Who Am I?

“Shame says you made a mistake, and you ARE the mistake. Godly guilt means you failed, but you are NOT a failure.” – Os Hillman

For 24 years, I was The Saints Prison Ministry and The Saints Prison Ministry was me. Now, don’t get me wrong, I am not saying that I was the most important part of that ministry or that my value overshadowed anyone else’s. In fact, I always saw our volunteers – whether they were missionary athletes, pen pals, Bible course graders, or bulk mailing assistants – as the real heroes because they weren’t compensated for their efforts. The same goes for our thousands of prayer warriors and financial donors as well as the dozens of churches who supported our work.

What I meant was that, as founder and executive director, I so closely identified with that organization that I sometimes lost track of my own identity. “I know why I was created and why God saved me,” I would often tell people. “It was to start The Saints Prison Ministry.”

And so, when I got burned out after 24 years of running the Saints – and running for Congress twice in three years, writing three books back-to-back, and losing two mentors and a lifelong friend to cancer in short order – I felt lost. Stepping down from my dream job stripped me of my identity, some key friendships, and my income. Alone and adrift, I floundered for a while as I tried to launch Risk Takers for Christ 1,100 miles away. Thank God for a loving wife, a supportive family, and a caring God, all of whom believed in me and absolutely refused to give up on me.

Today, I am content in my new home and my new calling. Working with at-risk youth is harder in many ways than ministering to inmates, but equally rewarding. And I absolutely love pastoring a church for the first time. God has surrounded me with a group of new friends and, as if that wasn’t enough, a son-in-law… two daughters-in-law… and six precious grandchildren. I am truly blessed beyond measure!

Now, if you were to ask me what my identity is, I would answer husband, father, “Papa,” and pastor. But most importantly, I would say that I am a child of God, undeservingly adopted into His family and on my way to heaven.

“I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.” Galatians 2:20 (BSB)

“For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.” Philippians 3:20 (NKJV)

- Rev. Dale M. Glading, President