I only have one life to live, and that does not really belong to me. I am thrilled that God has given me so many different opportunities to minister, but most of all, I’m thrilled that I have the gift of God, eternal life through Jesus Christ my Savior. God has given me a rich and full life—much more than I deserve.
I grew up on a farm in northwest Iowa with parents who were Christians. I never planned to go to college, but God closed the doors for any decent job (I had just turned 17)—so I went to college. I dropped out for a semester with only three courses to go to graduate—determined never to return. I returned and finished. I never planned to live in any kind of metropolitan area.
I visited friends in the northwest suburbs of Chicago, and moved there two weeks later—and never moved out of the Chicago area. I attended Bible studies in a basement in Chicago, then started attending Quentin Road Bible Baptist Church, where I met my wife. We worked with the teens, I taught adult Bible studies, and eventually went on staff as an assistant pastor.
Later I became the pastor of an independent church in the western suburbs of Chicago, where I spend 11 1/2 years, all the while teaching classes at Dayspring Bible College. I’ve had the opportunity to set up trips to Israel, and traveled there 5 times.
When I went back on staff at Quentin Road in 1994 as an associate pastor, teaching in the college and lobbying the legislature, God opened the doors for me to travel and speak. I have had opportunities to lead missions trips to India and Argentina.
Over the last 20 years, God has opened the door for me to preach in hundreds of churches. I am amazed to see how God is at work in various churches, with different leadership styles, different types of leaders, and different spiritual gifts. I have been thrilled to meet with legislative leaders, share the Gospel with legislators, staff members, other lobbyists, people I met in my travels, and at churches in Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Kentucky, and Ohio.
Now God is opening the door for a whole new chapter of our lives, as Barb and I look at selling our house, purchasing a new house in the Springfield area, and raising support for our ministry to churches on behalf of Jesus Christ. What a privilege to be a child of God, a husband of 37 years, a father of wonderful children, and a grandfather to two wonderful boys.
I look forward to the work God has for me in the years ahead, and ask for your prayers for Barb and me as we make this transition and move. Pray for buyer for our house, that we can raise the necessary support, and that we will never take our eyes off of Jesus.