I just got a Facebook page a few weeks ago. For those who don’t know what it is, I guess I would describe it as a networking web site. Through it, I’ve gotten in touch with people in my high school and college I haven’t seen for years. It’s also a good way to communicate more regularly with family, friends, our church family, etc. You can post pictures, videos and facts about yourself, as well as see and read the same about other people. One of the postings that’s been making the rounds is called “25 Random Things About Me.” Since I’ve enjoyed reading other peoples’ random things (especially people I know well but have gotten to know even better), I thought you might enjoy getting to know your pastor a little better this way. If not, don’t read it! If you liked it, you can send me 25 random things about you through the “contact us” part of this web site. (Don’t worry – I won’t use them in a sermon, unless you tell me I can.)
These are in no particular order.
- Sting is my favorite musical artist. Sometimes I go through a couple week period when I listen to Sting (or Police) songs almost exclusively.
- I had my first date with my wife in November of 1990. We had our second date in April of 1991. As a pastor friend once told me, I’m an acquired taste.
- I coach volleyball.
- I used to be a bit of a daredevil. When I played football, my favorite part was running into people (to block or tackle) as hard as I could, and the first time I ice skated, I tried to go as fast as I could, and then remembered I didn’t know how to stop yet.
- I love Oreo Double Stuff cookies (but you probably already knew that). I don’t mind the chocolate cream ones either. (Heck, I’ll eat ‘em all!)
- I have a very large family. I did a project for human anthropology in college and discovered I have 52 first cousins.
- Both sides of the family are close. My mom’s side gets together for a family reunion for an afternoon every year, and my Dad’s side gets together for close to a week every three years. Those are my best childhood vacation memories.
- I went to a boarding High School – St. Paul Lutheran High School, in Concordia, MO.
- My childhood home was Cape Girardeau, MO. Our house had woods behind it, and I spent many hours exploring back there. Those were in the days parents didn’t have to worry about where their children were every second.
- There was a murder (or an attempted murder – can’t remember for sure) in our home before we moved in. There were bullet holes in the basement wall. I never saw any ghosts, though.
- We took many family vacations to the Ozarks. We would camp in a tent or pop-up trailer and canoe down the Current or Jack’s Fork river almost every day. At the end of the canoe trip, we’d get 10 cent ice cream cones at a little place in Eminence, MO. I wonder if they’re still that cheap?
- I can wiggle my ears.
- We moved to Bloomington, IL, when I was 8. Our home there was almost 100 years old. It had an unfinished, scary basement with some random crawl spaces and an old coal cellar with a dirt floor.
- I loved nature as a child, and subscribed to (and faithfully read) Ranger Rick magazine and visited the little zoo in the park close to my house literally hundreds of times.
- I won the Trinity Lutheran School spelling bee when I was in 7th grade, and placed 7th in the county spelling bee. My best friend had placed 3rd in the county the year before, and reminded me of that often. (But I made fun of him for going out on the word “vicar.” We had a big church and would get a vicar (student pastor) from the seminary every year. How could he not know how to spell vicar???)
- I like to exercise. Lately, I’ve been doing the exercise bike because a sore elbow and a nagging calf injury limits what I can do, but I’ll run, swim, play basketball, or lift weights to stay in shape.
- I once smashed a plate against the wall of my high school cafeteria. It’s kind of a weird, funny story. Ask me, and I’ll tell you more.
- I once ate a worm and a moth to prove I was a man. I only proved worms and moths are not meant to be eaten.
- I ran the Detroit Marathon, as many of you know. What you may not know is why. Neither do I!
- I went on a trip to Israel in 1997. My favorite place was Beth Shaan where King Saul and his son Jonathan were killed by the Philistines. Today, it’s an archeological dig with evidence of 27 civilizations.
- I come from a family tradition of pastors. My grandfather, father, three uncles, two brothers, one brother in law, and two cousins are all pastors. A third cousin would be a pastor had he not lost his life in a plane crash.
- My mother is distantly related to the royal family of Holland. No riches or distinction has come our way as a result.
- My ideal vacation is camping and hiking in the mountains, provided I don’t have a splitting headache from the altitude – the only drawback.
- My family, behind God, is the most important thing in my life. I have been blessed more than I deserve by Beth, Allie, Jonah and Brooke.
- Serving Jesus Christ is my life’s work. I especially love teaching, helping young people through those formative years, and dialoguing with folks about tough spiritual topics.
There’s my list. Hardly exhaustive, but a little window into who I am. What does your list look like? We are people, formed and shaped by a variety of life experiences, every one of which God can use to do a unique work in the world!
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