I wanted to share with you all the article I wrote for my hometown newspaper, The Cottonwood County Citizen based in Windom, Minnesota. One of the main reasons that I beleive why God called me to be a pastor is my love for children. Simply, they are our future. I have been told by many I had a Mayberry growing up, that refers to the old Andy Griffith TV show, small town, full of peace and safety. So very true. I have learned so much about God and family in my 66 years. 40 plus in radio, 13 as a Pastor, 10 years here at FGGAM. I know baloney when I see it, and America is full of it, and so very sorry to say this, so is much of the American Church. I have watched the Church in America slowly fail for years, and now it is being sucked into the ways of the world faster and faster. Much of the Church looks and acts like Hollywood. It is so very important to stay grounded in GOD ALMIGHTY! NOT POLITICS! Only 37% of Pastors in America beleive in a Biblical Worldview, only 6% of Americans have a Biblical Worldview, no wonder we are going to hell as a country. Barna Research. Thank the Lord, Sharon and I are grounded in Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! We are not out for fame and riches!
The family unit is being destroyed at a record pace in America. Satan has stolen the lives of many through divorce, sexual affairs, phonography, drugs, booze, gambling, child abuse and other criminal acts. We all need to focus in helping families. We have so many laws on the books now, more laws will not help America. What will help us, is that hearts be changed for JESUS! All this evil in America is because so many do not know JESUS! That we all have a strong relationship with JESUS! This is where the American Church has failed big time, not carrying out THE GREAT COMMISSION. Sharon and I just finished a Great Commission trip to Wyoming, southern Montana and western South Dakota. We thank Charles Stanley’s ministry, which donates ministry tools to us to help us in our mission that is given to us by God. We even met a woman in Medicine Bow, Wyoming and she asked for ministry tools for the Baptist Church there. Friends back home call Sharon and I missionaries. So many Churches are not baptizing people on a regular basis and growing up mature Christians. Unhealthy Churches abound in America. I witness this failure as I travel, I hear about the failure with my own ears from Pastors and Church leaders. Too many Christians and Pastors blame others for the downfall of America, I say it is the result of an ineffective Church body. Way too many Christians in America have made politics a god, they have put politics and politicians above god. There is hell to pay for that. It is played out in our country everyday. America will not get better with politics, it will start to heal when more and more people come to know JESUS!
Let me share with you what I wrote for the Windom, Minnesota newspaper. Maybe you will understand my heart better.
Life did not take me on a direct route to where I am today. I worked as a custodian at the Windom Schools during high school starting in my sophomore year. After graduation in 1974, I continued working in that job for another four years so that I had enough money saved to attend Brown Institute, a radio and television school in Minneapolis. I enrolled at Brown in 1978 and graduated in 1979. This led me on an amazing journey in radio serving the communities of Sidney Montana; Williston, North Dakota; La Porte, Indiana; Elkhart/South Bend, Indiana; Watertown, South Dakota; and finally, to Albuquerque, New Mexico. It is amazes me that I have lived in Albuquerque for 27 years, longer than I lived in Windom. I still do a radio ministry program on KDOM.
I have learned much about God and people during my 40 plus years in radio reporting the news, sports, and human-interest stories. I also did a television program in Albuquerque for only a few years, but I was told that I had a face for radio!
I share what I have learned because of the values I learned while growing up in Windom, which I still apply to my life. One of those things is accepting all people as children of God. This lesson has benefited me so much when I moved to New Mexico and have met so many people from different cultures. This loving acceptance of all grew as I became a Pastor in 2009. I simply love all people.
People are our most important asset. I noticed in the Citizen a couple of weeks ago about a ‘Unity Day’. What a blessing! In Sunday school back in the 60’s at the American Lutheran Church, we were taught Jesus loves us and everybody. “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples if you love one another.” – John 13:34-35
This may sound simple in today’s world, but it is the truth. It is a basic teaching of Jesus, to love others as He loves us. I still remember this lesson about love and peace from my friend Tan Tian of Malaysia from my days in Minneapolis, “How come America can put a man on the moon, but it cannot have peace?” Sometimes I think too many Americans think that they are smarter than God. I keep in touch with Tan; he is a man of God. Tan visited Windom in 1978, I took him home with me one weekend. He still remembers meeting my Mom, Dad, and Grandpa Caraway. Tan liked the way we loved each other. He loved Windom.
I say to my friends in Windom to learn from each other and love each other. You have a beautiful community full of precious souls. Cherish this time and take care of each other. I still preach on the many things I learned growing up in Windom. Maybe someday Rahn will give me the opportunity to share on more of what I learned growing up Windom.
Remember this: Obedience always brings God’s Blessings, it’s not always easy to walk it out by faith, but without faith it’s impossible to please God, besides, Jesus says, “My Yoke Is Easy And My Burden Is Light.”
FGGAM STATEMENT OF FAITH:
We believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old Testament and New Testament are the inerrant, inspired, and infallible Word of God.
God’s Word is the final authority for faith and life.
God’s Word is the final authority for faith and life.
We believe there is only one God, and He has chosen to reveal Himself
as God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
as God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
– FGGAM is a non-denominational, nonpartisan, Independent ministry –
FGGAM Shares a Biblical Worldview Everyday:
“The Biblical worldview says there is a God—One who is personal, powerful and caring—who created the world and everything in it. It states unequivocally that man is created in God’s image, living in essence as God’s co-regent over creation. Mankind—born and unborn, rich and poor, able and disabled—has intrinsic worth. Almighty God is a sovereign God, ruler over nations, states, empires, and governments. He is to be worshiped and obeyed through the precepts and principles revealed in His infallible Word. He not only exists, but He is sovereign over all of history according to His wisdom and purposes, and He is intimately involved in every aspect of life.”
