I had been running from the Lord for years. I grew up in a small town and every Saturday night we
went downtown to stroll the main street, looking for girls. A local church always had a street meeting with band music and Gospel preaching. I would always cross the street to pass them on
the other side, so I would not have to listen to the preaching.
The Lord was able to put a dent in my defensive armor against His wooing when my kid brother was killed in a gasoline explosion at the young
age of 21. At the funeral I was asking myself why this had to happen. A friend of my brother told me that my brother had become a Christian just before he died. That was the first I heard of it.
I began dating a girl who invited me to a mountain retreat for a week. It was inexpensive and offered a good time in the local mountains, so I agreed to go.
I had no idea this girl was a Christian. She never let on. It turned out that the retreat was the College Age Briefing Conference put on by Henrietta Mears of
Hollywood Presbyterian Church. One of the featured speakers was Oswald J. Smith, the missionary statesman of the Peoples Church of Ontario, Canada.
Under his preaching I quit running from Christ and submitted my life to live for Him.
Call To The Ministry
After my conversion, I had a deep hunger to learn all about the Lord and what
His plans might be for my life. I quit a very promising position in the executive training program of the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company to enroll in Bible school to learn and prepare myself for His service.
In those days (1950s) a committed Christian either became a preacher, Bible teacher or a missionary. I considered becoming a missionary to India or
possibly a Navy Chaplain. But I received no confirmation from the Holy Spirit. After much agonizing prayer I came to the conclusion Jesus wanted me to
use my administrative training for Him. I had a degree in accounting.
Just as soon as I agreed to give up my ambitions to seek one of the more
glamorous callings, the Holy Spirit put His seal on my accepting a position with a national CPA firm where I spent 4 years. Next one of their clients
offered me a position as controller of a savings and loan institution. With the blessing of the Lord I soon rose to the position of Vice President and Chief
Accounting Officer of a billion dollar savings and loan holding company that had several saving and loan subsidiaries.
While in Bible school I had met C. S. Lovett and spent time in street
evangelism with him witnessing and leading people to Christ. His grasp of deep Bible truths impressed me, especially his gift of being able to couch the
truths in simple language that didn't require a seminary education to understand. 
When he and some friends started a small Baptist church, I joined and became a deacon and teacher there. In time Dr. Lovett's ministry expanded to
writing books to help God's people invest their lives more effectively for Christ. The ministry of Personal Christianity was established and in time the work
grew to the point I was needed to handle the administrative responsibilities and filling the pulpit of the church in his absence. Then it became clear to me
for the first time why God had wanted me to spend those years in the business world. He was preparing me for the work here at Personal Christianity.
Now it was clear my time spent as a CPA and member of the American
Institute of CPAs, as a savings & loan executive and member of the Society of Savings and Loan Controllers, and as a member of the Christian Management Association would pay off in the Lord's service. Even my time
spent in the Navy officer training program during World War II has come in handy to help carry on our work for our Lord.
Being able to be a part of a work that is helping God's people all over our
country, in prisons, and on the mission fields in many countries to invest their lives in "preparing for His appearing" has brought a deep satisfaction in my life in fulfilling my commitment to Christ.
