In light of both our pastors being away, in our Pastors’ Pen this week we get to meet Merhawi and his family…

First you might like to click here to read Stew’s Pastors’ Pen from early September. Now, let’s learn about Merhawi and his family…

Q: How many siblings do you have?
A: I have 4 sisters and 2 brothers and 1 brother who died in the war… so that makes 7!

Q: So Merhawi – hello! Now Merhawi isn’t a very common name. Where is it from?
A: Eritrea! You will probably have to Google that. 

Q: What was your first job?
A: I was a goat herder! But in Australia my first job was a sandwich artist at Subway. 

Q: How many places have you lived?
A: I was born in Eritrea and lived in a village in the countryside until I was 12. I then lived in Egypt for 2 years on my way to Australia. I lived in Brisbane for the first 5 years and high school (this qualifies me as a QLDer!), Sydney for Uni, Canberra for work and back to Sydney for Bible College!

Q: What did you study at Uni/do for work?
A: Aviation management! I wanted to be a pilot but HECS (government loan) wasn’t available so the next best option was management. I worked at the Civil Aviation Safety Authority in Canberra.

Q: Have you always been a follower of Jesus?
A: No. It was actually during Uni my housemate invited me to church. I went along. To my surprise, he asked me again the following week. This time, I was thinking, ‘wait, what was so special about church last week?’ But I went along on and off for 3 months. I was at church in one of those times and the Pastor explained sin. The words of Jesus confronted me: there will come a time I’ll give an account to my Creator for how I lived. I was confronted with the love of Jesus for people like me. So I started reading Jesus’ words for the first time. And by the end of my first year at uni I started to trust in, and follow, Jesus.

Q: And where in this sequence did you meet your lovely wife?
A: We met in 2015 at a conference in Tamworth (you can ask Ami for the detailed version). We have been married for 7 years and have 2 boys Jesse (4) and Ezra (2).

Q: Did you feel nervous quitting your job to go to Bible College?
A: Yes – in fact it took me a while to get to that point. 

Q: Why did you want to go into full time ministry?
A: I enjoyed serving at my church in different ways over the years while working. I’ve been keen to help God’s people apply the precious gospel to all of life as disciples of Jesus.

Q: What books have significantly shaped your walk with Jesus?
A: “Chosen by God” by RC Sproul; “Good and Angry” by David Powlison and “Instruments in the Redeemer’s Hand” by Paul Tripp.

Q: What are some ways you like to relax?
A: Walking anywhere outdoors, reading a novel, running, basketball, watching Friday night footy (go the Broncos!)

Q: What would your wife say is your most annoying habit?
A: Going down too many rabbit holes when I’m telling a story such that I forget what I was talking about… this is what she says anyway. 

Q: What has been one challenge about Bible College?
A: It’s been a stretching experience – reading, writing, thinking, analysing on top of normal life can be tiring. 

Q: Is there something God has been teaching you over this time?
A: To hold my plans lightly and to be open to where he might direct each day. Being okay with not being as productive as I’d like but surrendering to His provision and care when I don’t meet my own expectations. 

Q: What are you looking forward to in 2025?
A: Not studying! And getting to know you guys at SCPC and serving alongside you. I’m also looking forward to life in Lismore and making it our home.

We are excited for you to meet Merhawi, Ami, Jesse and Ezra too and we look forward to seeing them toward the end of November.

It’s Celebration Sunday time! A time for us to reflect on what makes our own hearts sing as you think about life at SCPC. What makes your heart sing as we seek to grow followers of Jesus at SCPC?

Even if you missed your chance to fill in some hearts as we prepared for Sunday, why don’t you prepare your heart sometime this week to stop to think about what makes your heart sing. You might like to use one of the questions from our term series to fire your heart and emotions. If you are still struggling, reflect on the wonder of your salvation – that should get your heart singing!

Listen to this beautiful truth from Phillip Ryken:
Be assured we will not be declared innocent on the basis of your record. The only safety for all eternity is faith in Jesus Christ. He is the only person who is perfectly innocent, and his death in our place is the only hope of salvation there is. [1]

This Sunday we get to enjoy one extra question in our series – What is the Church?

Let me finish with these verses from 1 Peter 2:4-5…
As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him – you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

A little secret for Sunday… What is the church? We are! Living stones!

Come on church, let’s celebrate!

SP

Here are a few things to remember:

• Please bring hearts ready to sing and hands ready to serve!
• Please also bring a small plate of morning tea to share, a picnic rug or camping chairs, and a salad to share at lunch (with serving utensils).
• We will provide sausages, bread, plates etc. If you are a vegetarian you can enjoy a selection of salads available on Sunday. There will also be cold drinks provided and, as usual, some ice blocks for dessert.

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[1] Philip Ryken, Jesus on Trial, p 117.

As you may have heard from our AGM earlier this year, or through some editions of the Pastors’ Pen, we have been on the lookout for a Next Generation Pastor for the start of 2025 (once Cam, Jess and Eliza finish up their roles). It hasn’t been an easy task! [1] Since advertising the role in February with theological colleges and the denomination, by the middle of the year we had not received any enquiries. I was disheartened.

Then, before the start of the NSW General Assembly in Sydney, I was invited to attend the opening chapel service at SMBC as their new semester began (and where the role was included the student notices). No sooner had I left the lecture theatre than a beaming smile greeted me! “Hello, my name is Merhawi [2] and I’m in my final year of studies at SMBC, I was interested in talking with you about the role…”

Following a couple of meetings in person and on zoom with Ritchie and I, our NG25 team of Ritchie, Louise, Peita and I created an online form for Merhawi to complete. We also extended an opportunity for him (and his wife, Ami) to travel to Lismore for an interview and to meet members of our staff team, CoM exec., VCs and elders.

Let’s just say the visit didn’t really go to plan! No sooner had I greeted Merhawi and Ami, that I found myself hopping into an ambulance and off to the Lismore Base Hospital with my son who injured himself playing sport. I then found myself completely removed from the whole weekend plan. I was meant to host Ami and Merhawi, but staff pivoted and extended a kind welcome to host them. I was unable to be part of the interview, but it still went ahead. Breakfasts, dinners and lunches all went ahead without me. I expected to be their local tour guide, but they were excellently guided and cared for by our elders and staff team. Thank you team!

The denomination role Merhawi was applying for was previously called a ‘private appointment’, [3] the position is now called a ‘pastoral assistant’ and requires endorsement by a local session (Leadership Team) and pending the applicant’s level of theological training, they must also be endorsed by the local Presbytery. If they have completed a theological degree, they will not report to the local church (Southern Cross), but rather they will need to report to the local Presbytery. So, because Merhawi has completed a Bachelor of Theology, he will need to be endorsed by Leadership Team and the Northern Rivers Presbytery.

Last Wednesday, LT endorsed Merhawi for the position. As I write this, his name has been put forward to the Northern Rivers Presbytery as an electronic motion (the Presbytery doesn’t meet again in person until October). We now await their vote to see if they endorse him for the role at Southern Cross.

The final requirement by the denomination for the role is financial endorsement by the local church. Thus, CoM will look to move a recommendation on the 11th of September at its next meeting. However, we will wait until we move into budget season early next term before officially calling a congregational meeting. The draft budget will be presented at our CoM meeting on the 6th of November and from there a decision will be made regarding a date for the congregational meeting.

Obviously, Merhawi and Ami are now keen to meet more members of SCPC and we are excited for you to meet them too. They now move into a heavy period of tuition, essays and exams, but are looking to return to visit the Northern Rivers again (with their two young boys) in November [4].

As LT, CoM and staff would know, the first half of the year was a difficult one, as we sought someone for this role with no real leads to move upon. But what has now become a bit of an ‘anthem’ for our staff team this year is this line from a Christian song: “In some way or another, the Lord will provide”. This song meditates upon the Lord’s provision to Abraham with the ram caught in a thicket in the most unexpected circumstances (from Genesis 22 below).

I don’t know about you, but it seems so often that God loves to meet our needs in seasons of despair, when we are desperate and disheartened. At times like these, we are taught to rest in his sovereign, gracious and providential care.

SP

Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide. And to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.”

Genesis 22:13-14

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[1] You can contact office@scpc.org.au if you are interested in a background paper written for LT and CoM.
[2] Merhawi immigrated to Brisbane in 1998 from Eritrea in Eastern Africa.
[3] As Merhawi is not an ordained Presbyterian minister, he does not have to go through the formal ‘call’ process of the denomination.
[4] A ‘Meet Merhawi’ document will be available for you to read near the start of Term 4.