Participants:
Series Code: TDY
Program Code: TDY190010A
|
00:01 I want to spend my life
00:07 Mending broken people 00:12 I want to spend my life 00:18 Removing pain 00:23 Lord, let my words 00:30 Heal a heart that hurts 00:34 I want to spend my life 00:40 Mending broken people 00:45 I want to spend my life 00:51 Mending broken people 01:11 - Hello, friends. Welcome to 3ABN Today. My name 01:14 is John Lomacang, and I have the best woman 01:17 in the world right to my left. [laughter] 01:20 - I'm Angela Lomacang. It's our pleasure to be 01:23 in your homes today... and we're excited about 01:25 the program; aren't we, honey? - That's right. 01:27 We're talking about journey. Now, everyone's 01:30 been on a journey, but this is not just a regular 01:33 journey; this is about a journey in ministry. 01:36 How does God take people from where He finds them 01:39 to where they are today? And we have a wonderful 01:42 couple here today that's going to share that. 01:44 Honey, we've talked with them before we did a 01:46 radio interview with them before. - Yeah, 01:48 absolutely! With Strong Tower Radio (I work for 01:52 3ABN Radio; Strong Tower Radio is in 01:54 Michigan). They cover almost all of Michigan- 01:58 all of Michigan with the three angels' messages. 02:01 This couple- we were at Michigan camp meeting. 02:05 We interviewed them on radio-we had a little 02:08 remote thing going on there-and I have a 02:11 program called Crossroads on 3ABN Radio, and I was 02:15 able to... We had- their testimony is 02:18 amazing. - Right. - From, what? Nondenominational 02:22 pastor- what's the title? Nondenominational pastor 02:26 to Adventist pastor. - That's right. And 02:29 you know, there might be a pastor watching 02:31 this program today of a church that's not a 02:33 Seventh-day Adventist Church. - Yes! - And 02:35 while we believe that the Lord has His people 02:37 in every denomination, we also believe that 02:39 the Lord has a message for this end time-a 02:41 three-angels' messages that is so pertinent 02:44 that He finds us where we are, but He doesn't 02:47 leave us where He finds us. You know, John 16:13, 02:51 the Bible says, "The Spirit of truth will 02:53 lead us and guide us into all truth," and 02:55 we believe firmly that the Bible is a book of 02:58 truth. While some individuals have learned 03:00 certain portions of it, we believe that God is 03:03 leading and guiding into all truth. And our couple 03:05 today, Pastor Thompson and his wife Sabrina- 03:08 we'll introduce them after the music. They 03:11 have a tremendous testimony. So, don't go away-whatever 03:14 your journey, whether it's ministry or not- 03:16 this is a program you don't want to miss. 03:18 What do we have for music today, honey? 03:19 - We have a wonderful lady. Her name is Mary 03:22 Grace, and the title is, "Lord, Be Glorified." 06:24 - Thank you so much for that song, Mary. Isn't 06:26 that wonderful? - She is so gifted. Amazing what 06:30 you can do with one hand and, what, an 06:33 arm? - Yeah. I'm telling you, every time I see 06:35 her play, I always think how lazy I am. I have two 06:38 ? hands... - You're not really lazy, honey. 06:40 - But that's her gift, and I? altogether 06:42 - Yeah, exactly; that's right. - But as I mentioned 06:43 at the top of the program, we have an interview today 06:45 that's going to really inspire you, so let's 06:47 go ahead and meet our guests at this time. I'll 06:50 begin with Pastor Rod Thompson. Good to have 06:51 you here. Rod, good to see you again. - Good to 06:54 see you; thank you for inviting us. - Yeah. My 06:57 wife and I had an opportunity-and 06:58 we'll introduce your wife in just a moment- 07:00 of interviewing you... Where was it, again? 07:03 - Michigan. - Michigan... - Camp meeting. - That's 07:05 right. It was radio... Was it a radio...? 07:09 - Yeah, it was a 3ABN Radio-Strong Tower 07:12 Radio-interview in Michigan, and we did 07:17 a little onsite thing there. I have a program 07:19 called Crossroads, so we were able to do this 07:22 for a Crossroads program. This testimony is amazing. 07:28 He was a Pentecostal minister- what- 07:32 nondenominational minister. So, listener- 07:36 I'm always saying- I shouldn't say 07:37 "listener," should I? But those of you who 07:41 are watching and listening, you are going to be blessed 07:43 by this program by Pastor... Rodden? - Rod Thompson. 07:49 - And his beautiful wife, Sabrina. - So, 07:53 tell us, I mean for those who are meeting you for 07:56 the first time, give us an overview who you are, 07:58 where you're from, and what you do right now. 08:01 - We've been in the Adventist church for 08:05 about 10 years now, but actually have been a 08:08 pastor in the Michigan conference for almost 08:11 5 years now. We are currently at the Mt. 08:15 Pleasant and Midland Seventh-day Adventist 08:17 Churches right in the middle of the state for 08:20 about a year and a half now. - Okay! Good to 08:22 have you here, and next to you is your wife Sabrina. 08:25 Sabrina, give our audience an overview of who you are, 08:28 what you do right now, and where you're from. 08:31 - I am originally from California - Southern 08:35 California - San Diego. - Okay. - That's where 08:37 we moved from to move to Michigan. I work with 08:42 Rod in the ministry right now. - Okay. 08:46 Any children? - We have four adult children, and 08:51 we're kind of spread out We have- our closest 08:54 daughter is in Michigan and our son-in-law and 08:58 six grandchildren there, and then we have a 09:01 daughter in Georgia, and one in California, 09:06 and our son is in Oklahoma. - Wow. - So, we're pretty 09:09 spread out, but we have a total of 12 grandchildren. 09:11 - Ooh! - 12! - 12. And just three of the 09:14 children. - Yeah. The youngest has none, 09:17 so they've been busy. [laughter] - Well, you 09:21 have a lot of people to take care of you 09:22 when life comes around and says, "Hey!" - We 09:25 hope so. - Well, hey, start us off at the 09:28 beginning, because we talked about this- and 09:30 honey, we both have a lot of questions we're 09:33 going to try to get in today...but your story 09:34 is amazing. Let's go back before you got 09:39 into ministry. Let's go back to, maybe, how 09:41 you both met. Let's maybe start there. 09:44 - Well, we... If we were going to start, for me, 09:49 my story started when I was born. - Okay! 09:53 - I didn't know it, but my mother loves the 09:59 Lord with all of her heart, mind, soul, and 10:01 body, and my dad loved my mom. He was coming 10:05 to church with her. She was raised in a Lutheran 10:07 church. My mom and I were in the hospital. 10:15 I was born, and three days later, we were 10:18 still in the hospital, not that there was a 10:20 problem; but back then, they allowed the mothers 10:23 a little more time. But while my mother and I 10:26 were in the hospital, my dad was in an ambulance 10:28 with my sister on the way to the University 10:32 of Michigan Hospital and she died on the 10:35 way. - Oh... - And when that happens as a parent, 10:39 there's only two ways you can go: you either 10:43 trust the Lord or you push away, and that's 10:46 what happened to my parents. My dad became 10:50 very bitter and very angry and said, "How 10:54 could a God of love take away my little girl?" And 10:58 my mom trusted God that He had a better plan than 11:00 she did and that she would be able to see 11:04 that girl again one day... but it divided my family. 11:07 So, I grew up in a house divided. But 11:10 at the age of 15, I was in the church. 11:18 My dad never went to church with us, but he 11:20 made us go with my mom, and we're going to church 11:23 three days a week. Outwardly, I was doing 11:28 everything right; but inwardly, I didn't know 11:33 God. So, when I was 15 years old, the Lord spoke 11:41 to me one day-a man's voice. Whether it was 11:45 inside of my head or out, I don't know, but 11:47 I heard this voice saying, "I want you 11:49 to go to the seminary." I didn't know where 11:55 this voice was coming from, but I remember 11:57 hearing that voice several times throughout 12:00 the day and saying or thinking to myself, 12:04 "No, I don't want to do that." I was already 12:09 experimenting with drugs and alcohol; I was looking 12:13 at my parents' lives; my mother's life seemed 12:16 very rigid and boring. My dad's was... He was 12:20 a drinker, his seemed very exciting, and I was 12:25 already experimenting with those things... But 12:28 I just thought to myself- I thought I knew-"Where's 12:35 this coming from? It must be coming from 12:37 God," but I wasn't sure, and I just said, "No, 12:41 I don't want to do that." Well, the next 12:43 morning, I woke up and I heard that voice 12:44 again several times throughout the day, 12:47 same thing. "I want you to go to the 12:48 seminary." Of course, I knew what that meant. 12:51 "I want you to be a pastor." The second 12:54 day, I said aloud, "I don't want to do that." 12:57 And then, I heard that voice again a third day. 13:00 All day long I heard that voice, and by 13:05 the end of the day, literally, I thought 13:07 I was going crazy, 'cause I'm hearing 13:09 voices! Am I schizophrenic? What's going on? But at the 13:15 end of the day, I literally yelled out loud, "No, I don't 13:21 want to do that! I want to party and 13:24 have fun with my friends! I don't want to ruin my 13:26 life!" And I never heard that voice again for 20 13:31 years. I left home at 18, I went into the 13:36 military... That's not a good environment 13:40 for spiritual thinking. There are people that 13:44 do it, but it pulled me even further away. 13:51 I actually got married at age of 19 and had 14:00 some children with the woman that I was married 14:03 to. That was really a struggle for me; it was 14:06 difficult, and we ended up divorcing. But now, 14:10 my children are- I have two daughters, and they 14:15 were 7 and 8 years old, and I had custody of 14:21 them-something that wasn't very popular 14:25 back then. It wasn't very common, but there were 14:30 extenuating circumstances with my ex-wife, and I had 14:33 custody of them. I gotta tell you- that's the 14:36 hardest thing that I have ever done is to be a single 14:41 parent - trying to be both mom and dad. My 14:46 daughters are going to school; and one day, 14:48 my oldest daughter comes home and says 14:51 that she wants to spend a night with her friend. 14:56 I said to her, "Well, you've got to give me 14:59 some contact information. I've got to talk to her 15:00 parents and make sure it's okay and make 15:03 arrangements to how we can get you there and picked up 15:06 and all of that. So, a couple days later, she 15:10 comes home with this phone number, I called... 15:13 and it was Sabrina. So, she has a daughter and a son, 15:19 and it was her daughter and my daughter that 15:22 were wanting to spend the time together. - His 15:24 oldest and my youngest. - So they were friends. 15:27 - They were friends! - Yes. So, that's how 15:31 we met. - Through our children. - Oh! So what 15:34 was the connection with the wife- with you, Sabrina? 15:38 - Well, he called me to have his daughter come 15:42 spend the night at our house. I said, "Sure!" 15:44 So, I picked them up from where they were 15:48 going after school, and I brought her home with 15:51 me and my children, and we had a great 15:53 time! And then, the next day was Saturday 16:01 (this is before we were Adventist), and they 16:04 wanted to know if she could spend the night 16:06 again. I said, "Well, that's okay with me, 16:08 but we've got to talk to your dad." So, I 16:12 called- well, she called and asked for permission. 16:18 I did tell, I told him yes, that that was 16:20 okay with me. So, she spent the night again. 16:22 So, the next day was Sunday, and then they 16:26 came to me again and she wanted to spend 16:28 the night again! I said, "Well, you can't. It's 16:31 Sunday. You have school tomorrow!" And then he 16:35 came and he picked her up. - I had actually- 16:44 my two daughters and I were living with another 16:48 guy that I worked with in the military. I had 16:51 a boat, and we were going to go to the 16:54 beach. We were going to take the kids down there, 16:56 so I said, "Well, we've got to go pick up my 17:01 daughter." So, we stopped by there, and Sabrina 17:04 came outside and I saw her, and it may have 17:09 been love at first sight. [laughter] But I saw her, 17:13 and I knew by then in our conversations that 17:16 she was also a single parent. - Okay. - And 17:19 so I said to her, "Why don't you and the kids 17:23 come with us? We're going down to the 17:26 beach and we'll have fun, and..." - Where 17:28 were you living at at that time? - We were 17:29 living in San Diego. Of course, lots of 17:34 water. But we went down there and spent the day 17:37 together, and we joked that after that, I just 17:42 bothered her a lot. I just made myself available... 17:47 - He did. [laughter] - And the kids, of course, 17:50 were friends, and so we connected through 17:53 them. - How did you feel, Sabrina, about all 17:54 this? - Yeah, well, like I said... I wouldn't recommend, 18:01 actually, a single woman going with people you 18:08 don't know with your children; but it worked 18:12 out in this case very well. They were military; 18:15 I'm from the military. I was raised in the 18:18 military. And he was in the Navy, and my 18:23 dad was in the Navy, so to me, Navy guys 18:25 were good. [laughter] I felt safe. So, I did 18:30 go and brought the children, and we did 18:32 have a good time. - How long after that did you 18:34 get married? - Well, we did everything 18:37 wrong. [laughter] We didn't know the Lord 18:42 then. We were living in the world, just doing the 18:44 things of the world. So, after about a year 18:48 and a half of knowing each other and getting 18:52 to know each other, I recommended that we 18:54 move in together. - Ah. - And I wouldn't do that 18:57 today. - Right. - But we moved in together. 19:01 I was battling with some issues. You know, when 19:07 you go into a marriage, you bring all your baggage 19:09 with you. I was struggling with some things, but we 19:13 worked through those. And eventually, I did 19:16 ask her to marry me. - So it was about two 19:18 years. - Mhm. - Wow. So the children were 19:21 getting along okay? They were friends, 19:24 right? - Right. - That's kind of funny. They were 19:28 great friends until we decided to get married; 19:30 and then, all of a sudden, they decided they didn't 19:33 really wanna... - Well, they were together 19:35 constantly all the time, so I don't know. I think 19:39 they're both strong-willed, and so that being together, 19:44 it just came out. [laughter] - We were able to work 19:49 through it. - Oh, yeah. It was great. We had 19:51 been... It was a family. They're our children and 19:55 we are Mom and Dad. - Beautiful. - So how did 19:58 you get in- you were not in the ministry yet 20:00 at that time. How did you get involved with 20:02 ministry? - No; in fact, I was still in the military 20:06 when we met, but I got out in the early '90s. 20:15 Then, we just stayed there, 'cause all of 20:19 Sabrina's family is right there in California 20:22 where we were. So, we started working; I started 20:28 working in the society there, and I was working 20:34 as an electrician. I thought that we would 20:41 just be doing that for forever, but I was working 20:48 as an electrician, but I had a good friend 20:50 who was high up in the Union and he told 20:53 me about a fiber optic class that the Union 20:56 was going to be given through the electrical 20:58 program and I should get in on it (and I 21:01 did). I saw with the fiber optic cable that- 21:07 wow-this is the future! And so, I ended up, after 21:11 going through that class, I ended up leaving and 21:14 I got into telecommunications. I worked for a company for 21:17 about a year, and then they were having financial 21:20 issues. I left there; I went and worked for 21:22 another company. Then, they were going to close 21:24 down their San Diego office and I thought I 21:30 was going to be looking for another job. I had 21:31 two of the guys that I worked with say to 21:34 me, "Why don't we start our own company?" So, 21:40 I went home and talked to Sabrina about that, 21:42 and we decided that, yeah - we were going 21:45 to go into business. So, we started in my 21:48 garage. This company was incredibly successful. 21:55 Right from the beginning, we grew 46% a year. - Wow! 21:59 - For five years that I was in business with 22:03 these two gentlemen. We worked very well 22:05 together. One gentleman was older. He had had a 22:10 business before; had a really good business 22:12 mind. The other one had incredible sales abilities; 22:17 he was an amazing salesman. He could 22:20 bring in $4 million a year in business by 22:22 himself. - Wow! - And I had all the technical 22:25 expertise. - What a team. - So, we worked 22:27 very well together. - And now, when you 22:30 think about that kind of foundation, you 22:31 think, "Wow, well, this is something we should 22:33 stick with." But what transitioned you out 22:35 of that into ministry? - Well, we weren't looking 22:38 for that; that's for sure. I thought that 22:42 we had everything that we wanted. We were very 22:47 successful and we were living the American dream. 22:52 I was not looking for God...but I went to 22:56 bed one evening, same as every other evening, and 22:59 God came to me in a dream that night and 23:02 rocked my world... gave me a Damascus 23:06 ? experience that I haven't been able to 23:08 turn from. I woke up the next morning and 23:10 I knew that that was real, I knew that God 23:13 was real, and...I literally changed. - So here you 23:20 are reading Revelation, not understanding it, 23:22 but this joy all of a sudden opens up in 23:24 your life. What happened to get you to start understanding 23:27 Revelation? - God started moving very quickly in 23:32 many ways. I had a business partner who 23:35 was a Christian. He calls me up one night and says, 23:38 "Can you bring my Bible to me? I left 23:40 it at my desk at the office." It's opened. 23:42 I see that it's a study Bible. I'm reading it. 23:45 I'm impressed. "I need one of these." I take 23:48 it, drop it by his house, ask him, 23:51 "Where did you get this? I need one of these." 23:54 He offers to buy one for me. He brings one 23:58 a couple weeks later- leather bound, name 24:02 engraved on it... And not only did he give 24:05 me the Bible, but he invited me to a Bible 24:09 study at his church and he said, "We're starting 24:11 a brand new one. Next week, it's going to be 24:14 on the book of Revelation. - Ah! - That's God leading 24:17 in your life. - Absolutely! So, things started moving 24:21 quickly at that point. I went to that Bible 24:24 study. - Was it a nice, small Bible study? 24:27 [laughter] - No! It was a 3,000-member church. 24:32 - Whoa! - It was like a church service. The pastor 24:34 comes out, he gives this powerful sermon, he has 24:39 an altar call, and I knew then at that 24:43 moment that that's what I needed. I needed to give 24:46 my heart to Jesus, and I had been running for 24:50 20 years. And now, I give my heart to the 24:54 Lord. Things kind of... He started making big 25:00 changes. - Wow. So that night, how did you feel 25:03 going down to the altar? - You know, it was amazing. 25:06 I gave my heart to the Lord. The only thing that 25:09 kept me from burning up were the tears that were 25:11 flowing down my face. But I left there a 25:15 different person. I knew at that point, I had given 25:19 my heart to the Lord; I was going to serve 25:20 Him...but I didn't know how to tell Sabrina what 25:24 had happened to me. I went home and I didn't 25:26 even tell her. - Now, Sabrina... - I had no 25:29 idea! - How did you feel? What happened? 25:32 How did you express to your wife what was 25:34 going on? - I just kept studying the Bible. I 25:39 just kept allowing God to make changes in me, but 25:42 I realized very quickly that I couldn't change 25:45 God and money. I had to make a change. I 25:49 didn't know how to make that change, but I knew 25:52 that I had to do one or the other. Very 25:56 long story short, I ended up asking my business 26:00 partners to buy me out. I ended up losing 26:03 everything. They fired me from my company. 26:06 - From your own company. - From the company we 26:08 started in my garage... and we felt impressed 26:13 to put our house up for sale, and we knew 26:16 that that was from the Lord. Another incredible 26:19 story: we ended up selling the house; and 26:21 the day that we did, the Lord spoke to me 26:24 and said, "I want you to move to Alpena." 26:27 I spent the whole day trying to figure out 26:28 how He's going to convince her to move 26:30 away from her family. - And how did you feel? 26:34 That was home for you, Sabrina. - That was 26:36 home. My family's there. I was at work, also, and 26:41 the Lord impressed me, also. "You need to move 26:45 to Alpena, Michigan." Well, there's nothing 26:50 in myself that's going to want me to move to 26:53 Alpena, Michigan; it had to have been from 26:55 the Lord. - From San Diego to freezing out 26:58 cold. - Alpena. Yes. Who does that? [laughter] 27:02 - You know, we've learned in our own lives. Sometimes, 27:03 the Lord has to tear your life down. He has 27:05 to demolish it in order to build on that spot 27:08 what He always intended. Going back to this, Pastor, 27:11 the Lord had been trying to get you for more than 27:15 20 years at this point! So, He had been longsuffering- 27:18 patient-but He said, "The hour has come. 27:20 I am not letting you run anymore from Me." 27:23 So He took you company, got you a Bible that you 27:25 could understand, told you to move to Alpena... 27:29 That's where you were raised. - Yes. - But 27:32 what else is happening in Alpena that's about 27:33 to transition your life? - Well, when I had left, 27:37 I was bitter and angry with my dad. We had a 27:41 superficial relationship, but now I was a Christian 27:44 and I had all this love that I didn't have before. 27:46 Now I'm going to get to repair this relationship 27:48 with my dad. Sabrina moves to Alpena first 27:52 with our youngest daughter; I stay, 27:53 finish up the sale of the house... She calls me 27:56 one day and says-she's looking for churches 27:58 there-she says, "I found the church, but 28:01 you're not going to like it. It's a little smaller 28:03 than our church in San Diego." I said, "What's 28:06 a little smaller?" 'Cause our church has 3,000 28:10 members! She says, "Well, they have 12. 28:12 And they don't have a pastor; they need you!" 28:14 - Oh! - And I thought, "What do you mean they 28:18 need me? Maybe she'll change her mind by the 28:21 time I get there." So, we work it out. We took 28:26 a step of faith that we felt like the Lord 28:28 wanted us to move to Alpena. We went there 28:30 and bought a house, expecting Him to provide 28:32 for us. We moved. The day that we get there, 28:37 my dad gets sick. I got to spend three 28:42 months with him before he died. And at one 28:46 point, I realized he wasn't going to survive 28:49 what he was going through. My mom and I start witnessing 28:52 to him and trying to help him to give his 28:56 heart to the Lord. I have to admit that I... 29:01 At one point, he wasn't responding; he wasn't 29:04 giving his heart to the Lord It was very frustrating for 29:08 me and I gave up. I decided I wasn't going 29:11 to do it anymore... but the following 29:13 morning, my sister called me, said, "Dad 29:15 wants to talk to you," and she said that he 29:17 called me "the preacher." I had never preached a 29:20 sermon! In fact, I had worked it out with the 29:23 church-this little church. They didn't 29:26 have a pastor. They had a couple of guys that 29:28 were trying to kind of fill in and do what they 29:30 could...but to me, I was looking for more. 29:35 I was looking for meat and I was getting milk, 29:37 so I asked them, "Can I preach?" And they 29:42 said, "Well, we'll see." They worked it out. 29:46 My very first sermon was scheduled to be 29:49 the day after my dad ended up dying. I had 29:52 never preached a sermon. So, now, I do; I came in. 29:59 I preached, and then pretty soon, I was 30:01 preaching every week, I was taking some classes... 30:03 The day that I was ordained, they asked 30:07 us to be the pastoral couple of that little 30:11 church. - That slightly smaller church. - Slightly 30:14 smaller, yes. [laughter] - So, we pastored that 30:19 church for almost 6 years. - And what 30:24 denomination is this? - Non-denominational, 30:26 and the church was growing. We went from 12... The 30:33 day they asked me to be the pastor, half the 30:35 church left, so we went to 6. - Oh, no! - But we look 30:39 back at it now and we see that the Lord was 30:40 cleaning house, because at that point, we had 30:42 already been there two years and we were the 30:44 only new people...in two years. But now, 30:48 the 6 leave; now, we start growing. Pretty 30:50 soon, we're back to 12, 15, 18, 20... When we got 30:54 to 26, I realized that the church was growing... 30:58 but I wasn't. I felt stagnant and I thought, 31:02 "What happens when the church catches up where 31:07 we're at and what do we do then?" So we 31:10 started praying that the Lord would bring 31:12 someone into our life to help us. - Okay. 31:15 And what did He do? - Well, it wasn't very 31:17 long. Just within a week or so, we had 31:21 a Wednesday night Bible study at the church. 31:23 this woman comes knocking on the door and says that 31:27 she's looking for a Bible study. I said, "Praise 31:29 God, we got one going right now. Come on in!" 31:32 She said, "Well, I'm looking for meat; I 31:35 don't want milk." And I said, "Praise God. Me 31:37 either. Come on in!" Well, it didn't take 31:40 very long to figure out that she knew her Bible 31:42 better than any of us did at that church. Then, 31:47 we got to know her husband, and Sabrina 31:49 and I started studying with them one-on-one 31:53 and they started sharing the Sabbath with us. 31:56 They were not Adventist and they didn't have the 31:59 corporate day of worship, but they had the rest. 32:02 - Wow. - And we saw that that was true, 32:05 and we started keeping the Sabbath the best 32:09 that we knew while I was preaching on Sunday. 32:12 - Wow. - Did you tell your church? - We... 32:16 We didn't. We started doing studies with them 32:21 to try and lead them, but we saw opposition 32:25 so we kind of backed off from that a little 32:27 bit...but we saw that we were growing, and 32:31 then we REALLY started praying. We said, "Lord, 32:34 we want more. This is amazing, but we want 32:39 more truth. - You were hungering and thirsting 32:41 at this point. - Absolutely. - Yeah. We could see growth. 32:44 - So this lady, now, who's not an Adventist but she's 32:47 revealing to you the Sabbath...where did 32:50 this take you? What happened? I mean, 32:53 how did the- 'cause what you're seeing now is the 32:55 Lord is just, He's taking you only as you're willing 32:58 to go and He is saying "Rod, Sabrina, this is 33:04 your journey. I stopped you at that church to 33:07 tell you one thing. You know a lot, but I'm going 33:09 to take you to the next level." How did that- 33:11 tell us about this transition. I mean, 33:13 'cause somewhere along the way, the Lord just 33:15 broke this can open and you have to tell the 33:18 church that you're with, "We're leaving." - Yes. 33:21 We had these prayers that we were doing that 33:28 we would grow. Again, the Lord was faithful. 33:31 He's been faithful all along this journey, 33:33 moving us and directing us. We were just driving 33:37 home one day and saw a sign on the side of 33:42 the road at the civic center in Alpena that 33:45 said, "Unlock Revelation starts tonight at 7 o'clock." 33:50 I looked at my watch and it was 6. I looked 33:53 at Sabrina and she's looking at me and she 33:55 said, "You want to go, don't you?" [laughter] 33:58 Of course, the whole issue with Revelation... 34:01 So, we go home, get our Bibles, we go back, 34:07 and we ended up going through that entire 34:11 series. My mom was there, my uncle Marvin 34:17 was there, one of the members of our church 34:19 was there, we tried to get the rest of the 34:21 church to come as we're hearing these truths. 34:25 And of course, they're foundational; the law is 34:27 applicable, the Sabbath, they just- one built 34:31 upon the next, and we're seeing these 34:33 truths. I couldn't dispute it. It was 34:36 so clear to me that this was the truth. 34:40 The truth just has a certain sound to it-a ring to it- 34:44 and it was perfectly what I needed. I couldn't 34:47 dispute it. All we had to do was decide, "Are 34:52 we going to follow this truth?" But what really 34:55 hit me was when they got into the denominational 35:01 churches and the harlot daughters, and you can't 35:06 fix it; all you can do is come out. That night 35:09 hit me like an a ton of bricks. I literally 35:13 felt like somebody knocked the wind out 35:14 of me. We left that evening, we walked out, got into the 35:19 car, and just sat there. And finally, I looked at 35:23 her and I said, "You know what we have 35:26 to do." And she said, "Yes," and she started 35:31 crying, because that was our church. We 35:34 love those people. - Those are family. 35:36 - I want to pause on that little note right 35:39 there, because this is deep. I mean, I'm 35:42 listening to this. Although I've heard Revelation all 35:45 these years, I understand exactly what you're talking 35:47 about...but I'm feeling this right now. I don't 35:49 use the word 'feel' a lot-my wife knows that- 35:51 but I'm sensing this was a powerful moment 35:54 for both of you, because the Lord is saying, "Hey, 35:57 remember when you were 15"- ah, "when you were 36:00 19..." - 15. - When you were 15-that's right- 36:03 "I knocked on your mind." He used Revelation all 36:07 those years to reveal Himself to you then to 36:10 reveal His truth to you. He's saying, "It's been 36:15 a long journey; but now, which direction are you 36:18 going to go?" And you're sitting in the car, weeping, 36:20 because you're about to disconnect from all 36:21 these people that you love. Tell me about that, 36:24 because there's somebody watching this program. 36:26 There's maybe a pastor watching this program. 36:29 There could be somebody that's saying, "Why does 36:32 that sound like what's happening in our lives 36:33 right now?" "Why does that sound like what 36:36 the Lord is doing to me right now? The Lord 36:37 put these two individuals on this program to tell 36:40 me-wait a minute-I'm coming to the very same 36:43 intersection?" And what you said, Pastor, is 36:45 very important. I want to use this as an appeal 36:47 moment. The Lord may say, "Hey, where you 36:50 are is beautiful, but I have a more direct, 36:53 more beautiful, more full vision for your 36:56 life." So, here you are in the car, now, and you 36:59 both are almost choked up. You're driving home; 37:02 this is a different drive. This is overwhelming. 37:04 Tell us how this happened. - Yeah. - When we went 37:09 through that series and saw those truths- and 37:13 everyone who does love the Lord- I really feel that 37:17 the Lord will lead them to the truth the more 37:20 they hunger and thirst for it. We're on this 37:22 path and this journey, and we get there. And 37:25 now, we've gotta make a choice. There are 37:28 probably many, many listeners out there 37:31 who- you are at a place where you've 37:34 got to make a decision. You either go back the 37:36 way you came from, or you make that leap of 37:38 faith. We chose that we had to- we knew 37:43 at that moment that we needed to leave; we 37:46 needed to be a part of the Remnant Church, 37:48 but we also knew that we couldn't just leave. 37:50 We had to try to bring the church along with 37:52 us. - That's right. People you love. 37:54 - This was an Adventist church where you heard 37:57 the Revelation seminar. - It was the Alpena 37:58 Adventist Church that was putting on the series. We 38:00 didn't know it at the time; but by the time 38:03 it was done, we knew, and by the time I kind 38:06 of got hit that we needed to leave our church, we 38:09 knew it was the Adventist church at that point. - Yes, 38:11 we did. - So, when you go back- now, I want 38:12 to go with you. We're going to walk with you. 38:14 You ready, honey? - Go ahead. - We're going to 38:15 walk with you on that Sunday morning when 38:17 you back to your church where you were. What 38:19 happened that day? - Well, we started to try and lead 38:26 them in the direction, and the Sabbath we 38:29 knew that the law was still applicable... Even 38:34 as we were going through that series, even leading 38:36 up to that point to where, now, we have 38:39 to leave the church, I had been preaching about 38:41 the Sabbath on Sunday. I did it three weeks 38:44 in a row. And on the third week, I literally 38:50 said, "I don't know about you, but I want 38:52 the truth, I need the truth, and I'm going 38:54 to follow the truth even if it leads me 38:57 out that door." - Ooh. That's bold. - And so 39:00 at that point, they knew that we were changing. 39:05 And of course, we're trying to bring them 39:07 along with that, too, but they were resisting. 39:11 - They were comfortable. You know how that is. 39:13 - Yeah, yeah. - You get comfortable; you're 39:15 familiar with your surroundings, and 39:17 you like the traditions that you've always 39:20 known. - Mhm. - Just gotta let go. - Yes. 39:24 - So, we ended up having a- in the non-denominational 39:28 church, you don't have a higher headquarters; 39:30 you just have your own entity. God's timing is 39:34 always perfect. - That's right. - Right after that 39:36 night, we had one more meeting to finalize things, 39:40 and then we were going to have a business meeting 39:41 to vote on who was on our steering committee. 39:47 We didn't have elders, but who was going to 39:49 lead the church, who was going to be in various 39:52 positions, what ministries we were going to support, 39:54 missions, and whether or not to retain the 39:57 pastor. - Which was you. - Which was me. So, I 40:03 only had, really, a yearly contract. Every year, they 40:06 would vote whether or not to retain the pastor. 40:08 So, I went into that meeting, and there 40:13 were various reports, and finally, it got to 40:15 the pastor's report. I said to them, "I 40:18 want to get right to the point. I want to 40:20 bring a nomination before this committee 40:22 that we add to the ballot for the business 40:24 meeting for next week to bring to the congregation 40:27 that we vote to change the day that we worship 40:30 to Saturday. - Wow. And you could've heard 40:34 a pin drop. - Oh, I'm sure. - And it didn't 40:37 take very long to figure out that no one was going 40:39 to second that motion... but I wanted everyone 40:42 to tell me why, because we've been talking to 'em. 40:45 We've been trying to lead them; we've been 40:46 bringing them the truth, trying to get them to go 40:47 to these series, and they kept saying no, 40:50 no, no, and now, they're saying no. I wanted to 40:52 get it recorded in the books they have, and 40:54 I was... Every person told me why, and I was 40:59 very disappointed in the shallowness of their 41:02 answers. But I ended up telling them, "I'm glad 41:08 that you are all in agreement. I wish 41:10 we all are, but Sabrina and I are not. We need 41:15 to leave. So, I want to ask you to take my name 41:18 off of the ballot to be retained as the 41:20 pastor." I got up and I took my keys to the 41:24 building off the ring and I said, "I'm going 41:27 to leave at this point because I'm sure that 41:29 you have a lot to talk about." - Ooh. - And 41:31 I walked out. - I'm not in that meeting with you; 41:35 I'm staying... - Were you there, Sabrina? - No, I 41:38 was not at that meeting. - Okay, so it was just 41:40 you with the board members. - It was a 41:41 heavy moment for you both. - It was a heartbreaking 41:43 moment, because I was very sad. I knew the 41:46 truth, I saw the truth, I was trying to share 41:49 the truth with them, and they were rejecting 41:51 it and I was heartbroken. - That was our family. 41:55 - That was your family. - That was our church 41:57 family. Those were our family. - And so, we 41:59 started attending the Seventh-day Adventist 42:01 Church, and at that time, I really thought 42:08 that's why the Lord brought us to Alpena- 42:11 so I could spend that three months with my 42:12 dad, so that I could pastor this church, 42:16 and then that would get us into the Adventist 42:19 church, and now we've- this is the end of the 42:21 journey that, I'm thinking, and I'm thinking, "I'm done 42:24 as a pastor." - Mhm. - Right. You're thinking- 42:27 right. The Lord is severing you, and 42:29 you're thinking, "Well, we just threw it all 42:31 away. What do we do next?" - Did you get 42:33 baptized? - We got baptized into the 42:35 church, and they put us in positions, and I 42:39 became, eventually, the head elder...but the Lord 42:43 wasn't done with me. He kept working on me 42:46 that I... It was a lifetime calling, 42:50 not a part-time calling. - Not incidental. I want 42:53 to inject this text here, because, you know, this 42:55 came to my mind when you were talking about 42:57 that, and somebody's watching the program 42:59 that might need this verse: Matthew 10:37, 43:01 "He who loves father or mother more than 43:05 Me is not worthy of Me. He who loves son 43:07 or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me." 43:10 You know, one of the calls that the Lord 43:11 extends to our lives, He says, "Follow me, 43:13 and I will make you"... you know, with the 43:15 fishers of men. We know that the "follow me and 43:17 I will make you," and so many people are watching 43:18 or listening to the program, and they're 43:20 not willing to follow the Lord. And Pastor 43:22 Thompson and Sabrina, you both are saying 43:25 you sat before your church. Not many of 43:27 you are having to walk away from an entire 43:30 church as the pastor, but somebody may be 43:32 in that position. But what we're seeing now 43:34 is you never leave anything that God 43:37 doesn't give you something far greater. - Amen. - So, 43:40 here you are. You're head elder in this 43:43 church, in the Adventist church, now, in Alpena... 43:45 But you're a pastor now, and I want to 43:48 find out how that happened. [laughter] 43:50 Take us there. - Well, we thought that we 43:53 were done at that point, but the Lord 43:55 kept working on us. And then, the Lord 43:58 brought me to Matthew 21, to that story of the 44:02 parable of the father who told his two sons 44:05 to go and work in the vineyard. One said yes 44:08 but never went; the other one said no but could change 44:11 his mind. That story became very personal 44:15 to me at that time. The Lord was speaking 44:18 through it to me that I was the son that had 44:21 said no. When I was 15, I had said no. When I 44:24 became a pastor in the non-denominational church, 44:27 they wanted me to go to the seminary. I said no. 44:29 When I came into the Adventist church, they 44:31 asked me, "Are you going to go to the seminary?" 44:33 I said no. [laughter] By two or three things 44:36 is established; but now, I saw that I could change 44:41 my mind. And so, I said to Sabrina, "I need to 44:45 go to the seminary." She said, "It's about 44:49 time." [laughter] - We got to get something 44:52 in perspective here. You're watching this 44:54 as a person on the train but making the journey 44:57 with your husband. How is this happening? How 44:59 is this impacting your life? - Well, it definitely 45:04 changes your life. We moved from San 45:08 Diego, we moved to Alpena, and that's 45:09 a big change right there. He's working it as a 45:13 professional, then he's a pastor of a church. 45:16 I become a pastor's wife, you know? So, 45:20 that's a definite big change, in a good way. 45:23 I mean, here we are. We've made all these 45:25 steps, and we're growing with the Lord through all 45:28 of this. That's a blessing. He has really blessed us. 45:33 We're at the Alpena church, and yes, we 45:36 left our family members- you know, our church 45:38 family-but we gained a whole 'nother one. 45:41 [Amen.] - And we still had contact with those 45:44 other ones occasionally. We had a whole new family. 45:49 Without them, this would have been really 45:51 hard to do. You rely on your family, you 45:56 know? They're your support just like the 45:58 Lord is our support, also. And then, he's 46:03 wanting to go to the seminary... - And the 46:09 Lord worked that whole thing out. - Yes, He did. 46:11 - Did you go? - I went to the Michigan Conference 46:15 Leadership. I felt that we needed to be not 46:17 only a Seventh-day pastor but in Michigan. I felt like 46:21 this is why the Lord was leading us here, 46:23 so I went to the leadership and I talked to them, and 46:26 they said, "Well, we don't do anything unless 46:29 the Lord moves us." I said, "Of course; I 46:32 don't either," but we started making plans. 46:35 I was going to finish up my bachelor's degree, I 46:37 was going to retire from the military (I 46:40 had joined when we got to Alpena), I got approved 46:43 to start school at Andrews in May of 2000... - Shh. 46:48 - That's okay. - That's fine. - 2013, and so 46:54 it got time to where I finished my bachelor's 46:57 degree, I was going to retire from the military, 47:00 and I got a call from the Michigan Conference, 47:02 "We'd like you to come down and talk to us." 47:04 And in my mind, I was thinking that I'll be at 47:08 Andrews, going to school, and maybe, they'll make me 47:11 an associate pastor somewhere in the area, 47:15 and maybe we'll get a little financial help. 47:17 So, I was thinking, "Okay, this could be 47:19 a good thing." And so, we went down there, and 47:22 we interviewed with them, and they said, 47:26 "Well, we don't think that it would be any 47:31 benefit to make you an associate pastor; 47:33 you already are one. And we don't want you 47:36 inactive while you're in school. Would you 47:40 consider pastoring a couple of churches and 47:44 going to school part-time?" - Oh! - Wow. - And I just 47:47 looked at Sabrina and smiled, and I said to 47:49 them, "That's what we've been praying for." - Amen. 47:52 Amen. - And so, they worked it out for us. 47:56 And I just finished my last two classes in 47:59 January for the seminary. - Praise the Lord! Amen! 48:03 - I'm going to give you a two-hander on that. 48:04 That's a praise-the-Lord. - What a journey. What 48:08 about your father? Did we end...? - My father 48:11 was trying to come into the church with my mom, 48:17 but when my sister died, he became very bitter 48:21 and angry. But I got that opportunity to 48:24 witness to him. I wasn't there the day before he 48:30 died, but my sister said, "He wants to talk to you, 48:34 and he wants to," essentially, "give 48:37 his heart to the Lord." Well, I was very upset 48:39 with myself because I hadn't been there, but 48:41 the Lord is so gracious. He gave me peace that 48:44 he could make that decision without me. 48:46 - Amen. - That's right. - And I have hope, even 48:48 though it may be a mustard seed, I have 48:50 a slither of hope that my dad will be in heaven. 48:53 - That's right. I know- I mean, I share that 48:55 with you. We both have lost our parents. But 49:02 God always has a final say in that. We look 49:05 at your journey. You know, Jeremiah 29:11, 49:07 "'For I know the thoughts I think toward you,' says 49:10 the Lord, 'thoughts of peace and not of evil 49:12 to give you a future and a hope.'" And now, 49:14 you both have a future and a hope-hope that 49:18 you'll see your dad again and a future in ministry 49:21 which, when I walk? this, what's so nice 49:23 about this, Angie, is I'm hearing our lives. 49:25 - Aw... That's beautiful. I know. I'm hearing all 49:29 the- you're right, 'cause we had at our 49:31 journey that we've been on, also...but it's been- 49:35 - And we all do. - Every one has a story. - Your 49:38 journey may be a little bit different, but God 49:40 is faithful. - That's most important. Amen. 49:43 So you're pastoring two churches now. 49:45 - Yes. - Praise God. - That's amazing. 49:47 And Sabrina, I take my hat off to you, because 49:50 my wife went through what you went through. 49:52 You know, the Lord calls men, but he 49:54 doesn't just call the men; he calls the wife, 49:57 too. And when my wife and I... I always say 50:00 this. I know this is not a theological thing, but 50:02 I believe that when I was ordained, the Lord 50:04 anointed both of us for ministry, because I could 50:07 not be, we could not be where we are today had 50:10 the Lord not called both of us. We're going to take 50:12 a short break, a short news break, and on the 50:14 other side of that, we'll come back with 50:16 a few closing thoughts. So, don't go away. |
Revised 2019-04-16