June 2009 Newsletter

June 2009

Greetings in the Name of Jesus,

This newsletter will be a bit different than usual. Great things are abroad and, as our partners in this work, I’m informing you.

The His Mansion Board of Directors has selected a man to come aboard as the “Incoming CEO” officially replacing me as the Chief Executive Officer. There, I’ve said it! Although it will be a year before officially turning it over, I’m affected.

Scriptural models for succession-planning include Moses, Nehemiah, Jesus, and Paul, but the principles and the process at work draw me to the Book of Esther.

In that book itself there is no use of God’s name whatsoever, but it is clear that He is at work. Although the story centers on a “Changing of the Guard,” the parallels end there!

The purpose of the book of Esther is to demonstrate the providential care of God over His people. And it is here that I see the significance in regards to God’s doings in the succession process. The hidden nugget is the fact of providential preservation – “providential” as distinct from what we call the “miraculous”.

We are meant, in Esther, to see providential overruling as distinct from supernatural intervening. This has been true for me as well. There have been attempts to put forward prospective CEO replacements in the recent years, but for any number of reasons, they fell through.

Now, that word “Providence” comes from the Latin provideo, which means that I see a thing beforehand (pro=before; video=I see); so that the root meaning of Providence is “foresight”.

Because foresight always occasions activity in relation to that which is foreseen, providence comes to have the acquired meaning of activity arising from foresight.

This is what is demonstrated in the Book of Esther that applies to His Mansion. There’s a crisis about which the Book of Esther is written and it is providentially anticipated and then providentially overruled at just the critical moment. No miraculous intervention is resorted to.

There is no crisis, in the negative sense, in announcing the “incoming CEO,” but enough “providential stuff” to make it exciting!

Everything that’s recorded in Esther is the outworking of circumstances in a natural sequence. Yet while there’s no miracle recorded, the whole thing, in its ultimate meaning, is a mighty miracle – the mighty miracle whereby a sovereign God so manipulates all the non-miraculous events as to bring about a predetermined outcome; and this miracle is all the more miraculous just because it achieves a predetermined outcome without the need for using miracles!

Truly, this mysterious reality which we call providence, this sovereign manipulation of all the ordinary, non-miraculous doings which make up the ordinary happenings so as to bring about, by natural process, those results which are Divinely pre-determined, is the mightiest of all miracles.

Paul and Robin served here for three years. He was my direct second and was responsible for all matters pertaining to the campus in New Hampshire. He served well and my respect and love for the Atkinsons grew daily. Then comes “providence”.

The mission organization targeting prisoners in Africa that Paul has been actively associated with underwent a crisis. Their board prevailed upon Paul’s sense of responsibility, and convinced him to return to become its Executive Director. That well-intentioned effort fell to what’s commonly known as “founder’s syndrome,” and Paul and Robin were not fulfilled, nor happy.

As a Board of Directors of His Mansion, we agree that Paul has all the prerequisites to lead this work and become its visionary for the future. He was asked, and has accepted. The Atkinsons will arrive in late June and begin assuming steps of responsibility January 1st, culminating in a formal Changing-of-the-Guard, October 1st of 2010.

I am delighted to come to this point. It is, indeed, providential, setting my heart at peace. There are lots of “feelings” going on, and they’ll increase as the day approaches, I am sure, “The only person who likes change is a wet baby.” Mark Twain!

The stories of His Mansion and Stan Farmer are inseparably wedded to each other. Someone has said that it is not only the man who makes the story; it is equally true that the story makes the man. The perils and problems of undertaking a work like His Mansion brought out all of His best in me, but also exposed great weakness. It’s hard to imagine how much I owe the difficulties and setbacks, the obstructions and oppositions, which have been permitted to try me. The things that I thought were breaking me were in reality making me – as I now see in retrospect.

More than present accomplishments, a leader’s greater legacy is to develop others to continue after his or her season of leadership is done. I am looking forward to working with Paul and passing on the baton. Once the transfer is made, October of 2010, I shall remain involved as “Founder and Ambassador-at-Large”.

I have, for years, regretted that my duties hindered me from teaching classes, mentoring men, and working on development. I shall remain busy!

Planting News

We’ve had just the right combination of rain and sunshine. Peas are already out of the ground and other veggies are pushing through. Kathy got into the greenhouse early, tilled up the floor and planted lettuce and radishes, which we’ve already had in salads.

The flower gardens are outrageous! There’s every color of the rainbow and then some. Once-broken women delight in the very visible fruit of their labors. They’ve done a lot to make this fragrant, beautiful joy to lighten every heart.

Speaking of fragrance, Hank had the honor of stinking the whole place up when he spread a full winter’s production of you-know-what, on the fields. PU!

Intake News

The largest intake ever has shrunk, but not by much. Within a few days the two women with serious eating-disorders decided to remain in complete control of their lives and left. Of all the dysfunctions we deal with, this is the toughest.

We’ve also lost two of the men, but, all-in-all, the attrition is very low. Those who are settling in have such great potential. There’ll be some powerful testimonies come graduation time.

A major source of joy in my life is to see the rapid transformation in attitudes and countenances. Tired, angry, despairing faces are hardly recognizable as the skin-tone gets healthy, the eyes begin to sparkle, and smiles replace the grimace. God’s Holy Spirit is at work making a “new thing!”

Continued Blessings

Don Fuller, Head of Operations, is involved in a ministry inside the prisons (KIROS), and recently was a part of a graduation program. He took a number of the men and women in the HM program into the jail for the event. Our folks were moved and impressed with the testimonies. Needless to say, they were inspired and encouraged to see God at work.

Al LaMorey, a graduate of His Mansion, and an ex-staffer, has been in the Chaplain’s program, under Vision New England, for over twenty years. He often comments that his training and experience at His Mansion helped prepare him for service.

I received an invitation this month to the ceremony for aeronautical engineers graduating from Emory Riddle—one of the most prestigious schools of its type in America. The young woman extending the invite was born at His Mansion while her mom was a resident of New Beginnings, a subset of HM’s program. It is hard to believe that the babies born here are now college grads, moms, and missionaries, but they are!

We are looking for a state-of-the-art video camera so we can create safety training videos and promotional videos to be added to our Website. We are also in need of a live-stock trailer to transport the animals to the “knacker”.

Through your prayer and support, you are equal partners in these precious works of God. Giving is down 15%, but to be expected. That 2009 would be a tough year is no surprise to anyone. We will tough it out and should be okay. The construction of the new dormitory goes well and we’ll not fall behind schedule there.

Stan Farmer