I have traveled the world studying the major religions of the world. I have found the desire for true peace and happiness comes through the discovery of our inner soul. I believe part of my life purpose is to help people realize the Divine within and around them. I want to help build bridges of understanding between our faith traditions. I believe we have much more in common than what separates us. I grew up in a small community in northern Indiana. My parents grew up Amish but became Mennonite before I was born. It was great growing up in a small community where the town was my canvas for all kinds of mischievous activities. I went to church camp at nine years old and through the care of a camp counselor, I experienced the love of God. My local church was very conservative and legalistic; a person shouldn’t dance, drink, smoke or play cards. These activities were seen as the “ways of the devil”. I remember the minister pounding the pulpit and telling us how bad we were and if we didn’t get right with God we would go to hell. When I left the church I always felt I was going to hell for something. I struggled with this conflict between hearing about the judgment of God in my church and experiencing the love of God at church camp. As I got older and heard from the pulpit that my friends who were Catholics, Methodist or Jewish were going to hell because they weren’t a part of our church, I decided I didn’t want any part of a church like this. As I went to college to study theater I came into a relationship with people of other faiths and cultures. I always believed in God but was conflicted about the earlier teachings of my church and their judgment of people of other faith traditions. I experienced these people as good God-loving people trying to grow in their relationship to God and to others. I saw them as children of God, like me, and could not believe God would damn them to hell because they did not hold the same beliefs I had. I could not reconcile the teaching of my church and my own experience of God’s love so I disengaged from the church altogether. As I worked professionally in the theater I was very unhappy in my soul. I felt disconnected from God and from myself. When I finally opened myself to God’s leading and experienced the power of the resurrection in my own life, Jesus’ teachings became real to me, It wasn’t until I walked into First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Peru Indiana, where I was teaching speech at the local high school that I found a church that I connected with. When I went to worship I saw men and women share in leadership roles together, everyone was welcomed to take communion, whether you were a member or not. I heard about the love of God from the pulpit rather than the judgment of God. I began to have a new understanding of God as I came back to the church. It was in Seminary at Christian Theological Seminary that I was able to find a new understanding of Jesus, and our relationship to people of other faiths. If you would like to read more about my reflections, my book Rearranging the Lines will explore in a deeper way these theological topics. I have committed my life to be a witness of Jesus teaching to “love God and our neighbor.” To bring the message of God’s love to all, I want to be a voice for the disenfranchised, and a peacemaker building bridges of understanding between all of God’s children. Snider High school, Fort Wayne Indiana-1973 Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana – 1973-77 Degree in Speech & Theater Christian Theological Seminary, Indianapolis Indiana -1981-85 Masters of Divinity I have run 5 marathons, do magic and love to play chess. I am married and have two stepdaughters and two soul daughters. I am currently the Senior Pastor at First Christian Church in Mooresville, Indiana.
