Influences

Over the years there have been many people who have guided me in my walk as a pilgrim.
My mom stands out as the most important influence in my walk. She was instrumental in teaching me the basics of the faith as a young man and for her daily prayers on my behalf. The second person that comes to mind is a pastor I had when I was living in Pennsylvania. His name was Pastor John Herb. His sermons on reformed theology and the sovereignty of God came to be the foundation of my young faith. Finally, there was John Reuther. John was a young seminary student who I worked with. We used to meet at lunchtime and we would study theological books together. His gentle and patient spirit carefully guided me through the many questions I had in regards to the sovereignty of God, election, the depravity of man, baptism and other topics.

There are two other people, whom I have never met, that I would add to those who have influenced my journey. Their names are Larry Norman and Mike Warnke.

Larry Norman is considered by many the father of Christian rock 'n roll. He started in the late 60s and was branded a heretic by those in the faith at the time. His long blond hair and unorthodox lyrics created waves in the church at the time. The year was 1977 and I came across a song entitled "Why Should the Devil Have All the Good Music". Well, I had never heard anything quite like that and immediately became a big fan. I started collecting his music and came across a 1972 album called Only Visiting This Planet.



The album was a masterpiece. Every single song, without exception, was a classic. We went to see him in concert a number of times and was even more impressed with his stage presence. He was witty, his lyrics were powerful and most of all he was probably one of the most sincere people I'd seen on stage.

The most important thing I learned from Larry Norman was the freedom to be yourself. I came to see that God does not require all his people to look the same on the outside, act the same way or think the same. Paul was nothing like Peter who had little in common with James who was nothing like Ezekiel who was not like Isaiah who was different than David who was very much different than the talking jackass in Numbers 22. My point is that God can use us all (even a jackass) to further his Kingdom and we don't have to be cut from the same cloth. God is not in the business of making cookie cutter pilgrims. At the time I attended a church that didn't appreciate this truth (can I get an amen from former Baptists).

Mike Warnke called himself a Christian comedian and, like Larry Norman, was free to be himself. He had an amazing insight into the human condition, great stories and an honest critic of expected behavior from pilgrims. I have three or four of his albums and I'm in the process of making them digital. I'll have to post clips from his "concerts". They are hilarious.

Anyway, this blog was named in honor of those two guys.