Barb and I have been married for 51 years and have been blessed with 7 children and 19 grandchildren. We have served congregations in Indiana, Kentucky, Illinois, and Florida. Ron has been a Lutheran pastor, and Barb a Lutheran school teacher. We are now officially retired, but more accurately refired and repositioned to advance the Kingdom of God.
We have served as short-term missionaries in Russia, China, Panama, Guatemala, and Mexico. Our passion is to seek and save the lost and disciple others who will do the same.
After praying for three years, asking God, “ What do you want us to do together now to advance your Kingdom?” His answer is, “Reach your neighborhood, encourage the pastors and their wives and families in your circuit, and help a dying congregation, by becoming “Alongsiders” who encourage, help and serve.
We continue to learn how to disciple others, and our newest discovery is “Information without relationship leads to knowledge, but information with relationship leads to transformation.” The key to healthy relationships is shared joy which is the fertile soil for the knowledge of Christ to develop in.
To continue strong in our journey of life we need to fuel our brains with joy. Joy is the second fruit of the Spirit after love. What is Joy’s source? What is Joy’s outcome? We will discover “Joy for the journey,” in our Veterans of the Cross gathering.