Tuesday, July 10, 2018

Who's Who at AC3-Christian Love

In our mission to be a safe church for seekers, we sometimes hear attenders say that they don't know who someone is. We want you to get to know the faces you see around AC3.  We will start with the Triad.  Be on the lookout for new interviews every week.  So, next time you see these people around, feel free to strike up a conversation!  First up, Christian Love, who is one the Elders at AC3.





Questions--Spiritually Minded

  • How I clear my mind after a challenging day: 
Honestly, after a challenging day I usually start with listening to heavier music like Metallica, Disturbed, or even Rob Zombie; this helps me with shouting out frustration.  Then as I drive home, or if I am at home alone, I will transition to milder music; Christian or secular.   Often, I will “phone a friend” if it has been an extra challenging day.  Then I will usually wrap up in a prayer, asking for forgiveness for my rage and frustration.
  • Advice to a person of faith dealing with a broken relationship with their church:
There are so many reasons we can come up with for not going to church or having a broken relationship with the church.  While it depends on the nature of the broken relationship, we must get to the core of the problem; is it THE church, A church, or God in general?  A very good friend of mine has been fighting with God for a long time now.   He knows God will win, but still is unable to let go of the hurt his most recent church caused.  This is not a problem with God or even THE church, it is specifically one church experience that tempers the whole.  There is one major flaw in all churches: They are all full of not just people, but broken people.  God loves us anyway and knows that broken people don’t always get it right, but what matters is they are aware of it are willing to make changes.
  • When I declared I was going to walk along with God, instead of away from him:
So often the question comes up in Christian circles “when were you saved” or “when did you accept Jesus as your Savior”?  The problem for me is there is not one pinpoint time where I can say “This is it, right here” or, “that was the moment”.  There are times when I have felt closer and more in tune with Jesus, and times when I was far from Him.  For as long as I can remember I have always held true that he is God and Jesus was His son who came to save us all.  There was no late-night crying on my knees moment, no altar call that brought me to the front; it has always just held true for me.  And yes, “Faith” is one of my giftings.
  • Change I’d like to see among Christians today:
Why can’t we be friends…I once heard an old married couple being interviewed on how they had stayed married for so long and what was their secret.  The woman, wise in her years, looked close at the interviewer and said, “I have always started my day knowing that have always loved him, not always liked him, but yes always loved him”.  There is so much quarreling from one church to another, which often filters down to one Christian to another.  The change needs to be made that we can accept our differences and glorify Him by remembering that we may not always like one another, but we should always love one another.
Christian and his wife of more
 20 years, Jennifer
  • Moment I saw significant change in my servant life:
I wasn’t the instigator of this change. I wanted to serve but nothing seemed to call me.  It was my wife, Jennifer, who helped me find the niche that worked and got my feet on the ground.  In my past life I had been a job developer and had a variety of skills from resume building, job counseling, interview preparation etcetera.  With God’s help, we created a resume/job service ministry.  It has met with great successes over the years and drawn volunteers to help in the process.  From one of the best interviewers I have ever met, to someone willing to sit and fill out applications; every volunteer has skills to bring to the table.  I am aware God did not gift me with every skill- just the ones I needed. 
  • How I found my way to AC3:
Let’s see I was invited at least six times by Kim Adcock, twice by Richard and Gemini Boas, a couple of times by Shirl Aube…and the list goes on.  My response was always the same, “It was too different from my Catholic upbringing”.  Now there’s a copout if I ever saw one.  Faith in God and Jesus never were a problem for me; faith in the church-now that was different.  The dogma of the Catholic church did not always align with my feeling of what Jesus wanted us to be.  Now this is not to bash the Catholic church; I love so much about it, the beautiful services and buildings and some great people on fire for God are all part of it.  It was just not right for me.   But when my children’s questions came that I did not have the answers to, the search began.  We seemed to walk into churches where the talk was predominantly about money and how they wanted ours.  The first sermon we ever heard at AC3 was Rick talking about, you guessed it, money.  Our friends assured us he never talked about money, but you know what…Jennifer and I heard something new that day. “God does not care about your money, it's just the conduit to your heart”.  Not only did we start attending, but we signed up for FPU, and shortly thereafter found ourselves called to tithe.
  • Advice I’d give to Younger Me:
Don’t be so sure!
  • Gifting I most admire:
The Servant Heart.  I wish I could say I look forward to every opportunity to serve, looking for every possible task large or small to serve God.  It is not my gifting, I love to serve, but just not all that keen on scrubbing toilets, gathering trash, or dealing with preteen children.
  • Favorite serving experience: 
Successful job searches, I love seeing others succeed.
  • What I tell others about serving:
Don’t let not fitting into the current ministries stop you from serving, we made our own, why can’t you?
  • 3 disciplines/habits that keep me connected to community:
Learning to talk lightly about topics I know little about and following the tangents that lead to areas I can better relate to.  Reading and group discussions about books and their topics.  HUGE Men of God; relating to other men walking similar paths as me has been… well HUGE.
  • 3 disciplines/habits that keep me connected to God:
Reading the Bible daily with devotional content, prayer journaling, discussion with family and friends about what I have read or heard.

 Questions--Secular Minded

  • What book left a lasting impression on you?  
The Book Thief.  It brings home the idea that so much of what we thought we knew about Nazi Germany was wrong,
  • If you could eat only one food for the rest of your life, what would it be? 
Pizza
  • There is a zombie apocalypse...What is your weapon of choice? 
Blades of some sort, removing heads seems to almost always work.  Oh, yeah and I only have to run faster than the slowest person, so trip, hop, or hobble you’re not getting in front of me.
Christian, Jennifer, and their children,
 Ellarie, Arawyn, and Tirian
  • Marvel or DC? 
Marvel, except for Batman, always be Batman.
  • Beach or Mountains? Why?  
Mountains, the views and the fresh air.  Love hiking too, not keen on walking in sand though.
  • What is your favorite sport to watch? Team to follow? 
Professional Pick-up Sticks.  It all the rage in the east.  My favorite team is “Stick it 2 ‘em” (Not a big sports fan but: Go Hawks!)
  • Favorite season? Why? 
Spring or Fall its close, not too hot or too cold, though I will take too cold over too hot any day.
  • You can only listen to the same song OR watch the same movie for the rest of your life. What do you choose? 
“Revive Me” by Jeremy Camp, and movie would be “Fiddler on the Roof” Tevye is one down to earth guy.
  • What is your idea of a dream vacation? 
 I have always wanted to tour the German Castles and travel other areas of Europe visiting these ancient fortresses.
  • What are your top 3 hobbies?  
Love Games of all types: Card games, board games, video they are all good.  Reading: Mixture of Fantasy writers from Terry Brooks to Jennifer Robinson.  Hiking-loving the nature seen, cannot deny God in the face of its majesty.
  • You have a day with NOTHING planned and no responsibilities!  What do you do? 
Oh, reading and playing games for a start.
  • Something that your mother/father said to you when you were little that you now say to your kids (or did when they were younger.)  
I am not buying that anymore you’re just going to eat it all.
  • What is the last thing you binge-watched? 
The Good Place
  • Morning person or night owl? 
Morning, but I have been known to burn the candle at both ends
  • Best advice I’ve ever gotten: 
“Look back at your old prayer journal, see what God has done!”


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