I guess this spot is where I'm supposed to tell a little bit about me - so here it goes. I am a husband of a wonderful wife for 27 years. Her name is Kathy and she is an absolute blessing to me. We are both trained in Nursing; we spent our early years working in Emergency Rooms, the next few in Home Care, and our last 14 years in the Ministry. We are Senior Pastors of a wonderful congregation called Cross Current Church (http://ccchurches.com). We have three great sons! Nicholas is a History/English teacher. Jason is studying Physics at the University of Michigan; he hopes to pursue medicine and research. Wade is also at the University of Michigan studying Math; he is a genius who will one day be a Fields Medal Winner (at least that's what his dad boasts).

O.K. that was a little background now let me tell you why I'm here doing a World Race blog. In August of 2006 Kathy and I were coming home after leaving our two youngest at college for the first time. We had lived through this once before with our oldest - but now we were sending our "babies" off to school. And although they would be together, we would feel alone. For the first time we experienced what it meant to be "empty nesters" and it didn't feel so great at first (now we quite enjoy it).

We had given the last two and a half decades to these boys and now they were gone. I remember turning to Kathy through sobs and saying "all I know how to do is be a father!" Though she didn't verbalize it, I could tell through her sobs that she felt the same way about mothering. Those words kept coming back to me over and over again - "all I know how to do is be a father". In fact I still hear them; it has become my mantra for life. Those words and that thought completely revolutionized the focus of my life and ministry. I had always loved kids of all ages. As nurses and pastors we had hugged, encouraged, prayed for, and held thousands of young people; but now I saw my purpose. I was to be a father and allow God to expand my family.

A father loves, encourages, holds to comfort, disciplines to correct, helps establish boundaries, laughs and cries with his children. He mentors prayer, faith, character, worship, and ultimately sonship of the One True Father. I began to give myself to these things. I downloaded useless meetings and ramped up discipleship. This change in focus has given my life purpose and rhythm. What fulfillment I have experienced!

Now enter Adventures in Missions and World Race. Kathy and I just launched 28 of the sharpest 21 - 30 + year olds we have ever met. They will be traveling to 11 international locations in 11 months. They will do the work of the kingdom - feed, clothe, build, pray, heal, in short bring "the good news" to the nations. And guess what? Kathy and I get to parent them by training, loving, praying, and encouraging them; I get an opportunity to continue being a father, to expand my family. Now we have two churches the one in Port Huron Michigan and the one called World Race January '08. I love it!