|PIC1|M V Tronson can speak from personal experience in that from 1982 for 18 years he pioneered and developed the Sports and Leisure Ministry in association with Heads of Churches who in 2000 released him and his wife Delma due to issues of debilitating stress.
"This necessitated having to reinvent myself on several levels. The ministry I had lived and breathed for 18 years was no longer. Many of those who knew me were aware that my tunnel vision was focused on sports ministry. Moreover, I was still a young man of 48 years of age with oodles of energy," M V Tronson explained.
In his case, he turned his attention to Athlete Respite with the Basil Sellers Moruya facility on the NSW south coast and extended this in 2006 to Basil Sellers Tweed on the state's north coast.
Likewise his cricket ministry took a side ways move to Life After Cricket and in 2007 further developed it to Cricket Family Respite.
M V Tronson's interest in art grew with the Moruya Basil Sellers Art Centre in 2003, the Eurobodalla Shire's Basil Sellers $10,000 Art Prize in 2004 and the Basil Sellers Tweed Art Studio in 2007.
He further reinvented his ministry with the development of his press releases with Basil Sellers Press Service International, Country Town Tours with athletes and coaches as mentors and role models to rural Australia, the Around the Tables ministry, video bible teaching and Tourism ministry research and development.
"In reality our ministry now covers a swathe of areas but it's taken eight years to work this through. Another venture I'm quite keen on is illustrating bible teaching techniques to the un-churched as our 'one minute' Mark Speaks bible teaching videos have been so well received," M V Tronson explained.
But as he points out, he and Delma were very fortunate in reinventing themselves and recognises that many have great difficulty in this area.
He points to numerous scenarios:
Retrenched middle management people in middle age
Institutions where people leave, for example, policemen and women
Corporate sector people who find themselves out of a career
The divorced woman who finds herself needing employment
The father provider who has suffered an industrial accident
The professional sports coach out of a job
The recently retired
"In our ministry we have come across such people who are desperately trying to find ways to reinvent themselves," M V Tronson noted.
He pointed to a recent example where a former editor of a Christian publication went back into the corporate world but his heart felt passion is that of winning souls to Jesus. In this situation a part-time ministry is being developed with him.
"Reinventing yourself has no set formula, and although the principles may be similar, every situation demands a fresh set of possibilities," M V Tronson explained.
But the greatest reinvention of oneself M V Tronson says, is when a person discovers the reality of Jesus Christ as the Lord of their lives!