Around the Corner, Around the World

      It has been almost a month since my last post.  Again, I needed to wait for the Lord to release me to share.  If you read my last post, you know that I left a situation (not our ministry with CEF, nor my job at the Christian school) due to differences in views on evangelism.  At one point, in essence, I was told that I talk too much about Jesus and salvation when I should be teaching students about missionaries.  This bothered me so much, because what is the point of missions it if isn't the Gospel?  

     I know missionaries often do many things, such as helping communities, building houses, providing food and clean water, etc.  All of that is important work we can do in Jesus' name.  Most godly organizations who do these things also share the Gospel with the people they serve.  I have no idea why I was expected to teach students about missions work without including the message missionaries teach.  

     I continued sharing the Gospel anyway, continuing to see children saved.  When we left in April (there was a last straw), I felt like telling this person, "Try not to be too disappointed when you get to Heaven and see people there I led to Christ after you said not to!"  That would have been petty, but it's satisfying to at least imagine I said it.  

    All of this has led me to a deep realization:  Some people would rather send a missionary to the furthest point on earth than witness to their neighbor, or to person who comes through the door of their church.  This is especially dangerous here in the South, where there is a false sense of security that "everyone is a Christian here" (spoiler alert: not true!).  

     The missions curriculum I was asked to teach wasn't even quality missions information.  It was always giving very false stats about how godly everyone in our state is, while the people they were sending missionaries to (whether in non-Bible-belt states in the US or other nations) were ungodly and bad and needed our help to become good like us.   Here is my first critique on that: Missions should always be about love for God and love for people, not about comparisons.  It should not be condescending or conceited.  First Corinthians 13:4b-5a reminds us, that love does not boast, it is not proud.  It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking...  And yet this curriculum was all of those things--boastful, proud, dishonoring others, and self-seeking.  

     The curriculum always said 90% of the people in our state were following Jesus (note: they can't possibly determine who is really following Jesus, only basic stats of what religion people claim).  Pew Research, an unbiased and reliable source, actually says that 79% of our state's residents claim to be Christian--not 90%.  Also, breaking that down, only 50% of our state's residents say they are evangelical Christians (those who have most likely had a salvation experience--while not all claiming to be evangelical have, and there are mainline and other groups of Christians who likely have been saved, so we can't possibly know).  Pew research's figure was much smaller than the curriculum's inflated view. 

     The curriculum also made comments to imply that only 10% of New Yorkers believe God exists (which implies 90% of New Yorkers are atheists).  Again, according to Pew Research, this is untrue.  Fifty-seven precent of New Yorkers claim to be Christians.  As with our state, though, I am certain not every person who claims it really is saved.  But if 57% at least claim to be Christian, they aren't atheists.  This also doesn't count other religious groups who believe in God.  I say all this to assert that their claim that 90% of the good people of New York are atheists is an unfounded assertion.   

     Depending on which research you go by, all US states have at least 50% of the residents claiming to be Christians, but I am certain true believers are a minority anywhere.  Jesus said it would be that way. (Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. -Matthew 7:14).   Christian culture isn't a virtue in itself.  It is only good inasmuch as it facilitates people coming to salvation.  If this does not happen, there is little benefit to living in a more wholesome, God-fearing culture.  What shall we as Christians profit if we teach people to be moral and nice, yet lose them for all eternity?  

    When I shared my statistical findings and the errors in the curriculum with those over me, almost nobody wanted to hear it, and they refused to believe the statistics I was showing them in black and white.  They wanted to keep believing people in our state were just more godly and Christian and morally superior to those heathens in Oregon, New York, or (gulp) New England.  That is pride, and God hates pride.  (God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. -James 4:6).  

    Some of the finest Christians I have ever known are from places with a much lower Christian presence.  These people have looked to their faith and known it is worth living for, even dying for in some cases.  I can't make a total judgment, but the Christians I have met from New Jersey (a state where 59% of the population claim to be Christians) have known the Bible better than any other Christians I have known.  I grew up in a more Conservative area of California, and I remember going to camp each year.  Kids from all over the state would be there, and there was always a group from San Francisco (a city known for non-Christian values, with 46% of the population claiming to be Christians).  These San Francisco church kids were some of the most godly, spiritually-mature, and biblically-literate of anyone else at camp.  They won sword drills.  They memorized scriptures.  They treated others with a Christlikeness I seldom see. Coincidence?  Maybe.  But my point here isn't really comparison.  It's to illustrate my frustration with the missions curriculum I was given.  

     Part of the reason I got in trouble for sharing the Gospel was because it implied I thought people in our perfect community, coming through our perfect doors, weren't saved, and how dare I think that?   Who did I think I was?  Well, the Bible tells me exactly who I am.  Second Corinthians 5:20 says, We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.  I was told that sharing the Gospel brings confusion!  And yet the God who is not the author of confusion (First Corinthians 14:33) told us to preach the Gospel to the whole of creation (Mark 16:15).  Is God confused?  Of course not.  During this confrontation, I told the person addressing me that this was unbiblical.  I was very polite, but never caved.  I knew that this wasn't necessarily the entire ministry's belief or ideal.  But the fact that someone in leadership would say this was a huge problem to me.  

     When I went home that evening, my husband shared he didn't feel we were led to leave that situation just yet, and I knew I would need God to get through this.  I begged God for a scripture to encourage me, and He immediately led me to Second Timothy 4:5, which states:  As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.  I knew that God was leading me to continue sharing, against all odds.  This has been my lot in life.  Many, many times, I've been called to share the Gospel in so-called Christian settings where it wasn't welcomed.  I had learned when to obey God over human authority. 

     In the book of Acts, not one person who tried to silence Peter, Paul or other apostles was ever one of the "good guys."  They weren't even usually the godless Romans.  They were usually the religious leaders.  They saw themselves as their own personal Bible belt.  But they were wrong.  In Acts 5, a very wise Pharisee named Gamaliel advised the others, Therefore, in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail.  But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.  (Verses 38-39).  Gamaliel wasn't even a believer in Jesus himself, but he had more wisdom than the other religious leaders.  He knew that if God was behind the apostle's ministry, it couldn't be thwarted.  The same is true in the situation I left.  I know God was behind those who were saved in my class, so the leader who wanted me to stop was really in opposition to the will of God, according to the Bible.  It makes me angry that this person would rather teach these children about the heathens in Wyoming (yes, Wyoming was another state they deemed as inferior) than tell these children about Jesus, and what He has done for us to be saved, and actually inspire them to share Jesus with others (rather than make unfair comparisons).

     Many years ago, in Norco, California, there was a man named Mike.  This man was a janitor at a church, and this church had a day care center for elementary kids after school each day.  Mike shared the Gospel with these kids, gave them gospel tracts, and was always sharing the Bible with them, and asking the staff how he could pray for them.  He was viewed as odd, but he didn't care.  He was kind and good and beloved by the kids.  But he ended up changing jobs, but he promised he would keep praying for them all.  

     Not knowing any of this, I began working at this day care center in 1999, shortly after Mike left.  My first day on the job, I was asked to do Bible with a roomful of kindergarten-sixth graders.  I wasn't given any plan or agenda, so I just shared the Romans Road with them.  Before I even finished, a second-grader named Michaela asked, "How can we be saved?  I want to do that right now!"  That day, 12 children received Christ.  They were filled with the power of the Holy Spirit, and they began leading others to the Lord.  It was a mini-revival.  It reminded me of Acts 2:47, And the Lord added to their numbers daily those who were being saved.  Those who were being saved were hungry for the word, and concerned for the lost.  I saw that evidence of their salvation.  

     You guessed it, though, I got in trouble.  I was confronted, and told to stop.  I was told about Mike, the janitor who was just as odd as me, always talking about Jesus and salvation.  I knew in that moment that I was an answer to this man's prayer and burden, and I couldn't let him or God down!  I kept evangelizing anyway, even though I wasn't supposed to.  I felt like a spy in the Soviet Union!  I learned a lot of tricks, but every day, I prayed that God would keep what I was doing a secret until the day it needed to be known.  I knew my reckoning was coming.  And it did.  

     That morning, I had just read in my Bible about the stoning of Stephen in Acts 7.  As I read it, I felt a nudge from the Lord, Today, there will be a battle, but if you look to Me, you won't feel the stones!  That very day, I was caught evangelizing and confronted for it.  I had a little speech prepared, but instead, as I opened my mouth, the Holy Spirit, who knew the heart of this individual and what they needed to hear, put His words in my mouth, and at the end of the conversation, I was not only told I was allowed to keep evangelizing, but I was asked to lead Bible classes with the Gospel specifically for the kids!  I did that for many years there!  From 1999-2002, over eighty children at that center gave their lives to the Lord.  I ran into some of them many years later, and they were still following Christ.  

     We can't fight God.  We are the answer to other people's prayers.  We can't let them or Jesus down!  The Gospel came to us through sacrifice.  We can't drop the ball!  Much of this has been festering within me for a very long time.  No one who asks you not to share the Gospel is on God's side.  This isn't to say a leader can't ask you to share it in a specific way their ministry prefers.  But asking you not to tell others of the life-giving message of Jesus is actualy hatred.  It is contrary to everything we are commanded to do as Christians.  

     I am still healing up from my recent situation.  I still have troubling dreams.  I could still use your prayers.  But in the meantime, our ministry has seen seven come to the Lord this month alone!  In 1000 years, that will matter a lot more than stress or hurt feelings I might be struggling with.  I choose joy in the Lord, but wanted to interact with these things.  Your insights are welcome.  

Jaclyn and Matthew, two cousins who received Christ last week!  Photo used with permission.  

Moving on, and what we learn

This has been on my heart all week, but I had to wait until I was at the right place to share it. Our family has gone through a church-related transition recently. It has been God's leading for us, and we will continue to partner in our CEF ministry with the situation we left, while embracing the new place God has us. We have dear friends in both the old and new situations, and that won't change. Those in both the old and new situations love and serve the Lord. It has been hard, with troubling dreams some nights that come from a deep part of my heart. I experience great joy in what God has done and is doing, as well as loss and regret. I even feel guilt sometimes. What I'm about to share isn't 100% the reason for our changing situation, because, as I said, God led this way. Very few people in the previous situation contributed to what I'm going to share. However, I share because it has been part of my life story as long as I can remember. I wrote the following several days ago, but waited on God to release me to share it. I rewrote a few sentences here and there.

Our family, Easter 2025, shortly after the above-mentioned change.

As someone who cares deeply about evangelism, I am constantly disillusioned that so few churches have evangelism as any sort of priority in children's programming. They do an evangelism lesson for children the last day of VBS every summer, and just might make one other attempt all year, but otherwise, just tell cute little Bible stories with cute little crafts, and sing fun little songs with fun little hand motions. Without the Gospel, these things give no life change (But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. -First Corinthians 2:14). And yet when I include the Gospel in whatever curriculum I'm given, I am a radical, and must be stopped! If a leader is concerned that I'm not on the page they want me to be on, or that I don't know what I'm doing (I assure everyone I most certainly do), rather than forbidding me (I never obey that request anyway), these leaders should consider that maybe the Lord wants the Gospel to be part of the program, and then implement a training for all volunteers so that EVERYONE is on the same page. I am 100% willing to take trainings. I am 100% willing to adjust to different situations. For example, if I normally use the Romans Road and you want me to use the Three Circles method, or The Four Spiritual Laws, that's fine, and I will comply, as long as it is still the biblical Gospel. I am so sick of being forbidden to share the Gospel in so-called Christian situations (and as I said, I never, ever obey in those cases--ever--because I answer to a higher authority. We must obey God rather than men. Acts 5:29). This has happened multiple times in my life. This wouldn't be happening if these leaders were obeying the Great Commission to begin with. I'm not a radical. I'm an average person who will answer to God one day. I wish more leaders realized they would one day do the same.

     I remember one summer several years ago.  I was leading a group of junior high and high school summer missionaries in California.  We were doing open air evangelism and 5-day Bible Clubs around the city.  One girl on the team had a very deep burden to lead Mormons to the Lord.  One day, while we were driving between Bible Clubs, we saw some Mormon missionaries.  This girl begged me to stop the car and let her go witness to them.  At first, I kind of resisted, because I have been in discussions with Mormon missionaries before, and they were pretty fruitless, and I just didn't want to get us stuck in a situation, but the Holy Spirit immediately prompted my heart, Who are you to tell her who she should and shouldn't witness to?  I'm the one who calls her, not you!  Knowing I couldn't fight the Lord's calling on this girls' life, I pulled over and let her go witness to the Mormons.  It was a respectful discussion between them, and the Lord was in it.  But I learned such an important lesson about letting others follow their calling, and making my own calling about accommodating other Christians and their gifts as well as my own.

     If you tell any Christian not to use his or her spiritual gift, you are really telling that person they aren't a valid part of the Body, and that is the most painful thing that can happen to a Christian.  We expect rejection from the world, but we shouldn't face that in God's family.  I've spent so much of my teen and adult life distrusting other Christians because of these experiences.  It's not right.  

     I'm back to the present now, from what I had written earlier this past week.  It's hard moving on.  How can God lead us to something, then lead us away?  I'm reminded of Elijah in First Kings 17.  God led Him to the brook Cherith, with very specfic instructions about where to go and how he would be fed in verse 2-4.  This was God's will for Elijah for a while, and yet in verse 7, the brook dried up, and God redirected Elijah to the next place.  Sometimes, our brook dries up, and we have to move on.  It's hard.  It hurts.  It's not cut and dried like Elijah's story.  Sometimes we are still being blessed and fed, but we still have to move on, because God is leading us.  Maybe for others the brook hasn't dried up.  Yet in some way, He lets us know our brook has dried up, and He has a different place in store.  These are my thoughts today, and have been this week.  

Ripples

     My preschooler loves to throw rocks and other objects into any body of water he can find.  This includes the gutter, puddles, and especially the creek that runs behind our neighborhood.

     Sometimes, he'll pick up a huge rock and hurl it in.  I don't have to tell you what a big splash it makes when it hits the creek.  Water splashes all over, followed by ripples.  These ripples continue for a while, gradually getting smaller and smaller, subtler and subtler.  

     Other times, he'll throw in a smaller, more-medium-sized rock or a pinecone.  The splash is smaller by far, but I notice that the ripples are about the same.  They continue on for about the same amount of time as the ripples from a big splash.  

     Still other times, he will throw in tiny pebbles.  They barely make a noticeable splash at all, and yet little tiny ripples emanate from the contact made with the water, going on and on for just as long as the other ripples mentioned.  

     My point?  Well, our lives and acts of obedience make a splash in the world.  Some make big, obvious splashes.  The late Billy Graham made a very big splash in the Christian world.  He went down in history as a man who preached the Gospel and led evangelistic crusades.  And there are ripples effects of his ministry.  No doubt countless who were saved at one of his events went on to live victorious Christian lives, winning their own battles, making their own impacts for the kingdom.  Perhaps they led others to Christ would never have attended a Billy Graham crusade.  And then some of those people turned around and ran their race for the Lord.  They're all ripples for Billy Graham's big splash.  

     Most of us aren't big splashes.  Most of us won't go down in history.  When I was growing up, I used to wish I could travel forward in time 100 years and look myself up in the encyclopedia to see if I ever became famous (but I never did, as time machines don't exist, and now, encyclopedias don't either)!  I don't foresee fame for myself, and that's okay!  Fame does not necessarily denote meaningfulness.  Some of us are medium or small splashes.  And yet we still produce just as many ripples.  We have no idea, but by obeying God's leading in our lives, we set events in motion that God will use to bring people to Him that we might not even meet in this lifetime.  

     Not only do we all make some sort of splash, but we're also ripples of someone's else's splash.  Jesus made that first splash--a gigantic splash, of which every person who has ever received Him, or ever will receive Him, is a ripple.  

     There have been smaller but significant splashes in church history.  When the Apostle Paul was trying to get into Asia, but the Holy Spirit prevented him, and instead led him to Europe (Acts 16:6-10), that was a splash that has ripple effects all over the world.  The Gospel traveled through Europe, eventually making it to the British Isles.  From there, Christianity eventually spread to America, Australia, and practically to the ends of the earth as British Christians settled these nations, as well as eventual missionaries from all of these British-influenced countries have reached around the globe.  All of us in these nations are ripple effects from the splash in Acts 16, even though the Apostle Paul had no idea these countries would one day exist, or even that they existed as land masses in uncharted places in his day!  We really have no idea who will be blessed as a ripple effect of our obedience long after the fact!

     Paul wrote in Philippians 4:17 that those who supported his ministry would receive fruit that may abound to [their] account.  From this, I believe that those who are catalysts for a ministry, even if they themselves aren't the ones there actually doing it, receive rewards for their part.  

     Years ago, I had trained a summer missionary named Beth to do 5-day Bible clubs and share the Gospel as part of a team.  Beth led a little boy named Jason to the Lord in one of these clubs.  Jason went on to become a very powerful witness to other children, but every time he shared Christ, he would ask me, "Will I get a reward in Heaven for that, or will Beth, since she started it by telling me about Jesus first?"  I believe they both will.  These people Jason shared with are fruit that abounds to Beth's account.  But someone also once told Beth about Jesus, and someone told that person about Jesus, and so on and so forth.  Beth was both a ripple and a splash, as we all are.  

    

     Have you ever heard of Anna Bartlett Warner?   Probably not.  She was an American Christian who lived from 1827-1915.  In 1860, she wrote the beloved song Jesus Loves Me.  She originally wrote it in a novel she was writing with her sister.  Two years later, the song appeared in William Batchelder Bradbury's Sunday school hymnal.  

     Over 20 years after Anna Bartlett Warner's forgotten book was published, a teenager named Amy heard the song Jesus Loves Me, and was convicted of her need for salvation.  She received Christ as a result of this song.  Amy went on to become the famous missionary to India (you may know her by her full name, Amy Carmichael).  She saved over 1000 children from being temple slaves, and introduced them to Jesus.  She wrote 35 books.  She impacted generations of missionaries and those they won to Christ.  She enacted legal change that ended child prostitute in India.  And all of these are ripples for the largely-unknown Anna Bartlett Warner and her little song.  Some people are versions of Amy Carmichael, who make huge, obvious splashes, and others are more like Anna Bartlett Warner, and their small splashes are barely noticed at the time, and yet the ripples they produce are just as powerful!  

     Stories like this are inspiring, and I believe they happen more than we know.  But I also think that even if we don't see or know about any ripple, we can just rejoice that we have faithfully walked with Christ, influencing others for Him for one more generation.  I have seen people come to the Lord, and even if NOTHING else ever happens as a ripple, this person will be in Heaven for all eternity.  That alone is enough of a ripple to get me really excited!  And yet I believe there really are a lot more ripples than we can ever know, or ever will know until Heaven.  Keep obeying and doing what you're called to do.  Eternal difference are being made!

Persecution?

I speak for no one but myself. My experience does not define yours, and therefore can't invalidate yours. You might have experienced love and acceptance where I experienced rejection and loss, or vice versa. My experiences need not be a threat to yours, nor yours to mine. We both had legitimate experiences. Having said that...

Churches and ministries need to utilize their members' spiritual gifts for the glory of God, not use the actual people to fill a place, and then discard them when the need is no longer pressing. People are not a commodity. They are God's most priceless creation. Even mature Christians are vulnerable and need to be cherished. We all matter. When you go to church, treat everyone there like they're the most valuable person you ever met, because they are!

Our faith is in Jesus and His finished work, not in other people, but hurt from fellow believers is real, and very painful. I have experienced this hurt, some recently, some years ago. The enemy uses it against me often, and I have to claim Romans 8:1, There is therefore now no condemnation for them that are in Christ Jesus.

The summer I was fourteen, I was excommunicated from a church body I had thought loved me. My whole family was kicked out, in fact. Others experienced love and joy there, and I don't in any way deny that. I have good memories there that I can still enjoy remembering. Good and hurt can coexist. People who love the Lord can make leadership mistakes. The tragedies are the casualties of these mistakes. I am one such casualty. All the same, mistakes are forgivable.

The "crime" that got me kicked out was that I shared the Gospel at VBS and led 24 second graders to Christ. I apparently didn't do it at the right time, and it wasn't part of the program. I was a troublemaker who had to be stopped. You'd think I was selling drugs behind the church the way I was treated. I didn't share the Gospel in any weird way. The older gentleman I was asked to help, Mr. Johnson, invited me to share with the second graders. I was suddenly filled with a need to get the Gospel out. It was a power beyond myself, urging me on, and it would have been painful not to do it. That's how it should be to use our spiritual gifts. We should feel led and empowered, and the idea of not doing it should be unsettling to us. I opened my mouth, and I found I was able to articulate the Gospel in a way these children could receive it. Mr. Johnson was asked to stop letting teenagers share, but he obeyed God rather than man, and he let me do it again. He was also excommunicated, and for the rest of his life, he never really found peace from what happened. It was one of those things where he thought he had gotten over it, but then it would still hurt him, and he would give it back to God, and think it was over, but then it would still come back in painful waves. He supported me as a missionary until he died, and in our final conversation, he was still broken and grieved that we had been so wounded--but he wouldn't trade those who were saved at that long ago VBS for anything!

Ever since that day years ago, in another century, I have struggled with feeling that I'm not a valid part of the Body of Christ, and that other Christians don't really love me. I have recently experienced some difficulties inflicted by fellow believers that have hearkened back to these painful times as a teenager.

This experience at 14 was the first, but not the only time I was in trouble for sharing the Gospel in a time and place when it should have been allowed and celebrated. This has been my lot in life, and it has happened to me multiple times, including surprisingly recently. In every case, it was simply bad for business. In one particular instance, my right to free speech was violated, though I chose not to pursue legal action. Yet I did not cave. I continued evangelizing. I'm not a hero. I'm just someone who will answer to God one day, and take that very seriously. This is a lot more common than people realize. There are Christians in every nation who are facing pressure every day, and are still taking a stand for Christ, using their gifts to bring Him glory, against odds we know nothing about. I get so tired of hearing people say Christians in the US and other western nations don't experience persecution.  In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted (Second Timothy 3:12).  Don't minimize the pain some believers go through simply because it looks different than stories we hear of other nations.  

     Being asked to stop sharing the Gospel is a moral dilemma, and different Christians might feel led differently.  When this has happened to me, I didn't just bluntly continue sharing in order to stick it to the person telling me to stop.  I didn't have anything to prove to them.  I tried to be very respectful.  I evaluated each situation, and I continued sharing in a more discrete manner that was appropriate to the time and place--but I never stopped sharing the Gospel.  Those who came to salvation when I "disobediently" continued sharing are my very best argument for continuing.  I can't wait to see them all in Heaven one day.  The Gospel came to us through the sacrifice of persecuted believers throughout history.  We can't drop the ball!  

I answer to a higher authority, and that is Jesus Christ. Acts 5:29 sums up my philosophy well: ...We ought to obey God rather than men. The Apostle Paul said in Acts 20:24  But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.  In a thousand years, all that will matter will be that people came to Christ and will be in Heaven for all eternity.  That is so much more important that the programs, or power of leadership, or whatever other reason people might have for opposing the Gospel.  

     In every place where I have been wounded, there are redemption qualities.  Sometimes, there has even been redemption for me with that situation.  Right now, our family is kind of between a few things, but I am so thankful I have the support of both of my ministry-related jobs (CEF and the Christian school I teach at).  Because of these things, my local body far exceeds any individual church, and I experience Jesus' love from many different believers.  In no way am I criticizing any specific church, nor am I discouraging anyone from being part of any specific church.  My experience isn't yours and yours isn't mine.  Keep running your race and I'll keep running mine.  We both answer to Jesus!  The prize is waiting!  

Treasures in Heaven

      Two friends grow up in a one-horse town, and both are dying to break free.  Both are Christians, and long to do something big for God.  One friend uses his outgoing personality, determination, and intelligence to get a few degrees, then travels the world debating against worldly philosophies with the best of them.  Revivals seem to break out wherever he goes as people re-think their beliefs in light of his persuasive arguments in favor of the truth.  Thousands are saved as a result of his work, and he receives recognition from media outlets.  

     The other friend just doesn't seem as motivated, and, even though he longed to get ouf of town, he ends up settling down there anyway, working a local retail job.  He quietly prays daily for his co-worker and customers.  He does his best, as unto the Lord, and eventually rises to the position of manager.  No one thinks that much about him, but he influences others for the Lord.  He has the opportunity to lead one of his sales associates to Christ, and sees their whole family baptized.  He himself gets married and raises a godly family.  He teaches Sunday school, and one summer even takes a group of boys up to camp.  He is never on television, never mentioned in any media outlet.  No one outside his circle knows his name.  

     This is the premise of a book my husband and I have talked about writing.  I'm not sure if we ever will, but we like the idea.  Which of these two friends would receive the most treasures in Heaven?  The surface answer would be to say the first, as his ministry is reaching so many more.  The more spiritual-sounding answer might be the second, because he isn't getting any attention in this life, so perhaps that figures into the heavenly treasures.  Or, perhaps the way it is worded is set up to make you guess the second one, as if to imply he is more humble.  But I want to suggest that both friends are being faithful to the Lord, and, assuming they are in obedience to His leading in their lives, they will both hear, Well done, good and faithful servant. (Matthew 25:23).  

     I have the interesting vantage point of having been in both ministry and secular employment.  I want to suggest that, if you are a Christian, everything you do has the potential to be a ministry.  Colossians 3:23-24 remind us, Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.  Did you catch that?  Whatever you do.  Not, "Whatever mission trip you go on" nor "whatever church job you have" but "whatever you do."  All work God leads us to, whether it seems like a ministry or not, is really serving Christ, and doing it as unto Him gains us Heavenly rewards (hence the words inheritance from the Lord).  Likewise, while we are doing these jobs, Second Corinthians 5:20 says, We are Christ's ambassadors...  We are never off duty from representing Jesus.  In my made-up scenario, both friends are being Christ's ambassadors in the calling they've been given.  

     Being called "into the ministry" is an honor, but the truth is, every believer has a ministry.  Some of us are employed by a mission agency or church, while others are not, but our real boss is God, and we are to serve Him in every way He gives us.  He has called some to pastor churches, go to mission fields, lead evangelistic crusades.  If that is your calling, you must obey.  But if every Christian were doing these things, who would represent Jesus to the McDonald's employees?  Who would represent Him at the local mechanic shop?  Jesus said, You are the salt of the earth and the light of the world (Matthew 5:13, 14).  God scatters us into the various places where we'll make that impact for His kingdom.  

     For a while, I worked for the YMCA.  I loved that job, though it was more or less very secular.  Due to government funding, we weren't supposed to share anything religious with the students (I was working with before and after school elementary day care).  However, I had my calling.  I prayed for children, even when they didn't know.  I reasoned that God had me there to pray for kids who perhaps had no other human on earth praying for them.  It was an honor.  Many Christians I know who work in public schools have shared having that same calling to pray for children.  In my case at the YMCA, I was able to share my faith with them at opportune times (when we shared the Thanksgiving story each November, it lent itself to that).  In my five years there, I led one child to Christ (it was a divine appointment), and had others seriously ask me about salvation, and I was able to plant those seeds.  We had a college student who was volunteering with the YMCA, assigned to me for a while.  This young lady was from China, and had purposely come to college in the US so she could learn about God.  God gave me the opportunity to speak truth to her that she hasn't heard under Communism.  I was also able to represent Christ to co-workers who knew I was a Christian, one of whom was actually a practicing witch and opposed me much of the time.  I was still able to leave her with a blessing.  That was a divine calling--as divine as anything I'm doing right now in "full-time ministry".  It's all full-time ministry in it's for Jesus.  My time at the YMCA was so rewarding, and I'm so thankful God gave that to me.

One of the few pictures I was able to find of myself in my YMCA uniform!  I worked a split-shft, and I Walter took this one while we went to lunch before my afternoon shift started, 2015.  I think I wore that uniform so much that I got sick of it, and always put on other clothes before I had my picture taken, which is why so few have me in that uniform!

     I have had people sweetly say to me, "You're going to have so many treasures in Heaven for all the ministry you do."  This is so kind of them, and I appreciate that--and I hope it's true.  However, I do not believe my job entitles me to more treasures than the next Christian.  The Walmart employee who is obediently in God's will for him and being that salt and light where God has placed him is just as eligible for those rewards as Greg Laurie or the late Billy Graham leading their crusades that bring thousands to Christ.  It's about obedience.  God is the one who grants the fruit.  We obey.  There are people that Walmart employee can reach for Jesus who would never go to a Greg Laurie crusade.  He has placed us where He wants us, and given us that calling.  

Greg Laurie sharing the gospel with hundreds

Think of how many people this Walmart employee rubs shoulders with every day.  Think of the impact for Christ!

     Being an "official" pastor or missionary doesn't mean higher ranking with God.  It actually means harsher judgment.  James 3:1 warns, Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.  If you are in a position of influence, be careful you are saying what God wants, not what you want.  You could lead others astray.  Everyone needs to be faithful to God's calling.  

     I always laugh when I share this, but I graduated from my Bible College as salutatorian of a graduation class of two!  Both of us were straight A students, and we both graduated Summa Cum Laude, but I had gotten one B in one class, and the valedictorian hadn't.  But anyway, both of us got to give a speech at graduation, and in mine, I felt compelled to challenge everyone "Follow Jesus with everything that is within you--because all the degrees and knowledge in the world can't make up for the lack of it."  The same could be said for what you do in your life.  Follow Jesus, not ministry positions.  If Jesus is leading you to a ministry job, that's wonderful.  If He is leading you to a "secular" job--be it business, education, retail, whatever--that's also wonderful.  He has you right where He wants you!  If you are called to live a godly life in your community with your job, don't stoop to become a missionary.  If you are called to be a missionary, don't do anything else!  God's will is more important than title.  

My Bible college graduation, June 4, 2006 (I was 24 at the time).  I am pictured with the valedictorian.  It was a wonderful time.  

     I'll close with the words to a song from my youth, For the Sake of the Call, by Steven Curtis Chapman.

We will abandon it all for the sake of the call

No other reason at all but the sake of the call

Wholly devoted to live and to die

Not for the sake of a creed or a cause
Not for a dream or a promise
Simply because it is Jesus who called
And if we believe we'll obey

Steven Curtis Chapman's 1990 album, For the Sake of the Call

No Time Like the Present

     Last weekend (March 15, 2025) my husband and I went to see the stage production Back to the Future, the Musical in downtown Little Rock.  I promised I would share my thoughts on this musical, inspired from one of our favorite movies.  I will be doing that, but I will also be taking a deeper look at what can be gleaned from the message of this story (both the movie and the stage production).  I hasten to say that I always worry about remakes, because they often seem to push an agenda that wasn't in the original source material, and I really worried about this, but I didn't see anything like that in this musical.  If you loved the movie, you'll love the musical.  

Walter and Janelle Stoermer at the performance, 3/15/25

     We grew up when the Back to the Future franchise was coming out, and very popular.  Walter and I watch the trilogy every New Year's Eve/Day.  Watching it is both nostalgic and fun.  It is thought-provoking as well.  

Playbill from the performance

     Overall, we really enjoyed the stage performance.  It was the familiar story we love, with some fun, catchy songs (seriously, look up the soundtrack online and find the songs on YouTube).  There were some details that were changed (I'm sure) in order to fit better onto the stage as opposed to the screen.  Some scenes were conflated (I assume) for the same reason.  These changes did not affect the storyline at all, however.  The actors were all very talented, but can't compare to Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd's 1985 performance.  We liked the musical a lot, but would say the movie is better.  Just so as not to give away spoilers, I will put an asterisk* at the last paragraph of this post, and I will share some of the things that are different between the movie and the musical, if you're interested.  

 

     This beloved story resounds with a lot of people.  The basic plot is that 17-year-old Marty McFly accidentally ends up traveling to 1955, and disrupts his parent's initial meeting and falling in love, thus endangering his own existence.  The rest of the movie is spent with him (along with his mentor, Doc Brown) trying to reconnect his young parents with each other, then get back to the future (hence the name of the movie!).  Through some unexpected plot-twists, he is successful in the end.  In fact, he is so successful that, when he returns to the present (1985), not only is his family still together, but they are all at a much better place, with more confidence and success.  In the original timeline, the villain, Biff Tannen, is Marty's father's abusive boss, but in the new timeline at the end, Biff works for the McFly family.  Marty's college-aged older siblings have more direction in their lives.  Marty's father is a successful author.  His parents' marriage is stronger.  

     The musical is only based on the first film, but in the second movie, Doc Brown, Marty, and Marty's girlfriend Jennifer travel to 2015 to try to prevent a problem with Marty and Jennifer's kids (they are married by 2015).  They solve that problem, but create others, causing more time-travel needs.  The third movie is a continuation of the story, but mostly takes place in the old west of 1885.  A part of that story has Doc Brown saving the life of a school teacher named Clara, who originally died in the old timeline.  In saving her life, he creates a time paradox, because now, Clara could marry someone who originally would have married someone else, and continue a different family lineage.  Fortunately, Doc Brown falls in love with her, and they marry by the end of the movie, creating their own family and not disrupting anyone else's.  There are a lot of time-travel thoughts this series can evoke.  

     A lot of people go down a lot of rabbit holes with this story.  Some question if Marty's parents eventually realize the friend who helped them in 1955 was really their time-traveling son after he is born and grew up to look and sound just like him.  Some speculate how Marty's memories of the earlier timeline (which was changed) would be disturbing to him that no one else shares those memories.  There are a lot of thoughts that can come up from the story, not to mention  (as I said) from the second and third films as well.  Time-travel is a fascinating idea, and could lead to a lot of results--if it were real.  

     This story brings to mind how a single event can change the trajectory of one's life.  While time-travel isn't possible (and never will be, because if it would, someone would have already traveled back in time to tell us!), the significance of a single moment is very real-to-life.  Humanly-speaking, we can change history by the way we go about our daily lives and business, by the relationships we form, the directions in life we pursue.  The decisions we make can alter the course of our own lives, and affect others' lives as well.  This, in turn, can change history.  We all have those pivotal moments, where our decision will send us one direction or another, and affect other people and their trajectory in life.  

     I think of the moment in 1999 when I had to choose where to do my internship into the child care field.  I had done observations at two centers, both in my hometown. They were very similar, and had been started by the same person.  They were Christian organizations.  Both seemed perfect.  But I could choose only one.  The only thing that made one of them slightly more attractive was its closer proximity to the freeway I drove, so for that reason alone, I chose that center.  It ended up being the very best for me.  I built some relationships that are still a blessing to me today.  My boss there currently supports our missionary work.  I faced some challenges there that matured me in the Lord, that I don't believe I would have faced at the other center.  I ended up being able to share the gospel with others, and will see several in Heaven because of my time there.  I later ended up getting to do ministry there, seeing more come to the Lord.  But it all started that single moment when I chose that particular location, due to convenience.  It might have felt like my choice, but I believe God guided it.  

Some of the elementary students I worked with from my internship in 1999 and subsequent employment at this center, many of whom received Christ!

     I think of another moment in 2014, when I was invited to a Bible study by a mentor.  I had just been burned by a women's Bible study that was more like a Christian version of a mean girls club.  I was tempted to turn this offer down, and yet I chose to go.  Something deep inside told me to go.  I did, and it changed my life forever.  I received so much, and ultimately met my husband because of it!  It goes back to that moment when I chose to either go or not.  

     I think of that moment in 2020, when my husband's job in Texas closed due to Covid.  We pursued a few things, but they didn't seem to lead anywhere.  We lived out of our savings, but that was a short-term solution.  Then, a friend from the ministry we currently serve in told us about an opening in Arkansas.  In that moment, we had to decide if this was what we wanted to pursue or not.  It seemed like a God thing, and we did it, and here we are!  

Our first prayer card upon taking this position

     I think of that moment in 2021, when we were pursuing adoption.  We had originally planned to go through a private agency, and had even been accepted into one.  And then, my mother-in-law sent us an advertisement for Indian Child Welfare, with the Cherokee Nation.  The ad said that if one of the spouses in a couple was part of the tribe, the couple could adopt through them (Walter is a tribal member).  We had to decide if this was what we wanted to do, or if we should proceed with our original plan.  We chose the Cherokee Nation, and, after mountains of paperwork and a lot of waiting, we got our Tommy.  There is no doubt that this was the right decision.  

Tommy's adoption hearing, Fort Smith, Arkansas 2023.  Several people who impacted his journey are pictured, including the judge, Tommy's wonderful Cherokee and DHS social workers, his amazing attorney, and the Christian foster family who had him before us, and prayed he would get a Christian adoptive family. Walter, Tommy and I are pictured of course, and Walter's parents are also in the picture.  We were so happy they could make it!

     I think of the moment last spring, when I found out about an opening for a first-grade teacher at Pinnacle Classical Academy, the school we had enrolled our son in for Pre-K the fall of 2024.  The hours would still allow for my CEF ministry work (and Walter would still be doing a lot of it while I did the school as well).  I had to decide if I wanted to step up and do this.  Also, within this decision, I had to decide if I wanted to teach first grade or fourth (there were openings for both, and I actually interviewed and demonstrated teaching for both positions).  God clearly led and opened the door for me to teach first grade.  I have been so blessed by getting to be at Tommy's school and see him throughout the day, and also share the Gospel with my students (seeing several come to Christ this year).  

My first grade class on school spirit day last fall (which is why there is a lot of blue and yellow clothing--the school colors--and one child is dressed as an owl--the mascot!).  

     I'm sure you have moments in your life that were pivotal.  If you had Doc Brown's DeLorean time machine, you could probably go back and undo those moments, and risk your present life as you know it.  I'm glad we don't have that opportunity!  But we do have the present, and the chance to choose, and then see the results.  We can know how differently life would be if we had chosen differently.  Moments matter.  Our choices matter.  Life matters.  

     Looking at how crucial those pivotal moments are (and the way Back to the Future illustrates how fragile they are, and how much hangs on them), we need to value the gifts of life and choice we've been given.  We need to make the right choices in those important moments.  Scripture attests to this.  Ephesians 5:17 says, Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do. (NLT).  God is the one guiding our decisions, and we need to seek Him.  Isiah 30:21 says, And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left.  We need to be following God's leading in our lives, in the big things (like where to move, whom to marry, etc.) and the seemingly small (which Bible study to join, etc.) because those life-changing moments can happen anywhere, anytime.  Following God's will for our lives is vital, but there's something even more to it that than that.  

     Unlike in Back to the Future, we can't screw up history, because there is Someone holding it together who is stronger than our right and wrong choices.  We need to make the right choices, but sometimes we don't.  God is bigger than our choices.  He is Sovereign, and He often works in spite of us.  Isaiah 46:10 says, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose,’  This verse is such a comfort to me.  Ultimately, God's will is accomplished.  We might suffer from our wrong choices.  Think of Jonah. in the Old Testament.  He could have avoided the whole big fish experience if he had simply obeyed in the first place.  In Jonah's story, God gave him another chance to obey the original calling, but we aren't always afforded that.  God's will is still accomplished, but we miss out.  My pastor in high school used to tell the story about how he was attending a funeral, and he felt compelled to stand up and share the Gospel with those present.  He felt awkward and didn't really want do to do it, and talked himself out of it.  In that moment, another Christian there stood up and shared the Gospel instead.  God's message went out, but my pastor missed out on the blessing of obedience.  

     Romans 8:28 is my very favorite scripture, and this verse tells us that with God, all things work together for good to them that love God, who are the called according to His purposes.  We can get into some theological quagmires by asking, "Is sin God's perfect will?  If so, did someone's sin against me ruin God's perfect will for my life?"  God's counsels stand--that has been established.  Sin is never God's perfect will, but God can turn it around and use it for His will, for His glory in our lives.  Nothing can come into your life without passing through the hand of God.  Will you let Him turn your trials into His success stories?  

     I knew a couple who got divorced when I was growing up.  Everyone who knew them said that they should never have gotten married to begin with.  That got my eleven-year-old mind to thinking.  If they shouldn't have gotten married in the first place, did that mean that God never planned to create their kids, both of whom were believers?  Were they a mistake?  My answer to that now is a resounding NO, they were NOT a MISTAKE, and YES, God planned to create them.  He chose them in Him before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:5).  We can't always reconcile things like an ungodly marriage with God's will to create a person, but no person ever created was outside of God's will for creation.    

     Back to the Future remains one of my favorite trilogy of movies, and we will probably watch it every New Years for the rest of our lives.  It is very thought-provoking about the importance of little but life-changing moments.  But unlike Marty McFly and Doc Brown, we are not carrying the weight of history alone, and that is an assurance!  

     *Changes between the movie and musical!  This list may not be complete.  Some are my own observations, but I also looked online at other reviews for some I may have missed.  Incidentally, there are some I caught that no one else seemed to mention.  

1) Doc Brown doesn't have a dog in the musical, whereas in the movies, he has Einstein in 1985, and Copernicus in 1955.  

2) Doc has an invention to leave Marty voice messages in his house, seen in the opening seen of the musical.  No such device is in the movie.

3) In the musical, Principal Strickland is the judge when Marty's band tries out near the beginning (and rejects them), whereas in the movie, it is Huey Lewis.  In the musical, Jennifer has an uncle Huey who will come hear Marty perform the next day, so the character is still there.  

4)  Without the dog Einstein in the musical, Doc Brown is now the first time traveler. 

5)  In the movie, Doc Brown is shot by Libyan terrorists, and Marty has to change history to save him.  In the musical, this death is caused by radiation poisoning (in both movie and musical, the death is circumvented by Marty's warning in 1955, which Doc initially rejects but decides to accept, and he takes the needed precautions).

6) The DeLorean time machine is voice activated and only works for Doc in the musical.

7) When Marty first gets to 1955, in the movie, he meets Old Man Peabody and his family, who mistake him for an alien.  In the musical, he doesn't meet them, and leaves the DeLorean in the barn.  

8) In the musical, Marty doesn't trick his father George by pretending to be Darth Vader from the planet Vulcan, the way he does in the movie.  He doesn't have the radiation suit he does in the movie, so this eliminates this scene (as well as Old Man Peabody thinking he's an alien, as stated above).  Since Marty doesn't play this trick on George, we can surmise that George's later successful science fiction book is not based on this, as it clearly is in the movie.  

9) Rather than Marty pushing George out of the way of the car, he inadvertently breaks George's fall when he falls out of the tree outside Lorraine (Marty's mother's) home.  Marty is knocked out, and brought in by Lorraine's father.  

10)  When Doc Brown in 1955 asks Marty who the President is in 1985 and Marty tells him it's Ronald Reagan, Doc scoffs (in both the movie and musical) that an actor is president.  He then asks sarcastically, "Who's the vice President--" in the movie he asks, "Jerry Lewis" but in the musical, he asks, "Daffy Duck?"  In the movie, he then asks if the first lady is Jane Wyman (which is actually a mistake, because by 1955, Ronald Reagan was no longer married to Jane Wyman and was already married to Nancy Reagan).  In the musical, there is no question about the first lady.

11) In the musical, Biff has two henchmen, whereas in the movie, he has three.

12) In the musical, George tries to ask Lorraine out at school instead of in the diner like in the movie (my favorite scene in the movie is "I'm your density!" in the diner, but this scene is conflated with the school cafeteria scene.

13) Resulting from the last point, Biff now chases George and Marty through the school, instead of the skateboard chase through town.

14) In the musical, the picture of Marty and his siblings (from which they slowly vanish until Marty reunites his parents) is on a projector so the audience can see it.  The characters fade out before they disappear.  Marty's sister Linda actually calls to him from it in one instance, pronouncing the urgency!  The scene where Marty is on stage playing at the dance, and he is about to disappear, they can't actually make his hand fade away like in the movie, so they use flashy lights, until George and Lorraine kiss, and all is well for the future McFly children!

15) Biff and Lorraine's struggle is in an invisible car in the musical.  A prop wasn't used, and they are simply supposed to be in a car.  

16). Many characters in 1955 smoke in the musical.

17) Marty is locked in a dumpster in the musical, instead of a car like in the movie

18) Chuck Berry doesn't call his cousin as Marty plays Johnny B. Goode in the musical the way he does in the movie.  

19) Goldie Wilson has more of a roll, and an AMAZING voice as well.  He even helps Doc rig up the wires to the clock tower to help send Marty back to 1985.

20) In the musical, in order to prevent a time paradox when Marty tries to prevent Doc's 1985 death by warning him in 1955, Doc programs the DeLorean to go back ten minutes after he left, making it impossible for Marty to get back earlier to stop the death.  However, Doc had eventually read Marty's note, and still prevented his own death, and met Marty shortly after his return to 1985.  

21) There is no Lone Pine Mall, as Marty doesn't destroy Old Man Peabody's pine tree in the musical.  In the movie, the Twin Pines Mall is changed to the Long Pine Mall.  

22) In the new timeline in the movie, Marty's sister is getting pursued by two men, Greg and Craig.  In the musical, she is on a date with a boy named Craig.

23) In light of George McFly's successful book, there is now a George McFly day in the musical.  

24) In the musical, Doc Brown never references a need for Marty and Jennifer to go to 2015 to stop their future children from anything, which means there probably won't be a musical of the second movie.  

25) The second movie ultimately couldn't happen with the musical, because in the second movie, the problems stem from old Biff in 2015 stealing the DeLoreon and screwing up history (which Doc and Marty spend the rest of that movie resolving).  Since the DeLoreon is voice activated in the musical, Biff wouldn't be able to steal it.  

26) There are joking references to the 21st century in the musical, even some humorous jokes referencing Covid (Doc tells Marty that he travelled to 2020 and there was no disease!). 

27) At the very end, when Doc takes Marty temporarily to the future, the date is said to be the present date (for us it was March 15, 2025).