I was deeply blessed by a recent phone call from a Christian leader who has never failed to bear fruit (Jeremiah 17:8) for Christ and his Kingdom.<\/p>\n
His name is Jim. He joined the staff at St James Newport Beach in the early 1970s as an assistant Youth Pastor, when I was still in high school. As I recall, he was working on his college degree at a small, local Christian community college. But what I remember most about Jim was his love for Jesus Christ, his love for the middle schoolers that he was assigned to pastor, and his love for me. Jim spent a lot of time with me personally. He challenged me to read my bible and to love God\u2019s word, its clarity and its authority in my life. He really challenged me to expand my prayer life with God\u201d\u201deven giving me a book or two to read! Nothing academic, it was all plain and simple and practical. That was Jim himself. He challenged me as a timid high schooler..<\/p>\n