My Story – Dave Shoemaker

May, 2018

Bill,

The impetus of this letter came over dinner just a couple hours after our recent visit with you. As we sat in a festive restaurant overlooking a marina, Sherry and I were both subdued and reflective. Lest you think we were focused on you, know that it was because we had just been told they were fresh out of stone crab claws. Not!

Knowingly, she asked me, “What are you thinking about?”

My answer: “Bill.”

“Yes, I know. What about him?”

I had been mulling this over quite a while; well before our visit. “I question, ‘what does he want?’ How does one respond when he knows his time is quite limited, that each visit may well be the last? What would I do?”

“What would you do?” You don’t have to be a life coach to ask questions like this, but they certainly do come naturally to my wife.

“Me? I’d want to spend time with family and friends. If I were up to it, I’d probably want to visit some places I had not previously seen. But that wouldn’t be as important for me as sharing with people I care about. I’d want them to know what I see in them, what I hope for them, and how significant they have been for me. I’d want them to know I wasn’t afraid to die and why. In fact, I have no doubt my terminal state would become a platform for me to share my faith with all I know.”

After a contemplative pause, my best friend asked me, “What are you waiting for?”

I’m not waiting anymore. Bill, I want to share with you, the assurance God has given me of eternal life with Him, so that you can have the hope that I do for what comes next. Believing in what God tells us in the Bible and experiencing it in my life leads me to want the same hope and promise for anyone that doesn’t have it. I know I risk offending you by sharing this with you. I’m willing to accept that as the price for the potential that you can live with God forever. Allow me please to share how I came to trust in that hope and what has happened since I first did…

Just a little more…

Somewhere in late 1996 or early ’97, I crawled out of bed and stared at myself in the mirror, slightly hungover most likely. I didn’t like what I saw. The guy in the mirror was trying to show everyone what a success he was – the big deals, nice house and cool cars, exotic vacations – all shouting “Look at me!” I had grown from an upbringing in a simple farm community to a high-flying Sales VP for a thriving software company and was reaching for all the shiny objects this world had to offer. I identified with the Rockefeller response when asked how much was enough; “Just a little more.” The values of my moral, country rearing were barely visible below the surface, if you looked hard enough. I was not the man/husband/father I wanted to be, let alone who God desired.

I decided to go back to church. I say “back” because I was raised in a church-going family. My dad was the Sunday School Superintendent and Church Council President, Mom sang in the choir and played piano and organ, they were both heavily involved in all the social events the church sponsored to raise money. My sister and I went everywhere our parents went. So, we both had long strings of perfect attendance pins from many years of Sunday School. As I aged, I followed my father’s path leading the church services when our pastor was away and serving as church council president at the ripe old age of 21. But something was missing from my character that my father lived by – humility and integrity. I chanted our Sunday liturgy because I liked performing and served on the Council to be seen as a leader. My leadership was challenged when an elder council member found out I was living with my girlfriend. I stepped down and stayed away from any meaningful church participation for the next 20 years.

Back to the 90’s… As, I considered where I might try out a church, I ventured down the road from my house about ¼ mile (convenient, don’t ya think?) to a local Presbyterian church. The next week I went back and the third week as well. After the service that third week, a man came up to me and just about poked me in the chest. “I wanna get to know you,” he barked. “I’m not sure I want to get to know you,” I thought. He told me that a few men get together at the Suburban Diner in Feasterville at 7 on Saturday mornings. “You’re expected,” was his parting challenge.

I’m still not sure why, but I went. Six guys were sitting around a table on a Saturday morning talking about some heavy stuff: finances, drinking, gambling, porn, integrity. One man asked another, “Did you get that thing done with your daughter as you said last week?” I didn’t know it was called accountability at the time, but I knew I needed it, so I kept coming back every Saturday morning I was home.

These men were reading and discussing a book together; The 7 Promises of a Promise Keeper. I got a copy and started reading. It challenged my “manhood” as the man God created me to be. I found myself in hotels sitting by myself over dinner reading/studying this book, imagining the lifestyle changes necessary to be what God created me to be; half scared, half excited. One Saturday morning, a few months into our breakfast meetings, an event was announced that was to take place in Washington DC; did I want to come along? I thought that sounded like a good next step, “Yes.” My son, Jason, 13 at the time, agreed to join me.

One in a Million

On Saturday morning, October 4, 1997, the guys I had been doing breakfast with, along with men’s groups from several other churches boarded buses at 4AM headed for our nation’s capital. Arriving in downtown DC the crowds were hard to navigate. Trying to keep Jason in tow, we found an area at the fringe of trees on the north side of the mall. It was hard to take in what we were seeing; more than one million men had gathered on the mall between the Capital and Washington Monument, men of all ages and colors. No athletic competition, public event, or rock concert ever prepared me for a gathering of testosterone like this one.

There was a lot of singing, guys were hugging (that was just weird to me then) and then the speakers started sharing. The second man to take the podium spoke directly to me. He talked about a man’s need for purpose; to find satisfaction and fulfillment in what he does, and an understanding of not only who he is, but whose. He pointed to all the things we use to try to fill that void: money, power, sex, drugs/alcohol, control (add yours…). “Yes, yes, yes… how did you know that I was going to be here and needed to hear that?” And all those things we were chasing to find contentment were simply widening the chasm between us and God. He said that we were created with a God-sized hole in our heart; one that could only be satisfied by a personal relationship with God’s Son, Jesus Christ. He said that by accepting God’s offer to believe in His son’s birth, death and resurrection, we would be granted eternal life and, with the help of the Holy Spirit who would now live within us, we would know our purpose. I wanted that! The speaker led us in a prayer to acknowledge our sins, thank God for sending His son to die for our sins and rise from the dead, and invite Jesus to lead our life as Lord and Savior. As I prayed that prayer, a hand joined mine; Jason was praying as well.

Fruit from a Branch

I was raised a farmer. My first job was at 12 years old, working for a local farmer for $.50/hour. All my uncles were farmers and my dad’s brother had 600 acres of orchards where I worked all through high school and college – and loved it. There just wasn’t enough money in it for this aspiring millionaire.

I grew to know a lot about trees and fruit. I learned the proper way to trim trees to yield the best fruit and guarantee the longevity of the tree and a substantial return over its life.

As I grew in my faith, I read the Bible and was led by men who were more mature in their faith. I learned that this accountability would remain as vital in my growth as a Christian as it was in my becoming one. When I read the 15th chapter of John, I was excited to learn what God, the ultimate gardener, wanted for me.

Jesus said, “I am the true Vine and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, while very branch that does bear fruit He prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.” John 15:1,2

Wow! God wants me to know that Jesus is the vine (or the tree); that gives everything needed to sustain the branch (me). The only way I exist, grow, and produce anything of worth is to remain attached to the Vine. My life, if it is to be of any value, is fully dependent on the Vine – Jesus. The understanding was immediate, not only in terms of potential, but also the downside:

“If anyone does not remain in Me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.” John 15:6

The path to follow was clear along with the assurance:

“If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to My Father’s glory, that you will bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be My disciples.” John 15:7,8

Hope for What’s Next… and Forever.

Bill, the truth of the saving power of Jesus Christ can be evidenced in the transformation of my life (and many others). There is what’s seen on the surface, such as:

• the drunk who’s not touched a drink in more than 17 years
• the work God called me to in 2008 of helping business owners & CEOs aspire to the potential for which He created them (I recently found an entry in my journal from 3+ years earlier, May/05: I think God is showing me He wants me to work with owners to bring them together in a safe environment where they can help each other grow and lead businesses that honor Him.)
• the countless miracles that can’t be explained by anything other than God’s touch

And, there’s what is not seen:

• the elimination of destructive character flaws that threatened my well-being and that of those close to me
• the restoration of my marriage from the brink of no-return.

God has been faithful in His provision. There is a mantra, the founder of the C12 Group repeats often: We will always have everything we need to do all God asks of us. I’ve experienced this time and time again. It’s a paraphrase of 2 Corinthians 9:8:

And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.

It is because I’ve seen what God says in the Bible manifest in my life as I’ve believed and followed it, that I offer it to you and others. Billy Graham helped millions to understand the truth of God’s grace to us offered in the forgiveness and redemption of His Son, Jesus Christ. He preached and led revivals in more than one hundred countries. And each time he preached, Dr. Graham referred to the same verse as his primary message. It’s the same verse that is on his tombstone; the message he delivered and wanted to leave for every man who would ever listen:

Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life; no one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6

Bill, I don’t know where you stand in your faith with God and your assurance of eternity with Him in heaven. I do know that I love you and I want to know that when we pass from this life that we’ll be in heaven for all time. Should there be any doubt about that, you can be assured of your eternal home right now. There are many ways to accept Christ’s gift of grace and invite him into your life. You can simply pray something like the following:

Lord Jesus, I know I am a sinner. I thank You for dying on my behalf so that my sins might be forgiven and, by believing in your life, death and resurrection, I might spend eternity with You in heaven. Please come into my life and lead me as my Lord and Savior. Thank You. Amen.