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I was born on August 27, 1942 in Oak Park, IL, a Chicago suburb. I was the first of two children—my sister, Marcia was born five years later. From my first day of kindergarten until I graduated from eighth grade I attended a Missouri Synod Lutheran grammar school, where religion and Bible were taught every day of the school year. Memorization of scripture was a key discipline, and I still retain a great deal of the texts we learned. In these early years I was introduced to a caring God and challenged to believe and serve God. A life-changing challenge in my high school years was my father’s pattern of descent into alcoholism. As our family was regularly and increasingly subjected to his abuse, I began to question how God could allow the evil he did in our family, and then be considered a “respected” church member. I also was forced to deal with tragedy and uncertainty on a very personal level. In High school there also were social events, clubs, and track and cross country and friendships that I really enjoyed. I did my undergraduate work at Beloit College, a small liberal arts college in Wisconsin. Important events that happened in these years were the death of my father—a result of his alcoholism, and my declaration of a major in religion. My father’s death forced me to an early confrontation with the questions we will all face regarding the pain of losing a loved one and the mystery of life and death. But I felt a comfort in Jesus’ resurrection, and that my life would end well if I followed Him regardless of the troubles and detours along the way. But all my college time was not dark and hard. At that time I had a really good friend from Oak Park who was engaged to a really great girl, but their relationship was falling apart. When I tried to fix them back up, I discovered how really terrific Betty was, and asked her to marry me. Betty accepted, and we’ve been married for 42 years. After graduation I worked in industry for two years, then entered Pittsburgh Seminary seeking ways to share the insights and grace I’d received. Here I was given tools for lifelong ministry and service, along with the conviction that the Reformed faith is an amazing, unique and powerful gift of God to our confused and suffering world. Here also our first son was born in my senior year. My first ministry was at the National Presbyterian Church during a turbulent time for the church and for our country. Our second son Chris was born at this time. My situation there caused me to question my call, move back to the Chicago area and enter the machine tool business, working with several multinational firms. Responding to a persistent sense of call, I became the founding pastor of an NCD in a Chicago suburb. Following that work I sought similar service in the Presbytery, but in reality there was none, so I focused on my career in the machine tool business. In 1992 we moved back to Rockford, IL where I was again free to respond to my call through interim ministry in Blackhawk Presbytery, where I have served six churches in this capacity. My last was, however, the most exciting. In this interim I was asked to lead an RCA congregation that decided to unite with a nearby PCUSA church. In this last church there were an amazing number of events that at almost every turn convinced us of God’s persistent presence and urging. During this time I have also had the opportunity to serve as a Registered Guardian, and am writing a book on protecting seniors who cannot protect themselves.
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