This last weekend I had the opportunity to reconnect with a good friend from my childhood, Alan Shinnebarger. We grew up in the same church together and our families have been friends for probably 65+ years. (Neither of us is that old by the way!) We had a great time together reminiscing about the past as well as sharing our vision for the future.
My time with Alan reminded of how blessed I am to have a godly heritage. It begins with family. I have been blessed with parents and grandparents who love Jesus and taught me to do the same. But I am blessed to have even more than that, I was blessed to have grown up in an awesome church with a community of believers who challenged me to love God; a community that continues to inspire me and support me as I pursue God's purpose for my life.
If you know me at all then you know how much I love the church. I love the church. I love the idea of the church. I love the the head of the church. I love the body that belongs to that head. I just love the church.
Maybe my love for the church stems from the fact that I grew up in such an awesome church. Bethel Church in Quincy is my home church. I've been gone from there for 20 years now, but my love for that church has never waned and neither has their support for me.
I learned about humility, faithfulness and love from such sweet ladies as Margie Stone, Irene Kampe and Mae Seize. (As a little boy I literally thought Margie was Jesus.) These ladies are unknown to the world outside of Bethel, but they are known in heaven.
Then there are the men of God who modeled for me that manliness and godliness are not mutually exclusive but complimentary attributes. Men that taught me you could be strong and brave and yet weep uncontrollably before the Lord.
Bob Guthrie and Clarence Rumsey were two such men. Both were men's men. I believe Bob was a construction worker, a strong, good-looking man that a boy could look up to. Clarence was a cop and then a fireman...how manly is that? And yet, both of these men modeled such an incredible love and gentleness. Both had a huge impact on my life.
Those of you who know me well and know my testimony know that it was through the faithfulness of the incredible people of Bethel Church that God called a struggling prodigal home. On my wedding day I was struck at how many of those "hypocrites" from the church showed up to celebrate one of life's biggest moments with me. In spite of the fact that I had been shunning the church for years, they came. It started with Carrie Williams shuffling into the church with a present bigger than she was. Then the ceremony concluded with me walking down the aisle of the church with my new bride and the Spirit prompting me to notice all of the faces of those incredibly faithful people. I specifically remember the Lord speaking to my heart when I saw Rich Sederwall and Al Schlosser sitting there; it was probably at that moment that I began to think I needed to rise up out of my filth and head back to my Father's house.
And what did I find when I returned? Not only was the Father running down the lane to meet me, but my story was even better than the Prodigal's because I didn't come back to a jealous brother! My spiritual family welcomed me with open arms and rejoiced that I had found my way home.
Long before I was even a twinkle in my father's eye, my grandma and grandpa lived next door to the Sederwall family. My mom tells me that my Aunt Shirley used to invite those Sederwall kids to go to church with her. Turns out they all fell in love with Jesus. Faithfulness is cyclical isn't it? You never know when a life you impact today may be used to impact you or yours tomorrow!
So today I just want to thank God for my heritage. I had fun with Alan this weekend remembering all of those wonderful people. I was also really grateful to sit with someone who appreciates his heritage in Christ as much as I do.
Thank you Bethel Church. May your brightest days be yet ahead of you as you continue to stand as a beacon of light in Quincy, Illinos!
