In 1986 after two long years of battling breast and brain cancer, my mother finally returned home to the Lord. At this time I found it necessary to make a change of scenery and stretch my wings.
I went to Plano United Methodist Church in Plano Texas in 1987 after my Local Pastor License as youth minister at Lawrence United Methodist Church (LUMC). During my time at LUMC, I attended a youth conference with David Stone. David Stone at the time was one of the foremost youth ministry experts in the United Methodist Church in the country. I actually spent a few moments in conversation with David after the conference officially ended, but before David left. The conversation was good and enlightening. He truly was an inspiration for me in my passion for youth ministry. Our conversation ended very politely.
Shortly after the conference, out of the blue, I received a phone call from the Senior Pastor at Custer Road United Methodist Church (CRUMC). At the time in 1987 it was the fastest growing United Methodist Church (UMC) in the country. David Stone had mentioned me and my work at Lawrence United Methodist Church to the Senior Pastor at PUMC. Next thing I know I'm on a flight to Dallas for an interview. And then, bam, I was off to Plano Texas as the Youth Director.
I quickly became good friends with Ron and Celia Whitler. Celia is a christian singing artist. Ron at the time was the Youth Director of the UMC across town in Plano. Both Ron and Celia helped a lot in getting acclimated to the youth of Plano and Dallas in general. The time I spent in Plano was exciting and depressing at the same time. I was doing my dream work as youth director of one of the largest churches in UMC conferences. I had 700 7th - 12th graders for Sunday School. I had almost 40 volunteers I guided in Sunday youth education. Sunday evening I had over 125 youth for youth group and and about 25 different adult youth leaders as volunteers. Everything was going great. All I thought I wanted more than serve the God I loved and working with youth in ministry, was a spouse. That began the beginning of the end of my work at Plano.
After about a year in Plano, I left after coming out to myself. I somehow always knew, but thought it was something I would grow out of, and that magically I would have desires for women.
Even after painful midnight sessions of crying on the church altar when it was empty and no one was there, it seemed the answer for changing my desires for men would not come. I couldn't see working with youth, telling them to be honest to themselves and their parents when I was living a lie myself. It just didn't seem the Christian thing to do. I had a hard time with coming out and did some, well, not so ministerial activities, if you get my drift... It was rough. In some respects it still is... I still struggle with my demons like we all do on a daily basis. Dietrich Bonhoeffer is one I look to for support when I am feeling down. What he went through, just to save the German Church from Nazi Germany is, well, quite a miracle I would call it... He is definitely one of my heroes of the Church.
But I digress... Getting back to my short bio...
So I left the ministry and went into secular work and did very well for myself. I worked first as a systems engineer for a NASDAQ company back then called the The Future Now (a wholesale reseller of IT products and service delivery). That company was converted to a new company called XLConnect. That company in turn was finally purchased by Xerox and we became Xerox Connect. All the while I was quietly honing my technical and teaching skills and getting IT certifications out the wazoo - Certified Novell Instructor, Microsoft Certified Trainer, Seagate Instructor, Enterprise Backup Solution Specialist, and finally getting my training in project management, becoming a Certified Project Manager and member of the Project Management Institute. During that time, I started a brand new division in Xerox Connect and was a Principal for the first Project Management Office (PMO) out of the Indianapolis Office of Xerox Connect. I helped build PMOs throughout the company.
During that time I had an opportunity to join IBM. I left Xerox Connect and became a Project Manager in IBM Global Services and worked out of the Indianapolis Office. Yet all through this time... I knew I was called... I knew I had made a promise... I knew I had to keep it...
[Flashback: It was during my time at The Future Now in August of 1991 I met the love of my life. His name is Brian. He is a cardiovascular nurse at Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis. Long story short... Brian and I will celebrate our 20th anniversary on August 10th, 2011].
It was about a year and a 1/2 with IBM Global Services when I was 41 (my 12th anniversary with Brian), I became very sick. After being admitted to the hospital, and literally being on my death bed in a matter of a day of becoming ill and getting admitted I was diagnosed with Idiopathic Platelet Thrombocytopenia and a host of deadly diseases, and my physician told my lifetime companion and best friend, Brian, to prepare for my funeral. I had several of those infections all in my spinal fluid, anyone of which are fatal in and of themselves.
If you know anything about medicine, the following will make sense, if not - it won't. I was diagnosed with MIA, MRSA, VRSA, MAC and few others I can't remember. Brian stayed by my hospital bed 24/7 during my acute phase and held my hand and prayed to my mother who had passed in 1986 for intercession, to Holy Mary for intercession, and to God for intercession. By what I can only surmise as luck of receiving an excellent physician, and a loving spouse who spoke to me everyday even when I wasn't conscious and a loving God who for some reason chose to show mercy on my health issues, I survived. My Infectious Disease Specialist could not believe that I survived one of the infections, let alone five. In her 20 years of practicing medicine, she has never seen anyone recover from what i did. She did not have a medical reason why I survived. She too said that some Other Power (God) must have had a hand in it.
It took almost 6 months cumulative (in and out) of hospital stays, a year IV Injections of Level II Antibiotics (I was on this particular drug than any recorded patient), two (2) more years of home recuperation with a VERY VERY patient and loving nurse/spouse named Brian before I was restored to my health as I was before I became ill. .
I don't thing God was quite done with me yet. He wasn't gonna let me out of the promise I made to Him many many years earlier in high school to serve in the ministry. The thing is, I just didn't know any ministry that I felt called to other than Youth Ministry - and yes even today no church will hire an openly gay youth minister - well at least not yet in the Midwest - not sure about your neck of the woods.
It's funny how God works...
Now seven years later, my health has been restored (my physician can't explain medically how i survived the multiple deadly infections I had other than attributing to some other higher power. For me i knew that my God.
I have completed my Bachelors Degree from Indiana University in Liberal Arts and plan on beginning work on my Master of Divinity (M.Div.) degree in the American Catholic Church in the United States (http://www.accus.us) as soon as I am accepted to seminary. I hope to begin matriculation in the spring of 2011 or the fall of 2011, God willing. I really believe that all this happened for a reason and my focus now is to complete my M.Div., start a church here in Indianapolis within ACCUS and start an faith-based ministry to those afflicted with acute and chronic illnesses through establishing an ACCUS church here in Indianapolis.
And now that you are somewhat caught up on my life up to my 47th year (gees I still can't believe I'm that old), I can continue with the process of applying for seminary and my hopeful matriculation one day. Stay tuned for more info...
Peace,
Jeff
