that God has provided for all his children who believe in him."

Southcity, we thank you for being a great witness to my family of the love of God for his people. Thank you for your generosity, your time and your prayer. We truly treasure these things in our hearts and are grateful for the lessons you have taught our children because of your love for us. We stand in awe of our Father in heaven and in love with you, our family in Christ.

Thank you for a being a great blessing to this coast!

Much love

Rich

PS - I have tried my best to keep up to speed with all the meals and plates, and those who have come to help Jacs and our kids etc, but in being totally overwhelmed by the constant wave of help, may we be forgiven for saying a big thank you like this to everyone who has helped us in any way. THANK YOU! And for all of you that have dropped things off in our home, from meals to medical helps for Jacs, DVD's for the kids to books etc for us, may I ask that you find what is yours in the church office and if anything is missing, please let us know.

23 May: 7pm
Men on Fire

27 May:  2pm
Global Day of Prayer

16 & 17 June
Craig and Collete Meyer

Newsletter #31

Dear friends

What a great joy it is to witness new life as a community; over the past two weeks we have seen the birth of Callum Bilton and Tyden Mun-Gavin, the dedication of Nathan Snyders, Matthew, Jenna and Guy coming to faith in Jesus Christ, and Guy and Thandi being baptised amongst the Ramsgate church. Surely our God is a God who is at work amongst the people's of the earth!

As a believing community, two aspects to our faith are that we are to be disciples of Jesus (Matthew 28:18-20), as well as to imitate our leaders (Hebrews 13:7, 17).

Since part of our worship is to gather as a community and to have Scripture taught to us, the preaching team will be discipling the church as we unpack one of a previous generations leaders life that was recorded for all generations to learn from.

Daniel's life serves as an example on many fronts, and we will be looking at some of these over the coming weeks. The way he prayed, the way he remained steadfast in the face of opposition, the way he fasted, the way he served the unrighteous, and the manner in which he was obedient to God are a few lessons we can be discipled in and follow a leader in.

This is the journey we will be going on over the coming months in our continued attempt to receive God's Word not only as a record to learn from, but also as the living, imparted Word of God for us today.

May I encourage you to read the book of Daniel in order to prepare your hearts and minds as we walk and mature together.

I love you deeply friends

Rich

PS - please prayerfully consider supporting Clif and Sarah in their move to Doha, Qatar. We will give the opportunity again on Sunday to support them financially, alternatively, you can deposit into the bank details reflected below. Looking forward to celebrating Clif and Sarah with you all on Sunday as we picnic together after the service and send them on their way.         

6 May:

Clif and Sarah

Support Offering:

Banking details:

Southcity Church FNB

Acc: 52960343210

Branch: 220128

Ref: Longhursts

6 May: After Service

Family Picnic

17May: 6:45pm

Leaders’ Meeting

23 May: 7pm

Men on Fire

27 May: 9am

Craig Meyer

Newsletter #30

Dear Southcity and friends

What an incredible privilege it is to serve, love, and live amongst men and women whose lives are devoted to God and who love to be a part of God's Kingdom coming on earth as it is in heaven.

One of our core beliefs is that we are an apostolic people, a people who are sent by God into all the world in order that His gospel may be proclaimed through the life and words of those who love Him.

In the next few weeks, we have the privilege (and sadness) of saying goodbye to Clif, Sarah and Chelsey, and supporting them on their way as God sends them to Doha, Qatar, to help a church in that city under the leadership of Rob and Hellette Botha. This church is doing an incredible work in Doha as they love God together and are reaching fifty two different nationalities at this moment in time. What a great expression of every tribe, nation, and tongue worshipping God as part of the great multitude!

3 John reads like this:

5 Beloved, it is a faithful thing you do in all your efforts for these brothers, strangers as they are, 6 who testified to your love before the church. You will do well to send them on their journey in a manner worthy of God. 7 For they have gone out for the sake of the name, accepting nothing from the Gentiles. 8 Therefore we ought to support people like these, that we may be fellow workers for the truth.

Church, friends, fellow workers, as Clif and Sarah go on their journey for the sake of His name, we want to send them in a manner worthy of our God. A Father who is loving, incredibly generous, and provides everything we need. So this Sunday, we will be taking up a special offering for them. This offering is over and above our normal giving for the sake of the work going on here locally. I am asking, that this week, as you allow God to lead you in your stewarding of your finances, you come prepared to give on Sunday with an expectant and joyful heart as we have the privilege of sharing in Kingdom work by helping send them on their way.

And then the following Sunday, the 6th May, we will be having a celebratory service as we say goodbye, and send them with our love and our financial support. So please plan to stay after the service and join the church as we fellowship together over lunch. (We will be sending out lunch plans and details a bit later).

I am aware this Sunday falls in the middle of a school long weekend, so if you are planning some time away, may I urge you to give by transferring into Southcity's bank account with the reference: Longhurst.

I close with Paul's encouragement to the Corinthian church in his 2nd letter, chapter 8:

We want you to know, brothers,1 about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, 2 for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. 3 For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, 4 begging us earnestly for the favor2 of taking part in the relief of the saints— 5 and this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us. 6 Accordingly, we urged Titus that as he had started, so he should complete among you this act of grace. 7 But as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all earnestness, and in our love for you3—see that you excel in this act of grace also.

I love you deeply Southcity and am overawed by God's continued love and grace toward us as a community of believers together.

See you on Sunday and much love

Richard

Newsletter #29

Dear Southcity

May I encourage you today to live in the same manner as Paul encourages the church to do when he says:

"But I say, walk by the Spirit... If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit." - Galatians 5:16, 25.

In understanding our togetherness as 'church', as the people of God, it is important to grasp that the Spirit is not a part of God that we get after we have been established in the church, as though he could be something we choose to accept or reject as an additional blessing from our Father. While studying this week, I came across the following which I believe articulates this relationship so clearly:

The Spirit is not something that "animates" a Church which already somehow exists. The Spirit makes the Church be. Pneumatology does not refer to the well-being of the Church but to the very being of the Church. It is the very essence of the Church. (Zizioulas 1985:132)

So again, since our very being is dependent upon the Spirit giving us life through Christ, hence we live by the Spirit, I urge you to walk by the Spirit also.

Church, be strengthened and encouraged today that the Spirit who moved in power and overcame death in Christ's body and raised him to life, is the same Spirit who calls us to Jesus and to live in His power.

My prayer for you is that as we approach the Easter weekend, where we as Christians have a heightened focus around the pinnacle of our faith, where Jesus won forgiveness and victory over our sin and through his resurrection has offered us life, that we would experience and know the magnitude of our God's love for us, in His holiness, righteousness, grace, mercy and creative power.

Much love to you all.

Rich

Newsletter #28

Dear Friends

My heart is beating to the urgency of the coming Kingdom, where Jesus is Lord. These past few months have felt like an army march within me, as the prospect of taking new ground, which once lay on the horizon, over the past months and weeks, stares us face to face. The heart is pounding all the more excitedly, with a mix of nervous energy, adrenaline, and excitement, knowing that the enemy will attack, and attempt to derail, and  kill.

So hear I stand, and hear we stand, the horizon now just inches away, and two Scriptures shouting all the more loudly:

"The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance" - 2 Peter 3:9

and:

"How then can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!" - Romans 10:14-15

Church, partners in the gospel, friends, brothers and sisters, may I commission you, as indeed we have all been commissioned, to be ministers of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:18). I have been sent, and my call is as clear today as it was 16 years ago, to preach the good news. I urge you, as one who  believes in the risen Christ and his salvation work and our promised inheritance, and in light of the coming Kingdom and the impending judgement of all mankind, to:

"Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame... Go out to the roads and country lanes and make them come in, so that my house will be full." - Luke 14:21-23

This Sunday, we have some incredibly exciting, albeit a little daunting, news to share with all of you. So allow these words to penetrate, to settle, to stir, to excite, to shake, to inspire and to lead, and come with anticipation on Sunday as we journey together.

May I also commend you church on your overwhelming generosity and care for the things of God's Kingdom. Under godly leadership and your generosity, we as a church are financially sound and able to sow into multiple gospel (preaching, caring, supporting) initiatives which are bearing fruit, and taking care of the needs of communities and families.

It is an absolute privilege to live, serve, and lead amongst you.

Much love and living in great anticipation for our together time on Sunday.

Rich

Newsletter #27

Hi Southcity

What a day yesterday! Days like that give great insight into the glory of our eternal life and I am overwhelmed by the goodness of God as our lives are interwoven together with each other as we love Him.

What a brilliant day, being able to start as a local community and ending the day as a coastal community, so well done to all of you that were a part of it. I trust you have been encouraged, strengthened and fallen more in love with our incredible King, Jesus Christ.

Days like these don't just happen, and I want to take this opportunity to publicly thank all of those who helped Southcity host this event so outstandingly. Please read below, so we can honor those who went over and beyond.

As we gaze upon the awesomeness of God, we turn our attention forward with an incredible few days ahead. As we start our church fast today from after lunch, I trust you are anticipating eagerly for great breakthroughs, wisdom, and clarity for us as a worshipping, believing, witnessing group of friends. And as we fast together, standing in unity, let us make every effort to come and pray at 6:30pm tonight in our auditorium, so we can seek God together, hear his voice together, know him together, and encourage one another together.

Then on Tuesday evening, after continuing the fast through the day, we look forward to breaking the fast together in our community groups as we take a closer look at the Lordship of Jesus Christ. What a brilliant evening that is going to be!

And the Kingdom continues to advance as strong, forceful men take hold of it as the men get together on Wednesday night to have dinner and take a stand on this coast; a stand which says God reigns, and we humbly follow Him as our lives are submitted to Him and to each other. What a privilege for our wives, the widows, the single ladies, and the children to know that the men in this community are serious about the things of God.

May God bless you richly as you bless him through your faithfulness this week.

See you tonight.

Much love

Rich

Thank you to those who made last night happen:

Ian Pretorious for setting up the half a ton of scaffolding on Thursday afternoon to build the stage extensions. Mark Bolton from Nuform in blessing us with the scaffolding at no cost.

The muscle men; Johan Schoeman, Johan Viljoen and his boys, Rob Hoatson, Harry, Terence Strydom, Guy Spittal, Miguel, James, Eddie, Daine, Jason, Duane Wood and his boys and all those others that jumped in and moved, cleaned, set-down and set-up.

Miguel for learning how to operate the lights, rehearsals and running the lights throughout the evening which he did so exceptionally well. Clint Stevenson from Wired Media in blessing us with all the lighting at no cost.

The kids supervision team: Gea, Joey, Jenny, Ryan Mather-Pike, Dianne Griffiths, Shelley Jacobs.

The cappuccino makers, Liz and Heidi. For managing the tea trolleys; Jenny, Penny, Chris Louw, Joey, Ursula, Bev. Washing all the dishes; Katie, Debbie, Dave and Karen, Rose Ledward, Benita. Taking care of the tuckshop; Esther, Catherine

Mark Hoatson and Avril Greco for driving the combis and bringing SCRC residents and taking them home afterwards. Traffic control; Gert, Nick Buitendag, Kevin and Darren. Fred for organising the car guard. Grant hill for his groundwork in barrier’ing and red taping all over to create parking and direction

The band, Deon and Alex, Nobs and Amy, Jason van Zyl and from the other churches, Jason Price from Norwegians, Nati and Mark VP from Glenridge, Wayne and Jen Duncan from Coastlands. Davin from Gates of Praise in lending us some of their sound equipment, and Luanne on the computer (baby and all).

The everything champions – from picking up litter, to opening doors, to moving trolleys, to clearing stages to filling urns etc, Dwayne de Beer, Gert Meyer, Daine who was the sound champion all day from 7am-9pm setting up stages, rehearsals, sound checks, making lunches and doing pretty much everything – I think Daine covered more mileage than a marathon runner in this one day.

Clifton for being around pointing everyone to where they were able to be involved and for coordinating the entire evening from many weeks ago.

Thank you to all of you from all of us who got to enjoy the evening and we honour you. We appreciate all the work you have done, and in addition we want to make a special fuss over Jenny, Daine, Gert, Dwayne and Joey and Miguel who made themselves so available and worked so hard and were key in making yesterday a success....

Newsletter #26

Dear Southcity

What a joy it is to serve and live amongst this community. Three and a half years ago, Jaci and I had the incredible privilege of being called here to lead Southcity in her journey with God and as a witness in our city. This, it seemed, was good to God, it was good to the leaders of Southcity at the time, and it was good to Jacs and I; all of this leading to an incredible three and a half years in which we believe as a community we have "shone like stars in a crooked and depraved generation as we have held out the word of life", as Paul encourages the church in Philippi to do.

I have been carrying with me a great vision of our future together, and together with the elders, believe that we are again at a juncture where decisions we make today will shape our future and set us on a trajectory to walk into the inheritance God has set before us. I have been fervently praying for us, and for our elders, and I rest in a spacious place of incredible peace in the knowledge that Jesus is building his church. Yet, in this, he has called us to a mighty task as the gospel carriers in our city.

To this end, the elders of Southcity are calling the church to a one day fast as we lay aside our own agendas, submitting to the will of our Father, and seeking him as we align ourselves toward our future. We encourage you to be a part of this communal activity as we serve each other in this way.

All the details of this time are on the church website and can be found by clicking on ‘A call to Southcity to fast’under the ‘Resources’menu tab.
Alternatively you can click on the link below to take you directly to the article:

http://www.nakekela.org/southcitychurch/lettersrichard/fast.pdf

I am really looking forward to Sunday as we wrap up our series on discovering Jesus, and then as we come together with many churches on the coast to glorify God at 6pm in the evening. May I encourage you to plan wisely and strengthen yourself in Him as we have an exciting week ahead participating in Kingdom activity.

Much love to you all
Rich

PS - Men, I look forward to seeing you all on Wed the 29th Feb as we spend an evening together. Get your names down and those of your friends so we can cater excellently.