WHAT I`VE DONE SINCE I LEFT

A month or so ago Peter asked me two questions: what did I like about SR that made me stay two years, and what about SR made me fertile soil for Jesus? The first is easy to answer. I liked the "family", the acceptance I received, the beautiful surroundings, the natural life style, living simply, the sense of being part of something bigger than myself and something that was a positive alternative to the society we had come out of, and more. I'm not sure how to answer the second question. In a way you could say that everything in my life, including SR prepared me for Jesus but only in the sense that I finally came to the end of my rope, so to speak, and realized that I needed God, that I needed to be forgiven, and that I needed God's love and peace in my life. I did not come to Jesus as anything other than a repentant sinner in need of God's grace. For years I had dabbled in religion, mysticism, philosophy, spirituality etc. but when I came to Christ it was out of a sense of emptiness and need, not as one who had attained a profound understanding or level of consicousness. For years I had heard that God loved me and that Jesus died for my sins but I rejected that as too narrow. I believed that there were many ways to God and that I could find God through my own efforts. That proved to be untrue. Depite all my efforts to the contrary I did not find God. I found a lifestyle, a philosophy, but I did not have God in my heart and soul. When I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior, it was not because I understood all the theology involved, it was like the prodigal son, coming home, knowing he did not deserve to be treated like a son, but finding that his father had never stopped loving him and had been waiting for his return. It didn't matter to the father what his son had been in to or had done. It only mattered that he had come home. That's the way it was for me then and even after 28 years it hasn't changed. In fact I am more aware than ever that it is only by God's grace and love that I am where I am. The Bible tells us that God loves us so much that He was willing to become a man and take the punishment for our sins on Himself. He did this to satisfy the justice of God but also to fulfill and express His love and mercy. It would be something like a judge finding a defendant guilty and then saying that he would serve the prison term for him. Well I hope you will forgive me for going on so but it is a very significant thing for me, obviously and I just don't know how to say it in 50 words or less. If anyone reading this is interested in discussing any of this further please do not hesitate to contact me. My email is jschubert@hiu.edu. I'd also like to recommend a book to anyone who has serious intellectual questions about the bible or about the claims it makes about Jesus Christ. It is called "The Case for Christ" by Lee Strobel. He was an award winning journalist reporter for the Chicago Tribune who did extensive research on this subject and the book is fascinating and challenging. From:     Joel     5/1/2003     3:30 P.M. Stan, I appreciate your interest in my personal life and would love to tell you a little about myself. And yes I can have a conversation without preaching, as you call it, though I don't consider it preaching just sharing what is most important to me. Saint Francis, I believe, is credited with saying the following: "Preach the Gospel at all times. When necessary use words". Believe it or not I try to do that. I'm sure you know I am married to Priscilla. We will be married 30 years this fall. We have 3 daughters, all in their twenties. One teaches on the University level, another teaches jr. high and the oldest is a musician. She is an excellent vocalist and is working on developing a career in that arena. I work primarily as a director for the Orange County Rescue Mission. We have a residential facility and emergency shelter for men and another facility for women and their children. We provide emergency shelter, food, clothing and showers for about 50 men each night as well as a residential program that lasts up to 18 months for another forty men and women. We also have an extensive outreach program through which we provides food, clothing, medical care, computer training, emergency assistance, spiritual counsel and more for hundreds of people each month. We are building a 5 acre facility called the Village of Hope which will house up to 200 people and will look something like a small college campus with two dorms, dining facility and educational center, job training center, cafeteria, chapel medical and dental offices, support office, warehouse, child development center, and more. If you would like to check it out further you can look at our website at www.rescuemission.org. Its worth a few minutes to look at. I also teach classes as an adjunct assistant professor at Hope International University in Fullerton. Both of these organizations, by the way are faith-based.(Guess which faith :-) In a month or two my wife and I will be moving from our delightful 75 year old house in a quaint Fullerton neighborhood to manage the Rescue Mission's Transitional Living Facility for homeless people who have completed the first phase of our recovery program and are transitioning into independent living. We will be living in one of six, three bedroom units on the property that is in a small and relatively poor Hispanic community here in the middle of Orange County, called El Modena. I will be working through the local community center to establish ways for our organization to serve this community. We have a mobile medical vehicle that we can bring into the community on a weekly basis to do free exams and treat certain ailments. We have more than enough food donations so that we could start a food pantry here as well.there are a number of other things we can do as we build relationships with the people here. I am enjoying where I am at right now. I feel that God has put me in a place where I can make a difference and that is very gratifying to me. In addition to these things I love music, learning, reading when I can, movies, travelling, good food, friends, family to name a few. I am looking forward to a trip to Washington D.C. and NYC later this month for a conference and vacation. I forgot to mention that my wife works at the same university where I teach as an assistant dean. She is a blessing to that community and mentors dozens of young women who love and appreciate her very much.

WHAT I`VE DONE SINCE I LEFT