Walking By Faith–Super Cool Person of the Week October 28, 2005

Lucretia and I do not have children yet. (NO–she’s not pregnant!) She’s always said she wanted two–I used to say that I wanted four…until I went to visit a friend who has four boys. I changed my mind and Lucretia still thinks to this day that the trip I took was God ordained!

FOUR BOYS! WOW–don’t get me wrong, the boys in the home I visited were very well behaved, it was just that nothing ever slowed down–ever. It was wide open from the time we woke up until the time we went to bed.

I came away from that thinking, “Who in their right mind would have four boys–that’s insane.”
And then last year I had the privilege of meeting Shane and Cherie Duffey–who have…you guessed it–FOUR BOYS (Austin, Tanner, Griffin, and Grant)

Shane Duffey is on staff at NewSpring (so is his wife–but I will save that for later.) What is his role you ask? Basically he is over everything you see inside the auditorium on a Sunday…lighting, video, music, sound, stage design…everything. He doesn’t actually do the work–but he leads and manages the people who are responsible for getting the work done.

This area has truly thrived under his leadership…and it amazes me the amount of work and the quality of work that comes out of his area. (Just wait until you see the video next Sunday!)

We hired Shane back in the spring. I remember sitting in Cracker Barrel with him and his wife & asking him to consider the job. He had been with State Farm insurance for around 18 years. He had risen up the ladder and was doing quite well in every aspect of being in the corporate world. He could have laughed at the offer–it was for less money (trust me!) and it would mean that he would have to walk away from a very comfortable job with a definite future and step into a world where everything was operate by faith!

It didn’t take him long at all to come to a decision; in fact, he accepted the job without even knowing what his salary would be. WOW–how many people do you know that would do that?

I admire Shane in so many ways. He is one of the godliest men that I know–and I see that in the way his wife and his children look up to him.

He is also one of the most intelligent men on the planet–he can read something that John Piper writes and understand it the first time! (OK all you Piper people–that was not a crack, John’s writings are pretty in depth–it takes me a couple of times–that’s ALL I’m saying!)

AND he is also an inspiration to me when it comes to being a dad. I’m not a dad yet–but Shane is a walking example of the fact that kids to not run the house–the parents do! He spends one on one time with his kids a lot–makes sure he is involved in their lives–and his family has not suffered because of him being wrapped up in ministry!

Oh yeah, one more thing…he is an inspiration to everyone who knows him when it comes to loving his wife as Christ loves the church. The relationship that he and Cherie have is amazing. They are walking examples that kids do not ruin a marriage (remember–they have four) AND that kids do not ruin romance (you can tell they are very much in love) AND that when you have kids that you do not have to quit doing things that you enjoy (they both workout & take care of themselves–and they go on dates–AND leave the four boys with a sitter!!!)

Can I just say this–they are examples that parenting is hard work–but if done right it can bring a couple closer together and not drive them apart. I am sick and tired of pathetic parents blaming their marital problems on innocent children!!!

Sorry about that rant! Shane Duffey is the man…he walks by faith and is an awesome example to all of us. He is my Super Cool Person of the Week!