WILD ROSE, Wis.
God is in the details of our lives and longs to draw us into relationship with Him. No matter how trivial some details of our lives seem, no matter how much we think that things are out of control, and no matter how much we mess up at times and disobey Him, God still uses these things to draw us to Him and to where He wants us. An autobiography entitled, “Unacceptable: One Black Sheep’s Journey to Acceptance,” is retired U.S. Army Chaplain Leslie Simonson’s story of coming to faith in Christ, trying to follow His leading for his life, and finally feeling accepted by Him.He was a kid who didn’t do well in school but went on to become a forest ranger, a counselor, and a teacher. He got kicked out of a liberal Lutheran seminary because he was too conservative, but graduated from another seminary and then became a pastor and an army chaplain. He says that the book’s purpose is to call people back to a personal relational faith in Jesus Christ that rises above institutional beliefs, no matter how sincere. Simonson grew up Lutheran and married a Catholic woman. Eventually they gave their lives to the God they had heard about while growing up in their respective churches but with whom they never had a relationship.
Simonson’s story may resonate with many people. For those who didn’t do well in school and wondered if they could ever suc ...
