Christians in Communications

A fifteen minute break in the working day of Alisdair Rusk is not nearly enough time to hear what makes the new Chairman of Christians in Communication tick.

God hadn’t really figured in his life until peering down the lens of a microscope, studying for his BSc Microbiology, when he began to wonder about who had created these amazingly complex and beautiful structures.  About the same time he met Sarah who was also a Christian and the rest as they say is history! He eventually became a Christian and Sarah became his wife. They now live in Rugby and have a daughter called Becky.

Alisdair has had a rich and varied life. He is currently a "postman" for the Royal Mail, after previously working for many years in the food industry as a technical manager. Having moved his family up to Rugby as part of his company's expansion policy, Alisdair then had to make the work force and himself redundant due to a company sell-out. After that he found himself completing the build of a fish factory in Africa, then designing ready meals for business class aircraft passengers in Holland whilst completing his MSc. This was followed by a stint in East Germany until the economic crisis caused him to come home and find a job locally.

By chance or was it a God-coincidence, he applied for a job with the Royal Mail and became a postman at the National Distribution Centre (although he admits to never having delivered a letter!) and has been in "post" for the last ten years now, in his role as a quality analyst.

Christians in Communication (CiC) is one of the oldest Christian professional groups, being founded in 1887, but as Alisdair says, it is also one of the “best kept secrets" he has come across! He was introduced to CiC as an observer after expressing his interest in industrial chaplaincy and his desire to see if there was anything that could be introduced locally. However he soon progressed from being just an observer and after attending their meetings for several years and having become a director, it was suggested to him that he might like to stand for the chairmanship when the current chair retired. Alisdair left that meeting in London feeling very unsure and rather apprehensive but arrived in Rugby thinking maybe this was something he could do, especially after God had dropped a few ideas into his head on the train journey home!

So, after getting the "OK" from God (and also his wife and daughter!), Alisdair officially took over the reins of CiC on Thursday April 23rd 2015. After a week in post he was already beginning to realise just how much this involved on top of a full time job at the Royal Mail! However with help, encouragement and any input required, he aims to make CiC better known, with an appeal to the younger element too. His vision is big with hopes for expanding to other companies in the postal market and eventually rekindling international links.

While speaking with Alisdair I was reminded of David when he came up against Goliath - a formidable foe - but David strode forward with no fear, just absolute trust, knowing that the battle is the Lord’s (1Samuel 17:47).