Mel was different:

He showed us how to live in the good times and the bad.

Melvin (Mel) Weldon was different. He was a unique, uncommon, out-of-the-box, adventurer. At times he was unexpected and quirky, but always encouraging.

He was a great preacher, but I don't remember a single sermon he preached. He used diagrams and charts and challenged you to think beyond the limits, but even the images fade with time. What I do remember, with delight, is a life engaged and focused on bringing out the best in everyone he met.

In a time when preachers were known for abilities to argue and debate, Mel was different. While others were winning arguments, He studied and researched and had his own opinions, but he was more interested in listening to your position than forcing you to agree with his. He invested in people and in doing so, became one of a few preachers who, in many ways, have become a generation of anonymous giants. And that was OK with Mel. He was different.

Mel was at his best at Sierra Bible Camp. Most of our "real" faith shaping times growing up happened at camp. That's where "Church People" became real people. Oh, there were classes and devotional talks, but the most powerful part of camp was being together 24-hours a day for 7-10 days. The real people showed up, and Mel had "realness" down to an art. From the first day he knew everyone's name and he found a way to make everyone think.

My brother and a group of his buddies were sitting around on old stumps, Bible's opened, researching the concept of "grace." It was new to all of us. Mel walked up, "What's happening?"

"We're reading all the verses in the Bible that talk about 'grace'," Gary responded.

Mel relied, "have you looked at this passage pointing to one in Romans 4."

Someone answered "No, it doesn't have grace in it, we have all the verses on this list that have the word grace in them; it's not on the list."

"Oh, it's in that verse, check it out, you'll see."

During those years, when people got slammed against an unexpected crisis, Mel was the one to call. When preachers needed a confidential ear, when conflicts were out of hand, when life shattered in your hands, time with Mel made the impossible endurable.

During those horrendous days after Dorene Harris' tragic murder, Mel was the minister called to preach the memorial service. Mel was different. He knew how to connect with all ages. He was in the top three of popular speakers at Bay Area Youth Rallies. He was a breath of fresh air in a time of bickering and bitterness. He paid the price...sometimes even well intentioned people can't handle it when preacher's challenge you to think outside the box. "Those questionable, unproven people like him, there must be something wrong with him and what he teaches." Fear gripped the land.

He focused on people where he found them, not where he wished they were. And, he did it by showing them the way. I believe there are aspects of the Christian faith that are lost in the words…until they are demonstrated. Some things just have to be see: love, forgiveness, and grace to name a few. While Mel was forcing us to think, he was showing us how to love the unlovable, how to forgive the underserving, and how to dispense grace without earning it. "WOW, now that's good news!"

He was different. Before we used words like "mentor" or "counselor" or "coach" to refer to leaders, and before people dared to think of the preacher as a friend, he was all of the above.

During the summer before my freshman year in college, Mel was one of the keynote speakers for a youth rally at my home church. I had closed the morning with a challenge for those teens younger than me. It was a life changing experience. During the lunch break, Mel asked if we could talk a bit, so we walked out to the back side of the parking lot. When we reached the fence separating us from the creek, Mel turned toward me, looked straight through me, put his hand on my shoulder and asked, "Ronnie, you ever thought about being a preacher?"

"Absolutely not," I relied, "they move every two years, somebody is always mad at them, and they don't have any friends."

That was that, but a seen was planted.

Almost three years later, following a horrific car accident that toss me free of a high-speed crash that killed a close friend, Mel visited my room and just as he left, he asked, "Ronnie, God has plans for you, have you thought any more about being a preacher?"

He had planted the seed and tilled the ground.

Mel was different. And he was good at it.

Thank you God for putting Mel in my path. I for one stand in honor of my mentor, my coach, my friend, Mel Weldon.

Well Done! Mel Weldon Well Done!