Ok, truth be known I missed Day 2. We had Trunk R Treat yesterday and I didn’t have much time sit down and type. In light of that, I will cover two days in one post!
Rev. Terry Stichler
The second pastor who had a profound impact on me was Rev. Terry Stichler, who pastored the First Baptist Church in Fowlerville MI. He was also the pastor of the Christian School that I attended, and as a result we heard him preach and teach many times. Pastor Stichler spoke with passion about any subject related to scripture, and wasn’t always easy to understand. I had to do an assignment where I had to interview a pastor, and since he was available I asked him to help me complete the interview. I asked my questions and each answer was far more than I bargained for. He spoke with grace and precision, almost as if he was writing a book, but his answers were never short. A friend of mine once said that you could ask pastor Stichler a “yes” or “no” question and come away 45 minutes later unsure whether he said “yes” or “no”. He loved words and used as many of them as possible, but he loved The Word most of all. His Bible Class on Ephesians helped me to understand just how passionate a person could be about Scripture and how it could literally change a life. As I watched him share with passion and excitement the core teachings of what he considered to be one of the most beautiful books in the Bible, I learned that scripture wasn’t something to be read, it was something to be felt, and lived, and enjoyed, and savored. He changed my thinking during that short class about the value of Scripture, and I will be forever grateful.
Rev. Ed Nelson
The third Pastor that I would like to show appreciation for was my pastor while I attended Warner Southern College in Lake Wales FL. His name was Rev. Ed Nelson. We chose his church after moving to Lake Wales, because he preached in a very conversational way and was very easy to listen to. I enjoyed hearing him preach. No offense to the other pastors in my life, but this was the first time that I could honestly say that looked forward to hearing a sermon. maybe it was my growing maturity level, or maybe it was his very practical approach to instruction, but he was different than any preacher I had heard before.
As I continued my education, I learned that he would also be the instructor for my very first class on preaching. As a young pastoral student preaching still intimidated me greatly, but I looked forward to learning how to preach like Pastor Nelson. During the course of his class he gave me not only the tools to begin to write a sermon, but also the encouragement that God had in fact called and gifted me for this very important task in ministry. Had it not been for his encouragement, I may have never had the boldness to become a preaching pastor.
Later in my educational experience, I toured for a summer with a singing group (I ran the sound for them, and Tori sang), and in the process was in many churches and saw “the good, the bad and the ugly” of ministry in the church. I was discouraged by the lack of urgency for the gospel and the overall “business as usual” attitude of most churches and many pastors. I asked Pastor Ed during a conversation how he managed to stay positive in a world where ministry was so often discouraging and fruitless. He encouraged me that regardless of the condition of the church, that if God’s call was there, that I would simply find a way. He said that our job was to be faithful to God’s call and let God worry About the results. His encouragement once again helped me to move forward. I will always be thankful for his impact on my preparation for ministry.