PASTOR GARY SCHLENZ
______________________
By Peter Day
Senior Reporter
Pastor Gary Schlenz's journey has been up and down, but it's always been with God by his side.
Schlenz, of Crossroads Chapel, shares his life as a pastor — and his hope for others — in a scripture-filled book entitled "I Came To Church and I Got Beat Up." He and his wife, Linda Schlenz, a longtime teacher at Lucerne Valley High School, will serve as grand marshals of Saturday's 4th of July Parade and then assume parade broadcasting duties.
The Schlenzes (the couple have two children) were serving at a church in Moreno Valley when Gary was told by his church's district leaders that they needed the family to uproot and move to Lucerne Valley.
"I never even heard of Lucerne Valley before," he said.
So in September of 1991 the family moved their belongings to the small town. Their first night in Lucerne Valley they walked across Highway 247 to Pioneer Park, sat and prayed.
"We really felt the Lord wanted us to be here."
They had never met their new church members, but they were greeted with warmth and a sign on the door that said, "Welcome Pastor Gary and Family."
Dressed nattily in a suit, Schlenz quickly realized the family would have to adapt to a different culture, of sorts. He noticed some male church members had knives strapped on their legs, and the outgoing preacher, who also was a law enforcement officer, carried a weapon, as he suspected some other members of his new flock also did.
"We were so naive," he said."People would say things to each other and about each other that Linda and I had no idea what they meant. So we got quite the education. I still think about those days."
With the congregation's total giving at about $800 a month, the family first lived in an RV in the church parking lot. He got to work to make certain the church had met its obligations to local businesses.
"We paid off every debt," he said. "In the first two years God supernaturally provided."
Schlenz tells about those days in the book. He shared a story about one church member who had rushed another local pastor — with a knife. That prompted Schlenz to solicit the help of a few strapping men to serve as "spiritual bouncers." Schlenz uses such experiences as a means to share God's word.
"How many of us have felt that way before? We came to church to meet with Christ, but left feeling beat up," he writes. "The road ahead will not be easy. It will require trust, faith and grace.... He will sustain you through the process of your healing, but He never said it wouldn't, at times, be painful."
Eventually, after Linda Schlenz began her teaching career at the high school, a door opened up for Gary Schlenz to move his congregation into a more spacious location at a former Baptist church on Highway 18. Today Crossroads Chapel a two-decades long history of serving the Lucerne Valley community.
"Last year we saw 70 people accept Christ," Schlenz said. "We see a lot of salvation for our size of church."
Schlenz's key for moving forward, despite getting "beat up" every now and then?
"When you feel the Lord has called you, it helps when times get tough."
"I Came to Church And I Got Beat Up" (Xulon Press) by Gary W. Schlenz is available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other online book stores.