God Was Leading

Pastor Ted Duck

I was led to the Lord through an OCF home Bible study. My first study was with Hart Armstrong at Fort Knox, Kentucky. He and his wife, Marie, were very influential in leading me to the Lord. He was a living testimony of Jesus Christ.

I was not a Christian at that time, and in fact became very frustrated because I thought, "I'll never be able to be like these folks, I just can't understand." It wasn't long after that the Lord "arranged" my assignment to Israel in 1974, during the "War of Attrition." He showed me the Holy Land up close and personal!

After returning to Fort Knox in 1975 I received Christ and was later baptized. While I was assigned to the Army War College God brought another OCFer into my life to prepare me for what later became my call to the ministry. Al Shine, like Hart Armstrong, exemplified Jesus Christ in his daily walk.

Al was in charge of the weekly prayer breakfast at Carlisle, and when he retired I took over from him. It was at that point that God led me to the next step of spiritual maturity and preparation for the ministry.

The OCF weekly Bible studies and prayer breakfasts, plus frequent conferences at White Sulphur Springs, all fortified my desire to serve the Lord in an ever-increasing way. Of course, I had in mind that I would be influential within the military environment, but God had another plan.

While assigned as the Comanche Helicopter Tradoc Systems Manager (TSM) at Fort Rucker, I received the call of God to leave the military and go into ministry. Having commanded an aviation brigade previously, I was sure God was speaking to someone else. But in January 1994 I was sitting in Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (still a Colonel!) as a 52-year-old student and private in the Lord's army!

Today I'm in my twelfth year of ministry, pastoring Pine Drive Community Church in Dickinson, Texas. All this to say that OCF has meant so much to my wife, Barrie, and our entire family. Home Bible study and the numerous testimonies by OCFers who walked the walk of Jesus Christ literally led me to the cross of salvation.

We appreciate the love, tireless work, and dedication, that all of you in OCF give every day. You are in our prayers. May God continue to bless each of you and keep you strong. You are impacting lives for eternity, and this is one former officer who can simply say, "Thank you!"