Last month FLAME professor Mark Wilson wrote an article on the 20 Most Influential Wesleyans. His list can be found here. Mark will be teaching a class next week on Wesleyan Church History at FLAME. I’m guessing that his preparation for that class served as inspiration for the list.

It got me to thinking about influence. I agree with those he lists as an influence in the Wesleyan Church. They are a who’s who of Wesleyan thinkers. As I began to think about influence, I thought about those who influenced my life and my thinking. I had a few ground rules. I had to have personal interaction with those on the list and they had to be Wesley”an.”

1. Mom and Dad Argot – Parents are a great influence on their children.
2. Ken Argot – My brother. Currently training with The Salvation Army. We have been having some great conversations over on his blog site.
3. Pam Argot – My wife. When you have spent almost 20 years with someone they become an influence on you.
4. Grammy and Pop Argot – My pop passed away when I was young and my grammy passed away around 15 years ago. My cousin Teri wrote a great song and produced a video about their influence. (As you can see family has played a large part in my life.)
5. Dr. Jimmy Johnson – Jimmy Johnson preached the message at Toronto 1980 when God called me into the ministry. He passed away several years ago, but leaves a legacy all over the Wesleyan Church.
6. Rev. William Johnston – a former pastor at Trinity Wesleyan Church in Allentown, PA. He was my pastor for 8 years during those formative high school and college days.
7. Dr. Rich Eckley – a former youth pastor at TWC. Now a professor at Houghton College. Rich finally got Pam and I together and the rest (as they say) is history.
8. Dr. Dan Berry – followed Rev. Johnston at TWC. God’s call was confirmed under his ministry. He is now the District Superintendent of the South Coastal District. Dr. Berry was also our DS for one year while in New York and was responsible for bringing us into our first solo pastorate.
9. Chris Eads – College Pastor at College Wesleyan Church in Marion, IN while I was attending Indiana Wesleyan University. I served as Worship Leader for Chi Alpha, which Chris headed up. I often think how contemporary we thought we were then. It seems traditional now. (A subject for another post.)
10. Dr. Todd Guy – Professor of Music – Indiana Wesleyan University and Minister of Music (at the time) at Lakeview Wesleyan Church. Todd has such a passion for worship. If you’ve ever heard the IWU Chorale, you know what I’m talking about. There is no excuse for sloppy worship. If you can’t do it with all of your heart, don’t do it.
11. Rev. Greg Reynolds – My first mentor and now the District Superintendent of East Michigan. Greg helped me out in my first pastoral position, while he was the Assistant DS and pastor of Community Wesleyan.
12. Wayne Richards – I first met Wayne at FLAME at Eastlawn Wesleyan Church in the summer of 1999. Wayne is the Director of Ministerial Preparation for the Wesleyan Church. We have become great friends over the years. Wayne has a heart for men and women who are preparing for the ministry and especially those preparing in the non-traditional way. Wayne and I will be spending next week together at FLAME.
13. Rev. Glenn Bozak – My mentor and friend from Niskayuna, NY. Glenn and I had similar yet different paths into the ministry. He started as a musician as well and moved into the pastorate. We spent many hours together hashing out what ministry is suppose to be. Also a great musician friend and I had several opportunities to play at his church with his band.
14. Dave and MaryLou Stevens – If you’ve ever been to FLAME in the last five years, you know Dave and MaryLou. They are responsible for all the great food. If you go hungry at FLAME it is your own fault. Besides being cooks, they invest in the lives of the students. FLAME would not be the same without them.
15. Jerry Armstrong – a lay person at Fort Miller Wesleyan Church – Jerry was a thinking lay-person. We spent many Sunday mornings discussing theology before worship.
16. Dr. Phil Bence – FLAME professor – He taught two influential classes – Doctrine of Holiness and Life of Christ. He wasn’t interested in showing us all he knew, but guided us along in the journey. He really helped me develop my theology of holiness through these two classes.
17. Chaplain Gordon Ritchie – As our family now knows him, Gordon is a Naval Chaplain with the Marine Corps (Ask him to explain it.) Gordon has become a great friend of the family. We met as pen pals in March of 2002. A year ago, Gordon and his family came to Preston and we got to meet them face to face. What an awesome ministry Gordon and his wife Lasana have to military families.
18. Rev. Mark Wilson – pastor, blogger, and FLAME professor – I have enjoyed Mark’s blog for about the last nine months. Mark has a heart for the small town/rural church and their pastors and his blog is written with that in mind. Mark was one of the inspirations for me to start blogging.

So there is my list. I thank God for bringing each one of these people into my life. My prayer is to have influence on the lives of others, the way these have influenced mine. I know that prayer has been answered and continues to be answered.