I guess auto-bio would be more accurate, as I am the one writing it. I will mainly focus on the events that have happened since my eternity changed. We all are eternal you know. Where we spend that eternity is the only thing ever in question, and until one is born again, that eternity is none too pleasant. That “born again” event for me was January 2nd 1975. However, prior to that there were things that God arranged so I could accomplish His purposes in my future new standing with Him.(See my thesis on predestination as the Bible describes it.
.
One of these was my marriage to my wife. I married Karen in 1969. You do the math. We’ve been together a long time, but the first five years are a testament to her endurance. I was not much of a husband then. Not that I became all that and a bag of chips afterwards either. Change as a child of God takes time and there was much to being a husband that God needed to change in me. I am, as are all of those who choose Jesus, a work in progress. But my wife endured on! The next four blessings followed. Our first child was born in 1971, a boy – Shawn, the second in 1972, a boy – Brian, the third in 1973, a girl – Heidi, and the fourth in 1977, a girl – Charity. The first three of these events God put in place before I ever called on Him, and for them all I am grateful.
.
When I was a Gentile in the very real sense of the word, I determined I would write a book showing that the Bible was in reality fiction, based on superstition and a lack of understanding about the scientific principles that go into natural phenomena. Pretty dumb, huh? I thought it would be a best seller and on January 1, 1975 I made a new years resolution to complete the book that year. After we had toasted the New Year, I went to bed intending to begin my research in the morning.
.
I had two bibles in the house. One I had been given as a teen when I was confirmed. I had kept it for sentimental reasons. It was King James and I remembered it was difficult to understand. The other bible was really only a New Testament and had been sent to me by my sister, Rebecca a few weeks earlier. I had glanced through it and I noticed it was easy to read. (The Living Bible) I had shelved it thinking she should have known better. But on this New Years day I was tired and thought I might begin my research in it, as it was easy reading. I did and it changed my life forever. I know of nothing apart from the word of God which WILL change your life forever. I read off and on the whole day and finished Matthew, Mark, and most of Luke. I noticed my notes changing as I progressed and I was reticent to put it aside so I could sleep for work the next day. I did however. As soon as I got off of work the next day, I could hardly wait to pick it up again and did. I got off at 9pm and read anyway though it was late when I got home. Part way through the gospel of John, I was convinced that the Bible was indeed truth and in my living room late that night, I gave my life to the Lord Jesus. That was the start of a very exciting adventure that continues today.
.
Right after that I read the book of Acts, and was puzzled at all the references to baptism of the Holy Spirit. I had been raised in a Lutheran church, and no one ever mentioned it. I became Spirit filled shortly after – a tongue talker, with the rich and exciting relationship that follows that event. That began a close and personal relationship between the Holy Spirit and God and me.
.
In 1981 through the Holy Spirit, God told me that I was to be a pastor in Southern California (I was living in Minnesota then). He told me that the information required no action from me at that time and He would prepare me for it. I didn’t know He would spend eighteen years preparing me for it! In 1983 I was told by the Holy Spirit to quit my job and move my family to Alaska, where I would receive my bible college training and watch men who served God, do it well. In August of 1983 we were in Anchorage Alaska. We were planning on staying a couple of years and then moving to Southern California. In August of 1990 we were still in Alaska and planning on moving to Southern California in a couple of years. That winter God told me it was time to leave. What I had expected to take only a couple of years took eight all together and I still wasn’t going to become a pastor.
.
I raised my family in Alaska. A pretty place, but the sun just doesn’t do much up there. During the winter it is seldom up and during the summer it’s always up but never much more than a 45 degree angle. It never really got hot in Anchorage, where we lived.
.
I went to a church called Abbot Loop Community Church. A great place to go if you’re in Anchorage. If you do, say “Hi” to Rick Benjamin from me. It was a church of about 2,000. I was ordained as an elder there in 1988 and it was there I was taught how to serve God and practiced those things they taught me. It was a rich time in God surrounded by men of stature who served God with their whole heart. It prepared me for what I would encounter in Southern California.
.
I brought my family to Southern California in 1991. The Lord told me we would be moving soon in 1990, but my wife told me He hadn’t told her anything. I said we would wait until she was told too. In the beginning of 1991 she admitted that God had told her also and we made plans to leave. I was told to come here to establish a counseling center, so I still didn’t know when God would fulfill the vision He had given me in 1981.
.
When we came, He told me I was to become the pastor of the church we began to attend. I sat that on the shelf and decided to see how God would fulfill that. I knew that if one tries to make the call of God come to pass on their own, they have a tendency to fail miserably at it. I didn’t want this to be the case for me. God would have to make it happen. He did eight years later.
.
In the meantime, I began the High Desert Care Counseling Center. It is a non-profit peer counseling center that puts Christians who had been through things and have overcome them with people who were struggling in their life. Since Jesus is so central to real recovery, many of those who came ended up getting saved. I used volunteers from different churches and encouraged our counselors to bring their counselees to their own churches. It still functions in the upper desert.
.
The rest of my testimony is pretty well laid out in the “About Us” page on this site. I was ordained as the pastor in 1999 of the church I had begun to attend in 1991. God brought to pass those things He had said to me so long before. I was to lead those who made the transition from that church into the work of starting a church called “the Place”. I enjoy the role of pastor with all of its joys and all of its sorrows. Many good people have added themselves to God’s work here at this church and one of the greatest joys I have is meeting all of God’s people that He brings across my path. It is an honor for me to serve the living God as a shepherd of His people and I find my relationship with Him so very rich it transcends all the perils that life and being a pastor holds.