My Mentor

This evening Sharron and I made our way to Burlington, NC to meet our dear and loved friends Dr. Forbis and Raynita Kivett.




We met at a favorite restaurant
- Cracker Barrel - the place to meet
on a road trip.



Forbis is the pastor that performed the wedding ceremony for Sharron and I over 30 years ago. He held our daughters when they were 4 weeks old to dedicate them to the Lord. It was Forbis that conducted the funeral for my father in 1984. He has been our pastor, our friend, my mentor and my spiritual shepherd for over 30 years.

When Sharron and I were first married I served as Assistant Pastor at St. Paul Wesleyan Church in Charlotte, NC. Forbis was the senior pastor. He was the one who first modeled for me what pastoral ministry was all about. I was right out of college ready to jump off the deep end of the pool - but Forbis was the one who let me made mistakes I could learn from and encouraged me in developing my pastoral skills. It was Forbis who took me to a ministry conference at Faith Memorial Church in Lancaster, Ohio to hear an up and coming pastor named John Maxwell.

Across the years Forbis and Raynita have been a constant source of love and encouragement for Sharron and I. When we have needed a listening ear or good perspective in facing situations of life - Forbis and Raynita have been there. Now, being back in North Carolina provides for us a chance to be close together again.

Tonight we joined them in celebrating their 49th wedding anniversary!
They hold a special place in our hearts and we appreciate them so much. As we brought our time together to a close this evening it was so appropriate the Raynita shared with us recent workings of our awesome God.

She reminded us tonight what God says in Isaiah 43:2 " When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you."

And in the Old Testament - 2 Chronicles 32:8: " ...but with us is the LORD our God to help us and to fight our battles."

These are indeed - Trustworthy sayings...