I’m from a middle-class family, and I grew up in southeast Texas. I am the middle child with an older sister two years older than me and a younger sister two minutes younger than me. Yes, I am a twin. I was born in Port Arthur and raised in Groves and Port Neches. We lived with refineries all around us. I remember thinking the refinery lights looked so cool at night, but that was our community. We were close to the beach and the lakes, so there was plenty of weekend fun. Both my parents are from a small town in Kansas called Lindsborg. It’s a Swedish community, and being Swedish is a part of my heritage. Mom relished in all things Swedish; Dad not so much, but we had fun with it. Have you ever eaten Lutefisk? Hint: it’s preserved in lye and you won’t find it in the Ikea cafeteria! My parents grew up Lutheran, and so did I. In fact, my parents were volunteer youth directors for our church in Port Arthur.
Growing up Lutheran did not have much of an influence on me, but hanging around the high school youth as an elementary age kid did. The high schoolers had long hair, played guitars and sang worship songs every Sunday evening. Jesus Christ Superstar was huge back then and had quite an impact on the high schoolers….and me! I loved the music. “What’s the buzz” – IYKYK. I still have my parent’s album. Unfortunately, this new “Jesus movement” in the late 60’s and early 70’s divided our church. The old guard did not understand it and the younger crowd embraced it. As youth directors, my parents got caught in the conflict and later decided it was best to leave and join another church. So, we became Methodists.
I can say growing up as a child that I believed in Jesus. I really did! However, I was not given an opportunity to profess my faith and salvation with the Lutheran or Methodist churches I attended. That came from a friend of mine, Philip Reynolds. He led me to confess and accept Jesus as my Savior on a weekend trip in Lufkin when I was a junior in high school. It was a big step I needed to take with my faith and I’m glad I did. Thank you, Philip and thank you, Jesus!
My salvation is nothing out of the ordinary. It simply is unique to me and part of my story. My life following Jesus has been through ups and downs as I look back on my youth. However, I matured spiritually later in life. First by becoming a husband to Sue, and then later as a father to Nicholas. Through these relationships, God has shown what unconditional love is and that has been a powerful influence on me. This has shaped me in many things in life including my career. Sue and Nicholas are my priority. In fact, God comes first, my family (and friends) are second and my career is.….a distant third. I’ve left good jobs, moved out of state and worked outside my career training so that I can keep my priorities in check. It hasn’t always been easy, but God has always provided and shown me the way.
My story today is more of wanting to give back. In keeping with my first priority, I love supporting my church, The Park. I also have a desire to support those in need living on the west side of town. As such, I am involved with another church called Last Chance Ministries and a non-profit, Hope for the Westside. I firmly believe as a church of God we a must be witness to others and support one another. That is my prayer.
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