Archive for the 'Ordinary Heroes' Category

Meet Aileen and Sandy: Ordinary Heroes

Published on April 7, 2010 in Ordinary Heroes. 6 Comments

An ordinary hero is a person who quietly (pastors don’t qualify) and faithfully serves.  These are people we should honor.  Do you know any ordinary heroes?  Send them to me at chris [at] theredbrickchurch.org

Two of our most heroic “bricks” are Aileen and Sandy.  They do a wonderful job leading our children’s ministries.  I appreciate so many things about Aileen and Sandy.  But, what I appreciate most is probably the combination of a genuine love for our church family and faithfulness.  Neither is a flash in the pan.  They both work week in and week out.

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I would like to nominate 2 ordinary heroes and their weekly leaders that are anything but ordinary to the youth in our church.  Aileen Gatz and Sandy Dietz both give unselfishly to bring the youth of our church and community to Christ through AWANA, Sunday school and VBS.  I know that both of them have given of their personal time to attend trainings to make our programs the best there is to offer.  The children and leaders can see Christ shine through them and their actions.   They always have a smile, an encouraging word and help to anyone that needs it.  Each leader that comes to teach a Sunday school class, listen to an AWANA verse or help with VBS is also a hero to me.  Again they give unselfishly of their time to minister to the future leaders that will grow from our church.  I could go on for many pages with stories about how I have seen each person show God’s love to the little ones that Jesus loved so much.  I would just like to say thank you to all of them for everything they do.  

Submitted by Lora Besse

More ordinary heroes here.

Meet Jana: An Ordinary Hero

Published on March 31, 2010 in Ordinary Heroes. 7 Comments

An ordinary hero is a person who quietly (pastors don’t qualify) and faithfully serves.  These are people we should honor.  Do you know any ordinary heroes?  Send them to me at chris [at] theredbrickchurch.org

Someone else nominated Jana, our church administrative assistant.  But, I should have been the one to put her name on.  She’s the one who keeps the church going.  She fulfills more administrative jobs than you can imagine which includes everything from church bulletins to the annual report to the monthly newsletter to keeping track of our church database. 

But, more than just fulfilling her administrative tasks, Jana sees her position with the “Bricks” as a ministry.  Read what the person who nominated her said below.

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My ordinary hero is Jana. 

  • In addition to faithfully serving in the music ministry with her beautiful piano playing, she also coordinates the other musicians and singers and makes sure we all have the right music. 
  • She also teaches the high school Sunday School class along with her husband and as the mother of a freshman I can say they love her class. 
  • In her spare time, she stepped forward to help me through a very difficult time battling cancer.  She has been there for moral support, attended my son’s basketball games when I couldn’t, driven me to doctor’s appointments, taken notes so we all understood, sat with me at chemo, the list goes on. 

She is truly an amazing woman and we are thankful to have her at our church.  (Submitted by Shelley C).

Chris agrees!

More ordinary heroes here.

Meet John: An Ordinary Hero

Published on March 31, 2010 in Ordinary Heroes. 0 Comments

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An ordinary hero is a person who quietly (pastors don’t qualify) and faithfully serves.  These are people we should honor.  Do you know any ordinary heroes?  Send them to me at chris [at] theredbrickchurch.org

I don’t know this ordinary hero, but his example reminded me of Hebrews 11:24-25.

By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin.(Heb 11:24-25).

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John is now retired, but in his nearly forty years of work he was an example of a Godly life in a sinful world. When I was a young man entering the world of business in 1980, business lunches that included alcohol were common. Although I had determined that drinking was not something I was to be involved in, many of my colleagues attempted to impress upon me the “need” to drink socially – this group included two Christian business men. John was the example I could turn to as one who was successful in business without without alcohol and without compromising on Christian principles.

Late in his career John had the opportunity to be partner in a medium size corporation. This position was an extremely lucrative opportunity. However, since the partnership would be with non-Christian men, John chose to be an employee instead, earning only a small fraction of the income he could have earned as a partner. He made this choice rather than compromise on Christian principles. Last week a friend and former colleague approached me in casual conversation about possibly joining his organization. This nonbeliever stated that he is interested in me becoming his partner when his current partner retires next year. While this has the potential of huge financial benefits the example that John displayed points me to 2 Corinthians 6:14.

More ordinary heroes.

Meet Roger: An ordinary hero

Published on March 24, 2010 in Ordinary Heroes. 8 Comments

An ordinary hero is a person who quietly (pastors don’t qualify) and faithfully serves.  These are people we should honor.  Do you know any ordinary heroes?  Send them to me at chris [at] theredbrickchurch.org

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Free-lance author, Shannon Popkin, wrote about this week’s ordinary hero.  While Shannon is a bit biased (Roger is her dad), I will personally vouch for this hero: one of my heroes too.  May Roger’s tribe increase.

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Roger is my ordinary hero. He’s my dad. Here are three heroic things about him:

  1. He’s faithful. There hasn’t been even one of my thirty eight-years that my dad sat out of serving as a deacon, a finance committee member, or a Sunday School teacher.  Many a late Saturday night, I’d find him asleep at his desk, with pages of a commentary making indentations into his forehead. I knew better than to think he got bored. A more likely cause would be the 4 hours of sleep per night that his week had allowed. But no matter how much his work demanded of him, my dad has always made time for ministry. He counts it a privilege.

  1. He’s loyal. My dad makes our church look good. My dad has supported our church’s leadership, even when lifelong friends had the door swinging behind them; even when his expertise didn’t seem to be valued quite as much. He always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

  2. He Imparts Hope. You might be ready to leave or quit or (worse) stay and make a scene, but after a conversation with my dad, you’ll have neutralized frustration and renewed hope. You’ll wonder how God is going to use this for his glory. You’ll have a smile that you caught from my dad.

Meet Jerry Lewis (a different one): an ordinary hero

Published on March 17, 2010 in Ordinary Heroes. 3 Comments

An ordinary hero is a person who quietly (pastors don’t qualify) and faithfully serves.  These are people we should honor.  Do you know any ordinary heroes?  Send them to me at chris [at] theredbrickchurch.org

This ordinary hero was in the church where my wife grew up in Algona, IA, and he was never a partner with Dean Martin.  Nita writes:

A person that was very special in my life was Jerry Lewis a man in my home church in Algona,  Jerry was always an encouragement and a happy and positive person.  He and his wife Ruth were always concerned about your spiritual condition and would ask how they could pray for you.  Whenever you would go to church you would always see Jerry and Ruth there towards the front of the church encouraging others.  A Sunday never went by without Jerry giving me a hug and saying "how are you sugar".  You could tell that he loved the Lord.  I pray that I may be the type of encouragement to a young person in my church!!  Praise the Lord for faithful servants of the Lord.  As I write this I am crying with such thankfulness to the Lord for putting Jerry and Ruth Lewis in my life.  Because of their influence I am a different person. 

Meet Dick and Shirley: ordinary heroes

Published on March 10, 2010 in Ordinary Heroes. 0 Comments

An ordinary hero is a person who quietly (pastors don’t qualify) and faithfully serves.  These are people we should honor.  Do you know any ordinary heroes?  Send them to me at chris [at] theredbrickchurch.org

One of the reasons that missions is happening at the Red Brick Church in the way that it is happening is because of Dick’s leadership.  But, Dick and Shirley also mean a great deal here.

When I read a one paragraph summary like this one, I am amazed at the beauty of the Body of Christ.

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Dick & Shirley have been my heroes for several years.  I first really got to know them when they had a Bible study in their home. Later, they came to the hospital and sat with me when my son was in intensive care.  They have prayed for me and my family during many difficult times.  They have been here for me in a caring and non-judgmental way: through my bouts of depression and job loss and my son’s bad life choices and during his recovery from drug addiction.  When my mom was sick and later died I was so comforted by their prayers and their love. And the food they brought too.  Their hugs and phone calls and love have made them heroes to me.

Meet Doris: An Ordinary Hero

Published on March 3, 2010 in Ordinary Heroes. 2 Comments

An ordinary hero is a person who quietly (pastors don’t qualify) and faithfully serves.  These are people we should honor.  Do you know any ordinary heroes?  Send them to me at chris [at] theredbrickchurch.org

This week’s ordinary hero comes from Alice Daniels.  You can read her blog here.

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I first met Doris Freese in the basement of our church when I was a pre-schooler and she was the children’s Sunday school superintendent. I have a very clear memory of her getting the children’s families together to make Advent wreaths and telling us what they meant and why they were important. She had a passion for children learning about and participating in worship.

I didn’t see her again until many years later when I walked into a Christian Education course in college–she was the professor and she remembered me from pre-school. She now was fighting cancer and wearing a wig because of ongoing chemo treatments, but she was completely invested in passing on the torch: educating a new generation of students how to teach children about the faith. (We women also liked it when she fixed the guys in the class with her steely gaze and said, "You think you want a Proverbs 31 woman? You better make sure you’re an Ephesians 5 man!")

Doris Freese has been in heaven for quite a few years now, but I still feel her influence in the way I teach both children in Sunday School and my own children. We have a family Advent wreath because she taught me how and why as a little girl. She brought children’s worship up out of the basement of the church and into the forefront of people’s consciousness.

Alice

Meet Thelma: An ordinary hero

Published on February 24, 2010 in Ordinary Heroes. 1 Comment

An ordinary hero is a person who quietly (pastors don’t qualify) and faithfully serves.  These are people we should honor.  Do you know any ordinary heroes?  Send them to me at chris [at] theredbrickchurch.org

This week’s ordinary hero is submitted by Mary Pluhar who blogs as The Farmer’s Wife.  I grew up around some people like this, and they are the salt of the earth.  If I ever visit this community in Montana, I might buy Thelma and Mary and their husbands a piece of pie and a cup of coffee.  Otherwise, 5th Tree, Right Side Facing the Throne.

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If she knew I was writing this, she would put her head on the table, blushing, then pick it up and give me “the look”. That’s because my friend Thelma is the epitome of “behind the scenes”. When Chris asked me to write about someone who has been a quiet hero, an encourager of faith, I truly didn’t expect it to be one of my contemporaries*. Don’t you always think of little white haired old ladies who have been at your church so long no one in the congregation remembers a time they WEREN’T in the second pew, third seat? I dug around in my memory for one of those. But then, God knocked on my head and put into my heart, my friend Thelma.

I really don’t know how to describe Thelma in any way that would do her justice. She’s warm, funny, Scottish, strong to her core, and humble beyond anyone I’ve ever met. I’ve truly never heard her say anything derogatory about anyone, and there were times I wanted to say it for her! But she wouldn’t allow it. She’s a ranchwife which entails long days outside working alongside her husband and two sons, followed by long evenings making sure they get fed and clean clothes.

After all that, Thelma quietly slips behind the piano at her church and faithfully plays every Sunday. She plays for most of the funerals and weddings in our little town, too, because it’s often impossible to find anyone who will play in public. If one of our community members is sick or has a loved one pass, there will be a casserole or rolls slipped in the door along with a note of encouragement. I see her in the 4-H booths, volunteering her help at our county fair, and baking for bakesales. But you’ll never see her accepting awards or looking for recognition in the programs that are handed out.

Some people say they’ll pray for you, and you never really know. Some people say to call anytime, and are not ever able to work you in their schedules when you do. Thelma has quietly shown me what it means to love God and those He created, with integrity and joy. God’s hands are Thelma’s hands, working, playing, helping and comforting.

*Just so the whole world knows, Thelma and I are not anywhere near the white haired old lady stage. I can’t reveal our ages, exactly, but I will tell you that we were acquainted with legwarmers and really big bangs in high school. You can figure it out from there…

Meet Bernice: an ordinary hero for 45 years

Published on February 17, 2010 in Ordinary Heroes. 8 Comments

An ordinary hero is a person who quietly (pastors don’t qualify) and faithfully serves.  These are people we should honor.  Do you know any ordinary heroes?  Send them to me at chris [at] theredbrickchurch.org

Bernice is one of the sweetest ladies I have ever had the privilege of serving as a pastor.  She has been in this role for longer than Israel was in the wilderness.

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I was just asking my mother how long she had been Sunday School secretary and she said she thought she started in 1965!!  45 years of collecting offering in our church is quite a long service.  She is a great example for all.

Meet Dean: an ordinary hero

Published on February 3, 2010 in Ordinary Heroes. 7 Comments

Did you know you can subscribe to my blog by email.  Look over to the right and there is a place to enter your email address.

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An ordinary hero is a person who quietly (pastors don’t qualify) and faithfully serves.  These are people we should honor.  Do you know any ordinary heroes?  Send them to me at chris [at] theredbrickchurch.org

One of our people made an excellent suggestion for the first ordinary hero.  I couldn’t agree more.  Dean has been a “brick” longer than many of you have been alive . . .

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Thank you for the opportunity to honor Dean, a very faithful and quiet servant.  Whether it’s passing out bulletins with good cheer and a smile or sometimes a hug, on Sunday mornings, serving for Holy Communion, listening to children’s verses at Awana, driving the tractor/wagon and helping wherever he can be useful at VBS and even assisting us with whatever we might need at a funeral luncheon. he is quietly there. These are only the areas where I have personally observed his faithfulness so I am sure there are many more.

It is a joy and inspiration to see him singing along with the Praise Team (he seems to know all the words to every song, too) as he passes out the attendance folders.  He is a rock of our church and, most importantly, for God.

1 Thess 4:11-12.