| As I read through the closing chapters of Acts, I noted that Paul used his personal testimony several times to express the change that God had brought about in his life. So, I thought I’d share mine. I grew up in a Christian home. In discussions with my mom, she indicated that I accepted Christ when I was 5 years of age. At age 10, I vividly remember “walking the aisle” to accept Christ following my best friend as he made his decision for Christ. As I share my testimony now, I often joke that “my family ‘saved’ me; and, my friend ‘saved’ me; then, God truly saved me.” It wasn’t until I was 13 years of age that I truly understood the good news of Jesus Christ on a personal level. I understood God’s plan and desire for a relationship with his creation, my lost-ness, and the gift and sacrifice of Jesus Christ to restore that relationship. The Spirit of God called me, I responded, and he saved me beginning his “good work” in me (Phil. 1:6). I established a mission statement early in my adult life. It reads: It is my mission in life to experience sustaining joy in living an abundant life spiritually, industrially, socially, and financially. At the age of 45, I retired after 23 years in the computer industry (NCR, Dell) to more completely fulfill this mission by concentrating on the spiritual and social aspects that had been secondary most of my life. I was involved with my family and my church, but being honest, they did not have the proper priority in my life.
The decision process was an emotional “roller-coaster” for me driven mostly by the knowledge of the inevitable change in the relationships with the people I’d worked beside during my time at Dell. I had had fun and truly experienced joy in the work and, most importantly, in the relationships. My hope for the team I was leaving was that they experience joy in continued successes, and strong relationships and in recognizing that there was a greater purpose.
“There is … tremendous natural ‘beauty’ in an organization that allows people to bloom and grow, to be excited, to be proud of their work, and to understand the connection of the work to a greater [purpose] than the organization alone.” - From The Heart Aroused, Poetry and the Preservation of the Soul in Corporate America, by David Whyte Our church while we lived in Austin (TX), Hill Country Bible Church also had a profound impact on my life. Our experience with Hill Country began with Hill Country Christian School. While searching for a school for our kids, my wife Patty pulled into the church parking lot to ask for directions and found out there was a school there. All 3 of our children are now graduates and alumni of the school. After visiting the church, we also knew this would be our church home while in Austin. Patty and I were blessed to serve as teachers and leaders in the parenting ministry, as small group shepherds, and on the worship team. I’ve always believed that God has a plan for our lives. The context for my mission statement is John 10:10b (KJV) “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” This mission has provided the basis for making decisions throughout my life’s journey. But as we read through The Purpose Driven Life, I realized that my life wasn’t balanced and the spiritual and social aspects of my mission statement had become secondary. I had to answer the question, “what will I do with what I believe?” I weighed becoming a “kingdom builder” through increasing my giving versus “rolling up my sleeves and getting to work”. As Patty and I prayed, we felt God was saying, “I can use you anytime and in any capacity, but I’d rather not wait to use you when you’re at retirement age, exhausted from your career, and taking your leftovers.” I had just turned 45 in April 2006. In some ways, I was at the top of my game in my career with my leadership experiences and my earning potential; but, that was what made it clear -- God wants me when I have the most to give not when I’m “used up”. So, I answered the call of God on my life to enter into full time ministry and in the words of Bob Buford of Halftime, it was time to move “from success to significance”. The stirring of our heart began with seeing the mission and vision of the church lived out in the people of Hill Country Bible Church. We were so impressed that people know the mission: We are a family of believers committed to reaching people with the life-changing reality of Jesus Christ. We believed in the vision that every man, woman, and child in Greater Austin have the chance to experience the life-changing reality of Jesus Christ because they hear the Gospel from the lips of someone at a Hill Country Bible Church. Their vision is REAL to people and is evident in the life of the family. The mission and vision is being lived out through REAL people. People like Joe and Gail Harris who taught us in our parenting class and encouraged us to step into a leadership role to replace people like the Hansons who had served in this capacity for many years and were being called into another area of the church. People like Perry and Kristin Campbell who stepped out of the comfort of their small group to lead a group of their own and it’s already reached a point where the group can birth a new group. People like Kyle – I don’t even know his name, but I’ve heard his testimony of being saved from a life of addiction and have seen the evidence of his REAL life. People like Robert – and I don’t know his last name either, but I know he regularly shares his faith. The teenagers who give up their summers to teach Backyard Bible clubs in the Great Adventure. The worship team who works hard behind the scene to prepare to lead the people in worship and song. The people of Hill Country are REAL and they are impacting the community, the cities of Greater Austin, and the world for Christ. It doesn’t get any better than that. Their example made it easy for us to answer the question, “what will I do with what I believe?” Patty and I are now a part of the team at Gateway Baptist Church in Irmo, SC. I am the Pastor of leadership and excited about the work that God is doing in my life and in the life of our church. Patty is serving as the Worship Program Director. Our church is a family connecting with people and experiencing LIFE together in Christ. We believe that God’s vision for us is that our family will connect with the people of our community so that they have the opportunity to experience LIFE in Christ. May God continue to have his hand on this church as we carry out his purpose. “… being confident of this, that he who began a good work in [me] will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 1:6) |
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