Gold To Refine

Gold To Refine is a collection of short stories. It is stories about my experiences as a student, youth director, minister/pastor/preacher, and teacher in Tennessee, Wisconsin, and England. It covers a period of about fifty years.

It is stories about places I have lived and places I have visited - wonderful places. But much more, it is stories about people — people I have known and admired over the years, people who have been important in my life and in the lives of those around them, wonderful people (there are a few tales about not-so-nice people, too).

If anyone is in contact with all kinds of people and situations, it is clergy. These are stories about the amazing experiences of a particular minister, which happens to be myself. The stories are true. Some of the stories are humorous — even slapstick; others are quite serious.

As I say in the preface, I believe we all need stories — funny stories, touching stories, loving stories, happy stories, stories with a moral, stories with hope. I offer this collection from the events of my life in the hope that in them are elements of humor, hope, and love — for entertainment but also for encouragement.