A Short History of My Journey to Faithful Leadership

Sweeten Life has been doing ministry for some years. Most of our work is focused on "Building a lifetime of great healthy relationships with God, self and neighbors". We do that by following Ephesians 4:11ff and helping Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors and Teachers do their job of "Equipping God's people" more effectively.

I started out to be a Clinical Counselor. I had a Master's in Counseling college students and came with my wife a new baby in 1967 to the University of Cincinnati to serve as a Resident Counselor for 600 upper class men in Sawyer Hall. The city and campus were both in turmoil. Riots, drugs, rock and roll and rebellion marked the era but that was not all. God also showed up.

I was getting a Doctorate in Counseling when I attended a three week series of workshops at the University of Illinois in 1969. They were led by Carl Rogers, the most famous Psychologist in America at the time, and his minions. Those workshops rocked my world in many ways.

First, I was the only Evangelical Christian among the 75 Therapists in attendance. I was attacked by some of the several Psychologists who had "lost their faith" and became cynical, angry and defensive about anyone who still had faith. It was a real test for me and I learned how to withstand the "Slings and arrows of unrighteous attacks".

Second, I was thrust into the midst of a very intense approach to group therapy. The participants were taught to confront one another and deep deeply into their minds and souls. I had never been in such an environment before. I was scared but I made it through and grew emotionally and mentally.

Third, I discovered that my simple, untrained faith was good enough to withstand the pseudo sophisticated attacks to older and more experienced men and women. Some of them were ordained Clergy who had left Ministry to be Therapists. They knew how to twist the Bible and use it to demean Conservative Christians from the country.

Fourth, I heard from two of the most respected Psychologists in the world that I was doing the right thing by equipping Christians to minister to each other. More about this later.