My Spiritual Journey

    I was baptized as a teenager and was nurtured in a faithful Christian family.   I attended a Christian college and married a Christian woman and we were always active in Churches of Christ where we lived.

    I taught Bible classes, led singing and served as a deacon, but my spiritual energy was in part inherited and I was not always as grounded in my dedication as I should have been.   As I look back I see that God was leading me step by step to greater maturity and service.  He did this through blessing my family and my work, and by affording us opportunities to travel and to broaden our religious and cultural horizons.   Through good times and bad times a gracious God has moved me toward greater service. Through personal experience I can honestly rejoice with those who have found happiness in family and friends or who achieved success in their careers.  And I can truly commiserate with those who have experienced personal grief and despair.  In answer to prayer, I have learned that my priorities in life should focus on service in the name of Jesus Christ.  One of the most meaningful scriptures to me is found in the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Romans:  “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.  Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die.  But God demonstrates his own love for us in this:  While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5: 6-8) 

    The Arlington Church is my spiritual family.  I like our diversity.  I pray that God will guide me in maturing as a Christian and as a shepherd, and learn better to lead by example.  I listen to the exhortation of the Apostle Peter to his fellow elders long ago:  “Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, serving as overseers – not because you must, but because you are willing as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.” (I Peter 5: 1-4)  As an imperfect man, that is my goal, my purpose in serving this body for my Lord.  I believe that every member – man and woman, young and old, of the Arlington congregation is a precious, saved child of God who needs nurture and encouragement, and I will try to do that.

    I honor the six-decade history of the Arlington church, and particularly I treasure the counsel of those godly men who have served this church in the past as shepherds, several of whom are still with us.  The Arlington church has been immensely influential in Christ’s kingdom in many states and countries.  We have taken a great leap of faith in recent years – to build a multi-cultural, bilingual congregation to address the changing demographics of our region.  

    We are a church uniquely situated, both in time, geography and temperament, to play a special role in God’s plan for Arlington, the Northern Virginia area, and in Spanish-speaking regions.  I pray God will grant us a clear vision for His purpose in our future.

Email Lane

My wife RuthAnn and I first worked and worshiped with the Arlington church family between 1983-87 until I was again assigned overseas in the Foreign Service.  After tours in Cyprus and Brazil, we returned in 1996 and became involved again in congregational activities.  On January 18, 1998 I was ordained an elder with the Arlington church, a position accepted after much thought and prayer. 

 I graduated from high school in Colorado, and met my wife, the former RuthAnn Henry of Austin, while we were students at Abilene Christian College.    After graduate school in Austin, we lived with our two children in Abilene for several years.  I worked with the college and as editor of the Christian Chronicle.   After joining the Foreign Service our family lived in seven countries over 33 years before my retirement in 1999. 

Since then I have also worked for the State Department on short-term assignments in five other countries.  We have supported missionary endeavor in several of those countries, and I have taken a personal interest in Arlington’s mission outreach to Mexico and El Salvador. 

We have been active in teaching, missions, small groups and other ministries.