A New Creation: Chapter 2

My journey began in February 2004, when I accepted an invitation from a good friend, and fellow co-worker, named Todd Toerper, to attend a worship service at Living Word Community Church. To this day, I have no explanation for why I accepted Todd’s invitation other than it was all part of God’s master plan for my life.

I did not attend church as a child or an adult, outside of the occasional Easter service, wedding, or funeral. I had never read the Bible and knew precious little about Jesus, other than what I learned from movies like Ben Hur.  Looking back now, I guess you could say I was a Deist, although I certainly did not know it at the time. I always believed there was a higher power who created the universe, for how else could you explain its complexity and how all things work together in such beautiful harmony? But beyond that, I really never gave God much thought, and I certainly never thought of Him as being personally involved in my life.

Since meeting Todd in December of 2001, I had declined his invitation on multiple occasions. Each time Todd extended an invitation, he would simply say, “Why don’t you meet me at Living Word this Sunday?” He would never attempt to persuade me or provide a reason that I should accept his invitation. And he never attempted to evangelize or share the Gospel with me. All he would say is, “Why don’t you meet me at Living Word this Sunday?”

By the time I finally accepted Todd’s invitation in February of 2004, we had become very good friends and he had become a mentor to me, both personally and professionally. As fate would have it, our respective roles in the organization caused us to spend a great deal of time together and his influence on me began to steadily increase. Most people are drawn to Todd because of his affable personality and unconventional sense of humor. And these qualities certainly drew me to him in the early stages of our relationship. But as time went on, I began to realize there was a depth to Todd that very few people possess. It would be fair to say that I had never met anyone like him. He was so completely unlike anyone I had ever known. And he was everything that I was not at the time.

Here are just a few observations I can share with you that best illustrate the distinctiveness of Todd’s personality & character:

• He was never in a hurry and always made time for others
• He never exhibited any degree of frustration or stress, and always remained calm regardless of the circumstances
• Without fail, he always displayed empathy for others and went out of his way to encourage them and lift their spirits
• He made everyone feel important no matter their relationship, position, or station in life
• His perpetual disposition was always one of love, joy, peace, and contentment
• He brought happiness to all who were fortunate enough to find themselves in his presence
• He was unfailingly kind and always putting others ahead of himself
• He never sought attention or accolades, and always gave credit to others for his achievements
• He refused to engage in gossip or speak ill of anyone behind their back

There are so many adjectives I could use to describe Todd, but if I had to choose one it would be joyful. And as I would later discover, that joy was the source of so many of the wonderful attributes he possessed which attracted others to him. So by February of 2004, I felt compelled to finally accept Todd’s invitation to attend a service at Living Word Community Church in the hope that I too might discover the source of that joy which was so manifest in his life.

To be continued…