You're An Expert On This!
I need you to write as
an expert on a very important topic this week. Ugh! There are few things that
most of us would say, “I’m an expert at that.” You may good at your job, but
most of us would not be identified as the expert, the one who writes the book
or articles on the subject. But I guarantee you that you are the world’s
greatest expert on one subject. No one knows this subject better than you. That
subject is you! And I’d like others to get to know you better, especially the new
protégés joining us. So here’s all I want you to do for this week. Simply write
a short bio of you. I will email all of our brief to all of the team members, so especially the new pros know who is contacting them with such good encouragement. (The sheep need to know the shepherd and vice versa- "I know my sheep and my sheep know me." John 10:14) What am I looking for? I’ll share mine as an example. (No
fair copying:)
Hi I’m Dave Garratt. I
was born (7.16.58) and raised in Michigan. After playing the prodigal
throughout high school, God mercifully saved me and gave me a hunger to know and
grow in him. So I went off to Appalachian
Bible College in W.Va. earning a BA in Bible and Theology in 1981. Then I
raised support and served as a missionary with Inner City Impact in Humboldt
Park for 7 years. During that time I was granted a one year educational leave
of absence and earned a Master’s in Biblical Counseling at Grace Theological Seminary. While I was leading the high school ministry at Inner City Impact,
Mark Jobe came to volunteer one evening a week while he was a student at MBI.
Later in 1988, when he had been pastoring New Life for only 2 years, he invited me
on staff. I served 12 years there doing such things as leading the singles ministry, leading
Evangelism Explosion, teaching and overseeing home groups, writing training and
outreach material and leading children’s church. I then launched out in 2000 starting
my own counseling practice. It never
became full time so my wife, Diane left the classifieds on my office desk one
morning (Hint, hint: “Please get a real job that feeds the family!” We have 3 kids- Mariah, who is now 19,
Elisabeth 17 and David 15). So I’ve been an in-home salesman of windows and
doors since 2004. Since the beginning of my ministry days in 1981, I’ve enjoyed mentoring and am delighted to be a
part of M3 with such outstanding men. It’s the best ministry I’ve ever been a part
of. I hope it is for you as well. Oh, I enjoy walking, a good movie and eating
pizza. Hope we can do that sometime.
Now it's your turn.
Again, you've got all week to write this. Just come back and post your bio here by Saturday night. Thanks! I told you that you were an expert!
Project 2/22/15 Personal Bio
ReplyDeleteHello. My name is Dave Heidekrueger. I was born in the Chicago area in 1956 to a devout loving Catholic couple. I was the first of 8 children. After high school and turning 18, I signed up with the Marine Corp out of patriotism for my country and the great GI benefits towards college. It was while I was in the Marines that a Christian friend challenged me to read for myself the Bible which I had expressed faith in. Perplexed by what I read in the book of Revelations, I started going to a Bible study on the base led by the Navigators Ministry. I eventually became a Christian and was baptized. After my active duty commitment was finished, I went back home to start training in the Electronics Field with a goal of eventually becoming an Electronic Engineer. I also found a local Bible Church that I faithfully attended. After getting a job, and working as an Electronics Technician for a few years, I decided to go to Moody Bible Institute to study the Bible. I had to select an area of Christian service so I chose International Ministries not really knowing what God was calling me to. After graduating from Moody, I pursued this beautiful godly Christian women who was attending my church. She agreed to become my wife, knowing my plans were to go to Morocco, Africa and work among the Muslims. We did eventually go to Morocco on a 5 month missions trip with our 5 month old daughter. It was an amazing experience, but we came back realizing we had much to learn about marriage and raising children. (We both were first generational believers). We eventually came and started attended New Life about 10 years ago. My wife and I have always been involved in children's ministries. I'm currently helping out in Soul Purpose Junior on Sundays. But I'm so pumped and excited now to be involved with manly men who are on a mission through M3.
I should add that I have 4 grown children and blessed to have them all still living with me for a little while longer. My baby is 18 and he will be graduating from high school in May. My oldest daughter who went to Morocco with us is getting married in Jan.2016 and will be moving away to Iowa. I'm missing them already.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading your bio, I've been blessed to get to know you better. God bless you and your family brother Dave H.
DeleteAmen. Thanks for sharing Dave.
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DeleteThanks Dave! Proteges will be blessed to get to know you.
DeleteI read through the site M3 and forwarded it to 5 potentials for M3 :
ReplyDeleteJohn Martinez
Armondo Hernandez
Mike Lopez
GED P
Walter Pallozzi
Dave you were copied in the wmail
Thanks Jack!
DeletePersonal Background: In 2011, I was in a difficult season of my life, a very painful time of hurt, rejection, loneliness. God used subtraction to get my attention and used a break-up to break me down. I was going to church, Pastor Mark Jobe, preached on 1 Thessalonians 5:16-19, which says, "rejoice always, praying perseveringly, in everything give thanks, and do not quench the spirit." Pastor Mark then said that if you wanted to see your life change apply the Word into your life. He said one year from now, if you follow these words of scripture, your life will radically change. It is not what you do occasionally its what you do habitually.
ReplyDeleteI really didn't understand the power of the Living Word before then. I grew up in a very Catholic family. I went mostly every Sunday, I made most of my sacraments, was an alter server, went to Sunday school, but never really read the Bible. But for some reason at that time, with the encouragement of my mother and the in broken state that I was in, I reached out for the Word and worked on applying it to my life. I can tell you today, since then, my life has radically changed. The main idea that I took to heart was giving thanks in everything. The Bible says in 1 Thessalonians (Amplified) 18 Thank God in everything no matter what the circumstances may be, be thankful and give thanks, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.
We can easily get angry or frustrated when things don't go our way, when our position in life isn't favorable to us, when we are unemployed, or the job we have isn't making us money, and I can go on and on....But God says In the good times, as well as the bad. In the pleasantries of life, as well as in the pain. During difficult times, trying times and frustrating times, too, that we should give thanks. It really impacted me and surrendered my life to Jesus, taking on a servant position and mentality. I started getting involved with Men's groups, with men like Walter Polaozzi, Jesse Contreas, and then I started getting involved with the Crossover Young Adults ministry, under Eric Reyes. It was still a difficult time in my life, but it helped to have men of God surrounding me to encourage me. Along side me was my mentor, Tony Escobar, from my previous church, Community Christian Church (CCC). We was there with me from every step of the way, praying through things, encouraging, rebuking, teaching me. As God changed me heart, I had a desire to serve. I started volunteering at a homeless shelter, went on a mission trip, and then in that same year, decided that I wanted to then take the step of believer's baptism.
Now, I am currently in leadership with the church in a new of different aspects. I am on leadership with the Young Adults Ministry and I oversee all the Sports Ministry and Community Outreach for the Midway campus. With that, I currently am mentoring with two young adults, and have previously mentored two younger teens from soul purpose. I have had the privilege and honor of leading all of my mentorees to the waters of baptism and continue to see growth and their fruits to this day. I am passionate about the Word, studying the Word, digging in the Word, and I like to teach others about it. I have had a few teaching opportunities now with Crossover and other ministry at NewLife. I also training to become a Chaplain for the church and have again had an honor and privilege to speak at a few funerals and a renewing of vows. I think one of the greatest ways God has been using me more recently is with my family. Just living for Christ and everyone around me seeing the changes He has made in me has really impacted my family. So much so, that some are now coming to church and have been saved and baptized.
Excellent Eddie! What a great impact your life is making!
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ReplyDeleteHi my name is Robert Roman, I'm the youngest of my siblings. I was born in late October of 1970. I was introduced to God through the Catholic Faith, as my Grandmother, who served as my surrogate mother was a devout Catholic. I was reared in a dysfunctional family but I was too young to notice then.
DeleteThrough some miraculous events, which I don't have time to mention here, we (family) came to know Jesus Christ as Lord & Savior and we became members of a Pentecostal Church. The Lord had been gracious to me & by the age of 10 I was preaching at various churches across Chicago.
Life at home was progressively getting worse & by the age of 13 the allure of the world enticed me to the point where I became a prodigal. I proceeded in the ever downward spiral of sin for the next 20 years until I hit rock bottom. I knew where to turn, so I cried out to God & by his love, mercy & grace, I've been restored.
I'm a father of 3 children & have been married to my beautiful wife for 21 yrs. I enjoy reading, exercising, woodworking (hobby) amongst many other things. I've lead a daily prayer/devotional meeting at work for the last 9 yrs. I've also lead various men's small groups and enjoy sharing God's truths with others & especially witnessing the transformation in people's lives.
I've worked at the University of Illinois for 26 yrs and I'm looking forward to the day I can retire from there and begin a new chapter of life.
Thank you Lord for Robert. He is such a rock! Continue to fill and flow through him.
ReplyDeleteHello, I'm Kentrayle Adams, originally born Kentrayle Parker in June of 1983. Originally I thought I was the firstborn of 4 children my mother had, but came to discover I had a brother who died as an infant. Therefore I'm now the oldest with 2 sisters and one brother. Growing up, I was initially raised in the projects (Rockwell). However after enduring a childhood that included neglect, emotional, physical, and sexual abuse, my sister and I who were the only children my mother had then, were taken away from her when I was 7 years old.
ReplyDeleteI went through a few group homes and foster homes for a couple of years, eventually landing in what would be my final foster home at age 10, as my foster mother became my adopted mother March 14, 1996. However due to trouble at home I came to end up living in Wisconsin in the fall of that year in yet another group home type of setting. During the course of the next few years I was very troubled resulting in being put in Juvenile Detention, being psychologically hospitalized for suicidal tendencies, being placed in another group home, and eventually the Department of Corrections until I turned 19 where I returned to briefly live with my adopted mother before going off to college at 20.
Life throughout my twenties was mostly ordinary, the exception being my brief stint in the Army Reserves and in 2008 despite fruitless efforts in my childhood, my sister and I witnessed Divine Intervention with finding our birth family in one night. This has led to me now having a relationship with both my natural family and adopted family. It was also in my twenties, specifically 2008 or 2009 that I first came to discover New Life by the invitation of a friend. Despite having grown up with a religious background I wasn't consistent in my attendance. Not until 2012, after going through a job loss in 2011, brief relocation to Seattle, and returning back to Chicago.
It was in my return to Chicago that I began going more consistently to New LIFE, eventually coming to discover small groups, the first being Crossover which I was introduced to by a fellow M3 member, Eddie Morales. I became involved in other groups encouraged by the growth I experienced and the fellowship. At present I currently lead youth within Soul Purpose, and spiritually I've experienced more growth than ever before. Today I am grateful for God in the great things he's done in my life, and even the things that occur small. I can say that my yearning for God, my conviction, and my still yet limited understanding has increased. I'm humbled, grateful, and blessed to be part of M3 which has become an opportunity to have a brotherhood, but more importantly a chance to connect with God more than I ever have. I'm encouraged, hopeful, and growing more than ever before.
Wow Kentrayle! You've gone through so much! So glad you're moving forward and we can be on the same team. You've got a wonderful, faithful, Father and a band of brothers committed to you. Jehovah Rapha
ReplyDeleteThank you Dave. My perspective on what I've gone through continues to shift to believing it all had a purpose, one of which is to be a powerful testimony, and the other is that in going through so much I can relate to many people from multiple walks of life. I'm glad God saw me through it all and gave me the ability to withstand. I'm also glad to be on this team and thank you for the dedication and tremendous value you've offered each of us in assembling the blogs and creating M3.
DeleteA.W. Tozer — 'It is doubtful whether God can bless a man greatly until He has hurt him deeply.'
DeleteThanks a lot Robert, gives me a lot of hope.
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DeleteGeorge Rabiela born November 3rd 1954. Came from a family of eight brothers and sisters. My parents came from Mexico when I was 3 years old. We were so poor that my mother would have to put water in the milk to make it go around.
ReplyDeleteJoin the fire department February 16th 1977 and worked for 30 years with the Chicago Fire Department. On September 15th 2001 Southwest Airlines flu me and my hundred pound Shepherd named Moses to MacArthur Airport. The police drove us to Ground Zero and we worked for 5 days there. Have been retired for 8 years now. Married with 5 children, and four grandchildren. Going through a divorce. God hates divorce and so do I. Have been a Christian for approximately 27 years. Prior to becoming a Christian went through a lot of drinking and drug abuse. I thank God for delivering me from that lifestyle.I thank God for this M3 group. I started to get off track. I know that I have to stay close to God in the storm of life that I am going through. When Jesus was in the boat with his disciples they woke him up and said master don't you care about us we are going to drown. He got up and come the storm. I need to have faith that he will also calm the storm in my life.I'm waiting to hear from the judge on the final judgement. So my life is up in the air. I have to sell my home, the property in Mexico and my business and give my wife one half of it. So I am trusting in God for the outcome. And looking forward to my next chapter in life.
I was 1 of 6 children who grew up in a dysfunctional home for the most part. with a loving mother who gave all to our Lord and an alcoholic father who beat us regularly. I was confused as to what was justified and not, so I became incredibly driven and was determined to succeed at whatever I did to provide a secure life for others so that they could be comforted and not feel my pain. I convinced my mother to divorce my father because of his adulterous lifestyle and therefore I became the dad to my younger 3 brothers. I was extremely responsible and protected them and my mother always. I practiced sports longer and harder than the rest, studied innumerous hours to excel in college, worked longer hours and harder than the rest, and was successful in all I pursued. But I did not have a relationship with the Lord, and did not understand true success--" Obedience and faithfulness to God and his word." Along with the success came power and temptation and I committed the same sins as my father and his father and his father. I immersed myself in business and succeeded to even a greater earthly level and had my priorities wrong as I thought I could protect and help others and surely God would forgive my sins and I would be ok. Then the guilt and shame controlled me and I had many serious health issues with no resolution-- cried out to our Lord and begged for forgiveness, but didn't feel redeemed.
ReplyDeleteI have a wonderful wife of over 30 years who forgave me, and a great daughter who I love dearly and I realized I sinned against the Lord and my family. I had a dream about God and woke realizing that I needed a relationship with God and found New Life and God's messenger who came through loud and clear to me and I got saved Easter of 2013. I now became consumed with the word of God, and now I live by it and follow Jesus. I have been rescued from the darkness and now have a solid relationship with the Lord and my marriage is the best ever and do what I can for God to bring others to his Kingdom. Now I have been blessed with M3 and am delving deeper into the word in preparation of discipling and mentoring others. Life is good and I look forward to the return of our Lord.
My daughter now lives in KC with her husband, and we are proud to announce she is pregnant with our grand baby.
My wife and I pray regularly and are so grateful to the Lord for his blessings and are dedicated to his cause.
God is good--all of the time!
I was born in November of 1980, I am one of six children. My parents separated when I was two years old. My mother had moved on before the separation and that is how I have three half siblings. We (three oldest) ended up in Mexico bouncing around from one relative to another. One of my first introductions to God was through my grandmother. She is this five foot nothing devout Catholic. I remember having to pray the rosary for at least an hour on my knees. When we made mistakes, she brutally whipped us with these green whistling switches. Ouch! I think I just twitched. There was no love there. After, about seven years, father decided to call for us. My dad was an alcoholic and would physically abuse us. After a short stint with him, my aunt called the police on my father for something he did to my sister. We ended up with relatives and eventually in a foster home. My mom got wind of us and here came a custody battle. Of course my mom won, but it could not have been by much. I ended up living with her when I was around twelve. I noticed that no matter what I did I was not her favorite. How could I be, I missed most of my childhood without her. Plus, I was a child from the man that use to beat her. My stepfather was actually nicer than my mom, he treated me sometimes better than his own. Unfortunately he passed away of stomach cancer shortly after I met him. My mom moved on to a man that finally didn't hit her. He was very manipulative and verbally abusive to all of us. Sometimes physically. None of my siblings liked him. I told my mom to leave him. All she cared about was the money he was bringing in. I was depressed living there. I left to the Air Force and ended up marrying my high school sweetheart two years later. I failed my vows in the first year, I thought that I was going to repeat the same cycle as my parents. By God's grace, we stayed together, we worked through the pain but I was at a breaking point, and almost chose divorce. I already had my son and daughter. I was still keeping my eyes open to opportunities with other women. That is around the time that I was invited to a men's retreat. My faith was weak and someone prayed for me. I gave my life to Christ at the 2010 retreat and have not looked back. I thank God that I went through tough times when I was a child, because if I had not, I think I would have not been a good father now. I thank God for the heart that He has given me. i am glad to be doing God's work. I enjoy speaking life and truth to others with the sword of the spirit. Thanks M3 brothers for sharpening. God bless.
ReplyDeleteMy name is Gary R Remson. I was born March 12, 1987. I have one sibling, an older brother who was formerly in the navy and is now a Jehovah's Whiteness. I grew up with my family moving around a lot and my parents who went from job to job so there was little connecting in my younger years. Then for the people I did connect with it was difficult to maintain the relationships.
ReplyDeleteThroughout school years until graduating I had quite the mundane life in going to school or sport included and then going home on a regular basis, so I learned to be a loner at that time and keep to myself. After getting out of high school my father was insistent on bringing the family to church. At that time around 2005 my parents and I went to a church called Bolingbrook Community Church. There I learned who Christ is but there was no challenging or building on the relationship with Him. I started working at a Target store in 2008 where one of the managers invited me to a Presbyterian church with his family. At that church I truly felt fed, with knowledge and theological things, however as time slowly progressed life became routine and the gaps of time where there would be encouragement quickly widened; and I slowly became discouraged believing lies that people were abandoning me and my walk.
I continued to go to church there but halted in my participating and training. In 2011 a colleague from a different job in Schaumburg invited me to Crossover, to which I started to go to in that winter; and the whole group there was compassionate and showed a face a Love that I had not seen in people before. After a few week of coming to that small group there, I started to go on Sunday at 12 PM. So I would go the Presbyterian church at 9:30 and travel to Midway for the service at noon. Soon then I moved to fully going to NewLife Midway and stopped going to the Presbyterian Church.
Recently my life had face a major obstacle with conquering abandonment lies and staying resilient in such a blessed community. Also facing personal flaws with people pleasing and overwhelming myself with mountains of objectives. Now I am blessed to be a part of a Great and encouraging team of men in M3 who are being trained to enable other men, and be uplifting for them
I am originally from Ecuador where I lived until the age of 18 at which time I came to the US. I became a Christian at an early age through the ministry of some missionaries in Ecuador. Both my dad and mom professed to be followers of Christ but in my dad's case he never really did live for Christ while I was growing up. Years after I moved away from home God did change his life around.
ReplyDeleteMy mom on the other hand was a faithful servant of God.
Having grown up in a very legalistic church my idea of being a Christian was more a list of do's and don'ts rather than a life of living for God in thankfulness and obedience for what He had accomplished on the cross. I figured if I just lived my live staying away from the don'ts I was doing fine. So that is how I tried to live but always trying to get as close to the edge as possible... and then of course always falling and feeling miserable because I had failed God. Through the help of Christian friends I was able to see that my whole perspective on life needed to change.... I needed to try to live for Christ all of the time and be obedient to His voice and not trying to see how much I can get away with.
Even though I had attended different churches I felt I was never being challenged to grow deeper in my relationship with God. It seemed like most everyone was content with an occasional home bible study, a pot-luck or some activity at church... and that was the Christian life. For me the reaching the lost for Christ was the responsibility of the Pastor and church staff.
During this time I got married to my wife Julie and we both attended different churches never really finding a place that we really felt we belonged. We have been married for 15 years.
About 6 years ago we started attending a New Life church and we really liked the preaching and fellowship amongst the believers. About the same time my mom that continued to live in Ecuador was diagnosed with cancer, which eventually took her life. Even though I knew that I would see her again in heaven some day it was still very hard for me to accept that she was no longer here. I fell into a deep depression that lasted for months. During this time I had started to attend a NL small group and realized that people around me were going through much more difficult situations than I was and that there was so much that I needed to be thankful for to God. So one night in one of our small groups I asked all of my brothers there to pray for me, it was powerful. I broke down and cried and let all of that pain just flow away. When I woke up the next morning all of those feelings of depression were gone. Thank you Lord for your power and mercy!!
Since then I knew I needed to get closer to God. We started to attend NL Midway Campus and were greatly blessed by Pastor Mark's preaching. I became a regular attender of smalls groups and eventually followed God's leading in becoming a mentor. What a blessing that has been.
Now being part of M3 has even been a greater blessing and I'm so thankful for Dave and all of the brothers, for your support and prayers. I am looking forward to serving together in reaching the lost for Christ. Many blessing to all.
I was born February 3, 1988. I am the youngest of three. I have 3 kids 2 boys 1 girl. They are my everything. I am married to a beautiful woman, Yolanda. I thank God for her she has helped me with so much. When I was little my parents would take me to church on Easter and any special events to the church my grandpa was a pastor of. I never really prayed or anything. One day my mom bought all the young people at the church bibles, but I wouldn’t read it. So one day I noticed my bible was all dusty so I just began to read it. Little did I know I would read the bible every day and began to have a desire seek God. As I began to read the bible I realized it’s not by works that you get to heaven but by accepting Jesus as your lord and savior. So at the age of 16 I gave my life to Christ. I was a good kid. Got good grades, was not in involved with gangs, drugs or drinking. I would get picked on a lot for loving Jesus and going to church. Thank God he has put loving brothers and sisters of Christ in my life to encourage me and keep me on the right track.
ReplyDeleteI went to Lincoln Tech for electronics system technician. I do nothing in that field. I currently am a lawn care specialist. I love playing video games. I love to play all sports. I am a big Bears fan. I like every Chicago team except the White Soxs. I love to eat. I’ve been blessed to eat and eat and not gain any weight. I love to do auto detailing and ride bikes. My future dream is to one own my business and be a great leader for God.
Hello, my name is Israel Fuentes and I was born (1969) and raised in Chicago. I like to tell people, "that I am a Disciple of Jesus Christ, cleverly disguised as a Real Estate Broker" and have been doing this since 2000. God has blessed my business in more ways than I can count, and I truly try to have a servant's heart for my clients :) As I accepted Christ as Lord of my life, some 20 years ago, He has absolutely transformed my life and Vision for the future.
ReplyDeleteAt first, it was a slow transformation for me, and in hindsight, I always grew the most once I made a specific "Biblical Life Topic" a study for me. For example, I struggled with many biblical topics, like Jesus Christ being God in the flesh, My eternal security as a believer (can I lose my salvation?), tithing and robbing God?, handling money God's way?, Are we as believers only saved by God's grace through faith in Christ alone, apart from our own works? Wow...I started to Study the Bible and what it said about those topics, among others, and I was completely blown away in my findings...... to know that Jesus Christ was 100% God in His very nature and essence while being 100% a man at the same time, to know that I can NEVER lose my salvation, once I have been born again and sealed by the Holy Spirit until the day of redemption :) , to know that I am a steward or manager of everything that God entrusts to me. And most importantly, to know, that I know, that I know, deep in my spirit, that I am Saved (Heaven-bound) by God's grace thru faith in Christ Jesus alone, apart from anything else!!
God's Grace is so powerful. I am looking forward to "Intentionally Influence" other MANLY MEN" to study God's Word on a daily basis, to fall in Love with Him, to obey Him, and to trust Him with the results!
Trying to make it as short as possible.
ReplyDeletemy Bio...
My name is Ismael Andrade, born August 21, 1984. I am 4th of 5 children (have a twin). I am first generation Mexican/American so growing up especially through my childhood through early teens was raised very traditional and culturally. Along with being raised like that also went to Catholic Grammer School but the "Word" never really triggered my heart and my mind, kinda at times asking to myself "who is this guy Jesus teachers,priests and nuns talk about"?
As I was entering adolescent years little by little I was realizing alot of "generational cycle" started coming out of me (machismo,self dependency, one-kminded,stubborn,alcohol). I took that mentality to my mid to almost late 20's. In that journey I was with H.s sweetheart, living with her I brought nothing good. Same generational cycle including lust,verbal abuse,cheating, alot of the things I've seen,experienced through parents and family I took with. Little did I know that I was slowly bringing that relationship towards downward spiral. Towards the ending years of that relationship she set some seeds of Christ in my life (not knowing it at time), as she was raised Christian background she invited me to come to New Life. At first I was doing it for her, but this time the word of God was becoming "attractive". It was starting to make sense. Through some unfortunate events i was at the brink of depression. I couldn't trust no one including myself But something kept poking me, at my heart... The Lord was revealing to me through scripture and prayer more and more. Finally the question came "Do you trust me"? Second question "will you follow me"? I said yes! I committed myself to the Lord and baptized in 2012. By God's divine Grace and mercy, He has transformed and blessed me beyond all measures. As a progressive believer, I am here as mere vessel to share the gospel.
Now through so many blessing by the Lord, I am privileged to be a part a power band of brothers M3! M3 has sharpened me through the Word of God, equipping in discipleship and mentoring, at the same time seeking the calling of mission Jesus has for me. God bless brothers!
Personal Background:
ReplyDeleteI was born in Brooklyn, New York, to two adolescent parents in 1968. My Mom was sixteen years old and my Dad was fifteen years old. Too young to really know how to raise a family, but they tried to stick it out. Both of my parents were unbelievers that came from families that had severe problems with substance abuse, incest, and violence. My father, at the time an aspiring boxer, attempted to kill my Mom, my brothers, and me by setting our apartment on fire as part of a substance fueled rampage. He was unsuccessful, but his abuse of LSD and other substances became even more complicated when he was diagnosed with schizophrenia. Mom moved us to another neighborhood on the other side of Brooklyn and hooked up with a man that basically raised my brothers and me. “Buster” as we came to know him was and extremely abusive man that thought that we lacked discipline. His remedy was literally beating the be-jeezus out of my brothers and me. During this time I started to attend a small church in our neighborhood. They had a VBS and Sunday School for kids so my Mom signed us up as something to do that summer. It was through the ministry of this body of believers that I came to know Christ as my Savior. Over the years as I grew in the Church, Mom and Buster, became chronically addicted to substances. They both smoked weed as far back as I can remember, but when I became an adolescent, they started using butane torches to cook cocaine (free-basing) and then graduated to crack cocaine. Basically, my home became a crack house, replete with all of the things that come with it. I didn’t understand it then, but the Lord plucked me out of the situation by giving the Mothers of my church a strong love for me, with one woman in particular, Nelly, feeding me, clothing me, and instructing me. Because of the great love of God in His people I survived the circumstances of my adolescence and was able to go to my denomination’s liberal arts college in Upstate New York. There I met my wife, my children where born, and I felt the call to ministry. This call eventually brought me to Chicago with several stops being made in Rochester, New York; Brooklyn, New York; and Flint, Michigan. I praise God for his unending love, providence, and power in my life!