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| Gender |
Male |
| Age |
63 |
| Location |
Reedsport, OR, United States |
| Interests |
Bible study and teaching, writing, reading science fiction and fantasy |
| Hometown |
Rainy Reedsport |
| About me |
Perhaps the greatest gift God ever gave me, was Christian parents. I began attending church when I was three days old. I would have started earlier but my parent's church didn't have Friday or Saturday services. Growing up, we went to church three to four times, every week and I believe I could count on my fingers the number of Sunday worship services I missed between that first service and when I left home at age eighteen. My parents were Southern Baptists and in 1954, the evangelistic goal for the Southern Baptist Convention was summed up in the phrase, "a million more in '54." I, at nine years old, was one of that million. One Sunday morning, my ten-year-old sister went forward in church and publicly accepted Jesus as her Saviour. That afternoon, I listened as my father discussed with her the significance of her decision. That night, as the invitation was given at the conclusion of the evening worship service, I walked down the aisle of First Southern Baptist Church in Richmond, California and told the pastor that I wanted to accept Jesus as my Lord and Saviour. I have never doubted the sincerity of that decision, or that Christ truly saved me that evening.
From that time forward, I truly believed that God had created and designed me for some special ministry. I know now that all of us were designed for special ministry, but at the time, and for many years thereafter, I just assumed that special ministry meant serving as a preacher or a missionary.
In 1955 my family moved to Newark, California and we attended tiny churches, usually with under thirty-five people attending the Sunday services. As a result, I had a lot of opportunity for spiritual growth and service. At age twelve, I began teaching the eight-year-old Sunday School class, at fourteen I was the leader of our evening services and when at sixteen, our church lost it's pastor, I served as the interim pastor for nearly six months.
Several significant things happened during my years growing up in church. First, I discovered that there is no better way to learn God's word that to be responsible for teaching it each Sunday. Second, God was a great protector and preserved me from any serious temptations to do the things my community considered sinful. Third, I became extremely self-righteous, having convinced myself that I was about as spiritual and Scripturally learned, as any teenager could be.
Just before my 19th birthday, I joined the U.S. Navy. Even in the military, God protected me from worldliness. My first military assignment was in San Diego, California. In that town, the Ross Jantz family welcomed me into their lives and served as surrogate parents. The next year, I was transferred to Guam, where I met Sheldon and Billie Johnson, who made me a part of their family. While there, I was licensed as a minister of the Gospel by Calvary Baptist Church of Agana, Guam. After eighteen months on Guam, I was transferred to Oak Harbour. Washington, where Mickey and Carol Felix adopted me into their family. Each of these were faithful, Bible believing, church going Christians, who guided, encouraged and prayed for me. Through their love and prayers, I was protected from the temptations that often assault young sailors.
Upon leaving the military at age twenty-two, I moved to Everett, Washington, and for the first time in my life did not have a local Christian family to rely on for my spiritual protection. I traveled regularly to Oak Harbor to see Mickey and Carol Felix, but without spiritual supervision and accountability I began to drift away from the morality that I had thought was impenetrable.
While in Everett, I met and fell in love with Carrie. She was not a Christian, but I was in love and didn't care. We met in November, and we married in June. By then, she had already conceived my son. By God's grace, she accepted Christ shortly after we married. On December 1st, 1969, (six months after we married, 45 days before my son was born) I was on my way to college when I hit a patch of black-ice, lost control of my car, went over an embankment, broke my neck, and found myself paralyzed from the chest down.
Some Christians handle adversity with grace. I did not. I was exceedingly angry with God and spent the next three years in deep depression. Those three years were the worst of my life. Still, in spite of my anger, and although I didn't recognize it at the time, God blessed me with three special people during those years. There was my wife Carrie who loved me unconditionally, my son A'eron, who provided a reason for living, and a pastor, James Hildabrand, who refused to give up on us, though I refused to attend church.
After three years and endless invitations to return to church, we attended a revival service at Victory Baptist Church, where Pastor Hildabrand served. We listened to the evangelist tell about God's love, and after the service, I went out of my way to tell that evangelist what I thought of his message. I told him that if God was even half as loving as the sermon suggested, He would not treat people the way he had treated me.
"Is God running your life?" he asked.
I told him about how I started attending church when I was three days old, became a Christian when I was nine, I started teaching Sunday School when I was twelve, was in charge of the evening services when I was fourteen, was an interim pastor at sixteen and was licensed to preach when I was twenty.
He simply asked, "But is God running your life?"
"No," I admitted, "He isn't"
"Then don't blame God for your troubles if you not letting Him control things," He said.
After much discussion, I made what I recognize now, as the most unworthy recommitment possible. I said, "I'll let God run my life, but if things don't improve, you'll hear about it."
Why God accepted that recommitment, I'll never know, but He did accept it and His grace restored me. Within a week, I was contacted by Al Archer, who ran the Lighthouse Rescue Mission in Bellingham. He invited me to work there and I accepted. Within two years, I had graduated from college and more importantly, had learned that there were a multitude of disabilities (mental, emotional and spiritual), that were far worse than my physical disability. God allowed us to adopt a six week old daughter and He also provided the means for us to buy property and build a fully accessible, three bedroom house. Those two years seemed to be a continuous series of miraculous interventions. That was over 20 years ago and as long as we have remained faithful to Him, God has never ceased to bless us. The longer I serve Him, the sweeter He grows. The more that I love Him, more love He bestows.
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| Denomination |
Baptist |
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| Do you Smoke? |
No |
| Do you drink alcohol? |
No |
| Marital Status |
Married |
| Do you have any Children? |
No |
| Eye Color |
Hazel |
| Hair Color |
White |
| Race/Ethnicity |
White-Caucasian |
| Do you have any Pets? |
Only Pet Peeves |
| Do you want Children? |
I have enough of my own |
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| Occupation |
Retired
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| Salary |
Not listed |
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| Education |
Bachelors Degree |
| High School |
Newark, Newark, California |
| Bible School |
Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary |
| College/University |
Western Washington University |
| Major |
Anthropology |
| Degree(s) |
BA |
| Year of degree |
1974 |
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