I retired from professional consulting to people in management at the close of 2011. Under the banner of Bruce Staley & Friends, Consultants to Management, my career extended across eighteen years travelling the eastern seaboard of Australia.
The consulting services of Bruce Staley & Friends extended to career development, executive coaching, management training and project management for managers in small, medium and large, private and public, enterprises including, education and training, local government, transport and distribution, personal services, retail, manufacturing, agriculture, financial services, building and construction,
I initially trained as a professional mechanical engineer completing two years of engineering with the State Electricity Commission before entering teacher training. After several years teaching Mathematics and Science in secondary technical schools, and after avoiding management responsibility for some time I ended up in a management position with a regional TAFE college. It was during this phase of my career that my interest in the principles and practice of management began to grow and after seventeen years of various senior management roles, project management initiatives and post graduate studies in Business Administration I left a secure career to commence Bruce Staley & Friends, Consultants to Management.
Three Christian congregations have played a very important part in the development of my faith and out of these associations my belief in the local church and its capacity to influence lives for the sake of the Kingdom of God remains unshaken.
The first was the Hartwell Church of Christ in the southeast suburbs of Melbourne. While I lived in three family homes in the Hartwell area while I was growing up the family association with the local Church of Christ remained central to family life. My father was church treasurer, my mother with her lovely soprano voice sang in the choir and on regular occasions provided the weekly fresh flower arrangement for the Sunday services and my brothers joined in the various young people's activities. It was at this church I confirmed my decision to be a follower of Jesus at age fifteen by being baptised by immersion.
The second was the Warrugal Church of Christ. Warrugal, the gateway to Gippsland, was where I completed my first year of teaching in the local Secondary Technical School.
Engaged to be married I moved to Ballarat where I became involved in the Dawson Street Church of Christ which was attended by my fiancee. this congregation, which is now known as one2one Gillies Street Church of Christ, has a wonderful history of witness to the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ for over 150 years. While I haven't attended for all those years I do have 45 years of involvement in various leadership capacities.
I am deeply thankful that my immediate family, my wife, our older daughter and her husband and the two grandchildren, and our younger daughter are very much engaged in the life of the congregation too.
God has - and continues to do so - used the various aspects of life, my family, my career, my friends and neighbours, and my association with local congregations to shape me after the character of His Son, Jesus Christ.
He has given me the gift of encouragement, teaching, discernment and a heart for people to meet Jesus and grow in Him each day. I am particularly enthusiastic about helping others to discover the joy of personal work, one-on-one sharing of their faith and introducing people to Jesus.
The Share Jesus Easily blog is one of my responses to this desire and my gifting. Another response this year has been to start a monthly forum, In the Deep End, at one2one, to help people engage in the personal work of introducing people to Jesus. I intend to use the blog to provide reports of our progress.
Blessings
Bruce
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