Skip to main content

Advancing from Success to Significance

"I am requesting for your prayer,” he began as we sat down over a meal at the Forepaugh restaurant in St. Paul, Minnesota four years ago. “I am currently designing a heart device that has capacity to stop itself should it sense that a heart patient is beyond recovery. My biggest concern is to know what our boundaries as human beings are and when we are crossing those boundaries in regards to medical innovation and treatment,” he continued as he sought God’s wisdom in the matter. Meet Robert Stadler as he lives out his faith in the market place of scientific ideas and technological cutting edge. He is the Senior Principal Scientist for Medtronic, the world’s largest medical technology company whose head-quarters is here in Minneapolis. A graduate of both Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard University from where he holds a Master of Science in electrical engineering and PhD in Medical Engineering respectively, Rob advanced from searching for success in life to finding significance through his relationship with Jesus Christ. Rob and I met seven years ago when I was invited to speak at a youth service at their church, Messiah Lutheran Church, in Moundsview, a Northeast suburb of the Twin Cities. Moved by what God was doing, he, along with his wife Bethanie, a professor of Electrical Engineering at the University of Minnesota, and their two children, Noelle and Andrew, felt led to get involved with SWIM. I later invited Rob to join our Board of Directors which he has joyfully and diligently served as chairman for the last three years. One of Rob’s amazing qualities is his self-effacement. He is a humble, down to earth servant of God, keen to serve and obey Christ with trembling and fear. As we have worked together, his biggest concern has always been making sure that we are not getting in the way of God and hindering His work through mediocre faith, over-emphasis on availability or lack thereof of finances, or any other thing. He is deeply compassionate, a trait that led him to be involved with a young Rwandan refugee family following the 1994 genocide in the country of Rwanda. Recently, God stretched Rob’s faith when He laid it on his heart to travel with the SWIM team in 2007 to conduct the Africa Great Lakes Region Conference for Leadership and Governance in Kigali Rwanda and the Festival of Hope in Bukavu, DR Congo. Having never travelled into a war-battered zone before, Rob’s faith was stretched each day as we drove on raggedy roads and met extremely needy people and situations in the Democratic Republic of Congo. As our team’s logistics manager, he successfully navigated otherwise daunting logistical situations in a foreign environment, allowing the rest of our team to minister effectively to over 400 pastors, government leaders, and to nearly 20,000 residents of the city of Bukavu through the Festival of Hope. During the pastor’s conference, he equipped the church leaders with great insights on effective time and resource management as the expression of our faith. On How He Came to Faith "I grew up as a Christian, but only in the latter half of my years have I really felt the urge to put my faith into practice. I have since felt a calling to advance from striving for “success” to striving for “significance.” God makes it clear that his kingdom and his purposes are the only things that carry true significance. Striving for success according to human wisdom is like chasing after the wind - it is meaningless!" On the Relationship between Faith and Science "A great deal of good comes both from science and from faith. Unfortunately, some scientists choose to discredit themselves by attempting to use the scientific method to answer the question: “How did life begin?” This question cannot be answered by the scientific method, and attempting to do so requires one to assert their own bias to fill the gaps. Bias always leads to bad science. As a result of this ongoing debate, science is discredited and the foundation of the church has been shaken. This question can only be answered by faith. I put my faith in the word of God rather than the biased ideas and interpretations of man." My Tribute As a co-laborer in the Kingdom of God with Rob, I give thanks to the Lord Jesus Christ who connected us seven years ago. It is true that God calls individuals just like he called me from the boondocks of Kenya to preach His gospel around the world. However, he never calls those individuals alone. He calls them along with and to serve among the community of other believers. Through Kingdom partnerships, we confront powers and principalities that stand in opposition to the truth of God. Rob has been and continues to be that faithful partner. Now that He is transitioning from our Board of Directors to spend sometime doing research in Europe, I pray that God’s hand of favor will continue to follow him and his family in unprecedented fashion. Thank you brother for your humble service. Keep the flame burning! Robert Stadler, PhD, is the out-going chairman of the Leadership Board for Shine in the World Int'l Ministries (SWIM) of which I am Founder and President -- this is in honor of his example of faith and service to the Kingdom. God does not require extra-ordinary people. He uses ordinary people to do extra-ordinary things. In Rob and his lovely wife Bethanie, PhD, along with their children Noel and Andrew, I see an ordinary couple who are available to Jesus Christ.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

OPEN FOR SPIRITUAL BUSINESS- Could COVID-19 open a window for Spiritual Awakening?

None of us wished for it. But COVID-19 delivers to our doorstep what is, perhaps, the greatest evangelistic opportunity of our lifetime. It is an unusual opportunity in the Twin Cities, North America, Europe, Asia, Africa and around the world. A scared world is open for spiritual business. The masks are off. People are open to hear that there is hope through Jesus Christ. For the church, the times we are in may have changed, due to COVID-19. But the mission we are on has not changed . The need to share the hope Jesus provides is now more urgent than ever.  Our nation is now the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic. Severe cases and deaths are mounting from coast to coast. Doctors, general medical workers and other essential service providers continue to do all they can to stave off the pandemic. 3 million Americans have lost their jobs. Children across the nation and worldwide are out of schools. Our economy and other global economies remain on shaky ground. All professional s

No Room in the Inn...21st Century Version

It is the Christmas season 2009.  Like Joseph and Mary 2000 years ago, a young couple are on the virge of the birth of their first baby boy.  Although they are doing everything to prepare for the big day, it still catches them by surprise.  Instead of the regular 40 weeks, the baby is arriving six weeks early. Because they are not expecting it this early, their bags are not packed nor is the nursery fully furnished.  Safe for an early morning warning in a dream to the father to prepare to be in a delivery room and with assurance (from the Lord) that it would be o.k, the day started off as any other day. At 6:00 AM, the couple prays together for about 40 minutes in their home in Victoria.  They take showers.  At about 7:30 AM, the husband goes to work briefly from his home office while the wife prepares something for their breakfast together. Within a couple hours they will have a routine prenatal doctor's appointment.  Later in the evening the wife's sister and her two beau

The Other Frontline in the Battle for Souls- By Suzanne Wanyonyi

I've learned quite a bit while Sammy's been away in India. Other wives have told me over the years, that when their husbands are gone for ministry for extended periods of time, the enemy tries to attack during the husband's absence by causing the garage door to break, or the toilets to break or the hot water heater to go out. So, from the very beginning of our marriage I anticipated those things and shared my concern about them with Sammy. He understood. We've always had a plan in case something breaks around the house while he's away. Well, none of those things have ever happened. Other things have happened.  During this latest mission, while nearly 80,000 people were being won to Christ, the attack came in a way I wasn't expecting: The kids. There were more than a few nights where I had about 2 hours of sleep because the kids kept waking up. With Malaika it's not so uncommon, but Junior has slept from 8-8 for as long as I can remember. He'