The Legend of Bob

One of the great challenges of going to a new ministry is learning names.  Everyone learns your name in a heartbeat; after all, you are just one person.  Trying to learn the names of your new co-workers, the youth, the parents and everyone else is a major undertaking.   Upon my arrival at First Methodist- Kissimmee I warned all of the youth it might take me a few weeks to get all of their names right.  In the meantime, I informed them, if I needed them and could not remember their correct name, I would simply call them "Bob."  This happened quite a few times the first few weeks.  Slowly but surely I learned names, faces, and how to tell a Teresa Reep from a Cyndi Reep!

There was one name I just could not remember.  Jennifer Minnigan (pictured) was an 8th grader who I took an immediate liking to; she would turn out to be an extremely memorable part of our student ministry.  But in those early weeks, she was quite often called Bob.  She was such a good sport about it, and we had so much fun joking about it, that even after I learned her name I just kept calling her Bob.  And I was not alone...

Jennifer just became Bob.  Everyone began calling her that, and it was soon the only name she answered to at church.  She told me recently that in those days people would call her house and ask for Bob, and her mother would be really confused because Bob was also the name of her ex-husband.  There were youth who were very active in those days and did not know her name was Jennifer- she was always Bob to them!

"Bob" was much more than just a name, though.  Jennifer was a leader in our youth group, someone I always counted on for insight and laughter.  It was like being Bob gave her superpowers and a secret identity.  She may not have been a "star" of the group when I arrived, but by the end of my first summer she was well on her way to my Hall of Fame.  She is someone who has stuck by me through good times and bad.  She and her husband Jun live here in Tampa and we had lunch just last week.  They are very active in their church and run a restaurant in Clearwater.  I know, even today, if I need Jennifer Minnigan Kuramochi all I have to do is call.  And her number would be easy for me to find; I just need to look in my cell directory under Bob.  Thanks for everything Jen- and welcome to the Hall of Fame!

Because of Jesus,