Apostle David Keane as he appears on the cover of his album, 'Triumph'. Among the most asked questions in church circles these
days are "You hear anything about David Keane?" or "How is Pastor Keane doing? Him still in hospital?"
These questions have arisen since Apostle David Keane, senior pastor of the Family Church on the Rock congregations in Kingston, Ocho Rios and Montego Bay, collapsed while preaching during a segment of a New Year's Eve 2002 gospel show at the Rock Garden Theatre, in St. Andrew. The effect was dramatic, as it was carried live on national television and replayed many times.
His illness turned out to be a stroke. It is six months later and Apostle Keane, the founding pastor of Family Church on the Rock, is unable to leave his bed to resume the ministry of shepherding his congregation.
Apostle Keane became famous during the 1970s and 1980s through his ministry as lead singer for the gospel band, David Keane and the Sonshine Singers. Later he sensed the call of God on his life to the pastorate and for almost 20 years he has been giving spiritual oversight to the congregation in Kingston.
HIS BROTHER
Since the Apostle's illness, his brother, the Rev. Dr. Richard Keane, who is in charge of the Montego Bay fellowship that meets at Reading, has been at the helm of the group of churches. The Rev. Dr. Richard Keane came to full-time Christian ministry in 1992. Up to that time he worked as a medical doctor.
"David is doing well in the context of his illness," he told The Gleaner. "I have put it that way for it's a relative situation. He had a severe stroke. At this time he is in good health. His blood pressure - which probably was contributing to this - is controlled. He understands when we communicate with him. He is not at this time able to communicate back with us in a conversational way. He is confined to his bed. He is being taken care of by wife Paulette and we have nurses attending to him on a 24-hour basis."
And what prospect is there that the Apostle will soon recover to resume his role at Family Church on the Rock? "That's all in the hands of God," said Dr. Keane. "The process of recovery would have to be supernatural - of course I have seen people with various degrees of illness just respond and recover spontaneously. The saying 'As long as there is life, there is hope' is applicable. His return to office and to work would be completely dependent on God's goodness and God's grace for him - But He is a miracle working God. And we trust Him, and He is sovereign. Whatever has happened to the Apostle, God is not only aware, He is able to do what we pray about."
GOD IS A MAN OF HIS WORD
Dr. Keane said, "A lot of people see this as a negative thing - his illness and his protracted illness. But I have grown to believe the things that David sang... it is impossible for God to not honour them. God is a man of His Word. He guards His Word.
"Even though he is physically restricted, I believe he is triumphant. Ask me how, I can't explain it to you. I am a medical doctor, I have seen people ill. I have seen people frustrated in their illness, who are depressed in their illness. I sense none of this in the Apostle."
"My sense is that he still believes that God has not failed him. The fact that he is not well does not mean that God has failed him. So songs like Triumph (a popular gospel song that David sang) take on new life.
At the time he fell ill, Apostle Keane was about to embark on a restructuring exercise within the three churches affecting leadership and the programmes. That exercise, Dr. Keane said, is under way.
On Father's Day both the Kingston and Montego Bay churches staged fund-raisers 'Jazz on the Rock', to help defray the medical expenses of the ailing clergyman.
Apostle Keane, who initially stayed at the University Hospital of the West Indies, incurred expenses of up $2 million - excluding doctors fees and prescriptions. He was also treated for a while at the Medical Associates Hospital until he was discharged recently.
PRAYERS FOR APOSTLE DAVID
At the three chapters of Family Church on the Rock, prayers for Apostle David now form a regular part of the liturgy. "There is hardly a meeting at the church where he is not prayed for," said the Rev. Dr. Keane.
To oversee the Kingston church, Dr. Keane travels to Kingston on Wednesdays to attend to administrative matters and things requiring pastoral attention such as counselling.
The congregation in Kingston, he said, has adjusted well to its shepherd's illness. "I believe they miss him. I think they believe that in spite of what is happening to him, God is still in charge. I believe they are getting over the shock of his illness and getting back to the place where the church needs to be i.e. not just a place of praise and worship but also a place of evangelism." The church, he said, would be embarking on an evangelistic crusade every six weeks.
Apostle Keane has eight siblings, two of whom live in Jamaica. His mother is also alive. For its part the Keane family, Dr. Keane said, "has grappled with the problem and I think we have dealt with it well. Of course all of us are expectant. We have such confidence in God that we are expectant. Yet we are not put off because we know the sovereignty of God. The fortunate thing is that all of us are believers. We are not in despair."
- Mark Dawes
