"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 borrowed 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 difference in my life.
Pastor Sam was raised in a Christian family and 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.
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.
The next 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 their
Friday Evening 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 a big part of my maturing process. So you
can see why I place such importance on interactive, dialogue style
Family Bible Studies - I saw their effectiveness in the process of bringing me to the Lord.
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 for 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 (a pastor cannot be
ordained until graduation from seminary) Charles
as the pastor of the Fil-Am Church of Long Beach.
In 1988-89 I was working for computer company in
Irvine and on a sunny day I 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 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 continued
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 Lake Forest, 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, during their visit to Southern California, 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, in his mid-80s, Pastor Sam
Lacanienta is still serving the Lord in these
activities he and Ida established.
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 - and that it will make
you want to mine the Biblical knowledge found in Pastor Sam's Playlist
of short videos. They may be short in length, 15 to 20 minutes - but
they full of the solid food, meat, of Scriptural knowledge (1
Corinthians 3:1-3).
During the current worldwide Covid-19 Shutdown, Pastor Sam began posting
short teaching videos about the person and names of God, and sharing
the Gospel of Salvation to reach those who have not yet made that
eternal decision to follow Christ. I have compiled his 15 t0 20 minute
teaching videos into a YouTube playlist and each week I will add the
latest to the top of the list. I know that his messages are still
helping me continue to grow in my knowledge of God's Word, the meaning
of Sanctification, as I eagerly await each new video.
So, whether you are a new Christian, a mature Christian, or a person who
feels called to know more about our Lord and Savior and feel that you
want to become a believer yourself - you will find solid spiritual meat
in Pastor Sam Lacanienta's videos. View his videos and share them with
your FRANs (Friends, Relatives, Associates, Neighbors) for their edification.
Pastor Sam Lacanienta Gospel Message Playlist
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMVYSeWOEUc&list=PL_YT3RttutrjP4_ws1dHh8bO_CvVYWkPi
God bless, have a wonderful, blessed day,
Bill
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