Jeff R's favorite job, as a young chemist, was to visit customers to discover problems and then go back to the lab to try to solve those problems. Now, as a quality data administrator for a large chemical company, he coaches teams for short-term projects. Maybe that's why he enjoys leading the Church Health Team (CHT), an ad hoc group created last year.
"I have been on a committee, was singing in the choir, and was studying the Bible in Discipleship classes, but I wanted to participate in some activity that would actually make a difference," says Jeff. Focusing on Needs-based Evangelism, the CHT aims to help our church become a more effective spiritual home for newcomers and for those who already belong to our congregation.
Jeff grew up in Rapid City, South Dakota, the son of an Air Force officer. After graduating in 1969 from the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, he married his high school sweetheart, Annette, and six Methodist ministers -- Annette's relatives -- officiated or attended their wedding. There was no doubt that this would be a Methodist family.
His career in the chemical industry led to them to West Virginia, California, and Texas, and often Annette worked as a church organist. "I never lost my faith," Jeff says, "but I ignored it for awhile. My training as a science person may have caused me to question some things in the scriptures. If you read the scriptures as a textbook, you are struck by inconsistencies. Only later did I realize that it wasn't the facts that were important, but the intention of the heart and the overall grace that seemed to be communicated. That it wasn't about things but was about relationships, and what you did with your life.”
Moving to West Windsor, Jeff and Annette attended a church that hosted their children’s youth group. Now their eldest daughter teaches high school chemistry and has a young son. Another daughter, a musician and teacher, and her husband have just joined the Salvation Army. Their son is in his third year with Teach for America in Houston. As empty nesters Jeff and Annette joined PUMC in 2000 to get back to their Methodist roots.
Six years of Discipleship study, Jeff says, taught him to rely less on himself and more on God. “The class requires you to be in the Scriptures on a daily basis. I am more aware of the constancy of the scripture for my faith life. In turn, I find myself thinking more about what the scriptures would say in a particular situation than I would have done 10 or 20 years ago.”
“The CHT really wrestled with what evangelism was all about for us,” says Jeff. “In the process of doing this work – which may have been mysterious to most of the congregation – some formidable issues came up. Our main accomplishment has been to help define the issues – hospitality, mission, and discipleship.” With Jeff’s leadership, the CHT is helping define the breadth of the church’s ministries so that all members may take part -- encouraging people to participate actively in the life of the church to a greater extent than they have in the past. Says Jeff, “Church is more than coming for an hour on Sunday.” Jeff is helping to make our church a vital community that can grow.
