Tarkastad group plan to share ‘solo time’ message around SA

Robbie Morgan and a group of men from the Karoo town of Tarkastad are planning a series of road trips around South Africa to share on a spiritual discipline they call “solo time’ which leads to a lifestyle of intimacy with God.

Sharing the group’s vision, Robbie told me that he had previously farmed in Adelaide, like his father, grandfather and great grandfather — until he had a stroke in November 2005 at the age of 57.

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Lying in an ambulance headed for hospital in Port Elizabeth, with his left side paralysed and in a state of deep fear, he felt his life was about to end when his blood pressure dropped dramatically.

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And remembering a promise from God that he had held onto since hearing Reinhard Bonnke sharing a message on John 10:10 at a conference in Harare in 1986, he peevishly asked God “if this is the abundant life” He had promised him.

Then he sensed Jesus coming into the ambulance like the first warmth from the sun on a cold morning in the veld. In the days of convalescence ahead the Lord spoke to him about moving beyond the awesome encounter with Him in the ambulance to a life of engagement with Him that would lead to an amazing relationship with Him.

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“And so the seed was planted,” he said.

Five years later Robbie and his wife, Marian moved to Tarkastad, leaving their son to run the family farm. Marian, got a job at a Christian school and he got involved in the local church and eventually began a kind of mentoring relationship with five teenage boys.

At a Christian conference in Johannesburg, he experienced a fiery touch from Holy Spirit and when he returned to Tarkastad he gave the five boys a challenge which involved spending an hour a day alone with the Lord, which they did for 16 months.

He said he saw the boys’ lives change dramatically. Although he had previously led a church and fellowship groups he had never been a “solo time person”. But he began to spend regular solo time with God himself, starting with worship and moving into the Word, prayer and breaking bread.

“It is about intimacy. But most of all it’s about Genesis 15:1. “I am your shield, I am your very great reward.” It’s the reward of meeting and spending time with God. And it has revolutionised my life,” he said.

The boys finished school and moved on and Robbie started to get men together and shared with them on solo time. In 2017 he wrote a book called Solo Time and went on a youth mission trip around SA to share on the discipline.

The men’s group, which includes pastors and members of his and other churches, currently meet fortnightly.

Robbie has written another book — also called Solo Time — and he and a few of the men from their group plan to embark as soon as possible on road trips to inspire believers to “gaze upon the beauty of the Lord” (Psalm 27:4) in a new way that will impact their lives forever.

“This vision is completely, wholly, totally about Jesus. It’s not anymore so much about solo time – that’s the practical part of how to seek His face and spend time in His presence,” said Robbie.

The road-trip group’s plan is to go to churches and groups where the door is open.

“Such an important element of solo time is that it is only by grace, only by conviction. But I believe that revival could come to this land if individuals took up their responsibility one-on-one with God.

“Can you imagine 12 individuals on fire for the Lord in a church? Can you imagine what is going to happen? Double, triple, quadruple that. Can you imagine?

“I believe the weakness in lots of churches is that as individuals we hide away in our corporateness. Imagine a man worshipping in his own home, in his own office, coming to a meeting in the church,” he said.

At the age of 71, Robbie said he has started gymming regularly “because we’re going on the road and I want to be fit enough to share”.

Anybody who would like to invite the solo time group can call Robbie Morgan at +27 76 528 0026 or email marianmorgan@lcom.co.za