New - Introducing myself

I'm going to try to introduce myself by taking my 10 page introduction and smash it down to the Reader's Digest Condensed Version.

I like Bilbo Baggin's title for his story, *There and Back Again*. But our story might be *In and Out Again*; in and out of the world's largest Christian "church".

One side of my Dad's family was Catholic and the other was 7th Day Adventist. It made for interesting arguments about religion when I was young. I ended up being baptized at 7 years old in the Lutheran church, but I attended the Reformed Church in America until I went to college.

I was a bit of a brat when I was very young but started behaving myself and taking Christianity more and more seriously fairly early on. It was gradual. I learned to share my faith in junior high and met my future spouse through a Bible study when we were about 16. We hung out with Charismatics. It was the early 1970s. We were youngsters hooked into the Jesus People movement as best we could since we lived in the middle of no-where. We both went through stages of begging God to give us the gift of speaking in tongues.

In college I was involved with Campus Crusade for Christ. I was also a member of a partying fraternity. While in college my future spouse and I attended Presbyterian, Evangelical Free, independent-fundamentalist Baptist, and less fundamentalist Baptist churches.

After college we attended a Covenant church, then moved across town and attended a Church of Christ. Next we joined a Christian and Missionary Alliance Church. We stayed there through one pastor moving on and the next pastor getting black-balled by an overzealous minority. Our 1st 2 children were born during this time. We wanted them to go to a Christian school so we went looking for a church that had one.

We attended a Missouri Synod Lutheran for a while but while we were there our Catholic friends had us listen to some Scott Hahn tapes. We became Catholic. Our children all attended Catholic Parochial school until we moved to a small town. Our 3rd child was born a week after we were confirmed in the Catholic Church.

I had taught Sunday school for ages from 13 to 18 verious times at the Alliance church and the Covenant church. Before we moved to the small town I had served on religious education committees in two parishes and I taught confirmation class in one. After we attended the small town parish for about 3 years there was an opening for a religious education coordinator. I applied and got the job.

I put my heart into it. I paid out of my own pocket for training in youth ministry, paid my way to World Youth Day in Toronto with our oldest daughter and chaperoned, usually at my own expense, several youth conferences.

I loved the work but some of the parishioners didn't love how I was changing their parish's religious education. I had a pretty nasty exit from the parish and the small town. We might not have left the small town but our oldest was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis so we thought we should move back near the medical center and to a house that would be less work for all of us.

I had a hard time getting excited again about the Catholic Church. For about 6 months I attended small-group worship at a friend's home. I also started having a prayer breakfast on Saturdays with another small group.

My family tried attending one of the largest non-denominational churches in town for a while.

Several hints came our way about home-church starting even before I quit being a Religious Education Coordinator. I started paying attention a little more when I started to seriously read books by David W. Dyer.

Now the 5 of us are discussion together David Dyer's book *From Glory to Glory – The Salvation of the Soul* as our house-church.

I try to read a great deal. I am now finishing up David W. Dyer's books and starting into John Eldredge.

General interests: Jesus, House-Based Church, Bible, Español, Curing multiple sclerosis, World views, Personality, Ethnography, Wisdom Liturature, Sociology, History, Geography, Authors, Biographies, Hiking, Jogging, Sailing, WoodCarving, Gardening, Biking, Wyoming, Home Church, Simple Church, Organic Church, Relational Church, Classic Rock, Classical Music, Instrumental Jazz, curing multiple sclerosis, Law & Order, Stargate SG1, racoons, guitar solos, ballet, plain black coffee, Tony Hillerman, Stephen King, Lilian Jackson Braun, David W. Dyer, Wayne Jacobsen, John Eldredge

Movies: Princess Bride, Monte Python & the Holy Grail, Rocky Balboa

Music: John Fogerty, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Heart, Santana, Pink Floyd, Mozart, Smooth Jazz, Weird Al Yankovic

Books: Robert Jordan's *Wheel of Time* series, Books by James BeauSeigneur, Books by Steven King, Books by Frank Peretti, Books by Steven R. Lawhead, Books by Lilian Jackson Braun, Books by Ted Dekker, Books by David W. Dyer, Books by Wayne Jacobson, Books by John Eldredge

Television: Jericho, Law & Order, The Closer, Without a Trace, House, Stargate SG1, Monk Psych, The Dead Zone

welcome, if you want ,you can discoveer this website is packed whit treasures,

it has been a real blessing to me, and i think it will to you to, id recomend you start whit the top 20 list

christian

Welcome Larry,

That is quite a pilgrimage. Hope you are blessed and challenged by all that is available here.

Great you signed in. I am sure you will find an abundant amount of treasure here to wet your whistle. Enjoy.

I don't know if this is the right forum for this but I need help getting to the streets with the Gospel

Silk City Christian Community Development Corporation Paterson Gospel "The Cafe Church"
185 6th Ave
Paterson, NJ 07509
Church 973-225-0740 Home 973-790-7553
pgc2003@optonline.net

185 6th Ave. (4th Floor)

Dear Friends

For more than 25 years I have been using my artistic gifts to proclaim the Gospel in different ways and venues. Painting theater backdrops for Word of Life, calk drawing on the streets of Ireland, painting gospel stories at Passaic County Jail, in schools, and churches are just some of the places in which opportunities have been afforded to me. Working with at-risk young men in Jamesburg boys’ home and in Paterson schools has been a passion of mine. I have also taught the painting of backdrops and theater arts at these same institutions.

I have also seen God use my gifts and talents over the years with churches and Christian Gospel Bands in inner city outreaches. I believe I can do a lot to impact the lives of the youth by use of the arts to evangelize and teach not just spiritual principles but practical life skills as well. I have always had a heart to reach the poor, undeserved, and brokenhearted.

I believe God’s plan for me is to work full-time with others in the city of Paterson as a team to reach youth who are fatherless, lost in sin, full of apathy, and gang affiliated but seeking to “renounce their colors.” Specifically, I will be partnering with Silk City Christian CDC (a ministry of Paterson Gospel Church) to accomplish God’s purposes and plans for the city. You see God is already at work and He is just calling me to come along side to fulfill the Great Commission.

However, to complete His mission I am going to need intercessors like you to pray for me, the arduous work, and the mission. I am also asking you to not only pray about the work but partner with me in the work. You can do this by helping with funding through monthly support so that I can devote myself full time to meeting the needs of a lost generation using the arts and my teaching skills.

I have a real passion to go and reach those that will never turn up at out churches unless we go to them Will you send me?

Sincerely,

Ian Grinyer
Urban Missionary/Art Director