Heart to Heart: Time to Land the Learjet

Malinda Duvall

If you were to ask me what I would have liked to have done with the last sixteen years, God has allowed me to do exactly that by letting me be involved with the FBFI. As I transition out of my job over the next several months, I have so many people whom I want to thank for these sixteen wonderful years.

When Pastor John Vaughn, then FBFI president, introduced me to the board in June 2008, he said that for me to take this job was like being given the manual to a Learjet and being told to fly it. Was he ever right!

And then I went to flight school and started reading the manual.

When Pastor Vaughn retired as pastor of Faith Baptist Church in Taylors, South Carolina, all his ministries moved out of the church office to make way for the next pastor. The FBFI Home Office moved to my home, and he worked out of his home, giving new meaning to the term “FBFI Home Office.”

God has given me so many great flight instructors along the way. Of course, God is always the best teacher. Early on when the learning curve was huge, my husband, Roger, would pray with me daily at breakfast about my job and would remind me to ask the Lord for help for every next step. I can’t thank both the Lord and Roger enough for all the help they’ve been to me and the FBFI over the years. During this transition, Roger has spent many hours keeping that Learjet engine running—managing the financials, setting up computers and printers, replacing my webcam when my puppy chewed through the wires, and far too many other things even to list. God has clearly placed him in his position as FBFI treasurer as I transition out of my job.

As another one of my instructors, Pastor Vaughn spent much time early on teaching me FBFI procedures, policies, and history. He showed me repeatedly how a godly person should respond to difficult situations, what graciousness looks like, and so much more. It’s been such a privilege to have worked closely with him.

Meeting all the “suits” at that first board meeting was quite intimidating until it occurred to me that they were godly men, and there was no reason to be afraid of them. It’s been a pleasure to work with Kevin Schaal (FBFI president/CEO) and the FBFI board, and to see firsthand their gracious and kind responses to many difficult situations through the years. They have all become my very good friends.

Does my chaplain family know how much I love them and how much I will miss them? They have taught me so much. (Military acronyms are a language all their own, and the chaplains have been so patient with me during what can only be described as language school!) God has allowed me to attend Chaplain Basic Officer Leadership (CHBOLC) graduations at Fort Jackson, to be present at Mike Shellman’s retirement ceremony in Washington, DC, to see CH (MAJ) Josh Cox and CH (MAJ) Seth Hamilton at a battalion jump after attending Seth’s promotion ceremony at Fort Liberty (formerly Fort Bragg), visit CH (COL) Gary and Carissa Fisher at Fort Shafter, Hawaii, attend chaplain retreats and chaplain training, and on and on. In 2008, FBFI had twenty-nine men listed as chaplains. Today we have more than eighty people on our list of endorsed chaplains. Joe Willis, FBFI Endorser, has done an amazing job of building relationships with each one, caring for and counselling them and their families, helping with their career paths, and representing them in Washington, DC. He has defied all the jokes I initially heard about working for a retired army colonel and has been just the opposite—a great communicator and so helpful as I filled out all the paperwork for the Department of Defense for our military chaplains. He’s given me hundreds of hours over the phone helping me care for our chaplains and their families.

Behind the scenes, FBFI has a large ministry-minded team who has worked hard through the years to make the Fellowship what it is today. Several other team members are also currently transitioning out of their roles. Our accountant, Mike Terelmes, has done the year-end financial board review for more years than I know about. He has recently transitioned out of his job only because he’s 86! Steve Skaggs just passed off the FrontLine magazine Publications Editor baton to Chuck Bumgardner. Steve has been so easy to work with as he and I have worked to get each issue “off my desk” and on to our graphic designer, Mike Moreau. In addition to maintaining FrontLine magazine’s reputation of excellence, Mike has helped me with countless smaller FBFI design projects that were beyond my skill set, always with a positive, upbeat, and “happy-to-help” attitude. Thankfully he’s not transitioning out of his job yet.

And there’s Tom Carter. In God’s perfect timing He sent Tom to help set up the FBFI computer several times—initially when I got a new computer and again last year when it totally crashed due to a power surge and Windows upgrade occurring at the same time. Last year’s crash took two weeks with both Tom and Roger working to restore everything to good functionality.

I still have no idea what it takes to get a Learjet off the ground, but I do know that the FBFI Home Office has an amazing crew who has gone above and beyond—the extra mile— to make it a smoother flight for all of us. At one point, my good friend David Shumate kindly shared a Far Side comic with me that helped me realize that no matter what, I couldn’t make the “wings stay on” this plane, and I couldn’t make the “wings fall off.”

I could tell so many great stories from where I sit. One of my favorites is about the day I received a letter on correctional facility stationery from Victory City, California. The person wrote asking for a FrontLine subscription. Being baffled as to who this might possibly be, I called Ron Smith, who lives in Victory City, and asked if he had any idea. “Oh yes. I have Sunday services in that facility, and that man comes to our church there.” After checking with Ron, I wrote a very generic letter back and set the writer of the letter up with a subscription. Ron promised me that the receiver would read every word, from cover to cover, since the inmates weren’t allowed to have electronics in the facility. Sure enough, I received a second letter requesting a book that had been advertised in FrontLine. Yes—he even read our ads. I wrote him another short, generic letter and sent him the book. It shouldn’t have surprised me when I received a third letter from him stating that he had been looking for a godly wife! I let him know I was happily married. As a result of those letters, we have sent hundreds of FrontLine magazines to Ron Smith to use in his ministry there in the Victory City Correctional Facility.

As I’m now circling to land, I’m so thankful that I was given the manual to this Learjet. The time has come to pass that manual on to my friend and the next FBFI Home Office manager, Suzanne Fell, in a few short months. As exciting as it has been for me to be a part of this ministry, it also has been very exciting to see how God has sent Suzanne to us. She has a good flight ahead of her.

Malinda Duvall served as the Office Manager of the FBFI the last sixteen years. All the members of the board offer heart-felt thanks and appreciation for her faithful service.