Scientist · servant · emissary

Michael’s story

Click any year. The path runs from an internationally known laboratory through two wrecks, unemployment, first-grade hallways, and Kenya — and into a simple word about brokenness.

1. 1997

   Fired from the first academic job

   Michael was an assistant professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Oklahoma State University. Tenure review meant a guaranteed position for life. The faculty voted 10–2 in favor.

   The chairman held the deciding vote and voted no. When Michael told his wife — his high school sweetheart, the prom queen to his prom king — she said, “I am not moving with you wherever you go.”

2. 1998

   Salvation at thirty-nine

   In the wreckage of an impending divorce, Michael gave his life to Christ.

3. 2000

   The first prayer of brokenness

   Feeling a failure as a husband and a father, he got on his knees and wrote God a blank check.

4. 2001

   First bicycle accident

   Hit head-on by a car. In the ambulance he thanked God — because Dave Roever had already shown him how.

5. 2007

   A second surrender

   A new wife, a new house, a stepdaughter, work going well — and the Holy Spirit asked for the same prayer again.

6. 2008

   Head run over. One month of amnesia.

   A car tire ran over his head. Friends thought they would never speak with him again. His face was almost unscratched.

7. 2009

   Fired from the second job

   Sixteen papers published after a miraculous recovery. Then he was let go for lack of federal grant support.

8. 2010

   Unemployed

   He applied for research technician jobs. No one would hire him.

9. 2011–2015

   Reading to first graders

   A sullen boy named Randy named a drawing “George the housedog.” The classroom soon had a waiting list.

10. 2012–2018

    Spiritual coach at GroundWire

    Thousands of chats with hurting people. Judy typed a sinner’s prayer. Kathy from Kenya typed forgiveness.

11. 2013

    ManMaker Academy

    An after-school program for fatherless eighth-grade boys — dodgeball, painting a widow’s trailer, a hike on the Palmetto Trail.

12. 2014–2019

    Nursing homes

    Quiet, regular visits. Presence where the world hurries past.

13. 2014

    Social Security disability

    The brain injury’s long shadow became official.

14. 2016–2018

    Brokenness and 2 Peter 1:5–7

    The Father showed him how the Spirit works. Charles Stanley named the door: yieldedness and brokenness.

15. 2023

    The seven-day fast

    The Holy Spirit said a water-only fast would substitute for a long season of brokenness.

16. 2024

    Kenya

    A solo mission trip in February. A return in August to hear testimonies. Worship under trees. Children. Churches.

17. Now

    Retreats and campuses

    Church retreats and college visits featuring Kenyan guest speakers. The American theme: overcoming strongholds.

Through the years I have met dozens of believers who entered the Spirit-filled life years after their salvation… Their yieldedness and brokenness cleared the way for the Holy Spirit to take control.