Over the last year or so, I have had a few sporadic conversations with Pastor Rhogene and I just find myself blessed each time. I met him when our World Race squad came through in March and he needed some basketball players to help play and challenge his high school boys. Although all the kids were close to a foot shorter than us and almost a decade younger, they knew how to play the game. If we tried to be lazy, they would put up a lot of points on us very quickly. Over three weeks of playing with them, we lost track of the wins and loses, but to this day, the boys are reminding me of all the games we played together.
I love hearing the heart of Pastor Rhogene because he is doing something that may be considered strange to most people. Being a pastor and teaching the Word of God is a huge burden on his heart. Unfortunately, the area where Rhogene is called to preach would not bring in a salary to support a family. However, as a family, they decided that his wife would work and he would essentially become a stay at home dad. Anyone that knows him, knows that he is never just a dad. While his beautiful seven year old daughter is one of the most important things to him, he’s learning to balance being the spiritual leader of his home as well as leading his church.
Many of the boys he has been working with are staying in school and getting an education that many of the boys their age run from.
I don’t know this yet, but judging by the stories I’ve heard throughout my life, I’d have to saying being a dad has to be one of the hardest jobs on the planet. I’m not talking about the act of becoming a biological father, that’s the easy part for some. I mean, with all the “daddy issues” in the world, being a dad has to be one of the hardest tasks on the planet. I know, motherhood is a crazy challenge too and probably harder (I wouldn’t know), but with all the men taking off on their families and setting an awfully low bar, being a true daddy seems to being a dying trade.
When I see Pastor Rhogene with his daughter, I see a daddy. When I see him with his basketball boys and the rest of his congregation, I see a spiritual leader. He has a dream to help get these boys back on the right path, and the local church he is leading may actually be the answer…
