I have had four major male influences in my life. And I feel very fortunate to be able to state such. The first of course is my dad. He is a great leader of men. He was a Fire Chief and a creative, very accomplished one.

Then there was my Granddad. He was a direct man who loved the simple pleasures of life. Some of my fondest childhood memories are of riding around in his pick-up truck pretending to work along with him. He taught me to garden. The one big lesson I remember from him came in a simple statement, “the trick is leaving the seeds in the ground long enough that that grow.” I had a bad habit of digging up the carrots to see if they were growing or not. I have taken this to be a life lesson – don’t get anxious and expect the answer before its time.

Then there was Roy Hicks Jr. Roy founded and led Faith Center in Eugene, Oregon. I learned from Roy there is no such thing as ministry influence without loving authority. I think of him when I am tempted to take the soft road instead of the right road.

Finally there is my dearest friend Jamie Buckingham. Jamie was a noted best selling author. He would be what I would call a GREAT soul. He died about twelve years ago. I miss him every day. Jamie taught me one indelible lesson, “the key is not to be perfect or even good, but real.” Jamie was real. I have found it a rough and lonely road trying to be real though imperfect but I think it is the Jesus way.