I’m Annie Watts, and I am excited to study for my chaplain credentials at CLI. I grew up in farm country in central Illinois near the Mississippi. We moved to Oklahoma my Junior year, and from there, I joined the US Air Force. As a result of my military service, I have lived all over. And I learned to truly love the fantastic variety of experiences and cultures around the globe. I also learned that here in the USA, our cultures are as different from place to place as they are from country to country! I lived in Alaska three different times, for a total of about 20 years now, and still have a condo there. So, I call Anchorage, Alaska, home even though I also have a house about 40 miles NW of Atlanta, GA.
I attended university very piecemeal for many years, depending on where I was living. Then one day, I got serious, moved into one location, and buckled down. I received my bachelor’s degree from the New Mexico Institute of Technology (now called New Mexico Tech) in Technical Communication. Talk about a career field that has seen a million changes! At least writing words down itself hasn’t changed. I used my skills primarily for editing scientific papers, but also for editing and writing for churches as needed.
My Faith Journey
I have been a Christian as long as I can remember, but I never really had a relationship with God until 1987 when I lived in Socorro, NM. I had completely stopped going to church and was extraordinarily unenamoured with most of what my denomination seemed to stand for. It wasn’t about God. It was more about tradition. I disliked their religiosity and legalism but was most offended by their attitude that we were expected to believe and not question.
My best friend had come out of the same denomination and was now a bit of a “Jesus freak.” However, I could ignore that because other than that, she was a great person. She kept nagging me that I needed to go to church with her and that they are not all the same. Finally, I told her I would go, just once, but that then she had to leave me alone about it. She agreed, so I went. Doesn’t God have an amazing sense of humor? We went to an Assemblies of God church, and the pastor there read Isaiah 1:18. When he read, “Come, let us reason together,” time stopped for me. What? God wants us to think? To question? To REASON? Holy Spirit and I had a pow-wow, and I was done. Now I was His.
Made New In Christ
My health was feeble (basically, if it’s an autoimmune disease, I have it – including MS, lupus, fibromyalgia, etc.). I was attending college while in a wheelchair, with four kids and a husband, who was also in school and working. I was a wee bit tired. But God taught me about giving. I discovered that for every hour I gave Him, he gave me back more time!
Another life-changing discovery. I studied God’s Word, the Bible. How good it tasted! The problems of life? Oh, yes, they were there. Satan attacks those who love Jesus. And the attacks can be fierce. But through every trial, I had joy. He reminded me that God, with me, equals a majority. I grew in faith. He got me out of the wheelchair, my children grew, and my relationship with my husband became a joy I could never have imagined.
I have had many seasons in my life. With almost every one of them, God was moving me to a new place – both spiritually and physically. Also. I have been blessed to perform many ministries and served wherever I was needed. I was a church board member and cleaned church toilets. Teaching Sunday school and leading small groups, I also helped and led service ministries. I have been “that person” that gets the call when something needs to be done. And that’s the person I want to be – the one who, when God says He needs help, says, “Here I am.”
Study for Chaplain Credentials at the Christian Leaders Institute
Now, as a widow, with my children all grown, I have been confused as to what I am to do next. I travel so much now that, although I have churches that I attend whenever I am there, I am not able to “plugin” to a church as a worker. So what should I do? I’m stepping out in faith and taking free ministry training classes at Christian Leaders Institute.
As I travel, there are many things that I see that I can do. Of course, I take every opportunity to let everyone I meet hear God’s Word, which never goes forth void. But I feel that I could be much more effective with credentials. And what could be more effective with the traveling lifestyle than a chaplain’s credentials? So now, I study for my chaplain credentials at CLI. I hope that I am given the time to get a bachelor’s degree in chaplaincy and another in divinity. I want to make use of that knowledge to give God glory and help bring more of His precious creation back to His loving arms.
Learn about ordination at the Christian Leaders Alliance. Interested in a low-cost degree? Check out the CLI’s Leadership Excellence School.
Called to Ordained Ministry: A Long Strange Journey with God
My name is John Hutchinson from the United States of America, and I am called to ordained ministry. The secondary title of this profile should give some indication of my age. Currently, I live in Ozark, Missouri, but I have lived in 11 states and more residences than I care to count. A semi-retired college professor and administrator and currently work as a higher education executive search consultant, I am educated as a speech-language pathologist. My bachelor’s degree is from the University of Redlands, and a master’s and a doctorate are from Purdue University. Born and raised in Montana, it is where both of my parents were educators.
Called to Ordained Ministry and a Time of Humbling
In my early years, I grew up as a regular but not particularly devoted church attendee (Episcopal). When I went to college, as do many, I fell away from the church. I married, and when I completed graduate school, our first son was born. His birth was the impetus for me to return to church.
At that time, I experienced adult conversion and the first inklings of being called to ordained ministry. Several years later, I completed a rigorous three-year training program and received ordination as a Deacon in the Episcopal Church. I continued my work as an academic and functioned as a bi-vocational clergyman. After several more years of education under a mentor, I received ordination as an Episcopal Priest.
I accepted the position of Rector (lead minister) in an Episcopal parish in Missouri. I had great success and popularity – particularly suitable conditions for an attack by the enemy. My marriage fell apart, and I succumbed to an inappropriate relationship. I lost my holy orders and my job.
Rescued by God
It was in the wake of this that God rescued me. He did so in two significant ways: (1) He showed me that my liberal, anything goes, culturally focused theological worldview was but a house of cards and could not sustain me in a crisis. (2) He gave me a wonderful new wife, a devout Christian who, along with the Lord, loved me back into an orthodox, truly Christ-centered conviction. Between us, we have five children and nine grandchildren.
Through it all, I remained in the church. However, I would have to say that I’m not denominationally settled. There are essential emphases in most of the varied denominations. Because of my sin and deposition, there was no chance for reinstatement as an ordained minister in the Episcopal Church, nor in most other denominations, for that matter. However, the call to preach, teach, and celebrate the sacraments has never waned.
Renewed Calling and Study at CLI with Ordination at CLA
I have functioned in any number of important lay roles in the church. In it all, I tried to deny my deep inward calling. The COVID-19 pandemic scraped the top off of that denial. My wife and I started a neighborhood worship service on the lawn with proper social distancing. I once again had the chance to lead services and to share the Word of God. I have felt, and others have confirmed that it is time for me to return to ministry as an ordained person.
One evening, almost by accident, I stumbled upon the Christian Leaders Institute. As I listened to President Reyenga in one of his lectures, he said that we minister out of our sin because we know more than most how desperately a Savior is needed. “You have a calling,” he said, and I felt the Lord speaking directly to me through him. So I am seeking ordination through the Christian Leaders Alliance and hope to move on to complete the Commissioned Minister course.
Where this will ultimately lead, I have no idea. We live in a beautiful area abounding in recreational opportunities. For now, my ministry dream is to take the Word into campgrounds to serve those who are traveling and recreating. Therefore, as I write this, we are about to visit several campgrounds and see where the Lord leads us.
Learn about ordination at the Christian Leaders Alliance. Interested in a low-cost degree? Check out the CLI’s Leadership Excellence School.
Calling Later in Life Leads to Study at CLI
My name is Brenda Iverson, and I received a calling later in life from God. I live in the USA and have lived here all of my life. I am 47 years old, with three children (23, 20, and 15). Until the age of around 11, I attended a Baptist church with my grandmother. Then we moved, and I began going to a local Methodist church, which was within walking distance from my home. I enjoyed church and still have the first Bible I received. It was given to me by my Sunday school teacher in 1985. As the years progressed, I began focusing on “life” and being a teenager. I graduated high school in 1991 and attended a two-year community college where I graduated in 1993. After I obtained my first full-time job, I thought I had it all.
Struggles
I married my high school sweetheart in 1995, but the marriage didn’t end very sweetly. I left that marriage in 2012, after many years of abuse. My husband was a deputy sheriff for our local department, which didn’t make my life any easier. During that time of turmoil, I was attending a local Baptist church where I thought the children and I were welcomed and respected. I even began the Children’s Church there and was in charge of the annual Vacation Bible School. The congregation consisted of much older parishioners who did not like change. I was the youngest adult, and my children were usually the only ones on most Sunday’s.
When my husband finally moved out, there were a few members of that church who assisted him in taking almost all of our things from our home, including the car. I felt betrayed and abandoned. Let me make a note that my husband NEVER attended church. I later found out that one of the women who came to help him was actually with whom he was unfaithful to me. To make this long story short, that experience kind of jaded me as far as churches go.
New Direction
I met my current husband in August of 2012, and we began a relationship. He was by no means an every Sunday attender, but he did go to a Christian High School and knew a lot about scripture. We dated for a few years and married in 2017. Roundabout late 2014, I met a local pastor at a cookout, and she invited us to her church. I hesitated for weeks, even months, and then finally went. I went alone for several weeks, and then my husband began attending with me. We have been attending this same church ever since. I am on the Praise Team and put together our music. I am also the Treasurer at our church. My husband is the “sound guy” and Bible Study teacher.
Calling Later in Life
I have had many things happen in my life that can only be explained by the grace of God. My life was saved on more than one occasion. I know that is was my Lord and Savior doing the saving. My call to ministry began about a year ago when we experienced an immense tragedy. One among several in our lives, I know that these events were not caused by God but were there as tests to our faith. I genuinely believe that our youth of today need guidance, and they need it now. Although I love to sing, I want to give back to God by providing teaching and counsel to teenagers and adolescents who need hearing God’s Word.
With the tragedies that my husband and I experienced over the past two years, we suffered mentally, physically, and financially. With that said, we have ALWAYS had what we NEEDED. How is that possible? By the grace of GOD. The free classes at the Christian Leaders Institute will help me to continue on this calling later in life journey and walk the path put before by my Lord. I know that He will never leave me nor forsake me. Life and breath belong to Him.
Learn about ordination at the Christian Leaders Alliance. Interested in a low-cost degree? Check out the CLI’s Leadership Excellence School.