I was baptized as a baby in the Methodist Church in Bartlett, Texas, a small rural agricultural community in Central Texas where my grandparents and extended family had settled making a living as farmers. They came to Texas from Germany and England in the 1700’s & 1800’s, one distant relative having died in the Alamo, another serving as Sam Houston’s stirrup boy at the age of 16.

I love Texas and its spirit. Later I was confirmed as a seventh grader in the Methodist Church that my family had joined in the early 60’s. I grew up from elementary school through high school in North Richland Hills, a suburb of Ft. Worth. I regularly attended Sunday School, and Methodist Youth Fellowship (MYF), and in high school, was active in a new non-denominational Christian organization called Young Life. Young Life met weekly in the evening in a classmate’s home where a Young Life leader led singing and a biblical-based message that connected with being a youth in the turbulent 60’s. The high light of Young Life participation was attending a winter camp during the Christmas Holidays with snow skiing as part of the camp experience and meetings every night to share our joy of being in the mountains of Colorado. The trip there from North Texas on a bus was part of the journey. These experiences and my upbringing formed the foundation of my Christian faith.

My formal education continued at Trinity University in San Antonio, a Presbyterian-based university that truly was a church school in practice, not in name alone as most church schools have evolved. The Trinity University President, James Laurie, was an ordained minister. We were encouraged to attend chapel every Wednesday morning and a one hour class break was provided. All students were required to take 2 semesters of religion, New & Old Testament, (even me, as an engineering major).

Those years in the 60’s, just as today, there was dramatic social and political turbulence and change with extremes of good and bad visible every day via television news from Walter Cronkite or Huntley- Brinkley; or in print from Life magazine. We elected a Catholic President, we witnessed the Vietnam war, the new drug culture, the efforts to eliminate the Mafia….organized crime, numerous assassinations of our nations’ leaders and the creation of the Peace Corp and VISTA, and the launch of the space program climaxed with landing a man on the moon.

Through all these years, growing up and going away to college, I was surrounded by a supportive loving family and extended family of close relatives, past and current classmates and adult mentors, always encouraging positive Christian values.

My journey in faith has been a marathon, not a sprint; a snail’s pace, not the rapid burst of our native road runner I so enjoy observing where we live west of Austin off Hamilton Pool Road & RR12. A Walk to Emmaus in 1988 in Kerrville at Mount Wesley was an emotional, spiritual high in feeling God’s spirit as part of a weekend focused on growth and testimony among men. My wife Bonnie had attended at a women’s walk before me as part of our extended church family at Alamo Heights Methodist Church in San Antonio. The Walk to Emmaus was a weekend of education and conversion for me, unlike any I had ever experienced before, or since, much like a traditional country revival, if you have ever had that experience.

Pastor Kim’s sermon of April 10, 2016 related Jesus’ story in John where Jesus ask Simon Peter, “Do you love me? If you do, feed my lambs.” A 2nd time, “Do you love me? If you do, tend my sheep.” A 3rd time, “Do you love me? If you do, feed my sheep.” Jesus summons us to follow him and do his work. Few of us experience conversion of biblical proportion like Paul on the road to Damascus. Acts 216:18 says, “Open your eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.” To me, accepting Jesus as my savior and the love, faith, trust, pain and fear that we all experience though a life trusting in Jesus means my inward belief will be reflected by a life of testimony in how I live my life. I do his work, in addition to believing. Great love comes at a cost. Answer the call, follow him and let your light shine.