About Me
I am first a person whose journey with God and others is the orienting center of my life. I seek to share openly of this halting, faltering discovery of the story of God in everyday living.
I can be contacted personally at earthlytents@comml.imap.cc
After 22 1/2 years as a pastor of a Philadelphia area church, and almost two years in New Zealand at Laidlaw College in Auckland, New Zealand, I am located in Dallas, Texas, as the International Director of ALARM (African Leadership and Reconciliation Ministries). ALARM is an organization that seeks to restore communities that have been devastated by tribalism and warfare.
My wife, Naomi, is an amazing person with whom I share my journey. I am blessed with two special children whom I love and admire--Ben, a web designer living in San Francisco Rebekah, our daughter, a singer/actress in Texas.
My passions: reading, popcorn, writing, photography, walking, time with friends and family, thinking about the problem of evil and suffering, peace building and reconciliation, living out the gospel in a postmodern world.
You do not know me. One of the faceless seats at Calvary, and not a member. Don't trust ministers anymore. Have completed a divorce (much of it my fault), and have been excommunicated by a NAPARC church. Have been attending Calvary since early 2007 when I attended a Divorce Care program that Jon was helping to lead.
One of my co-workers began attending Calvary when you were there, invited to do so by a member. She left the Catholic church, and shared with me the good news that she found at Calvary, that you taught the Bible, and that she felt privileged to go to a place where people took the time and energy to teach about God and the Bible. She noted also that Calvary seemed to be honest about problems - not swept under a rug. She very much appreciated your ministry. She urged me to go to Divorce Care.
You write often about betrayal. Probably true. Dad was a minister for 50 years, and suffered, too, at the hands of church leaders. I came to see some of his failings. More recently, have felt betrayed by church leaders during the divorce. More importantly, my own failings and sin. Along the way, doubted God's love for me, the individual.
Although not as conservative as the church I grew up in, Calvary has been a place where issues are actually talked about. I have appreciated the upfront way in which things are presented. I have appreciated the willingness of people to demonstrate that they care, and understand that it is a reflection of God's love. It does not seem to be a place where people have to pretend that they are good in order to fit in. I think that God is using this church, and am thankful for it.
It seems to me that God gives us particular strengths and weaknesses and uses us as He wants to. In particular places and at particular times. After that, it is not so clear.
You don't seem to be in a situation that you desire. Perhaps it may never be what you actually want. From my limited perspective - and this is what prompted me to write to you - God has used you for a time to prepare and nurture a place like Calvary which has gone on to benefit those you will never know. And it continues to do so, used by Him, even with those who may have hurt you - in ways I don't know and don't need to know.
In 1995, I prayed publicly that I needed to be humbled. God does answer prayer. Your recent observation that humiliation is necessary in order to produce humility rings true. I have found that it takes a while to be thankful for the humiliation, and to be able to thank God for it as evidence of His love.