Let's begin today by reading from the book of Romans, chapter twelve, verses one and two. "So here's what I want you to do, God helping you. Take your everyday ordinary life, your sleeping, eating, going to work and walking around life, and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what He does for you is the best thing you can do for Him."

The passage continues, "Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit in without even thinking. Instead, fix your eyes on God, and you will be changed from the inside out."

For a number of years, I worked as a recruiter for a college in Northern California. Part of my responsibilities included the tough assignment of recruiting to Hawaii at least twice a year. So, I would take my wife Brenda along, and we'd visit Kahuluie, Lahaina, the Na Pali coast and every other little wonderful corner we could find in the islands of Hawaii. One day, just before I was ready to leave on a trip, I received a very simple letter on a yellow sheet of legal paper, postmarked from Hawaii. It read, "Hi. I would like to be a Christian preacher. What do I need to do? Sincerely, Randy Weimer." I noted the address, made a couple of quick phone calls, and set up a time to see Randy when I got to Lahaina, the old pirate's port on Maui.

Randy was to meet me at seven thirty Wednesday evening, but that evening there was no Randy, and no one anywhere around that had ever heard of Randy. So I sat in the courtyard of a church, wondering what to do next.

Then I heard the sound of thongs running on pavement—flap, flap, flap, flap, flap. And around the corner comes Randy! He's got blond hair coming down well below his waist. He has a big golden beard. He's wearing got an old t-shirt, cut-off blue jeans and thongs. I was amazed that he wasn't carrying a surf board! He came flapping right over to me and said, "You must be Duerksen! I want to be a preacher! What do I need to change?"

Randy and I have laughed together about that moment many times. His biggest fear was that he would have to wear a tie. "I've never worn a tie," He said. "I don't want to wear a tie, Duerksen! Can I be a preacher without a tie?"

Let me tell you a little more about Randy. Before he wrote to me at the college, he spent several years as trumpeter in a heavy rock band whose name you would know. You would, of course, know Randy by a different name. It was a band that went all around the world making records and making lots and lots of money. But, Randy said, "I can't do this anymore because something has stirred in my heart and mind that says my life must be a service-centered life instead of a me-centered life."

I brought Randy back to the college and saw him through a theology curriculum. Today—probably about 20 years later—you need to know what Randy is doing.

No, Randy is not wearing a tie! Randy works for a company installing water purifiers in people's kitchen sinks. I asked him, "Weimer, how could you give up being a pastor? And if not a pastor, you could at least be lead trumpeter in the New York Philharmonic!"

"Oh, no, Dick," Randy replied. "God has asked me to do something really special. You see, every day I go into homes, get under the sink, disconnect their water pipes, and replace them with a new water purifier that gives crystal clear water. In the midst of that process, I put my head out from under the sink and say, 'Ma'am, have you ever heard of the water of life? I can help get rid of a whole lot of junk in your life if you'll say yes to God'."

Randy Weimer is an "insinkerator" for God. "You can't live the old way." Randy says, "You've got to live a whole new life - changed from the inside out!"

Randy pulled a Bible from his coat. "Look here, Dick, read Romans 12:2. 'Don't fit into your culture so comfortably that you're there without even thinking. Instead, say yes to God. You'll be changed from the inside out.' And in the process," Randy smiles, "God's going to provide an entirely new life, tailor-made just for you."

—Dick Duerksen