Latest / Mission SONlight CHATT / Mission SONlight Chatt Season 4 Ep. 39 Ron du Preez - Minister
Transcript
- 0:01From the media missionaries of Network 7, this
- 0:04is Mission Sunlight Chat, and we are at the General
- 0:07Conference Sessions Exhibit Hall in St. Louis,
- 0:11Missouri, where the General Conference is having
- 0:13the every five -year business meeting of the
- 0:15Seventh -day Adventist Church. Delighted to be
- 0:18here amongst hundreds of other exhibitors, thousands
- 0:22of other individuals who are sharing what Jesus
- 0:25is doing, where they work, where they live, institutions
- 0:28all over the world. And it is exciting to hear
- 0:32their stories. I'm your host, Christopher Beeson.
- 0:34Jordan Wagner over on the technical side of things.
- 0:37And Pastor Ron Dupre from a long time relationship
- 0:43and friendship with me and my family. Pastor
- 0:47Ron, thank you for joining us. It's good to be
- 0:49here. Excited to hear about your ministry and
- 0:51what you are up to today. But before we do anything,
- 0:54would you open us with a word of prayer? I'd
- 0:57be glad to. Thank you. Holy Father. It's such
- 1:00a privilege to have the chance to continue to
- 1:03share wherever we are and right now. And we pray
- 1:07that you'll bless us as we talk and as we share
- 1:11the bounties of your blessings. So guide and
- 1:15direct our conversation. In Jesus' precious name,
- 1:17amen. Amen. Pastor Ron, full disclosure, you
- 1:23and I have known each other for going on around
- 1:2630 years. So long that you didn't even remember
- 1:31my final exam in college that I took with you,
- 1:34but I remember. I'm going to tell folks about
- 1:37that final exam in the third segment. Jordan,
- 1:40Pastor Ron, don't let me forget to share that,
- 1:42but I'm going to save it for the end because
- 1:43we have more important business to discuss. And
- 1:46that is, Ron, if you don't mind, would you share
- 1:49us? with us from your early years of living,
- 1:53where you grew up, what your family was like,
- 1:55and most importantly, how you connected with
- 1:57Jesus Christ. Originally from that country thousands
- 2:01of miles away from the United States called South
- 2:04Africa. Born and raised there. I'm thankful I
- 2:08was raised in a Seventh -day Adventist family.
- 2:10My father and my mother, both Seventh -day Adventists.
- 2:12My mom was a Bible worker early on, and my dad
- 2:17did many things. He was a dorm dean. pastor,
- 2:22serving in the church, missionary to the island
- 2:24of St. Helena. So I was privileged really in
- 2:27that sense to be raised in this church. Most
- 2:31of my years I went to 7th Avenue schools. And
- 2:34of course by the time I was 12, as many kids
- 2:37around that age, especially in my country, we
- 2:41were baptized. And I was thankful to make that
- 2:44decision. However, little confession here. Even
- 2:48though I was baptized, I did not really have
- 2:51that personal walk with Jesus. I was glad to
- 2:55have the positive peer pressure, as I call it,
- 2:58to join my friends in, you know, being baptized
- 3:02by immersion. And that was 1963. Went on, continued
- 3:08to go to school, felt the Lord calling me into
- 3:10ministry, ironically. I use the word ironically
- 3:14because I had a heart to serve. At one stage
- 3:17I wanted to be a medical doctor. It was clear
- 3:20the Lord redirected me into going to study theology.
- 3:23But as I've been honestly telling people more
- 3:26recently, I knew the doctrines, but I didn't
- 3:30know the Lord of the Bible, Jesus Christ. And
- 3:34it was after I graduated from the four years
- 3:37of theology, ironically, I knew the theory. had
- 3:41knowledge. Yes, but I didn't have that deep,
- 3:44deep personal walk with Jesus. And it was subsequent
- 3:48to graduating that I ended up with a personal
- 3:51crisis. Long story short, my mother had gotten
- 3:54desperately ill, and this was before the age
- 3:57of cell phones, and so I had no idea how to get
- 4:00a hold of her. We didn't even have a landline
- 4:03at home at that time. So I prayed. I prayed to
- 4:06the Father that I had basically ignored. even
- 4:09though I knew about my Father in heaven. I prayed
- 4:12for a miracle, basically. I said, Lord, I've
- 4:15got to get home. I was 1 ,000 miles or so from
- 4:18home, and I prayed for the Lord to provide, and
- 4:20He did. He got me a ride for the first 300 miles
- 4:23or so. And then I stood on the road back in the
- 4:2670s hitchhiking, and the first car that pulled
- 4:29over. was a Mercedes -Benz. And I thought, huh?
- 4:33Mercedes -Benz has never stopped for hitchhikers.
- 4:36And so I didn't go to it. I stood there, but
- 4:38the car stayed there. And I ran up eventually,
- 4:41and the driver said, do you want to ride or not?
- 4:43I said, yes, I do. Because there was not just
- 4:46a Mercedes -Benz. It was a new Mercedes -Benz.
- 4:48And to this day, I'll never forget how I sat
- 4:51down and I sank into the plush seats. The car
- 4:54was brand new. Bought it a few months before.
- 4:57And I thought, wow, Lord, you really do answer
- 4:59my prayer today. And he gave me a ride, by the
- 5:02way, from that place 600 miles to my destination.
- 5:07Wow. It was amazing how God answered. Not only
- 5:10that, that he took me all the way to my apartments
- 5:12where my dad was, and he could tell me about
- 5:14my mom. But the prayer was answered in other
- 5:17ways. You know, within a few minutes, he asked
- 5:19me, do you have a license? I said, yes, I was
- 5:21in my 20s. And he slammed the brakes and he said,
- 5:25why don't you drive? And I thought, wow, here
- 5:27I'm a 20 -something -year -old guy with a driver's
- 5:30license driving a brand new Mercedes -Benz. I
- 5:31thought, this is so awesome. And thankfully,
- 5:34I had some Adventist music with me. And I said,
- 5:37hey, do you mind? And I, no problem. And so I
- 5:40took my back then cassettes, I popped them into
- 5:43the stereo, and I turned on. I thought, this
- 5:46is awesome. Here I am in a Mercedes driving it,
- 5:49listening to Adventists. And then the guy said,
- 5:53are you hungry? I said, yeah. I asked a 20 -something
- 5:56-year -old guy, and he says, why don't we stop
- 5:58at the nearest gas station? We pull over, go
- 6:01to the nearest place to eat, and you order whatever
- 6:04you want, and I'll pay. I couldn't believe this.
- 6:08It was like God was saying, you have ignored
- 6:10me for years. You know about me, but I want to
- 6:14show you that I care about you. And it was that
- 6:17night at 12 minutes to midnight. November 24,
- 6:221975. I said, okay, Lord, tomorrow morning, which
- 6:31I know God is reasonable. It was just before
- 6:33midnight. I was exhausted. I was excited. I said,
- 6:36tomorrow morning, I start serving you with a
- 6:38full heart. Made that personal commitment. From
- 6:42the next day, I began to spend time in the Word,
- 6:44began to spend time with the Lord. And I changed
- 6:48what I was doing from hitchhiking to hitch witnessing.
- 6:52And that was a transformation. And I would hitchhike
- 6:54back then, reasonably safe, and I would hand
- 6:57out Bibles, meet people, share the faith that
- 7:01God had helped me to understand as a personal
- 7:04relationship. And I'm ever thankful for His grace.
- 7:08Amen. What a testimony. Did you mention your
- 7:12siblings? I had one sister who unfortunately
- 7:15passed away before I could share with her the
- 7:18story of my conversion. She loved the Lord, and
- 7:22she said to my parents before she passed, don't
- 7:25worry about me, Mom and Dad. I love Jesus. I
- 7:29know by His grace I'll be in the resurrection.
- 7:32Amen. So I look forward to telling her my story
- 7:35of how God answered my prayer miraculously. And
- 7:41since then, it's been a wonderful journey with
- 7:44Jesus, joyful journey with Jesus. Amen. Ron,
- 7:50I want to delve into what you are doing now in
- 7:53ministry. We're going to take a break here for
- 7:55a moment, and then we'll come back to that and
- 7:57let you share maybe the rest of the story. Because
- 8:01you can't tell what you're doing now without
- 8:03telling a bit about the rest of the story. Correct.
- 8:06Ron Dupre, thank you so much for being with us.
- 8:08Thank you to our listeners and our viewers who
- 8:11are part of the program today. You're a blessing
- 8:13to us to have you as our audience. What else
- 8:16would be a blessing is if you share the stories
- 8:19that you're hearing here with another friend.
- 8:21Click that share button on your device and text
- 8:26it to someone. Text the link, email the link,
- 8:29however you want to pass it on to another person.
- 8:32Share it with a friend or an enemy, whoever you'd
- 8:34like it to go to. and let them know that you're
- 8:36listening to Mission Sunlight Chat. Connect with
- 8:39us at missionsunlight .org. Of course, you can
- 8:42find out more about what Network 7 is doing,
- 8:44and you can click the Donate button there and
- 8:47continue to support programs like you're hearing
- 8:49today. Thank you, thank you, thank you for however
- 8:52you choose to connect. We'll be back in a moment
- 8:54with more Mission Sunlight Chat. Being a media
- 9:06missionary can mean many different things. It
- 9:08means the love of a home at the heart of the
- 9:11planet. The intrepid spirit of a village and
- 9:14the vibe of a great metropolis. It means camera
- 9:18one and camera two. It means transforming a school,
- 9:22orphanage, or hospital. It means fire, rain,
- 9:26ice, and snow. It means gifts by the dollar and
- 9:31by the check. It means donations that roll and
- 9:35donations that fly. It's a movement on a trail
- 9:40or down a motorway. It means family. All of us
- 9:46together. And individually. It's who you are
- 9:50or who you are becoming. And to her, it's a simple
- 9:55gesture that means hope. Whatever it means to
- 9:58you, being a media missionary means more than
- 10:02you might think. Welcome back to Mission Sunlight
- 10:13Chat from the General Conference Sessions Exhibit
- 10:15Hall. There are exhibitors. All around us, it
- 10:18is a Friday afternoon here, so lots of folks
- 10:21coming into town for this final weekend of the
- 10:24session. It's the church's business meeting held
- 10:26every five years, but it's not just a business
- 10:29meeting. They elect officers, they work on policy
- 10:32adjustments, but they also share and network
- 10:35what the world is doing around the globe, and
- 10:38it's really an exciting time for us to be here
- 10:40with 50, 60, maybe more than that, 1 ,000 people.
- 10:45who are here to witness and be a part of the
- 10:49church's work around the world and to witness
- 10:52and encourage and approve what we are doing here
- 10:55as a Seventh -day Adventist church. I'm thankful
- 10:58to have one of my college mentors and friends
- 11:01and professors here with me. There's an interesting
- 11:05story about the very last class that I took from
- 11:08him. We're going to share that in the third segment.
- 11:09Can you tell I'm a little excited to share that?
- 11:14Pastor Ron Dupre, thank you for joining me. It
- 11:17is my very special privilege. I think you are
- 11:21the second professor that I have had the privilege
- 11:24of interviewing. The other one you well know,
- 11:27Dr. Derek Morris, has been on our program. So
- 11:31if you want to know more about my college experience
- 11:33between these two, they'll learn a few things
- 11:34if you check out Dr. Morris' Mission Sunlight
- 11:38Chat program. Ron, you... came to Jesus after
- 11:43four years of school of theology, not through
- 11:47any one of those classes, but when your mother
- 11:50was in a health crisis. You just shared that
- 11:52story and how God treated you so lovingly and
- 11:55kindly as you went to connect with her. Tell
- 11:58us what happened when you did connect with her.
- 11:59How did that go? Thank God she got through the
- 12:03health crisis. Oh, I was so thankful for that.
- 12:06And long story short, she lived to 90 years of
- 12:10age. And I was able to continue to connect with
- 12:14her and spend time and minister to her because,
- 12:16you know, age and eventually she came down with
- 12:19dementia as best we can figure it out. It wasn't
- 12:23analyzed medically. But I was... You know, close
- 12:27to my mom. And so God answered that prayer. And
- 12:31she lived a rich life. She played the organ,
- 12:34the piano, active in ministry. She was a choir
- 12:37director. And I was blessed by my parents, who
- 12:40were a blessing to many others. And so God spared
- 12:43her life and gave me the opportunity to have
- 12:46that transformation of my heart because of the
- 12:50miraculously answered prayer. Amen. So take us
- 12:54from there. Where did you end up going after
- 12:56college? What was the next steps? I worked in
- 12:58commercial work, ironically, for a couple of
- 13:00years to raise money to come to the United States
- 13:02because I felt God calling me for further study.
- 13:05Went to Andrews University, finished a master's
- 13:08degree there, and then signed up to go as a student
- 13:11missionary to South Korea. And within six weeks
- 13:16of me arriving in South Korea, a young lady arrived
- 13:19from... another Adventist college called Union
- 13:23College, now Union Adventist University. I met
- 13:26her the day she arrived. A little short story.
- 13:29The moment I saw her, a thought shot through
- 13:32my mind, this is the gal I want to marry. And
- 13:35as for the young people out there, I often tell
- 13:37them, no, it wasn't love at first sight. It was
- 13:41recognition of potential at initial observation.
- 13:48Leave it to a pastor to complicate it. Well,
- 13:51you know, when I say that, I say that because
- 13:52I tell people, you know, love grows. Maybe I
- 13:54should say leave it to a professor to complicate
- 13:56it. I tell them love grows. But I saw something
- 13:59in that gal. And this year we're celebrating
- 14:01our 46th wedding anniversary. Lucky Linda. That's
- 14:05right. So God has really blessed us. And so I'm
- 14:09thankful for that. And then that's one of the
- 14:11side benefits of serving as a student missionary.
- 14:13I don't want to gloss over this moment. Linda
- 14:15is a pretty extraordinary woman. She has. has
- 14:18been a true asset to your ministry through the
- 14:20years. Correct. And she has tolerated a lot of
- 14:23different moves in a lot of different places.
- 14:26I knew you as a professor, but I've watched you
- 14:29in your later years of work and also in your
- 14:32retirement. You have not stopped. You've been
- 14:34in places like Bangladesh for a few years, right?
- 14:37You said tolerated. Let me add, not just tolerated.
- 14:42She is jumping with both feet. She is a trooper.
- 14:45She is an adventurer in her own right. And I'm
- 14:48glad I didn't have to drag her so much as much.
- 14:51She's excited. I'll tell you that. I'm thankful
- 14:53for that. All right, give us the cliff notes
- 14:56of where your ministry took you. Well, wow, so
- 14:58many places, seven countries. How can I give
- 15:00you the cliff notes? And I served as pastor,
- 15:03administrator, teacher, professor. So many opportunities,
- 15:09so much blessed. And I want to mention Southern,
- 15:12obviously, five years there. four years in Zimbabwe,
- 15:16serving there as a professor, Bangladesh, where
- 15:19I was college professor, a pastor in the Michigan
- 15:22Conference, in Kansas -Nebraska Conference, in
- 15:26Oregon Conference, in Arizona Conference, and
- 15:30currently in the South Eastern California Conference.
- 15:33There's the CliffsNotes. Wow. Yes. And I haven't
- 15:37mentioned Japan or Guam or serving. In Kenya,
- 15:43most recently, during retirement. After I retired
- 15:45at the age of 70, they found out I was retired,
- 15:48and they said, hey, would you come and teach
- 15:49for us? Would you come and be administrator for
- 15:52us? So I ended up as doctor of ministry, interim
- 15:54coordinator, and teaching a full -time load,
- 15:57and running tours of the Middle East and Europe
- 16:00simultaneously. So I've been a little busy. Seems
- 16:03like you've been bored, Ron, just bored to death.
- 16:05And then the Southeastern California Conference
- 16:07asked if I'd come back to full -time pastoring,
- 16:10which I'm not. right now doing, serving there
- 16:13at a small town called Beaumont, a congregation
- 16:17there. And I live in the town of Banning. That's
- 16:19what I'm currently doing. You know, the thing
- 16:21about being, so I do a little ministry too, but
- 16:25as a volunteer for the most part, the thing about
- 16:29that is when you're doing it, you can just put
- 16:32your heart in it. And if people aren't excited
- 16:34about it. Okay, I'll find somewhere else I can
- 16:37volunteer. It doesn't beat you up so much when
- 16:40you're working for a living and you have a little
- 16:43bit of a concern. Okay, if I mess this up, if
- 16:45I make somebody upset, I could lose. But no,
- 16:48you just do what God leads you to do and you
- 16:49don't worry about the politics. Correct. And
- 16:51in fact, I was just visiting with somebody who's
- 16:53been through a very difficult time in his life
- 16:55as a pastor. And I encouraged him and I said,
- 16:58we're just going to serve Jesus joyfully no matter
- 17:02what. And that's been helpful in my ministry.
- 17:05I remember that passage, Acts 13 .52, as I recall,
- 17:08where it talks about the disciples who served
- 17:11the Lord and who were filled with... The Holy
- 17:14Spirit and with joy. And I try to keep that in
- 17:17mind because that's what we're here. We're just
- 17:19servants. We're just stewards sharing the love
- 17:24of Jesus. No matter where He calls. No matter
- 17:26when He calls. No matter how He calls. That's
- 17:29the point. We are simply joyful stewards. Because
- 17:33I look forward to those words of Jesus. Well
- 17:36done, good and faithful servant. Because if He
- 17:40gives us those six words, He will add... Enter
- 17:43into the joy of your Lord. Amen. That's what
- 17:46it's all about. Amen. Now, Ron, you just accomplished
- 17:51something here in the U .S. connected to me,
- 17:56not to me, but to something that I care about.
- 17:59I'm a runner, but not a long -distance runner.
- 18:01You are. My wife is a long -distance runner.
- 18:04And I've done a few half marathons with her.
- 18:07Not my favorite thing to do, but I sure enjoy
- 18:10spending time with her, so I do it. Good. And
- 18:12I just enjoy the exercise. I prefer it to be
- 18:15cooler than it is here in St. Louis, Missouri.
- 18:18Tell me, what is it you just accomplished with
- 18:21your running career? I'll tell you what it is,
- 18:25then I'll tell you the why. Okay. I started out
- 18:28in Hawaii, and to make it short, I decided to
- 18:31go state to state. alaska next and then california
- 18:34and then the lower that's the starting the lower
- 18:3648 and by god's grace we were able to go to each
- 18:40state each day that's one state per day and walk
- 18:45or cycle 50 kilometers per day in 50 states in
- 18:5150 days And the purpose was to do something unusual.
- 18:56And of course, doing that is unusual. That's
- 18:5831 .07 miles per day. And for the first two weeks,
- 19:02walking every day, 31 miles. But it's an idea
- 19:06to wake people up, especially seniors. I'm 73.
- 19:10And the mission was to... Energize and empower
- 19:14everyone, especially those over 65, to engage
- 19:18in physical fitness in a fun and friendly way
- 19:22to promote health and well -being. Amen. That
- 19:26was it. And so we were able to visit dozens of
- 19:29senior centers around the United States and talk
- 19:31with them and hand out literature and connect
- 19:34with them. And you've had a bit of press coverage
- 19:36for others to learn more about what you're doing.
- 19:39It wasn't just your... your solo marketing or
- 19:42promotion. Correct. Yeah, we've had at least
- 19:44half a dozen television stations besides podcasts
- 19:46and news media picked it up. We're thankful for
- 19:49that. We're still hoping that it'll go global,
- 19:51maybe on something like Inside Edition to pick
- 19:54it up and send it throughout the United States.
- 19:56But the local television stations picked it up
- 19:58and shared that. And we're so grateful for that.
- 20:01Was it difficult at some point? You thought about,
- 20:05I'm not going to keep doing this. Well, let me
- 20:08put it this way. I'm 73 right now. I've had enough
- 20:11challenges in life so that when difficulties
- 20:14come, almost always I have plan B, plan C, plan
- 20:18D. So there really wasn't a time when I was going
- 20:21to quit. It's always, how do I continue with
- 20:25this project, but switch to plan B, to plan C,
- 20:28and we were able to continue. I tell people always
- 20:31have a backup plan. Be flexible. That's what
- 20:35life is all about. But you have your goal. You
- 20:37have your mission statement. You know what you're
- 20:39going to accomplish. And by God's grace, you
- 20:41will accomplish it. Amen. Yes, and doors opened.
- 20:45We were able to pray with people. We were able
- 20:47to hand out some religious literature as well.
- 20:49Yeah, excellent. And just spend time visiting,
- 20:52encouraging them. Yes. So that's become a new
- 20:55ministry. You know, Senior Strides is what we
- 20:58are called, seniorstrides .org. People can go
- 21:01there. They can see what we've done and how we've
- 21:03been encouraging, visiting, and really empowering
- 21:06seniors to get fit. and ultimately to encourage
- 21:10them to live vibrantly, focusing on the abundant
- 21:14life that Jesus came to offer all of us. I was
- 21:17going to say, isn't that what Jesus is offering
- 21:19to us? Correct. And you're able to do that through
- 21:22an old pastor I used to work with in the Methodist
- 21:25Church, matter of fact, used to use this term,
- 21:27sidewalk sermons. Yes. You literally, as you
- 21:30were going along, were doing sidewalk sermons.
- 21:33Correct. Amen. Amen. Let's take a break. Okay,
- 21:39come back. We'll talk a little bit more about
- 21:41what you're doing, and I'll share my anecdote
- 21:44from college. Looking forward to doing that.
- 21:46Thank you, Pastor Ron Dupre. Hope you're being
- 21:49blessed by the program. We certainly are. Remember,
- 21:52you can always connect with us by sending us
- 21:53a text, 1 -423 -855 -4877, email hello at missionsunlight
- 21:58.org, and missionsunlight .org is our website.
- 22:03You can connect with all the things happening
- 22:05with Network 7. You can click donate there if
- 22:08you want to encourage us by giving to the program,
- 22:10helping us do more ministry. So thank you for
- 22:12that. We'll be back in a moment with more Mission
- 22:15Sunlight Chat. Our salvation is a day -to -day
- 22:26matter, isn't it? The real principle of the Sabbath
- 22:32is reconnecting ourselves with the Creator. We
- 22:39must learn to abide in Jesus' name. We move ahead
- 22:43with our mission objectives, recognizing that
- 22:46we are serving together. Welcome back to Mission
- 23:02Sunlight Chat here from the exhibit hall in the
- 23:05general conference session. We are blessed to
- 23:07be having a great time with all the exhibitors.
- 23:10Looking around, you just see folks who are having
- 23:14a great time sharing what Jesus is doing in their
- 23:17ministry, in their region, part of the world.
- 23:22And it's just a special blessing for us to be
- 23:24able to be a part. In the background, you can
- 23:26hear some of the musicians singing. You hear
- 23:29the crowds talking, and we are thankful that
- 23:32that noise is happening because it means that
- 23:35people are doing, going about their Father's
- 23:38business. Pastor Ron Dupre is here with me, and
- 23:41Pastor Ron, you are going about your Father's
- 23:44business too, would you say? Amen, and enjoying
- 23:47it as well, loving it. Your personal motto is
- 23:51fitness for witness. You're right. How are you
- 23:55exercising that motto today? Firstly, by living
- 23:59it, obviously. I have to do that. If I'm talking
- 24:02about it, I want my life to exhibit that. And
- 24:05God has blessed me. Just a quick, by the way,
- 24:08I just ran the Los Angeles Marathon in March
- 24:112025. My goal was to break four, and God blessed
- 24:15me. I came in under 17 seconds within that goal,
- 24:18and I was so thankful. So I try to live it. I
- 24:21try to encourage it. However, at my own local
- 24:23church. Our church board has voted it, and we
- 24:26started a walk, run, hike club. Wait a second.
- 24:31I need to back up on that. I want to know about
- 24:33the hike, run, walk club, but you just said you
- 24:37ran a marathon. Yes, sir, I did. In three hours
- 24:40and 59 minutes and 43 seconds. So I'm a half
- 24:45marathoner, and when I get the half marathon
- 24:48done in under three hours, which hasn't always
- 24:51been my record, I'm really excited. Well, I love
- 24:59long distances. And actually, I race walk. I
- 25:02speed walk to train. That's a key. People say,
- 25:05how come you're 73 and you don't have knee problems?
- 25:07Because I'm actually a walker. I walk for exercise,
- 25:10and then I run the races. Okay. I save my knees,
- 25:13and I've been blessed by that. So yes, we started
- 25:16this Run, Walk, Hike Club. And we've been inviting
- 25:19people. So the mayor of the city of Beaumont,
- 25:22where I am a pastor, he was the main speaker
- 25:24to inaugurate our Run, Walk, Hike Club. We had
- 25:27close to 100 people show up. And so we started
- 25:30something eventually, come and walk with us on
- 25:33Sundays. We do it Sunday afternoon so that others
- 25:35who go to other churches, Sunday churches, can
- 25:37come and join us. And so for the first three
- 25:40months of this year, we met every Sunday at 3
- 25:43o 'clock, offering three options, three at three.
- 25:46So that people can choose whatever they want
- 25:48to do. Depending on their level of fitness. And
- 25:51one Sunday we had more people who are not of
- 25:54our faith community. Than of our church. Which
- 25:58is great because we are now connecting with people.
- 26:00Walking out. And it's in nature. Hikes together.
- 26:03Meeting people. And just sharing with them our
- 26:06lives. And ministering to their needs. Yes. So
- 26:11God is blessing. He's opening doors. And I'm
- 26:13hoping now to connect that. The name of the club
- 26:16is The Striders in Beaumont. And, of course,
- 26:19I've got Senior Strides where I'm trying to get
- 26:21seniors involved in walking, in doing something
- 26:25so they can live better and live not just longer,
- 26:30but enjoy life more and become more independent
- 26:32and connect them with Jesus through vibrant living.
- 26:35Amen. Pastor Ron, everybody listening can hear
- 26:39your energy. I'm going to tell a story on you,
- 26:42your energy for teaching. You were my professor.
- 26:46I think the last class I took from you, you can
- 26:49correct me if you remember. I don't know that
- 26:51either one of us remember accurately, but I think
- 26:53the last class I took for you was biblical exegesis.
- 26:58That's very likely. Correct. I taught that class
- 27:00at Southern. And the lesson, the class, as we
- 27:04went through the final exam, right before my
- 27:07graduation, you handed out the papers. And you
- 27:13made it very plain to us. You repeated it. And
- 27:16at the top of the paper, it said these words.
- 27:19And you repeated it to us multiple times. Read
- 27:22the entire exam before you answer any questions.
- 27:28It was very strongly worded. You were very convincing
- 27:31with it, I thought. That's right. And so as I
- 27:35read through the exam, question number one. And
- 27:39question number two. And it was a retelling of
- 27:42the lessons that were key and important in the
- 27:45class. So essentially, it was a very thorough
- 27:48review. And the questions, if you just paid attention
- 27:56in class, just paying attention, it was simple
- 27:59enough to answer. And most of them you like.
- 28:04I'm not sure I remember what the name of those
- 28:05were. You write sentences as opposed to doing
- 28:08true or false or multiple choice. You like people
- 28:11to write out something, answers, just to think
- 28:13for themselves and to compose that. I'm not doing
- 28:15a very good job of composing it at the moment.
- 28:17No, no, you're right. Otherwise, it's just guesswork.
- 28:18Yeah, so the questions were that. So thinking
- 28:21through, okay, and so I did that first question,
- 28:24but I didn't write anything down. I've got to
- 28:25read it all the way through first, right? That's
- 28:26what you said. Correct. Second question, third
- 28:28question. I imagine there were maybe 20, 25.
- 28:3230 questions on this exam final exam senior about
- 28:36to graduate read all the way down did the review
- 28:39felt good about what I was about to do got to
- 28:42that last question and and and as I got to that
- 28:47last question I noticed that others around me
- 28:50were also finishing that last question And others
- 28:54had already started writing. Matter of fact,
- 28:56they had failed to do what they were told, and
- 28:58that is to read through every question before
- 29:02they filled out any answers. You know, the directions
- 29:05in God's Word are important, aren't they? Correct,
- 29:07absolutely. And you are emulating a principle
- 29:09of God's Word. That's right. People were either
- 29:12writing or they were finishing and turning it
- 29:15in. The last question on the exam. Dr. Ron, I
- 29:19know you told me you didn't remember putting
- 29:21this on there. The last question was, if you've
- 29:25read every question, sign your name and turn
- 29:29the exam in. You don't have to answer any of
- 29:33them any further unless you want to. Because
- 29:36your point was review and know what you learned
- 29:40and then follow the directions. Precisely. Right.
- 29:44And people so often ignore what is being said.
- 29:49Yes. Because we are sometimes so distracted instead
- 29:51of listening, which, of course, is what the Word
- 29:54of God is all about. There were many of us that
- 29:57were relieved. We were going to do well on the
- 29:59exam. And there were many that were frustrated
- 30:01when they finally got to that. And they couldn't
- 30:03understand why people were passing them with
- 30:05their exam finished so soon. And it turns out
- 30:09they didn't read. the direction some people might
- 30:12think that that was a little unfair but the fact
- 30:15is the directions were clear correct the correct
- 30:17the directions were written at the top you emphasized
- 30:20it to us and by god's grace i did well in that
- 30:23class and graduated and here we are decades later
- 30:27yes sir indeed god is good Dr. Ron Dupre, thank
- 30:30you so much for sharing a little bit of your
- 30:32and Linda's journey. You know, she is a blessing
- 30:35as well. Amen. She and I are friends on Facebook,
- 30:38and she's a bit of a warrior for Christ too there.
- 30:42She emphasizes that we treat people like Jesus
- 30:46would. Amen. Yes. Thank you so much for being
- 30:50a part of our program. Thank you for inviting
- 30:51me. It's been a privilege. Christ and God bless
- 30:54you in your ministry. Amen. Thank you. And to
- 30:56those that are listening and viewing today, thank
- 30:58you for being a part of the program. As always,
- 31:00we are blessed. Please keep praying for us and
- 31:03know that we are praying for you. Don't forget,
- 31:06click the share button. Let somebody else listen
- 31:08or watch this program because you've watched
- 31:10it and you've shared it with them. Click the
- 31:12donate button at Mission Sunlight. and help us
- 31:15to be able to share the program and improve the
- 31:17equipment and the ways we're reaching people
- 31:18for Jesus through your gifts. And before we wrap
- 31:22up our program today, Jordan, would you have
- 31:24our closing prayer? I'd be glad to. Let's pray.
- 31:27Heavenly Father, we thank you for the opportunity
- 31:29to sit down with Pastor Ron Dupre and hear his
- 31:32testimony and hear his vigor for ministry, even
- 31:36after he's retired. I pray that we will all have
- 31:39that energy for your kingdom, and we will be
- 31:42encouraged to find somewhere to be involved within
- 31:45ministry. even if we're serving in a regular
- 31:49job somewhere, that we can share your message,
- 31:52whether it's a walk down the road or riding a
- 31:56bike through 50 states or just when we're at
- 31:59the water cooler speaking to our fellow co -workers,
- 32:03that we can share your love and your gospel with
- 32:05them so that we can all go to your kingdom when
- 32:07you come very soon. I pray that you'll be with
- 32:10us and you'll encourage us in that as we go through
- 32:13our daily lives. In your name, amen. Amen. Thank
- 32:16you so much, Jordan. That is our program for
- 32:18today. This is Mission Sunlight Chat. Topic questions,
- 32:46to pray with us or to give, visit missionsunlight
- 32:49.org or text us at 423 -855 -4877. You may write
- 32:56to us at Network 7 Media Center, Box 25468, Chattanooga,
- 33:03Tennessee, 37422. This has been a production
- 33:07of Network 7 Media Center.