Encouragement At Midwest Pastors & Leaders Conference

 My wife April & I are thankful that we were in attendance at the 2026 Midwest Pastors & Leaders Conference, October 12-14, organized by Calvary Chapel Crawfordsville, and held this year at Horizon Indy, aka Horizon Christian Fellowship in Indianapolis. We all enjoyed meaningful times of prayer, worship music, food, fellowship, and edifying and encouraging Bible teaching by speakers Sandy Adams from Calvary Chapel Stone Mountain (Georgia), Larry Powers from Calvary Chapel Golden Springs (in Diamond Bar, in Southern California) and Rich Chaffin from Calvary Chapel Laguna Creek (Northern California). Some might say that it's odd that the speaking pastors were from the South and the West Coast at a MIDWEST conference (most in attendance were from Indiana, Michigan and other Midwestern states), but no matter where we're from on this earth, we all look forward to a better place (Hebrews 11:16), as citizens of heaven, from where we eagerly await a Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ (Philippians 3:20).

At this Midwest conference, some folks there recognized me (with this crowd, not because of my pro wrestling announcing career), including Maya Vanover, wife of Pastor Chris Vanover from Calvary Chapel Nashville (she used to listen to me on KWVE/"K-WAVE" 107.9 & 1110/Los Angeles) and Larry Powers, who said to me, "I KNOW YOU!", and Larry said he was wondering why he hadn't heard me on KWVE lately, after I informed him that April & I retired this year. During a Question & Answer session (with pastors on stage taking questions on various topics from audience members), April observed that among all the folks who asked questions, I was the only one whom moderator Sandy Adams wanted to have the name of the audience member announced.

After one of his teachings at this conference, I told Pastor Rich Chaffin that before April & I retired and moved out of California, the two of us were "led to our spiritual home before we bought our physical home" (our local church, before buying our nearby condo), and Rich responded, "I'm going to use that line!" (if you ever hear Pastor Rich Chaffin use that line in a sermon, you now know where he got it from), and Rich continued that he's known congregants who left his church because they wanted to move out of California, but then they complained that there are no churches in the area they moved to...Rich said that they need to put the Lord first. Yep, kinda reminds me of what Jesus Christ Himself says, to "seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you" (Matthew 6:33).

Among the solid and practical Biblical teachings we heard...Rich Chaffin delivered a message on the work of faith, labor of love and endurance/hope in our Lord according to First Thessalonians 1...Sandy Adams, per Psalm 78:40-41 and other Bible passages, taught that we cannot halt God's power but we can limit God's plans by grumbling, and that when we grumble, we take the purposes of God in vain...and Larry Powers gave a message on the blessings of the blessing in Numbers 6:22-27. And to end the three days of spiritual nourishment that we craved for and needed, Larry wholeheartedly blessed us with this familiar, timeless blessing..."The Lord bless thee, and keep thee, the Lord make His face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee, and be gracious unto thee, the Lord lift up His countenance upon thee, and give thee peace."