"Come and listen to my story about a man named Sam. . . . The kinfolk said 'Sam, move away from there. Californy is the place you ought to be'"
Okay, so I borrow that from the Beverly Hillbillies theme song, but I do want to tell you the true story of a man named Sam - Pastor Sam Lacanienta - a man who made an eternal change in my life. I believe he said his Christian father had owned a mortuary in Cebu. And Sam, raised in a Christian family, became a pastor in the Philippines as a young man. He attended the Far Eastern Bible Institute and Seminary (FEBIAS), founded in 1948 as an interdenominational Bible school and later changed to FEBIAS College of Bible. He was ordained and pastored a church in the Philippines
During that time he met and fell in love with a young lady named Ida. Since it was a unilateral love, he had to chase Ida for seven years before she caught him. They migrated to America where Sam became an associate pastor at a small Southern Baptist church in Santa Ana, California.
Pastor Sam told a touching story of an older man who lived just down the street from the church. The elderly man was always angry because the church did not have sufficient parking, and folks parked on the street in front of his home every Sunday. Rather than ignore the man, Pastor Sam went to talk with him to get to know him better. Sam often went to the man's home just to talk - and he shared the Gospel with him.
This went on for quite a while. Eventually the man prayed to receive Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. Not too long after that, Pastor Sam began to notice that the man was not outside working in his yard for several weeks. When he went to visit, he learned that his friend, this new child of God - had been promoted to his newly claimed heavenly home with the Lord.
Eventually Pastor Sam moved, becoming an associate pastor at Woodbridge Community Church in Irvine, California, which is affiliated with the Baptist General Conference (home organization behind Bethel University, a Baptist seminary founded in 1871). After he met and started a Fil-Am Bible study in the home of Fred & Nattie Almeda, more Filipinos began attending Woodbridge leading Pastor Sam and Fred Almeda to form the new Fil-Am Church of Irvine (FACI) as a daughter church under Woodbridge.
In 1987 I met Pastor Sam Lacanienta at a Saturday evening social at the home of Lolita Mueller. That evening when I met Pastor Sam & Ida Lacanienta at the Mueller home changed my life forever. I was not a believer then - but I could see and feel the love of God in this pastoral couple. The next day my wife, Dory, and I attended the Fil-Am Church of Irvine (CA) worship service - and I could feel the love of God flowing through Pastor Sam, permeating the whole congregation, and I was caught up in it.
That Friday we attended their Family Bible Study at the home of Ed & Ligaya Nibut - and found the same Godly love there. Because of the love we experienced, we continued to attend their worship services and Family Bible Studies. And after about six months, I gave my life to the Lord. I cannot give you a definite day and hour when I believed, for my salvation was a six month process.
The more I learned about Jesus Christ - the more I knew that I needed Him. Most of that was learned in our Bible studies - even though Pastor Sam's sermons and Sunday School classes were also part of my maturing process. So you can see why I place such importance on interactive Family Bible Studies.
In the early 1990s, a young man from the Philippines, Leto Carag, was attending our FACI services while preparing to attend Westminster Theological Seminary in Escondido, California. Through Pastor Sam, our church arranged to give a used car to Leto so that he would have transportation while attending Westminster Seminary. Today that young man is Dr. Anacleto S. Carag, M.Div and D. Min., president/director of FEBIAS College of Bible, Pastor Sam's alma mater.
Pastor Sam Lacanienta became Director of Church Planting for Filipino churches of the Southwest District of the Baptist General Conference. In that role, he began working to plant new Filipino-American churches in California and other western states. One of the first he planted was the Fil-Am Church of Long Beach.
One of the young couples in our College/Professional Group at FACI was Charles Patam and May Egenias who would soon marry while Charles was attending Talbot Seminary at Biola University. Pastor Sam commissioned (cannot be ordained until graduation from seminary) Charles as the pastor of the Fil-Am Church of Long Beach.
A few years later, I was in the hospital with the flu. A young male nurse came into my room and saw me reading my Bible. He asked if was a pastor and I told him, "No, I am just a Christian who loves to study the Bible and share it with folks I meet." As we talked I told him about the Fil-Am churches in Southern California which Pastor Sam had planted - and he was interested in attending our Long Beach church.
To my embarrassment, I could not give him the address of that church. Later I was able to talk with Pastor Freddy Cortez who had been a youth pastor at Long Beach before taking over at our San Clemente Fil-Am church - and got the address for Long Beach. But unfortunately, that young male nurse was assigned to a different department and I never was able to give him the address.
After that fiasco, I was determined to not let it happen again. When I got home from the hospital, I created a tract for our Fil-Am churches and put this image on the back. These are the Baptist General Conference affiliated Fil-Am churches which Pastor Sam planted in Southern California. There were others in Washington, Arizona, etc.
Several funny stories relating to FACI come to memory:
One Sunday evening our FACI fellowship was having a joint worship service with the Woodbridge Community host morning church. Ida Lacanienta was sitting with wife of the Woodbridge pastor when he asked for men to pass out flyers. Several of us volunteered - and the Woodbridge pastor's wife, kind of teasing Ida because all of us who volunteered were Caucasian, told Ida, "Look, my men volunteered." Ida smiled and told her, "No, the tall blonde one is mine."
After the wedding of Pastor Charles Patam and May Egenias, they went on a cruise for their honeymoon. On the cruise they met and became friends with a young couple who had planned to be married by the ship's captain when they entered international waters. But after meeting Charles and May, they wanted the newly wed Pastor Charles to marry them. Since he had only been commissioned, but not yet ordained for he was still attending seminary - Pastor Charles was not sure if he could legally marry them.
He placed an urgent ship-to-shore call to Pastor Sam - and was told that by California law a commissioned pastor can perform a wedding. So shortly after his own wedding, Pastor Charles performed his first wedding ceremony onboard a ship in international waters. How cool is that?
I don't recall ever hearing Pastor Sam raise his voice - in conversation, in Bible studies, or in his sermons. So even his sermons were more like conversations, much like we see with Pastor Charles Stanley on television.
And that brings me to one other incident which always brings a smile to my face:
Pastor Sam never raised his voice, but I did see him get angry. One evening he came to Bible study and you could tell he was bothered, irritated. What caused his irritation? That afternoon he had been driving on the freeway and saw a car with a "Honk If You Love Jesus" bumper sticker. So, Pastor Sam, who always has a big smile on his face - honked as he drove past the car and gave the driver a big Pastor Sam smile. The driver of the other car responded with a "one finger salute" to Pastor Sam's overt friendliness.
Our Bible study that evening centered around car bumper stickers. Pastor Sam told us, "If you are selling or trading in a car which has a Christian bumper sticker or any other Christian sticker on it - REMOVE IT before surrendering the car." He was deadly serious.
And I can relate to that. One afternoon in Corona I was stopped at a red light and in the car in front of me was a young lady. I smiled because she had a Christian fish on her car. A pick-up truck was sitting beside me blaring the most vulgar rap music I had ever heard and my immediate thought was, "Praise God he is not sitting beside that young Christian lady with that filthy music blaring."
When the light changed, the vulgar rap music truck pulled ahead of me and, to my shock, on the truck was a Christian fish. Only two things could explain that: (1) either he bought the truck and the previous Christian owner had not removed the sticker - or (2) he had borrowed the truck from a friend who was a Christian and had no idea of the pollution that was blasting from his truck. Either way, I remembered Pastor Sam's lesson on removing Christian stickers from cars you are selling or trading.
Just one more story about Pastor Sam. In the mid-1980s I was working for computer company in Irvine and on a sunny day decided to walk to a Food Court a few blocks away for lunch. Walking back to work I had an encounter with an earth worm. As I said, it was a sunny day and walking along I saw an earth worm crawling across the hot sidewalk. I could see many other worms who had taken that perilous journey - only to be cooked on the hot sidewalk or squashed by cars on the street.
I decided to save my little earth worm and put him back into the lush green grass. But when I tried to pick it up, the worm began to wiggle and fight against me. Eventually I did accomplish my task of saving that one earth worm - and went back to work. At work I began to think about that worm and how he was much like we humans. We are headed on a perilous journey to an eternity we will regret. But God sent His Son to pick us up and put us back into His lush garden, His Christian church fellowship. But most of us fight against all His efforts - just as that worm fought against me. However, if we will only listen to Him, He will save us - as I saved that worm.
That evening at Bible study when I shared my earth worm story, Pastor Sam suggested, "Bill, you should write it to share with others." And, that, my Friends, is how Bill Gray began a Christian writing ministry. So, if you don't like my writings, blame Pastor Sam, for he got me started. And I thank God often for his encouragement.
About 2005, Pastor Sam and Ida decided to return to the Philippines to do ministry in their homeland. I remember Ida telling us that when they told their family, their young granddaughter, Bethany, asked her, "Will you still be my Lola?" In a way I could have asked a similar question, for this Godly couple was my spiritual parents.
In the Philippines, they began to operate the Word of Life Seaside Bible Camp for young people, accept speaking invitations, lead home Bible studies, counsel and disciple, and pastor a new church, the Talakag Church on the Solid Rock - a sister church of Church on the Solid Rock in Laguna Niguel, California, where Pastor Sam was pastor before making the decision to return home to the Philippines.
Also, because of Ida's teaching credentials, they were working on accreditation with the Philippine Department of Education for a pre-school they currently were operating for the young children in their area.
Each year, they returned to Southern California to spend the holidays with their family. The day after Thanksgiving 2012, Ida became ill and went into the hospital. At about 1:00 AM on the morning of December 10th, she went home to be with her precious Lord.
Pastor Sam returned to the Philippines to continue pastoring the church which Ida and her friends were instrumental in founding, the Talakag Church on the Solid Rock. And today, nearing his mid-80s, Pastor Sam Lacanienta is still serving the Lord in these activities he and Ida established.
There are so many stories I could share with you about Pastor Sam and Ida Lacanienta. But if I keep going this will be a book instead of a blog.
I am just one of many whom this Godly man, in his quiet, sincere way - has led to saving faith in Jesus Christ. I pray that this ongoing story of "A Man Named Sam" has been edifying and encouraging to you.
God bless, have a wonderful, blessed day,
Bill
In this blog, click on the images to enlarge them.
Okay, so I borrow that from the Beverly Hillbillies theme song, but I do want to tell you the true story of a man named Sam - Pastor Sam Lacanienta - a man who made an eternal change in my life. I believe he said his Christian father had owned a mortuary in Cebu. And Sam, raised in a Christian family, became a pastor in the Philippines as a young man. He attended the Far Eastern Bible Institute and Seminary (FEBIAS), founded in 1948 as an interdenominational Bible school and later changed to FEBIAS College of Bible. He was ordained and pastored a church in the Philippines
During that time he met and fell in love with a young lady named Ida. Since it was a unilateral love, he had to chase Ida for seven years before she caught him. They migrated to America where Sam became an associate pastor at a small Southern Baptist church in Santa Ana, California.
Pastor Sam told a touching story of an older man who lived just down the street from the church. The elderly man was always angry because the church did not have sufficient parking, and folks parked on the street in front of his home every Sunday. Rather than ignore the man, Pastor Sam went to talk with him to get to know him better. Sam often went to the man's home just to talk - and he shared the Gospel with him.
This went on for quite a while. Eventually the man prayed to receive Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. Not too long after that, Pastor Sam began to notice that the man was not outside working in his yard for several weeks. When he went to visit, he learned that his friend, this new child of God - had been promoted to his newly claimed heavenly home with the Lord.
Eventually Pastor Sam moved, becoming an associate pastor at Woodbridge Community Church in Irvine, California, which is affiliated with the Baptist General Conference (home organization behind Bethel University, a Baptist seminary founded in 1871). After he met and started a Fil-Am Bible study in the home of Fred & Nattie Almeda, more Filipinos began attending Woodbridge leading Pastor Sam and Fred Almeda to form the new Fil-Am Church of Irvine (FACI) as a daughter church under Woodbridge.
In 1987 I met Pastor Sam Lacanienta at a Saturday evening social at the home of Lolita Mueller. That evening when I met Pastor Sam & Ida Lacanienta at the Mueller home changed my life forever. I was not a believer then - but I could see and feel the love of God in this pastoral couple. The next day my wife, Dory, and I attended the Fil-Am Church of Irvine (CA) worship service - and I could feel the love of God flowing through Pastor Sam, permeating the whole congregation, and I was caught up in it.
That Friday we attended their Family Bible Study at the home of Ed & Ligaya Nibut - and found the same Godly love there. Because of the love we experienced, we continued to attend their worship services and Family Bible Studies. And after about six months, I gave my life to the Lord. I cannot give you a definite day and hour when I believed, for my salvation was a six month process.
The more I learned about Jesus Christ - the more I knew that I needed Him. Most of that was learned in our Bible studies - even though Pastor Sam's sermons and Sunday School classes were also part of my maturing process. So you can see why I place such importance on interactive Family Bible Studies.
In the early 1990s, a young man from the Philippines, Leto Carag, was attending our FACI services while preparing to attend Westminster Theological Seminary in Escondido, California. Through Pastor Sam, our church arranged to give a used car to Leto so that he would have transportation while attending Westminster Seminary. Today that young man is Dr. Anacleto S. Carag, M.Div and D. Min., president/director of FEBIAS College of Bible, Pastor Sam's alma mater.
Pastor Sam Lacanienta became Director of Church Planting for Filipino churches of the Southwest District of the Baptist General Conference. In that role, he began working to plant new Filipino-American churches in California and other western states. One of the first he planted was the Fil-Am Church of Long Beach.
One of the young couples in our College/Professional Group at FACI was Charles Patam and May Egenias who would soon marry while Charles was attending Talbot Seminary at Biola University. Pastor Sam commissioned (cannot be ordained until graduation from seminary) Charles as the pastor of the Fil-Am Church of Long Beach.
A few years later, I was in the hospital with the flu. A young male nurse came into my room and saw me reading my Bible. He asked if was a pastor and I told him, "No, I am just a Christian who loves to study the Bible and share it with folks I meet." As we talked I told him about the Fil-Am churches in Southern California which Pastor Sam had planted - and he was interested in attending our Long Beach church.
To my embarrassment, I could not give him the address of that church. Later I was able to talk with Pastor Freddy Cortez who had been a youth pastor at Long Beach before taking over at our San Clemente Fil-Am church - and got the address for Long Beach. But unfortunately, that young male nurse was assigned to a different department and I never was able to give him the address.
After that fiasco, I was determined to not let it happen again. When I got home from the hospital, I created a tract for our Fil-Am churches and put this image on the back. These are the Baptist General Conference affiliated Fil-Am churches which Pastor Sam planted in Southern California. There were others in Washington, Arizona, etc.
One Sunday evening our FACI fellowship was having a joint worship service with the Woodbridge Community host morning church. Ida Lacanienta was sitting with wife of the Woodbridge pastor when he asked for men to pass out flyers. Several of us volunteered - and the Woodbridge pastor's wife, kind of teasing Ida because all of us who volunteered were Caucasian, told Ida, "Look, my men volunteered." Ida smiled and told her, "No, the tall blonde one is mine."
After the wedding of Pastor Charles Patam and May Egenias, they went on a cruise for their honeymoon. On the cruise they met and became friends with a young couple who had planned to be married by the ship's captain when they entered international waters. But after meeting Charles and May, they wanted the newly wed Pastor Charles to marry them. Since he had only been commissioned, but not yet ordained for he was still attending seminary - Pastor Charles was not sure if he could legally marry them.
He placed an urgent ship-to-shore call to Pastor Sam - and was told that by California law a commissioned pastor can perform a wedding. So shortly after his own wedding, Pastor Charles performed his first wedding ceremony onboard a ship in international waters. How cool is that?
I don't recall ever hearing Pastor Sam raise his voice - in conversation, in Bible studies, or in his sermons. So even his sermons were more like conversations, much like we see with Pastor Charles Stanley on television.
And that brings me to one other incident which always brings a smile to my face:
Pastor Sam never raised his voice, but I did see him get angry. One evening he came to Bible study and you could tell he was bothered, irritated. What caused his irritation? That afternoon he had been driving on the freeway and saw a car with a "Honk If You Love Jesus" bumper sticker. So, Pastor Sam, who always has a big smile on his face - honked as he drove past the car and gave the driver a big Pastor Sam smile. The driver of the other car responded with a "one finger salute" to Pastor Sam's overt friendliness.
Our Bible study that evening centered around car bumper stickers. Pastor Sam told us, "If you are selling or trading in a car which has a Christian bumper sticker or any other Christian sticker on it - REMOVE IT before surrendering the car." He was deadly serious.
And I can relate to that. One afternoon in Corona I was stopped at a red light and in the car in front of me was a young lady. I smiled because she had a Christian fish on her car. A pick-up truck was sitting beside me blaring the most vulgar rap music I had ever heard and my immediate thought was, "Praise God he is not sitting beside that young Christian lady with that filthy music blaring."
When the light changed, the vulgar rap music truck pulled ahead of me and, to my shock, on the truck was a Christian fish. Only two things could explain that: (1) either he bought the truck and the previous Christian owner had not removed the sticker - or (2) he had borrowed the truck from a friend who was a Christian and had no idea of the pollution that was blasting from his truck. Either way, I remembered Pastor Sam's lesson on removing Christian stickers from cars you are selling or trading.
Just one more story about Pastor Sam. In the mid-1980s I was working for computer company in Irvine and on a sunny day decided to walk to a Food Court a few blocks away for lunch. Walking back to work I had an encounter with an earth worm. As I said, it was a sunny day and walking along I saw an earth worm crawling across the hot sidewalk. I could see many other worms who had taken that perilous journey - only to be cooked on the hot sidewalk or squashed by cars on the street.
I decided to save my little earth worm and put him back into the lush green grass. But when I tried to pick it up, the worm began to wiggle and fight against me. Eventually I did accomplish my task of saving that one earth worm - and went back to work. At work I began to think about that worm and how he was much like we humans. We are headed on a perilous journey to an eternity we will regret. But God sent His Son to pick us up and put us back into His lush garden, His Christian church fellowship. But most of us fight against all His efforts - just as that worm fought against me. However, if we will only listen to Him, He will save us - as I saved that worm.
That evening at Bible study when I shared my earth worm story, Pastor Sam suggested, "Bill, you should write it to share with others." And, that, my Friends, is how Bill Gray began a Christian writing ministry. So, if you don't like my writings, blame Pastor Sam, for he got me started. And I thank God often for his encouragement.
About 2005, Pastor Sam and Ida decided to return to the Philippines to do ministry in their homeland. I remember Ida telling us that when they told their family, their young granddaughter, Bethany, asked her, "Will you still be my Lola?" In a way I could have asked a similar question, for this Godly couple was my spiritual parents.
In the Philippines, they began to operate the Word of Life Seaside Bible Camp for young people, accept speaking invitations, lead home Bible studies, counsel and disciple, and pastor a new church, the Talakag Church on the Solid Rock - a sister church of Church on the Solid Rock in Laguna Niguel, California, where Pastor Sam was pastor before making the decision to return home to the Philippines.
Also, because of Ida's teaching credentials, they were working on accreditation with the Philippine Department of Education for a pre-school they currently were operating for the young children in their area.
Each year, they returned to Southern California to spend the holidays with their family. The day after Thanksgiving 2012, Ida became ill and went into the hospital. At about 1:00 AM on the morning of December 10th, she went home to be with her precious Lord.
Pastor Sam returned to the Philippines to continue pastoring the church which Ida and her friends were instrumental in founding, the Talakag Church on the Solid Rock. And today, nearing his mid-80s, Pastor Sam Lacanienta is still serving the Lord in these activities he and Ida established.
There are so many stories I could share with you about Pastor Sam and Ida Lacanienta. But if I keep going this will be a book instead of a blog.
I am just one of many whom this Godly man, in his quiet, sincere way - has led to saving faith in Jesus Christ. I pray that this ongoing story of "A Man Named Sam" has been edifying and encouraging to you.
God bless, have a wonderful, blessed day,
Bill
No comments:
Post a Comment