God, God-things and theology have been vitally essential for me as long as I remember. This heart cry—to know God and to make God known to others—began in my childhood and continues to compel my heart today.
I attended a small non-denominational Christian college associated with the Restoration Stone-Campbell churches in Nebraska. Here I met and married my best friend— an avid Arminian and me a recovering Calvinist. Together we argued our way through Scripture and theologies of both extremes to develop a richer view of God, and of God’s Word.
The strict, Reformed denomination in a small German community in Nebraska, where I was raised and subsequently confirmed, practiced infant baptism. In my late teens years I was excommunicated after following the baptismal mode of immersion practiced in the Early Church.
I knew at that precise moment—coming up from my watery grave— that God called me to serve only God, wholly committed to Christ and the universal church.
Together, my husband and I served the Lord in a variety of settings. Internationally—in Eastern Europe, in southern India, and in Haiti. We’ve served the local church in a variety of settings as well—from the metropolitan area of Denver to the agricultural village of Bethel, Missouri.
And together we’ve accomplished some of our greatest work—that of educating and nurturing four young children to adulthood who follow faithfully after God’s call on their own lives.
About ten years ago I returned to college, this time at Central Christian College of the Bible in Moberly, Missouri, as an alternative student. In May, 2015, I completed a BA in Biblical Research with a concentration on the Biblical languages of Greek and Hebrew.
Most recently, in May, 2018, I finished an MANT from Johnson University. My graduate research project, titled “Mary, Mother May I?: Finding Hope for Restoration-Church Women in Mary’s Priestly Sacrifice Presented In Luke,” seeks to find a productive way to discuss the roles for men and women in the Body of Christ.
I’ve been blessed with many years of ministry and have noticed the same thing in each place—regardless of which setting: the ways we interpret or misinterpret the Scriptures will enhance or hamper our relationship with God and our relationship with others.
Leave a Reply