The Mark Project

By Daniel Schantz

Just to look at Mark Butrum, you would never guess either his past or his future. Standing in a bass boat, with fishing rod in hand, he looks like the guy next door, with windblown, sandy hair and ever-smiling Irish eyes. But this Air Force master sergeant is a man with an attitude and the mouth to match. Fiercely competitive and worldly, Mark spends Sunday mornings bass fishing on Truman Lake, while his wife, Jana, takes the kids to Northside Christian Church in Warrensburg, Missouri.

But things are about to change for this driven man.

Just downwind of Kansas City, Warrensburg lies in a world of trains, planes, cars, and boats: Amtrak train depot, Whiteman Air Force Base, Central Missouri Speedway, and Truman Lake. It is college town of 16,000 souls, many of them students at Central Missouri State University. Several professors and many students of that college are members of Northside church, and the leaders have a deep respect for the value of a good education.

Mark has a talent for avoiding church, but he is married to a very persuasive woman. One Sunday he agrees to go with Jana to church. He finds it bearable, so he goes back again, and then again. After church, some of the guys invite him to play on the church ball team.

“Sure!” he agrees. Competition is one thing this military man understands. “I”ll be there.”

As the softball game unfolds, Mark finds himself frustrated by the lack of cutthroat spirit among the church team players. He likes to win, no matter how it”s done. And yet, as the game continues, Mark finds himself strangely drawn to these godly men. They have a joy and affection about them that embraces him and makes him feel wanted. He ends the game renewed in spirit, instead of being a sore loser.

When Northside”s preacher, Seth Wortman, hears about Mark, he drops by the house for a chat.

“Nice equipment,” Seth remarks, admiring a cabinet full of rods and reels, the finest money can buy. “I”ve always liked to fish and hunt, myself.”

Mark grins. “I love to fish, more than anything in the world.”

They talk fishing for a while, then Seth turns the conversation to the subject of God, and Mark begins to squirm a little. In Mark”s own words, “Seth told me about Christ and all the promises to those who believe. Then he asked me if I knew where I would spend eternity, and the room got very quiet. I had no answer.”

Yes . . . Yes . . . Yes!

When Seth invites Mark to accept Christ, Mark says, “Yes,” the first of many “yesses” to come. He and Jana are baptized, and things begin to change around their house. The rods and reels are taken from the living room and put in the garage. The bass boat stays at home on Sunday mornings.

Inside, Mark is changing from a self-centered and competitive man to someone who loves people and serving them. He doesn”t have to look far to find things to do””the leaders of Northside put him to work.

“Could you have the Communion meditation next Sunday?” an elder asks him.

“OK, sure. I”ll do my best.”

“Can you help out with children”s church?

“Would you take the youth to the Pizza Hut after church?”

“Yes . . . yes . . . yes . . . yes,” Mark says to whatever he is asked to do.

In 1999 Mark is ordained a deacon of the church. Much of Mark”s training in the Air Force suddenly becomes useful: counseling, leading meetings, public speaking, interviewing””it all becomes a tool for serving God.

This dedication does not go unnoticed by the leadership of Northside. One Sunday afternoon, Wortman approaches Mark with a request. “There”s a new church starting over at Odessa, north of here. They need a preacher next Sunday. Do you think you could put together a sermon and preach for them?”

Mark swallows hard, then says, “Yes.” More excited than nervous, Mark works hard on his sermon. When Sunday morning arrives, he feels like he is getting on a roller-coaster ride.

“At first I was scared to death, but then, when I got into it, I found it thrilling. And as soon as I was done, I wanted to buy another ticket and get back on the ride.”

One sermon, and Mark is hooked on preaching! At night, he and Jana lie awake, wondering about their future. “I want to preach,” he confides in Jana, “but how would it ever work out? I”m almost 40 years old. If I quit the military, the pension would barely cover our living expenses. There would be nothing left over for me to go to college.”

Jana, a practical woman, agrees, and yet she sees the gleam in his eyes when he talks about preaching. She is as frustrated as he is, wanting to see Mark do what he now loves to do, but having no clue how it could ever happen.

Mark”s military friends are no help. “You should go to work for a big corporation, like GE,” they advise. “You could get top dollar with your skills. If you go into ministry, you are messing up your life.” They don”t understand.

“But some things are sweeter than money,” Mark argues. “Serving others is the most exciting thing I”ve ever done.”

The Project

When the leaders of Northside learn of Mark”s interest in ministry, they begin to put together a plan, unknown to Mark and Jana.

One Sunday the elders invite Mark and Jana to Charles Beebe”s house for lunch. When they arrive, they find other leaders are there, too, including Professor Dan Curtis, his brother Gary, John Meyer, Wallace Collett, and Sam Cox, the one who spearheaded this project.

Mark and Jana wonder what this meeting is all about.

When everyone is finished eating, Dan Curtis explains. “Mark, we know about your desire to preach, and we know you don”t have the means to go to college. We want to make it happen for you. We aren”t just talking about a scholarship, we want the church to support you and your family while you attend Bible college, so you can learn without financial worries.”

Mark”s mouth drops open. He looks at Jana. She has tears in her eyes, and suddenly his own face is wet with joy. This tough master sergeant is overwhelmed. “I nearly fell apart,” he admits.

The elders present their plan to the congregation. They call it “The Mark Project,” and one by one, members begin to respond to the challenge. Some bring large, one-time gifts, others provide him with a gas card, and another promises to cover his housing needs. Altogether they come up with $2,300 a month. Some 65 sources are involved.

“This was the most humbling experience of my life,” Mark acknowledges. “Some of these supporters don”t make much money themselves, yet they were eager to be involved. Only God could have brought this about.” Mark takes the time to visit all of his supporters, to thank them, personally.

“We saw something special in Mark,” says current Northside minister Sid Tiller. “Mark is for real. You don”t find someone like this every day.”

And so, in 2003, M.Sgt. Mark Butrum retired from 21 years in the military to enroll in Central Christian College at Moberly, Missouri.

That”s where I first met Mark. He sits in my Ecclesiastes class, listening like a man who knows how to take orders. He takes notes, he asks questions, he drinks in all the knowledge he can get.

When I pass him in the hallways, I salute him.

“That”s a pretty sloppy salute there, Soldier,” he fires at me. “Let”s shape that up!” His Irish eyes are always smiling, because he is enjoying himself at Bible college.

“I love it here,” he says, “especially the Bible classes, which I can use for sermon preparations. I had bricks and mortar when I came here, but college has shown me how to put it all together.”

Already Mark is preaching every weekend, and he has preached his first funeral and performed his first wedding.

Dream Big!

He has a special interest in midlifers, like himself, who are thinking about ministry. “I tell them not to be afraid. The rewards are great, and worries just get in the way. If you want to do it, God will make a way. Dream big! ”

Late one Sunday evening, Mark looks over his collection of fishing rods, remembering how dedicated he was to catching fish. Now he is fishing for the souls of men, and it”s much more significant and rewarding.

It happened because people believed in him””his loving wife, Jana, and the members of Northside Christian Church. Mark is hoping that other churches will seek out men like him and make their dreams come true, too.

In December 2006, Mark will finish his training.

Look out, world!

 

 

Dan Schantz”s writing credits fill several pages. He is professor of Christian education at Central Christian College of the Bible, Moberly, Missouri.