Hi, let me introduce myself to you.
I am Rod Skeen, the pastor of Calvary Chapel of Pendleton, or
CCOP as we like to call ourselves. My wife, Denise, and I have
been married for 22+ wonderful years and we have three terrific
sons; Emmitt (15), Colton (13), and Ryan (11). I accepted
Jesus as my personal Lord and Savior at age 5, but did not really
learn to let him be the Lord of my life until I was a junior
in college. At that time, I was fed-up with the mess I had made
of my life. God, in his wonderful providence, brought me a roommate
who not only loved Jesus, but was willing to live it in front
of me. It was great! For a year I watched and imitated him as
he followed Jesus. He read the bible and prayed every day, so
I read the bible and prayed every day. He memorized scripture,
so I memorized scripture. He hung-out with other believers, so
I hung-out with other believers. He spoke openly of his faith,
so I spoke openly about my faith. As the year progressed, I began
to realize that Jesus wanted a close relationship with me. He
wanted to talk with me. He wanted to guide me through the pitfalls
of life. He wanted to be my lord and master. He wanted me to
lay down my life, take up my cross, and follow him. With all
the love he had shown me, how could I not obey?
The following six years were a time of
great spiritual growth. Through the rest of my undergraduate
work at Washington State University (GO COUGS!), I continued
to learn to rely daily on the Lord. I also became more involved
with a campus fellowship, where Denise and I met. By the time
we were married, it was already decided that we would stay at
WSU and I would attend graduate school since I had the opportunity
to study under a professor who was a strong believer in Jesus.
As it turned out, he was not only my advisor, but also a spiritual
mentor, and our landlord! For five years, Denise and I rented
a basement apartment in his home and were privileged to watch
he and his wife serve Jesus. We were also busy growing in the
Lord and leading home bible studies for young couples.
After finishing graduate school, our life
took a radical turn for the worse. Beginning a "career"
in engineering shifted my focus from serving the Lord to making
myself successful. The joyful times Denise and I had serving
the Lord together were displaced by my continual pursuit of success.
Home became a place of grumbling and complaining, not a place
were the gospel was proclaimed. Sure, I looked OK on the outside.
I attended church, I was still in the Word and was praying daily,
but my heart was stone-cold. I didn't want to hear what the Lord's
will was for my life because I had my own plans.
Praise Jesus he did not leave me in that
condition! After 5 years of empire building, God, in his infinite
grace, let it all collapse. There was nothing I could do! I helplessly
watched all I had worked for fall apart around me. "God,
why are you letting this happen?" Was all I could pray.
"God, don't you love me?" "Don't you want me to
be successful?" His answer was simple, "I want your
heart and I won't share it with another."
As the situation worsened, I found that
I could no longer be self-sufficient and self-important. I NEEDED
JESUS! I needed him every moment of every day. What a great place
to be, because when Jesus is all we have, he is free to work
in awesome power.
It has been several years since Jesus
brought me back to my knees. The time has been a radical walk
of faith as he has transformed our home from a place of seclusion
to a place of ministry. Along the way, Jesus called me to pastor
Calvary Chapel of Pendleton. What a dramatic transition from engineering! Truly,
it is a blessing to serve the Lord!
God Bless |
