Friday Five - Five who respected me

For about 3 & 1/2 years earlier this decade, I was an intern at Del Sol Church, and then for 11 months in 2007 & 2008, I was the interim Youth & Young Adults Pastor and was responsible for leading in that difficult time of transition.

During much of my internship - and ESPECIALLY during my term as interim Youth & Young Adults Pastor - there were people who doubted me publicly and privately and who wrote me off in their minds as just some kid, and there were people who didn't take me seriously and just kind of humored me as the person responsible to lead. I'm not bitter against those people, but I am aware of how they viewed me during that time.

But also during that time, there were some precious people who didn't treat me like a kid and who didn't make me feel like they were just putting up with me until a real leader came along.

So today's Friday Five is this: Five people/couples who have always treated me like an adult and always seemed to respect me as a leader:

1. John David & Patricia Delgado. They invested a lot of time and money in me and gave me the privilege to learn by leading, and I'm forever grateful to them for that.

2. Walter Mueller. As Lead Pastor of Del Sol Church, he took a LOT of risk on me by asking me to serve as the interim Youth & Young Adults Pastor, and I'm sure he took some flack for it - but he always gave me to room to lead as I saw fit and supported me in what I did. He has risked so much on me, has poured a into my life financially speaking, and has always been a very vocal supporter of me. I'm extremely grateful for all he's done for me.

3. Valerie Devine. Right when I was fresh out of high school, I worked with Valerie in hosting Young Life club at the Firehouse. She always encouraged me, challenged me, and respected me as an authority figure.

4. Kim Cliett. Kim has always been an encourager, has always seemed to be genuinely interested in me and how my life was going, tried (along with Lori Wrinkle) to help me out some in my love life (or should I say, lack thereof), and also respected and submitted to me as a leader in the church.

5. Paul & Chung Hi Fleshman. I've always been able to count on Mr. Paul and his sweet wife Chung Hi to encourage and support me. They've fed me, they've encouraged me, they've prayed for me, they've financially supported me. It's hard to find better people than them, that's for sure.

Bonus! 6. Robert & Catrina Cormell. Robert and Catrina entrusted Wayside Teen Center to my hands when I was still just a teenager, and let me be responsible for their cash registers both at Wayside and at The Bagel Shop when I was as young as 13 years old! They really stuck their necks out for me, and they've never been afraid to sharpen me through some "intense fellowship", but I believe I'm better for having known them.

I know there were many others who supported and respected me, but these listed above really stick out in my mind because of their active involvement in my life.