My City: Joburg: Pastor Ray McCauley

The Rhema founder on sport, role models and atheism

I am ... bubbly and extrovert. When I was in grade one I only got 50% passes, but the teacher said I was the best story-teller she'd ever had in her class.

Where were you born? Norwood in 1949.

Where do you live? Fourways.

Who do you share your house with? My eldest daughter Hayley, 29, and my youngest daughter Kristin, who will be 18 in August.

How did you get into your career? I had a group of gymnasiums and a t that time I was also a junior Mr South Africa and bodybuilder. A guy asked me if I would come to a drug rehabilitation centre to give a demonstration and donate some weights, which I did. So I went and was very impressed by what I saw. It started me on my journey of faith.

Where did Rhema first start? At my parents' home in Blairgowrie. There were 13 of us who started it after I returned from Bible school and it just exploded. In the first year we had about 1800 people.

When you're not at church, what leisure activities do you do? I go to gym on a weekly basis. I also like sport - all kinds of sport.

Is there anyone you've looked at to succeed you? What we are doing right now is to create a team of younger people who will emerge into strong leadership in the church in the next five years; one of them being my son, Joshua.

Who do you go to when you need inspiration? A man called Reinhard Bonnke was a great inspiration. Billy Graham has been a great inspiration as a Christian statesman. And then my involvement with President Mandela was an inspiration. My dad also had a lot of influence.

What are your thoughts about tithing? Biblically we are taught to give 10%, but I never look at who gives what.

Are your children in the church? How would you react if one of them became an atheist? My son Joshua is a trainee pastor. But I generally think with kids, you love them unconditionally.

How do you feel when your private life is made public? It's one of the difficulties. I'm not a celebrity, just a pastor with a very high profile.

If I wasn't a pastor I would ... be in the health business, still.

It's been said that religion tends to divide people. What is your view on this? I believe that religion is one of the biggest curses and it does bring division. What we've got to look for is spirituality rather than religion.

Some people believe there's a "celebrity wing" at Rhema. Is this true? No, it's not. They come to Rhema because they can come to church and have no one take notice of them.

What would people be surprised to know about you? That I battle with the same things that everybody else battles with in life.

What's your greatest extravagance? A large TV screen.

What's your most treasured possession? My faith in Christ.

What's your favourite building in Joburg? The Nelson Mandela Bridge. Going over it at night, while looking at the city, is absolutely amazing.

What's the ugliest thing about Joburg? The crime and poverty .

What is the most memorable moment you've had in Joburg? When Nelson Mandela came to church here in 1997.

If you inherited R100-million, what would you do with it? The only thing that would change is that I could pay my debts and bonds.

What CDs are you playing in your car? Seal Soul. All of Michael Bublé's music. And Frank Sinatra's Greatest Hits gives away my age.

If your house caught fire what would you save? The Bible that I've had for 31 years.

When I go out at night ... I always need someone to go with me, because I'm terrible at directions.

Perfect happiness is: To feel fulfilled.

Everything in moderation but ... love.