Joe Fleener

Lover of Christ & His Gospel, Husband to Mandy, Father to three wonderful children, & Servant to the Local Church. Joe earned a Master of Divinity degree from Calvary Baptist Theological Seminary in 2003, completed his Masters of Theology courses in 2005 and moved to New Zealand with his family in 2006. Joe has served as a Bible College lecturer and “lay preacher” (churches, camps, conferences, etc.) in the US and New Zealand. In addition, Joe has taught courses for Bible Colleges in South Africa, Romania, Ukraine, and Australia. From 2010 to 2014, Joe served as the Associate Pastor at Howick Baptist Church in Auckland. Since August 2014, he has been privileged to serve as Pastor of Rolleston Baptist Church. Joe also serves in the following ministry roles here in New Zealand: Steering Committee, Stand for the Gospel | Coordinator, TIM Training Course | Board Member, Gospel Training Trust | Adjunct Lecturer, Grace Theological College. Finally I serve as a trainer for BibleWorks. Infrequently, Joe blogs on his personal blog where you can learn a lot more about him and his family over the years.

2025 Reading Plans as You Plan to Read

I hope you’re planning to read in 2025. Specifically, I hope you are planning to read your Bible and good theology in 2025. From my experience, most people won’t do either without a plan. Read this for a challenging encouragement to get started – You Have More Time for Bible Reading than You Think Here are some helpful plans for… Read more →

Pastor or Political in the Pulpit

Some friends at CCAANZ asked me to write an article for one of their publications, “Ministry Matters” planned for distribution to their churches soon. I was given the title and a fairly specific brief for what they were looking for…. this is what I wrote. Lord willing it is helpful and edifying. September 2024 Pastor or Political in the Pulpit… Read more →

Our Dear Friend Samuel Scott

Yesterday (08 April 2024) we held the Funeral and Graveside Services for our dear friend Samuel who entered into the presence of his Saviour on the 28th of March 2024. We love and miss Samuel so very much. Samuel died the Thursday before Easter weekend in a work accident, doing the job he loved and excelled at. As a church… Read more →

“Gentle and Lowly” Quotes: Chapter by Chapter

You can download a PDF of these quotes here. You can order this book (highly recommended) here.   “…this high and holy Christ does not cringe at reaching out and touching dirty sinners and numbed sufferers. Such embrace is precisely what he loves to do. He cannot bear to hold back. We naturally think of Jesus touching us the way… Read more →

Teaching Series: Ageing Well to the Glory of God

We are nearing the end of a teaching series in our Sunday, 9:30am Bible Class. This series extended over several months. Here are the key resources we have made use of as we have wrestled with the subject, “Ageing to the Glory of God”. Joe’s full set of teaching notes can be accessed here. Most of these sessions were recorded.… Read more →

Primer: AI & The Christian Life

Here are some items/resources for any Christian who is wanting to start thinking carefully about living life in a world with increasing access to and use of AI (Artificial Intelligence) tools. (Disclaimer: By linking an article or website here, I am in no way giving approval to everything on the linked website or everything written/said by the linked author. The… Read more →