“Fred. He Invite Me”
Romans 12:4-6
4 For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5 so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. 6 We each have different gifts
People are often curious as to why staff stay so long at Wollondilly. In these days of transient
occupations and ephemeral workplace buy-in (whilst scanning the newspapers for the next better
option); our College is certainly a novelty. Forrester Research predicts that today’s workers will hold 12 to 15 jobs in their lifetime so we are clearly not contributing much to the trend. Schools are not
exempt from statistics. By any measure, a 95% to 100% year to year staff retention rate is an
anomaly.
It cannot be put down to any one thing. There is a sense of purpose in serving Christ here but the work is still hard. It is a peaceful location but a long way from big-city attractions. It is a rapidly growing College and that is exciting but equally unnerving, unsettling and discomforting. There are wonderful facilities but we strive hard to pay them off.
My best guess is that it is the staff who attract and retain the staff. Our College endeavours to live out the passage from Romans. As a Headmaster I try to model leadership, tell stories, maintain the
Christian ethos and engage and encourage other leaders to do likewise. It is an important role but, when we apply the passage from Romans, no less important, and no more important, than any other staff member. I know a little German but not enough to teach it. I would be the world’s worst maintenance worker. Our College needs other skilled people for these things; experts in many areas and it is God who sends us the best of the best. No-one should think more highly of themselves than any other. We are created equal and we all have different gifts. Each relies on the other. Each values the other.
Around a year ago, our Property Manager, Mr Fred Schroder, invited the College contract cleaners to Family Chapel at the College. They could not stay. Undaunted, Fred invited them to his church that Sunday. And so it was that a year ago, Dante (from Chile) and his wife, Nahir (from Paraguay), attended Fred’s Church, Tahmoor Baptist.
They kept coming. They have accepted Jesus into their lives and last Sunday were baptised to publicly acknowledge this. Praise God. Ros and I were privileged to be there and to share their joy.
Q. Why did you attend church Dante? A. Fred. He invite me
Q. Why did you stay? A. I see happiness.
Q. Why did you decide to be baptised? A. God helping me be a better person. Baptism is just a sign of what God is doing in me.
Q. Why did you decide to be baptised Nahir? A. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
Welcome to Paradise
