Ministering to Learning Disabled Leaders
This is the calling story of Richard Gorman of the United States and how Christian Leaders Institute is helping him and his wife in their dream to bring the gospel to learning disabled children.
I am Rich Gorman and I am a 63 year old husband and father. I have a daughter, two step-sons and one grandchild. I grew up on the beaches of South Florida, USA and spent some time in the Caribbean as well. My family was Episcopalian so I was raised in the Episcopal church but drifted away in my early teens, questioning God, Jesus and the Bible.
During my teen years I became involved in the Hippie counterculture of the ‘60s and all
that it implies drugs, alcohol, and crime At age 17, however, I had a powerful face to face
encounter with Jesus during a dream in which He essentially told me to stop what I was doing
and follow Him. I tried to do so for a short while but had none to disciple me, didn’t know how
to find someone to disciple me, didn’t even know that I needed to be discipled. As such, I quickly
drifted back to the counter culture into which I had become entrenched. I married at 19.
I first accepted Jesus as my personal Lord and Savior during the Jesus Movement of
the 70’s. This time I managed to follow Him for about a year. While at a prayer meeting one
night a pastor made some un-welcomed and inappropriate suggestions toward me. As a result I
ran hard and fast from the church, from Jesus, from Christianity, from God. I wanted to have
nothing more to do with any of it. Again, I returned to drugs and alcohol. My wife left me for
another man.
For the next 15 years I lost myself in a haze of drugs and alcohol. I married again, had a
beautiful daughter. I went to college and managed to get a degree in English Literature. As my
addiction worsened I stopped the drugs but continued the alcohol. I don’t remember much of the
last few years of that period in my life. My wife and I separated. I ended up essentially
homeless, often sleeping in the back seat of a car with no windows, eating wherever and
whatever I could. In 1986 I had had enough. I was beaten. I checked myself into a drug and
alcohol treatment center and have not touched alcohol or other drugs since.
Upon leaving the treatment center I began attending Alcoholics Anonymous. Through the
teachings of AA I gradually began to ease my way back toward God. That route, however, lead
me through the New Age Movement. I experimented with various methods of spirituality,
Hinduism, Egyptology, Native American spirituality, and other methods that have no names. I
finally settled on Zen Buddhism. I practiced Zen for several years. But always felt that
something was missing. One night while sitting in meditation I heard a voice say: “Why are you
doing this, you are Christian.” That opened a door that would take several years before I would
walk through it.
Inspired by the people at the treatment center, I returned to college to study Psychology.
After four years of sobriety my wife asked me for a divorce. So much damage had been
done through those drinking years the the marriage was unsalvageable. Not long after that I met
a young lady in one of my college classes who would change my life. As a result of the divorce I
had to find another place to live. After several weeks of apartment hunting this young lady told
me there was an apartment available in her building. I moved into the apartment next to hers.
Her name was Paula. Paula was a relatively new Christian. She and I spent night after night at
her kitchen table discussing the Bible, God and Christianity. I would try to convince it was all
wrong, she would try to convince me it was all right. She was gradually winning. She and I
began dating, continued college together and I began attending church with her. We married in
1993 and vowed to put God first in marriage.
In 1994 we moved to Lake City, FL from South Florida. Lake City is a small rural
community about an hour south of the Georgia border. Shortly after moving here I officially
recommitted my life to Christ.
Paula continued her education, getting a Masters Degree in Special Education and
began working as a teacher. She had two boys from her previous marriage. The younger one
was speech and language delayed and is an Aspergers child. The public schools were not
meeting his needs so we place him in a local private school that claimed they could work with our learning disabled child. After a year there it became apparent that they could not so we pulled him and homeschooled him. When we pulled him he was in 7th grade, functioning at a fourth grade level
in all core subject areas. By the time he was in tenth grade he was functioning well above grade
level and was dual enrolled at the community college. He graduated with his High School
Diploma and his Associates Degree at the same time.
In time God told Paula to start a private school for learning disabled children that would use the same techniques as we used with our son. In 2003 we started New Generation Christian School. Paula was the
teacher and I remained in the secular work environment so we would have insurance. The first
year there were 10 students, one teacher in a borrowed room at a local church. The school grew
by 12 students a year for several years. she added another teacher. Then I joined the school in
2006.
Two years ago Paula and I lost our home in Tropical Storm Debbie. We evacuated out
house at 4 in the morning and went to the school building. Twelve hours later the school flooded
and we had to evacuate again. We were blessed to have church friends who took us into their
home until we could get things settled.
We ended up having to move the school due to mold issues after the storm. After many
trials God has seen us through it all. There have been many miracles along the way. God has
seen fit to bless us with a 26 acre property on which we have placed the school. Our new home
is also on the same property.
The school now has 20 portable type buildings and a staff of 14 and 160 students. We
serve those students who are learning disabled, have Aspergers disorder and other problems
that interfere with their ability to succeed in the traditional school system. Paula continues to
serve as Administrator and I serve as Pastor and English Teacher.
New Generation Christian School is a non-profit ministry to our community. We are the
only private school that will not refuse a student due to the family’s inability to pay for the
services.
The CLI Scholarship will be extremely important to me. I am a Pastor to 160 kids with no
real Biblical education. The CLI Scholarship will allow me to get the foundation for my ministry
so I can better teach the students about the Bible and the saving grace of Jesus.
Right now we have been asked to start other schools of this type in several counties in
Florida and as far away as Alabama. The CLI Scholarship and education will help me take the
Gospel to, possibly, hundreds more students who might otherwise have no opportunity to hear
it.
Thank you so much for establishing this ministry.
Sincerely,
Rich Gorman
Christian Leaders Institute Note: If you want more information about this school for learning disabled children and young people click here. Christian Leaders Institute is working with learning disabled students and graduates world wide. If you are learning disabled we encourage you to enroll at CLI. Learning disabled leaders are called into ministry all the time. Our president, Henry Reyenga was learning disabled as a child. He struggled with dyslexia and still does but that did not stop him from founding this school.
My name is Robert Lee Wilson am 58 years old and was born and raised in the hills of Tennessee in the United States of America. I was fortunate and proud to serve my country in the military at an early age. Before that I was raised in a poor rural area working in tobacco fields and on farms just to scratch out a small living with my father, mother, brother and sister.
I now live in a small town in Church Hill, Tn. with my wife. I am the father of two sons and two daughters and the grandfather of a little girl and one precious little boy whom played a big part of bringing me back to the path of righteousness of the Lord. As a teenager we did not have very many opportunities to go to church but when we did it was a Baptist church. I was saved in 1982 in an Apostolic church. I was a backslider and did not live a true Christian life as the Lord would have me to. I became an alcoholic and drank for many many years, but although I drank all those years I always took care of my family.
As my children grew up even though I was a sinner and not a very good example I tried my best to steer them toward the Lord. Since then I have repented of my sins attend a small Apostolic Church. I have been baptized in the name of Jesus, and am trying to reach out to other sinners so that they might here the Gospel. With the help of CLI and the education I could receive here, It would make it possible for me to have the knowledge I need to reach out and be an Evangelist to many who do not have the opportunity to here the Word Of God.
May The Lord Be With You Always
AMEN
Current address, United States, Oklahoma
History of a believing family: my Grandmother lived with us and when we would go to her room she would be in her rocker with her Bible and often would read passages to us. “Psalm 92:14-15 they still bear fruit in old age; they are ever full of sap and green, to declare that the Lord is upright; he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.” This made a lasting impression on me and certainly set the direction of my life.
Living in the United States, the church my family went to, taught the historical stories about Jesus, I remember the flannel graphs from over 60 years ago portraying His life. Yet going to church does not equal a salvation commitment and in later years I strayed into a myriad of trials and trouble. At age 30, due to a family friend’s witness about what Jesus did for me on the cross, I accepted the call and committed my life to Jesus.
Subsequently, a mission church from Toronto Canada was planted in my home town where a husband and wife team pastored. The elder Pastor knocked on our door inviting us to come. I took the children and at that church was lovingly and gently mentored by Pastor Beth, who still preached on her 100 birthday. Attending Bible studies continued to anchor me in the Word. Over the ensuing years most of my family came to the Lord including my husband and children.
My Father was a church member all his life yet at age 92 and dying had not accepted the Lord. He said he had been so sinful that God could not forgive him. The family had been praying for his salvation for years. It has been said that after a certain age, salvation is unlikely, but three weeks before his death he succumbed to the Holy Spirit’s persistent purpose. His countenance changed and he went home in peace to join our Mother who preceded him to her heavenly home. At his funeral I gave the salvation message. Acts16:31 “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.”
Strong’s concordance for word study had become my habit, but CLI coursework helped me learn to watch for and search out the connected flow of scripture. “2 Timothy 2:15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved by him, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly explaining the word of truth. NRSV”
Married 42 years I was widowed in 2007. A few years later I met a widower who also had been married 42 years, as we talked we found we had so much in common, including our faith in Jesus Christ then we married. His son is a pastor. We travel often and as we go witness and giving tracts to people as God opens the door. 1 Peter 2:9 “—-that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light…”
My commitment is to God, my husband, who encourages me, then others. I pray that the Holy Spirit will gently lead me to what He has in mind at this time of life. Goals that come to mind are to teach Bible studies possibly in nursing homes or hospice, witness and encourage others. Proverbs 16:9 “The mind of a man plans his way (convoluted), but the LORD directs his steps (straightens God’s way to go).”