THOSE WHO POURED INTO ME - #2

A couple of postings back, I shared the names of the pastors who had influence over me. This posting salutes the people - many I know, others I only know of and have never met - but each has a characteristic that has helped me to be the guy I am.

Janice Baird/My wife - Has been by my side since grade 7 and kept me away from many destructive things guys do and forgiven me for the times I failed.

Steve Jones/PD LIFE 100.3 - To me, he exemplifies the character of Jesus in the workplace, especially in a moment of panic or crisis.

Steve Taylor/Newsboys producer. He listened to me talk about LIFE and asked questions and made me feel special while impatient fans waited in line.

Charles West/Ascension band leader. I play drums and he pushed me to a higher performance level than I could have reached by myself.

Ryan Stockert/CJAY radio producer in secular radio. His heart for in-your-face street evangelism leaves me awestruck.

Scott Carpenter - 1050 CHUM DJ in the 70's who, in 10 seconds, inspired me to pursue radio as a career.

Dan Shafer/Former Boss - Kicked my bum several times, forcing me to do what I thought was impossible and thus raising the bar of possibility.

Jim Waters/CKLC First Boss - gave me a hand-written note telling me I "would go far in this business". I still have the note. He believed in me from the start.

Lance Armstrong/Cyclist - He's an example of never giving up. He pedals hard on his bike and encourages me to pedal hard in life.

Bono/Rock Star - He uses his platform as a rock star to influence world leaders to forgive the debt to impoverished countries. He has donated millions of dollars to feed the hungry, cloth the naked and show love - kinda like what Jesus told us to do.

Mick Jagger/Rock Star - His stardom is a mask for a savy businessman who knows that marketing and re-invention is the key to success. Every new Stones tour has something bigger and better that makes headlines and captures media interest.

James MacDonald/Pastor - His daily teachings remind me of the importance of Christian character and that God loves me, despite my stupidity.

John Bevere/Pastor - Through his video series I have learned more about the Creator and that insignificant little me is still the apple of his eye.

Lorne Anderson/Former radio guy and friend - Introduced me to Christian music, thus changing my musical tastes, my career and my outlook on life.

Stan Lee/Creator of Spiderman in 1962. Went bankrupt in 2001. In 2002, when Stan was 82, the Spiderman movie came out, a win-fall for his wallet and showing me that my greatest days are possibly yet to come.

Geoff Moore/Christian Artist - The catalyst for me to hear cool Christian music.

Sylvester Stallone/Actor - In "Rocky 6", he tells his kid, "life hits you hard but you got to get back up and keep moving forward."

Rob Bell/Pastor - His book "Velvet Elvis" taught me that it's ok to question Christianity in order to go deeper into the heart of God and to wrestle out my faith in pursuit of the truth.

Scott Shannon/Radio Renegade - If I could trade places with anyone in the world, it would be him.

And there's many more but I'm running out of room.