There are few things I dislike more than talking about myself, but I know I want to know the educational and theological background of anyone I read or learn from who teaches the Bible and in light of that, I'm sharing the following with you.
My mother was Mennonite; my father was Catholic. I attended both churches with extended family for many years and I cherish both traditions. When I was growing up we were a military family and moved constantly. I never started or finished a school year in the same school through all of grade school. We attended a variety of churches, mostly Presbyterian as that was my mother's preference.
From my earliest days, as we always went to church, I knew about Jesus and was strongly influenced by a godly grandmother, but my faith had a large component of fear. I remember ending my childhood prayers every night with, “Dear God, please let me go to heaven when I die and not to hell.”
That changed when I was in sixth grade and we were stationed at Ft. Ord, CA. We were attending a little church in Marina, CA. One summer the church hosted Child Evangelism Club for a week, and the reality that Jesus came to save me forever finally made sense. I asked Jesus to be my Savior, and never again did I worry about what would happen to me when I died. I knew I’d go to be with Jesus and I wanted to live for him all my life.
When my father retired from the military, we moved to Colorado Springs, Colorado where we attended a solid, Bible-teaching Presbyterian church. From 3rd grade on (when I started teaching kindergarteners), I always taught a Sunday School class and when I was a sophomore in high school, our youth group leaders moved away, and no one wanted to run the group. I said, “I think I can do that” and went on to do youth ministry and teaching for many years.
I was heavily involved with the Navigator ministry in college as well as InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. The Navigator emphasis on studying the Bible, sharing your faith in practical ways, and integrating life and ministry had a tremendous influence on my me. Living in Colorado Springs and near the founding headquarters of the Navigators, I had the privilege of learning from some of the founders of the Navigator ministry, LeRoy Eims, Jerry Bridges, Lorne Sanny, and others who spoke to and led our college group.
Educationally, I have degrees in English and Education, plus an additional major in history. I have a master’s degree in History, focusing on church history. I’ve done additional graduate work in Communications and have attended seminary (Fuller Seminary). I briefly taught at a Catholic high school and a Jesuit university.
My late husband, who the Lord has taken home, was a bi-vocational pastor for many years, and we ministered at Baptist, non-denominational, and Presbyterian Churches. A number of these were Purpose-Driven churches. In these settings, I served as an adult Sunday School teacher, Bible teacher, small group leader, and did communications and other supporting work for our ministries. I was not able physcially to have children and our lives joyfully focused on ministry.
At the same time that we worked in various church ministries, I started my church communications ministry, Effective Church Communications and for over 20 years traveled all over North America (I do it all online now) teaching church communication and marketing seminars to every imaginable denomination. A secular company sponsored the seminars, but I had total control over the content of the seminars. They were advertised to the entire church audience wherever I taught, and a huge variety of churches showed up. In discussions, interactions, and looking at their materials, I got to know and love the broad variety of expressions in the Body of Christ. From this experience, I sometimes have referred to myself as a walking ecumenical council.
Prior to that and during that time I've continuously written magazine articles, books, and now on-line materials in the areas of both Bible content and church communications. I continue to write and publish and links those materials are on the respective website.
I now live in Ventura, California, the most wonderful place on earth, in a 50-year-old, quite whimsical mobile home surrounded by a garden filled with succulents. I joyfully attend Community Presbyterian Church, which is part of the ECO denomination.
I currently work hard creating Bible-focused podcasts, videos, and blogs for my online ministry, www.Bible805.com, and for my church communications ministry, www.effectivechurchcom.com.
More about the various components of the ministries are available on their websites and you can sign up for newsletters on them for updates of resources for both ministries.
