The sad reality is that: 1. In 2004, only 4 percent of Americans gave 10 percent or more to their church (Barna 2005). 2. Only about 30 to 40 percent of church members even use a percentage guide (Grimm 1992, 44). 3. Only about 50 percent of members even know what percentage of income they give (Grimm 1992, 44).
Rod Rogers

Mark Mulvey

Mark Mulvey

Mark Mulvey

As far back as I can remember, I would (at least periodically) look for some purpose, some meaning for life. Besides making mud pies and hunting frogs, snakes, mice, and crayfish, a friend and I had some interest in searching for artifacts of past ages. There was an older boy in the neighborhood who had a rich collection of Indian arrow heads. My Grandfather had also given my dad some Indian artifacts. These objects would bring out much curiosity in me. I would search in the fields of my village for ancient relics and fossils. I once found a perfectly preserved fossil of a Trilobite; an extinct marine creature. This one was oval shaped and about two inches long. Of course I was no scientist; I was a curious boy. Where did such things as this Trilobite come from?

School was interesting to me as a young boy, but as I grew older, my interest began to wane, as did much of my interest that had been growing in what could be called, a crude form of archaeological research. My greater interest clearly became following the Green Bay Packers, and later included the Milwaukee Brewers. Grades in school fell steadily after the seventh grade. I graduated in the class of Seventy five after finishing in summer school. Now the question came. What was I going to do with my life? It was as though I was thinking that things would begin to happen when the time came. As though things would just sort of evolve. My life continued to degenerate further. I soon became involved with people who spent most of their time either partying, or preparing for one.

At the age of nineteen I was bar-hopping and began to smoke pot.

One afternoon I was over at the house of a party friend; and as we were listening to the latest on the rock music scene, there was a knock at the door. There was a young man at the door accompanied by his mother. My party friends mother answered the door and let them into the house. He kindly greeted us. I was soon to find that he had something to say about God. I was interested in hearing him at the time to be sure. Jeff had a Bible with him and the best I can remember, he was fielding questions from Mark W. and I. I was interested in finding out more of what he had to say. He befriended me and would often make arrangements to meet with me and talk with me about God.

At his church he presented me with a box of various Bibles and New Testaments. He told me to choose one that I would like to read from. I remember choosing the Amplified New Testament. The only other Bible that I had any awareness of before this was the Catholic Bible that my parents kept in their bedroom.

Nowadays I read the King James version (kjv). After getting that New Testament, I read through it in a few days. I was intensely interested in the person of Jesus Christ. In his earthly ministry he was pure, undefiled, humble, innocent,and loving. I know that there are many other gracious words that could be used to point to his character. And it was obvious that he was more than a man. Yes, what a man he was! A man’s man. A perfect man. And he was God! (1 Tim. 3:16) One evening, about the month of April in 1977, Jeff took me to an evangelistic meeting in Zion Illinois. At the close of this meeting the question was asked the people at the meeting. “If you were to die today, or tomorrow, do you know that you would go to heaven?” !you are not sure, Please raise your hand so that someone can help you.” I realized that I simply was not sure that I would go to heaven in the event I died. I raised my hand. Soon afterwards, a man was explaining to me that I needed to call upon the name of the Lord to be saved from my sin. Jesus had suffered and died in my place and he was buried, and he rose again for my justification. I asked Jesus to come into my heart and save me and I know that he did. “Therefore if any man be in Christ, his a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”

Now that I had received Jesus Christ as my Savior, I had a whole new life to live and a purpose to live for. But the change in my life did not appear to be a radical one. I was not drinking nearly as much and was staying at home more often. I don’t remember if staying home was due to wanting to stay home or if it was because of my drivers license being suspended for six months, starting around the month of April in ’77. I had my stereo in my room and I hadn’t given up rock music; Not yet. I continued reading the Bible but not consistently. As far as church attendance- I wasn’t attending a church any where. Jeff had been coming around with less frequency. He attended an Assembly of God church at that time. I had been raised Catholic. My Dad no longer required me to attend the mass by the time I had reached about 16 years of age, and I took full advantage of the privilege to abstain from attending. Even so, my emotional attachment was still with the system of religion that I was raised under. There was something revolving in my mind that was notable for that time. It was a sense of need to be busy doing something, and to be responsible for providing for the basic material needs that I had.

What was I going to do now? I had lost my last job and I had no drivers license. I had sold my car. Television was a big attraction for me. Sometimes I didn’t know what else to do with my time. Back then there was always a commercial sponsored by the U.S. Navy with the slogan, ” The Navy, It’s Not Just a Job, It’s an Adventure.” That may have given impetus to the idea of going to the armed forces for work. When I walked into the recruiting station, the first person that I met was the man that I bumped into in the hallway. The navy recruiter. Shortly after this time I enlisted.

The day before I left for bootcamp in Orlando Florida, I attended mass. It was the first time that I had been there for probably a year or more. Once in bootcamp, I found that chapel services were held every Sunday; Catholic and Protestant. I’m not sure that I knew what Protestant was. I continued to attend the mass. After being in the Navy about half a year, it came to my attention that the Protestant chaplain was holding a Bible study and all were welcome to attend. I was persuaded to go since I didn’t think that I could go wrong by attending a study of the Bible (Gods Holy Word). Through these meetings I met some former enlisted men who were involved in a ministry to sailors and marines called the Navigators ministry. This was in Long Beach California, where I was stationed for about a year while the ship that I was assigned to was in dry-dock. These men operated a service-men’s center in town. I had the freedom to spend much of my free time with them and was helped tremendously. It was as if I had found a pool of cool water after wandering in the middle of a desert. They encouraged scripture memorization (the right thing to meditate on) and helped me to see the evils of such things as rock music more clearly. I also had the privilege to attend, along with these men, the Bill Gothard seminar (Institute of Basic Youth Conflicts).

About December of “78, the USS Bagley was restationed in San Diego; About 100 miles south of Long Beach. On the weekends I would take the bus back to Long Beach to have fellowship with my new found friends. They encouraged me to take root in San Diego after a couple of months or so. I I looked through the phone book for a church to attend in San Diego. I found a Baptist that I attended the last 3 years of my enlistment.

The church of my choice did not have high standards that a Bible believing, Christ honoring church ought to have. I never did think that the Christian rock bands (so-called) were edifying for a blood bought, will-of-God-seeking, sin hating child of God. One group of musicians began with the “Praise” type songs and subtly progressed to “hard” rock. It was troubling to me. There didn’t seem to be anyone in the church who thought it should be stopped, although there probably was.I don”t know that there weren’t people leaving because of a lack of standards, but it was a very big church and it wasn’t noticeable to me.

Today I am happy to say that I am serving God in a God-fearing, Christ-honoring church, with real standards. I believe that my love for God and my understanding of his dealings with me is due in a large part to the ministry of Henry Stiller whom I’ve known for about 4 years now, and a preacher that pastor Stiller has joined in the Lords work with, Pastor Williams. And there are others that have been a real blessing to me. I don’t want to mention more names because I wouldn’t want to leave one out. I’m thankful for all the help I’ve gotten. There is another person though that I ought to acknowledge and express a debt of gratitude. That is The Holy Spirit, whose operation is always consistent with the revealed word of God. I also believe that I I realize now more than I ever have before that no man is an island. No man is a self-made man. If a man is going to amount to any thing for God, it is the result of godly men that have fought and have gone before him, and for godly men that have with him and beside him.