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A walk down memory lane...

I recently got these two pictures and the following note from my High School buddy Scott Sargis:
 
Please enjoy the attachment, which will probably take you down memory lane.  Those are absolutely the grooviest pants you are wearing.  And what about our "moppy" haircuts.  Based on the photos on your website, you've cleaned up rather well.
 
I have kept those pictures on my bookshelf in my home office forever.  Trying to always stay connected to some of the best times (and people) of my life.

 

Sharing the Call

     

Half way through my high school my father was transferred from Loring Air Base in Louisiana, to Camp Smith on the island of Oahu in Hawaii. I didn’t want to move, but I had no choice.  

I made many new friends in Hawaii and had a very positive experience in a religious prep school in Nuuanu.  After graduation I attended the University of Hawaii.  One of the big questions for me in my freshman year was what does God want me to do with my career.

I wanted whatever I did in my life and career to honor Jesus.  I thought for years that I would study political science and law,  probably join the military for a while, then work in government service of some sort,  probably in an American embassy or in domestic politics.  Then God started whispering to me in many different ways that he was calling me to pastoral ministry.

I didn’t really want to respond to this calling, because many of the ministers I had met were not the type people I wanted to be. But then while I was in college the sense of call became so intense I couldn’t resist it.  One night I took out the girl I was dating, who is now my wife.  I nervously told Cindy, I think God is calling me to ministry.  Cindy responded, “Yes I know.  I think you are right.”

After this conversation, it seemed so right to switch my career path and plan for ministry. On the next day I went to church at the chapel on Hickam Air Force Base.  We had a guest preacher.  It was Chaplain Lindal.  This was the same man that baptized me, and who showed up at my Spiritual awakening in Arkansas.  His presence on this third occasion was like a physical confirmation of what God was doing in my life. 

The Arresting Spirit

I’m amazed that any teenager makes it through adolescence alive. Young people do   some very stupid things, especially when they are under the influence.  In youth there are feelings of invincibility, surges of sexuality, and an emerging search for identity.

I was not a crazy teen.  I was in many ways a model of responsibility. I was the model student at Bossier High School in Louisiana.  In fact I was elected best citizen by my peers and teachers.  I had school spirit and lived by the honor code.  I was the president of my school class, a letterman athlete, and a leader in the School Band.  At church I was the President of my Youth group. I earned the Eagle rank in scouting and traveled around the country giving speeches representing The Boy Scouts of America.  I was advancing through adolescence in stellar fashion with an impressive resume for which I was proud. Then one night I got arrested.  It happened at a Spiritual life conference at Ouachita Baptist College.

We had traveled north from Loring Air Force Base to this college campus to join other military chapel organizations for a regional event.  A couple of girls from Mississippi were throwing a party in their room after curfew.  A buddy and I went over to their room and scaled the wall up to their dorm room.  We took off their window and started climbing in.

Just as we were entering their room, a spotlight shined on us.  Police yelled, “Halt!”

The Chaplain who was the director of the Conference was roused from his sleep and came to the campus police station to address the situation.  He was crazy mad and cussing up a blue streak.  I looked at him and thought, what a hypocrite.  He considers himself a man of God and yet he lacks any integrity.  He should not be talking the way he is.  He has no self control.  What a hypocrite!

Then I thought about myself.  I too was a hypocrite. I was one way with some of my teachers and friends and then a different person in another setting.  I decided that night I wanted to be the same inside and out, and in every situation. I wanted to be a person of integrity. 

I look at Integrity as the polar opposite of hypocrisy.  The way I have come to think of integrity is that your PERSON is INTEGRATED.  You are the same through and through.

Being arrested, breaking into a dorm room was not only humiliating but it made me realize that I truly desired the reality of God’s life deep within and all around me.

On the last night of that Conference there was a Baptism Service for two girls who had committed their lives to Jesus.  During their Baptism with water, I thought back to my Baptism by Chaplain Lindal in New York .  On that night I opened my heart to the deep infilling of God’s Spirit .  I prayed, “God come into me.”   And God did.  It was like I was baptized with his Holy Spirit. 

The next day there was a visitor to the conference .  He was introduced to the people attending the last meeting before going home.  It was Chaplain Lindal.  He kept showing up at important spiritual times in my life.  His presence was a confirmation that God was working in me through his Spirit.

Cigarettes and Baptism

As a child of seven I began to wonder about death.  I lived in upstate New York near a railroad track and just beyond that was the shores of Lake Champlain.  One day I heard about someone getting hit by a train.  I learned about another falling through the ice on the lake  when they ventured out before the lake top was solidly frozen. Then my great Grandmother died and I wondered about her.

I went to my mother and I asked her, “What happens when you die.”  My mom gave me an answer from the Old Testament that carried a rather biological tone.  She told me, “From Dust you come to Dust you Go”

I looked under my bed at home and I saw a lot of dust.  I thought  “That’s my Great Grandma--   And That’s my future.”

I started to do some thinking about whether there were any better alternatives for me.  I started paying attention at Sunday School and church.  The main message I got was that I had better be good if I want to go to heaven.  Reflecting on this message I did an elementary personal assessment of my moral character in order to determine my potential spiritual destiny. I wasn’t too encouraged. I didn’t get along with one of my older sisters.  I smoked cigarettes that I took from my dad’s cupboard.  Some of my buddies were starting to steal things from stores and encouraging me to do it too.  The pressure was on from my little peer group.  I feared that I was messing up my life.  I was headed to DUST or worse.

I knew I needed some help for my young life.  I asked my mom if I could talk to the chaplain at the military base chapel where my mother was the organist.  She set me up with a meeting.  I met with Chaplain Lindal, a Lutheran Pastor, at the base Chapel at Plattsburg Air Force Base.  I talked with him about the love and forgiveness of God that Jesus taught.  I remember learning about how Jesus will take care of me forever, even when I’m dead.  I learned about the strength that God provides to help live a better life.

As a result of my discussion with Chaplain Lindal, he baptized me.  I was seven years old.  At times I have had people ask me if I ever smoked.  I tell them I stopped when I was seven after I was baptized.

A Theological Grid

                                                            

As we process decisions and make various program plans at church, I love to serve as a creative and energentic presence.  I am an optimist and a visionary.  Ideas are always percolating within me.  I like to identify needs and seek to meet them in a Christ honoring way.  I’m always working to create programs, evaluate organizational progress and encourage productive development.  Most of all, I am a student of the Bible and of life, I am always evaluating things through a theological grid, asking how we can honor Christ and best serve his purposes.

My Leadership

When I have been asked to describe my leadership style, I say I have a blend of right-brain and left-brain characteristics.  I enjoy the creative process of leading a diverse people in many different settings.  I usually adapt my style to meet the needs of various situations and personalities.  Some settings require that I am very directive.  At other times I encourage a process that is more free-flowing.  In all settings and relationships I try to make sure that we all understand our objectives and our responsibilities.  In one setting I’m a listener, in another a moderator, in others a guide, a thinker, or a visionary.  Because I wear so many hats as a pastor, I try to share with people what they can expect from me in various situations. 

                                          

My Mission Statement

  One tool guiding me over the years has been my personal mission statement.  I wrote it in college and have updated over the years:

My life purpose is to be a loving and joyful servant of Jesus Christ, wholly committed to my Lord's will and way.  I seek to allow Christ's life to shine through me so that I can impact this world with the love, truth and justice of my Heavenly Father.  Each day is a new adventure of faith and reliance upon the Holy Spirit.  I am fully committed to the regular study of Scripture and to prayer in order to better experience God’s guidance in my life.

With appreciation to God for his gift of abundant life in Jesus, I seek to keep my mind alert, my body fit, and my character pure.  I therefore participate in activities and relationships that bring honor to Jesus Christ.  I abstain from things that stifle my effectiveness for Jesus.

The single most important relationship in my life is my marriage to Cindy.  I seek to develop our relationship through regular, warm and open communication, loyal encouragement, a forgiving spirit, and an open mind.  I seek to share myself with her in such a way that we grow  individually and as a couple.  Together we strive to discover the love of God and share it with others.  United with my wife, I seek to nurture my children toward a devotion to God, a concern for others and a joy in life.  Teamwork, loyalty, compassion, honesty, scholarship, stewardship, justice, truth and creative self expression are some of the important qualities I seek to teach and model in my family.

In my broad life beyond the immediate family I seek to be a supportive friend, a loyal colleague, a loving brother, a devoted son, an encourager to the downhearted, a motivator to the able, and a leader helping bring about positive impact in society.  I seek to always affirm those with whom I join together in ministry and mission.  I provide special encouragement to young people.  I desire to use my gifts, talents and skills to transform evil situations, heal hurting relationships, repair damaged lives and revive life-less institutional structures.  I eagerly pursue opportunities to be of the greatest service to the Lord.  I want my life to be pleasing to God and an inspiration to others.

My Calling

My calling is to nurture a grace-filled community of Christ-followers who love one another and who enthusiastically embrace Christ’s mission to the world. I gain a great sense of joy communicating the loving message of Jesus to those who have not yet found themselves in his warm embrace; encouraging those who struggle; offering hope to the despairing; and providing a meaningful focus to those driven by futile agendas.  I delight to see takers become givers; haters turned to lovers; hurters transformed into healers; the unimaginative ignited with spiritual creativity; and provincial thinkers captured by Christ’s vision for the world.