Jack Griggs

My spiritual journey is the product of a simple and total faith as a child, strict and disciplining parents, a search and struggle to regain my faith following the death of a close friend as an adolescent, the selection of Christian friends and a deeply believing wife as a young adult, death of our first child, a disciplined life for the last 40 years and a desire to be more spiritual than I am. Practice of outward Christian virtues are generally easier for me than inward spiritual disciplines.

Practically all of the prayers of our youth regarding family, health and prosperity have been answered affirmatively. Nearly every morning, my first thoughts before rising from bed are expressed to God in prayer in terms of thanksgiving for Ann and for all of our children (including our birth children, the husbands and wife of our birth children and our grandbabies). Every evening ends with a short period of Bible or Bible-related study. Yet, I fail to fully practice the presence of God and am suspicious of Christians who speak of seeing the actions of God in every daily detail. I am frequently impatient with myself and with others. I am not, yet, who I want to be spiritually. I am overjoyed with the grace and love of God that is mine through faith in Christ Jesus!

My vision for my role as a shepherd is similar to, but less intense than, the role I see for myself as a 61-year-old father and grandfather. My role as it relates to Highland members and guests is to love them, protect them, pray for them, encourage and affirm them, be available to them and help them to develop spiritually, emotionally and socially as I receive similar help from them. I should be a nurturer and encourager vs. a director, critic or judge.

My vision for the role of the shepherds of Highland as a group is similar to the role I have described above for myself. But it also includes spiritual guidance for the congregation resulting from a constant study of the scriptures, and the promotion of unity among Christians everywhere, but especially within the Highland family. An additional role is to encourage and support existing church ministries as well as new ministries. As a group, shepherds are responsible for the spiritual health and growth of each member of the congregation and the congregation as a whole.

My vision for Highland is for us to be a family committed to pleasing God in every respect. As a group, we should nurture marriages and individual families. We should be helping each other to grow and develop our trust and faith in God.

In addition to taking care of ourselves, the Bible teaches that we are called to serve others. We should feel a strong sense of evangelism to those in our community and around the globe. With Ann and I having children headed to Bangkok, Thailand as missionaries in January, 2004, we would be particularly delighted to see Highland become more interested in that part of the world while still maintaining and strengthening our existing ministries.