FAITH LEADER:
Dedication to church always part of his family
story by Jeff Brumley, “"The Faith Leader"”
The Florida Times-Union 
Friday June 30, 2006 Sec. A-20

		The Rev. Gee Sprague Title, church, city: Pastor, CrossRoad (United Methodist) Church, Jacksonville Age: 53 Education: Bachelor's in math, Florida Southern College; and a master of divinity, Candler School, Emory University

Q: Tell us about your family.
Married to Sandy Keys for 27 years on July 21. Father to Hannah. I am surrounded by women; even our Jack Russell terrier, Sugar, is a girl.

Q: How did you find your calling?
My family was pretty dedicated to the church, sort of a typical 1950s and '60s attitude. We went because that's what good people do. Along the way, I discovered a personal relationship with God through his son, Jesus Christ. Over the course of about 10 years, it became pretty clear that my life's calling would be to serve God in the local church.

Q: Did you ever consider or pursue another line of work?
Yes. I was a math major and education minor. I taught math to ninth-graders. After that challenge, the ministry looked like a piece of cake.

Q: What is most rewarding about your ministry?
Watching people come alive in their faith in God, through a relationship with Jesus Christ. Jesus called it being born again. For some, they learn what it means to live beyond themselves and not live just to serve themselves. For others, it is hope after a time of failure or suffering of some kind. Jesus said he came to give life and life abundant. I love to see that in action.

Q: What is most frustrating about your ministry?
Watching people not getting it.

Q: What book are you reading or recommending lately?
Faith books: John Eldredge's, Wild at Heart and Waking the Dead; Donald Miller's Searching for God Knows What; Philip Yancey's Soul Survivor; Gordo MacDonald's A Resilient Life; and Louie Giglio's I am not, but I know I AM. Books on leadership: Jim Collins' Good to Great; Rudolph Giuliani's Leadership; and Patrick Lencioni's The Five Dysfunctions of a Team. My all-time, must-read favorites are all by C.S. Lewis: Mere Christianity, The Great Divorce and The Chronicles of Narnia.

Q: Have you ever doubted your faith?
I still doubt my faith, but rarely my faith in God. For a short time in the later years of college I considered myself sort of Christian agnostic. It was convenient to not really believe that God was personally involved in the world. That way I could do just about anything I wanted and ignore the responsibility and the consequences. I had a Doobie Brothers faith: "Jesus was just all right by me." If I was going to live by any set of teachings, even as an agnostic, I preferred Jesus.

Q: How were those doubts resolved?
There just seemed to be more to life than rules and regulations. I saw people living good lives and coming out short, and people who lived bad lives come out long. Just being good, or having all the answers didn't seem to work. I quit expecting God to do things my way and for me, and just began to seek him for who he is. I rediscovered a personal faith in Jesus and his living presence through the Holy Spirit. I don't know how to put this in words without sounding flaky, but the fact that Jesus rose from the dead began to really make sense for the life I wanted to live on Earth and for eternal life.

Q: What is your favorite saying, motto or verse of Scripture?
1 Timothy 1:15-17: "The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners -- of whom I am the foremost. But for that very reason I received mercy, so that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display the utmost patience, making me an example to those who would come to believe in him for eternal life. To the king of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen."

The Faith Leader is a weekly feature profiling men and women, lay and ordained, who are leaders in First Coast religious communities. To recommend someone, e-mail Times-Union religion writer Jeff Brumley at jeff.brumley@jacksonville.com. Please include the daytime phone number and e-mail address of the person you are recommending.