I'd like to hear from you. If you are a Christian what or who enfluenced you to give your life to Christ? I'd love to hear your stories. If you are not a Christian would you share about someone who greatly enfluenced you?
posted by Jeff Cash @ 11:42 PM
9 comments
I love the Lord and have a great friendship with him. That's why my job is so wonderful for me. Since 1995 my wife and I have been living and working in Western Uganda. My local name called an impako is Amooti. I am living my dreams. My wife Cheryl is such a treasure. We have been through so much together and we are continuing to grow in our love for each other. I have four of the greatest kids in the world. (Kinley, Alex, Isaac and Silas) I get to live in Uganda and share the love of Jesus with people everyday. Some of my closest friends are Ugandan. I have been blessed by the Lord is so many ways. Life is never boring and I enjoy the adventure that is available here in Africa.
9 Comments:
OUTSTANDING CHRISTIANS WHO HELPED SHAPE MY PERSONAL HUNK OF CLAY
Fred Gray - 5th Grade Sunday School Teacher
Lynn Money - youth minister, when Ronald and I broke a rule on a youth trip the elders wanted to ban us from all further trips. Believing that the Bible teaches forgiveness, Lynn took a courageous stance and stood up to his boss (the local elders). Ron and I were allowed to continue as youth group members and leaders. A year later Lynn resigned from the ministry and started selling oilfield equipment. I've always felt bad that my actions may have poisoned his relationship with his Elders. Of course, Lynn went back into the ministry a few years later. I can't say enough good things about Lynn and Sherylynn.
Freylon Coffey - my dad, total honesty and integrity even when it hurts.
Norrice Ann Coffey - my mom, a walking bible dictionary and concordance in the days before biblegateway.com and google
Charles Mickey - college minister - taught me the value of cultural relevance and that Texas Tech is a mission field. Our most successful outreach was intramural sports. Charles forced us to go out and recruit 50% of our "church team" players from non-churched people. We found lonely freshmen, no friends, often GREAT ATHLETES who just wanted to play some ball. We developed friendships that made it easy to share the gospel.
Bruce Wesley - my current Senior Minister - This is the 1st church that I've ever attended that had a well developed strategic plan. We don't try to be everything to everybody. We don't dilute our effort by focusing on too many things. Running a food bank is important, but that's not our mission. Our mission is to help unchurched people become fully devoted followers of Jesus. Everything we do on Sunday morning is designed for the person who is far from God. On a typical Sunday we'll have 3000 people attend, only 800 of which are church members. The sermons have more milk than meat, but it's extremely good quality milk that is relevant to our local culture. We don't water down the sermon nor do we compromise on our doctrine (we're not one of those prosperity happy, happy churches). I'm pretty passionate about this, and the stuff I've learned can easily be applied to any CofC church. It's not about singing with or without a guitar, it's about taking the time to walk across the street and invite your neighbor to your home group. And when he finally shows up on Sunday the sermon will be relevant - he won't find himself in the middle of a study on Leviticus. Send me an email at jimcoffey62@yahoo.com if you'd like to talk more.
Wow Jim! Thank you.
I loved what you had to say.
Lord, thank you for each person that Jim mentioned who helped shape him. Please Bless each of them today. May your love flow through them and those they have touched.
I had been studied with by a couple college students (at Central Missouri State Univ) who were part of what we called the Crossroads/Boston/International Church movement. My cousins were in the church of Christ but their example taught me that this was a movement of hypocrites. I would not accept what the college students told me.
When I was at the Univ of Missouri for a semester a guy (Mark Sullivan) knocked on 100 doors to invite people to a bible study. I was the last one. I decided to put this behind me and prove that infants should be baptized (I was active in the Lutheran church). I went to my "Pastor" and got some bible verses although about 1/2 I felt were pretty lame. After 1 study with Mark I was baptized. It was pretty clear to me.
I went back to CMSU and became good friends with the two guys who studied with me originally. I also baptized 3 of my best friends and we began a college dorm study that grew to about 20 people.
Jim, your words and thoughts are very kind and appreciated. And let me assure you it wasn't your actions that poisoned my relationship with the elders. I think the only poisoning was with one, not all, and old scratch was the culprit there. Jeff, in keeping with Jim's approach to those who had spiritual influence on my life, you know that you are married to one of them which makes you related to most of the others that had the big impact. Sherilyn, of course, was the biggest influence, then there was Cheryl and Cherise. As "teacher", wife and best friend, Sherilyn keeps me level and steady in my growth. As daughters, mothers of my grandchildren and next best friends, Cheryl and Cherise keep me challenged toward greater faith and 6 of the most beautiful grandchildren to be "Papa" to. And in every sense, all the "youth group" that I have worked with over my 40 years of ministry and especially leaders like Jim Coffey who have been a very positive spiritual influence throughout my Christian life. They've called on me as minister, counselor and next-next best friend. It was Jim who called me when his first was on the way, and said, "Hey Lynn, we're going to make you a "grand youth minister", Kim's pregnant." And I can't talk about faith history without talking about my wonderful Baptist (dyed in the wool)parents who taught me more about grace than I would ever admit, and Sherilyn's parents who "stepped in when my parents stepped out" and then "stepped back out when my parents stepped back in." Then there was M.B. McKinney, the Bible Chair Director at Angelo State College (at that time, now University)who encouraged me to hold on unashamedly to my familial heritage of grace and grow in it. Others, too numerous to mention.
I grew up in church but with a family that focused on "church attendance" on Sundays and that was about it. There was no evidence of an actual relationship with God. I asked many questions growing up about how to make sure I was going to heaven and not going to hell. In God's grace, even as a child, I knew I was not destined for heaven and wanted to do something about it.
Fast forward to the beginnings of my career after college. I had a friend there that I realized was a little "different". When we went to lunch she would play Christian music and she began letting me borrow her CD's to listen to on my own. I was growing more and more interested in "all things God".
One day I saw she was reading "Left Behind" so I asked her what it was about. She said "the rapture" which meant nothing to me so I asked what the rapture was and she said "you know, the end of the world". No. I didn't know.
That day we walked out of the office together and stood in the parking lot. She began sharing the gospel with me and I began grilling her - asking all those same questions seekers tend to ask - I was honestly pretty tough on her - but in my mind I kept hearing, "Just listen to her. You don't have to decide right now. Keep your mind open and just listen." Finally she called her minister and got Scripture references for me that I wrote down.
I went home and looked the verses up in my Bible. There it was - Romans 10:9. I was floored! Then I knealt down on the floor and asked Jesus to save me.
After that I had some tumultous ups and downs with many, many people affecting my walk with Christ. I am thankful - SO thankful - for my friend who took the time to stand outside after work (how many of us rush home at 5:00?) and withstand my inquiry patiently and share with me the Truth. I'm also thankful for all of the people who have had and continue to have a positive affect on me acting as John the Baptist - pointing me to Jesus. The biggest and best influence I have in my life now is my wonderful husband who God has blessed me with. We're currently training to be career missionaries with Wycliffe Bible Translators. In fact, we're praying about where to go and our strongest pull right now is to Uganda.
Thank you for the information you post on your blog. God bless you and your family there!
Oh, and I have to give credit to the true source of how all that happened....... When the Bible says that He calls us and He chooses us, I am evidence of that. All those thoughts, questions, curiosities about God that came up with me as a child and grew stronger and stronger until I asked my friend all those questions... And that moment that I wanted to get defensive and tell her she was crazy and God was impressing on me that I was getting my biggest, most burning question in life answered... God was the author of all of that desire in me. The Bible also says no one seeks God - so when I sometimes say "I was seeking God" it's not true. Actually, God was pursuing me. Fervently. That is what I'm MOST thankful for!
Dana,
I want to thank you and your husband Jonothan for all of the study and work you are doing to get ready to go somewhere and translate the bible into a local venacular /heart language. I have friends who are with SIL and I think Bible translation is one of the great ministries of the kingdom. As you train with Wycliffe and do your VMS studies you may wonder if it is all worth it. I want to confirm to you that it is! If you are able to translate scriptures for a tribe that has never had it you will be planting the seeds of the gospel that will reap a huge harvest in the future. (In Rutoro we call that Embibo ya Yesu. Seeds of Jesus)
Just think about it...when we get to heaven maybe we could gather all of the people together from the tribe that you helped to put the word of God into their mother tongue. Wow! Only God knows how He will use those words as he calls people to himself. Scripture does say from that there will be people from every tribe nation and tongue gathered around the throne. He will use your efforts. To me that is exciting.
Thank you for studying now so you and Jonathon will have the tools to translate the scriptures.
"My hat is off to you. I am proud of every Bible translator I have met."
If you come to Uganda you will be welcomed by brothers and sisters in Christ.
Keep us up to date with your ministry plans.
Do you have some possible target languages in Uganda?
Some of our friends,the Tabs, were working on Lubwisi in Bundibugyo. Now they living in Entebbe with SIL. They are still working on the Bible.
It is such great work.
May the Lord bless you as you help to live and translate the Word of God.
Hi!
Thank you for your encouraging words! We would also be living in Entebbe and be working with the Uganda-Tanzania branch. The translators for the Mbeya group in Tanzania are looking for the Scriptures to be put into audio-visual format for that group. (That's what VMS does...puts the Word of God into a format that speaks to that group in a heart language they understand. Approximately 70% of the world is oral so those are the people we want to make sure have the opportunity to hear and respond to God's Word.) Once we get there though, I'm not sure what other groups will request VMS for their people. We pray for many opportunities for God to use us to get his life-changing word to those who cannot read (or cannot read well). I know how much of an impact the Bible has had on me and God's Word is for everyone! Thank you again for your encouragement as being in training and raising support have the potential of wearing us down a bit. :) Do you have contact info for the Taps? I'm such a researcher.....I just like getting information about the place I'm going...which is what led me to your site in the first place. You could just direct them to our website (www.jonathananddana.com) and they can contact us through there - if you think about it when you talk to them again... If not, that's okay too. :)
God bless you! (BTW - I read the post about the electricity... in our prepration, should we pray for patience?)
Dana
Hi, I was wondering what you need to do to become a missionary. It's been something that I've been feeling in my heart since childhood and it's something I need to do.
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