Statement of faith

Grew up in an era where most families had 3-6 children and lived in modest 1000sq homes with a basement where if you wanted anything you had to figure out how to get it yourself because there was no extra money to go around.  For the most part neighbors respected and befriended one another and watched out for each other’s family.  For the most part people were either Baptist, Lutheran, Methodist, Catholic, a few Jews, and fewer agnostics.  For the most part living a “Christian” lived lifestyle was the norm and what was expected.

 

Faith in our family was rooted from the Homestead outside of Calgary, Alberta, Canada in 1906-7 where the neighbors where either Hugerite’s or Mennonite’s not to mention the English Anglican influence from England.  My father’s mother, Jessie was known as the Matriarch of the Neighborhood located near Cardoni and Nevada in Detroit just down the street from the heart of Chrysler’s Highland Park Headquarters.  Many have told me that when she entered the room, the room was overtaken by the power of God’s love.  During the summer months on Saturday evenings (when it wasn’t raining) 100’s of neighbors would gather on the front lawn and street to listen to stories she would tell and sing along to the music she would play on her autoharp.  If inside my grandfather would play the piano.  Keep in mind the lot size wasn’t 50 feet wide so it was a solid mass of bodies.  She was a Sunday School teacher for 5th and 6th grade girls and would have 50-60 girls every Sunday morning in a Church with about 300 total.  People would drop off injured pets and wild animals in baskets and she would nurse them back to health in the 20 or so cages in the back yard.  My father recounts one evening he bought a candy bar after MIDNIGHT on a very early Sunday Morning and she took it away from him because Sunday was the Lord’s day.  My father and his sister Millie had to sit and play quietly on Sunday’s after church and lunch on Sunday and they would return for the evening Service every Sunday.  She took Communion VERY seriously.  If she knew she may had wronged someone and did not make it right with them before taking Communion she would not take Communion.  Generally it was given on a Sunday evening.  Those evenings she did not go.  Rather she would pray about it and do her best to make amends as quickly as it was humanly possible.  Back in the late 1920’s thru the late 50’s this was not that uncommon.  The Lord took her home in 1953 as she passed from the mumps that made her throat swell through the night and she choked to death in her sleep.

 

Needless to say in comparison to the 2020’s growing up would be considered very strict, but not as much as my father grew up with.  In fact we were EMPOWERED to do the right thing 100% of the time.  If we did we had privileges almost ALL my peers would never ever see.  So what we needed to comply with was that what we said ALWAYS mattered.  Never any cursing or swearing EVER!!  NEVER EVER to get into trouble.  To do what mom wanted us to do without question or hesitation.  To do chores and homework first and then play.  Keep your room cleaned up.  Help with family chores like wash the dishes.  For me Cut the Lawn, Shovel the Snow, help fix the cars, help work on home repairs and renovations, and have a means of income for myself.  All these things we NOT optional.  That included attending church with the family EVERY Sunday morning.   It just so happened that being the eldest son of 4 sons it had its perks.  The amount of things I learned was massive.  The experiences being with and working with Top CEO’s Corporate Attorney’s, Judges, and Chief of Police (those my father worked with every day) prove very valuable every day even to this day.

 

For many children in my position growing up in my era, most resented and rebelled.  Me, I embraced it all.  Not that I was compliant, but because I was treated as a PROFESSIONAL as early as 8 years old.  In other words at the age of 8 commanded respect by what I could bring to the table.  As a result I listened intently to my teachers and mentors.  For many I quickly became better than them.  It was in May after my 8th birthday I decided to Follow Christ and accepted Him as my Savior.  My Sunday School Teacher Gene Jamison a lifetime family friend invited the class to pray with him a prayer of salvation.  I had known Gene my entire life as his parents who adopted him as a child were great friends with my father’s parents where both family’s attended the same church together not long after WWI.  In otherwords I trusted Mr. Jamison to represent himself with great integrity.  He was a great father figure for me until he passed on in the 90’s.  As a result I have many fun and some serious stories around practicing my faith in Christ now a member of Woodside Bible Church located in Troy, Michigan an Independent Baptist Church turned Non-Denominational House of Faith without changing how and what it has believed in since its inception since 1955.  The Christian life is meant to be a 24/7 life lived with Passionate Purpose.   A calling of mine at the age of 14 was to sing in the adult choir.  Needless to say the whole time I have been at Woodside I have sang in the adult choir – since January of 1976 (16 years old).  Today you can see me LIVE in the 815am Sunday Morning Service ONLINE at WoodsideBible.Org.  I look forward to share some of the many experiences there over time in my News Letter THE MACOMB MAESTRO, my Blog and in my book coming out in 2022 – The 5 R’s.