Hemet, California – Forrest lived his life by a simple code of ethics: What would Ward Cleaver from Leave it to Beaver do? Since Forrest supposed that Ward would take June, Wally and the Beaver to church on Christmas and Easter, Forrest took his family to church twice a year. And that was enough. Forrest knew all there was to know about God.
Then Forrest’s wife, Adaline, invited him to a Stonecroft Bible Study for couples. Forrest agreed to go, but worried that someone might try to “make a fool” out of him. He told his wife, “If they start asking me questions trying to embarrass me for my lack of [Bible knowledge] I’m going to do one of two things: get up and walk out or get up and punch the guy right in the mouth.”
As soon as he walked into the Bible study, Forrest knew that punching the Guide was not an option. Forrest was an athletic man in his mid-30s, and the man who led the study was elderly. “What was I going to do?” quips Forrest. “Punch an old guy?”
Forrest and his wife received a warm welcome, but Forrest didn’t let his guard down. “I believed at the time that most Christians were hypocrites, so of course they are going to put on their good face. They’re going to lure you in and they are going to want money. …
“I came in kicking and screaming, but a voice on the inside said you have no reason not to go to this.
“Throughout the entire Bible study it was just irrefutable proof: not only was Jesus the Son of God, He was God and it was God in a triune form: Father, Son, the Holy Spirit. … And then it just dawned on me … the reason Jesus was here is to save us from ourselves, our own sins, and He died on the cross as a sacrifice for me.”
Within a few weeks of the Bible study, Forrest got down on his knees, confessed his sin, asked for forgiveness, and invited Jesus Christ to enter his heart.
“I felt this profound sense of relief,” says Forrest. “All of a sudden, I had clarity as to what my life is about.”
Forrest had made a permanent transition from “What would Ward Cleaver do?” to “What would Jesus do?”
Forrest’s teaching career became a platform for the Gospel. When students asked him if he believed in God, or why he had so much joy, Forrest would say, “I’m glad you asked!”
Forrest marvels at how far God has brought him. “[He] really, truly must be God, because He’s using me. It’s just amazing.”