An Ordinary Man and an Extraordinary God

About this book

What if God has been speaking throughout your life-even in the moments when you did not recognize His voice?An Ordinary Man and an Extraordinary God is the true story of one man's journey from a childhood largely unprepared for faith to a lifetime of following God across countries, cultures, and unexpected assignments.Howie Shute never imagined becoming a pastor or missionary. His path took him through sports, military service during the Vietnam era, a successful career in engineering and manufacturing, and eventually into ministry. Then, at age thirty-nine, God redirected his life.What followed was a remarkable journey of faith-from a first pastorate in a small northern New York community to missionary service in the Horn of Africa and ministry among some of the world's most difficult and dangerous places.Along the way came moments Howie could never have planned: answered prayers, dreams and visions, divine protection, encounters with persecution, movements of God, and lives transformed by the Gospel. Yet woven through the extraordinary experiences is a much simpler story-the story of an ordinary man learning, sometimes slowly, to recognize God's voice and obey when He speaks.Through it all, one truth became increasingly clear: God wastes nothing.Not the years before we know Him.Not our failures or disappointments.Not the unexpected detours.Not even the seasons when He seems silent.Looking back over a lifetime of faith, marriage, family, ministry, and mission, Howie discovered that God had been at work long before he understood what He was doing.This memoir is more than the story of one man's life. It is an invitation to look again at your own-and perhaps discover that God has been speaking all along.