How long have you been a pastor? How long have you been with River Oaks Community Church?
I've been doing part time pastoral work since being ordained in California in 1993. I was hired as Associate Pastor at River Oaks in April of '06, afterwhich I was promoted to Sr. Pastor in April of '07. By the way, our church is in the process of becoming known as "The ROCC" -- based upon the initials of River Oaks Community Church. It's one of the changes I've made since becoming Sr. Pastor, though the idea actually came from one of our elders. It's our way of honoring the past -- in terms of what's gone on at our church up until now -- while at the same time making an effort to move forward with a more bold and contemporary feel.
When did you decide you wanted to devote your life to ministry? Was there something specific that pointed you in that direction?
I became a committed follower of Jesus Christ in January of 1979. Prior to that -- during my years as a professional rock musician -- I began having recurring dreams which communicated to me, in effect, that I was put on this earth to teach the Bible. I know that may sound strange, but that's really what happened. The catalyst that God used to actually bring about my full conversion was an Orson Wells movie called The Late Great Planet Earth, which incidentally did not preach the Gospel of Christ per se, but which
did lead me to read books that invited me to pray a "sinner's prayer" from which I have never recovered. After that, I wanted to immediately devote my life to ministry, but I was not able to do so for several years.
Why did you want to follow a spiritual life?
Because I soon realized that there really is such a thing as having a Father-to-child relationship with God, whereby you walk with Him and talk to Him, and then he speaks back to your heart. Then, He wakes you on time when you forget to set your alarm clock, and warns you about this or that danger, and chastens you when you go astray, and blesses you with overwheming love when you please Him, etc., etc., etc. It's not a religion, but a full-on relationship. I would not trade one minute since coming to faith for all the
time I spent away from Him before that -- and that's saying alot beacuse I had some great times back then, let me tell you.
What is your main goal as leader of your church?
To help people to believe in Jesus, walk with Jesus, and do what He has commanded us all to do -- and by "help people" I especially mean those who have never succeeded in consistantly walking with Jesus before.
Tell me about your new children's wing. Describe it to me.
It is called River Oaks Forest. It's sort-of a 3 dimensional children's complex surrounded on all sides by beautiful artwork showing trees, animals, waterfalls, rock ledges, and much, much more. The artist was Eric Ward, who is an air-brush genius as far as I'm concerned. Eric took my idea for the forest and turned it into a masterpiece. The path through our children's wing starts at a duck pond nursery area, then goes past several themed classrooms which we named the Deer Thicket, the Bird Canopy, and the Bear
Cave, and then finally ends at a large children's meeting space which surrounds a log cabin porch near a "river" built into the carpet. By all means, go on-line and visit MyRocc.com to get a glimpse of what I'm talking about.
What inspired you to create the River Oaks Forest?
From 1999 - 2003, I was a missionary performer for Campus Crusade for Christ's Keynote division, doing children-and-family performances for churches. That experience, as well as the experience of raising four daughters with my wife Kim, confirmed something I have always suspected, namely that nearly all children naturally love animals -- and songs about animals -- and that a great way to talk to children about God is through the wonder of His Creation. Since reaching out to children is a primary emphasis of our church, I felt naturally led to create The Forest when given the opportunity by our church members and church leadership to do so.
What is the purpose of the murals and themed rooms?
These serve as a springboard for Bible lessons. For example, our children's director John Christianson has used our Deer Thicket room to quote Psalm 42:1 which says "As the deer pants for the water, so my soul thirsts for God." John explained to the children how, in the natural world, the deer knows that the water hole is where predators wait for deer in order to attack them. And yet, even though the deer knows this, his thirst is so great that he goes to that water hole anyway. In countries where Christians are
persecuted, this Scripture is especially meaningful because Christians take real risks in order to meet together and worship God. In our country, where we can worship God freely, this passage is still meaningful, because God wants us to allow the Holy Spirit to increase our thirst for Him, so that we will be willing to take risks in our own lives - such as the risk of being made fun of - in order to obey His commands.
How will the forest help you reach out to children and families? How will this help you reach your general goal in the ministry?
In our culture, children often determine the schedule and priorities of parents. If a child visits our forest and then tells a friend, the chances are good that if the parents of that friend are looking for a church, they will come and visit The ROCC. This not only helps us reach children for Jesus, but also adults. Earlier, I referred to the goal of helping people walk with Jesus, and mentioned that I personally have fun doing so. This relates to the fact that Jesus said there is a sense in which adults need to become like children again in order to enter His kingdom. What better way to help adults do just that, than to help them rekindle
the child-like wonder inside of them when they see our Forest, and when they see that same wonder in the eyes of their children?
How long has the forest been a dream of yours?
Really since 1991, when my wife and I first started volunteering for children's ministry duties as our own children were growing up. I think we both knew back then that fully-surrounding forest murals for children had the potential of being very effective. Now that this idea has become a reality, it is even better than we had hoped.
What effect has it had so far on children and church members?
The difference between what our children experienced in our old classrooms and what they experience now is like night and day. As for our church members, the task of helping to prepare walls, door frames, and hallways for the erecting of our Forest artwork has inspired more volunteer labor than anything I have ever seen in any church with which I have ever been affiliated. And since I am now 52 years old, that's saying alot!
What do you enjoy about being a pastor?
I enjoy letting people see how much fun I'm having, like when I'm telling stories from the pulpit, or doing dramatic monologues, or singing fun songs for kids, or teaching the Bible in a way that hopefully moves and inspires people.
What is the toughest part about being a pastor?
Sharing the broken heart of God when I see those who harden their hearts to His loving invitation to turn from their sin and live for Jesus. |
5/19/07.