Gems - Part 7

Mary Ann Austin: As Mary Ann served as the Assistant Dean of Students for four years at William and Catherine Booth College, I had the privilege to get to know her and see her work. This people oriented lady is very passionate about her work and faith. Her attention to student issues and issues was a commendable and valued asset.

One of the things I valued about working with Mary Ann is that I she presented well reasoned ideas in a cogent manner. I enjoyed raising objections to see how she would respond and often found elements to use to raise with the President and seeds to plant for future watering. Her reasoning was solid and sound.

In other ways she acted as my foil. To my more global and conceptual thinking she thought through the details. I could confidently rely upon her to work out the details and hone matters with grace and dignity. Her assistance in revamping the discipline approach and process to be less punitive and more redemptive was invaluable.

I tried to encourage students to live out the Wesleyan principal of agreeing to disagree in an agreeable manner. In Mary Ann, the students saw that principal gracefully lived out.


Marc Archambeaux: This gentleman was my district Umpire-in-Chief for five years in Winnipeg. We worked together at least twice a week on games. Marc helped hone my umpiring skill sets and knowledge of the rules.

Even though he is not a Christian I have come to view him as a divine gem because of one comment that impacted me. For four years we had come to know each other well and I would from time to time share about my faith and encourage him to look to Christ. One late Saturday afternoon after doing our second play-off game and getting relaxing before doing a third, Mac looked at me and said, “Dave your trying to give me answers to questions that I am not asking and I consider irrelevant.” Marc was right. Too often Christians marginalize themselves by addressing questions that those who we attempt to connect with in the world view as irrelevant. I took stock of the significance of what he said and it became an “aha” moment.

While I started to work out the significance of what he said, it was not until I was in Iowa City that I had the chance to work through the change in my thinking in a more functional manner. In IC I worked with the Board, clients and work from their issues, accept their doubts and to build relationships based upon their issues and questions. For that “aha” moment Marc became unknowingly a divine gem.


Jim Read and Don Burke: These two godly men are truly divine gems. It was a honor to get to know them while Evie and I were at the college in Winnipeg. They have given themselves of service to Christ and The Salvation Army in the classroom. Their critical mind and the quality of their scholarship is a great asset to the Army…I regret that the Army at large has not recognized the asset they have in these two men.

Each has a clearly different personality but in each I saw scholarly men living out their faith in a spirit of joy and quietude. They are encouragers of others and are quick to see the best in others while being slow to anger or disappointment. They seek to be generous in the face of negative news while still working actively to bring positive resolution. It is in their handling of disappointments in a positive manner that has helped to impact my thinking and patience.