Great Gratitude on This Journey
I was born in the small agricultural town of Sidney, Montana. There was one personal encounter during those days of my early life that I have often looked back on with great gratitude. God truly does have His hand in the lives of those He loves. There was a gray-headed little Sunday School teacher named Beulah Gaffield who saw something in me that I did not see in myself. She was ruthless in her pursuit of catching someone out of the Laci family that would bring honor and glory to the Lord. I was just a little tot when she started bringing me to Sunday School, and often I would stay for church and listen to Pastor George preach the gospel. My youth years were not too productive for spiritual things, but Beulah kept coming.
My first genuine encounter with Christ came at age fourteen while in a Sunday morning worship service where God convicted my heart. I truly surrendered my life to Him, but with little help at home, being a Christian was a struggle.
There was a Nazarene church in Sidney where my older sister attended. She tried to get me to go but with little success. I thought I knew what life was all about. Then tragedy struck our family. My older sister's husband was killed when a drunk doctor swerved into their car. My brother-in-law was instantly killed. My sister decided to move to Nampa, Idaho and attend Northwest Nazarene College (now Northwest Nazarene University). I was a senior in high school and wanted to get away from home. She asked me to go with her and help raise her children. I struggled with the idea, but then decided I would go. I enrolled in NNC where I met great men of the faith like, Dr. A. E. Sanner, Dr. Joseph Mayfield, Chester Mulder, Dr. Morris Weigelt, and Dr. John Seamen who used his psychology to fire me up to become a student of lifelong learning.
It was while at NNC in a revival service that God totally and unashamedly became my Savior and Lord. He called me to preach in October 1965. I graduated in 1969 and took my first pastorate in 1971.
I was just completing nineteen years of ministry when God called us to sell our possessions and step out in faith. My wife, Loris, had just completed her B.A. degree at Eastern Oregon State College which was to prove helpful in the years to come. The step of resigning our church and going to the Chicago area without jobs or any security was frightful indeed. We went and saw God provide miracle after miracle for us.
I entered Trinity International Divinity School where I received my Master of Divinity in 1990. Then we accepted the call to Crystal Lake Church of the Nazarene from 1990 to 2001. I applied for the Doctor of Ministry degree in 1995 and was accepted. I completed the degree in May of 2005.
Loris and I have been married 38 years and have three children. Loris has a B.A. degree from Eastern Oregon State College and a Master of Education degree from Olivet Nazarene University. She is a special education teacher who loves to work with these special children.
Our children are scattered throughout the United States. Merle, our oldest, lives in Elgin, Oregon with his wife, Deonne, and two children, Paige and Cole. David lives in Pleasant Pairie, Wisconsin, with Cindy, his wife, and daughter, Alyssa. Sarah lives in Lake-In-The-Hills, Illinois and works at Great Bank. I am grateful to God for the journey that He has brought us on and look forward to the future.
Dr. Frank Laci, adjunct professor, has been teaching Bible and Theology courses for NBC since 2006.
Published: 04/20/2020
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