About Ron

I was born in 1946 to Tom and Pearl Beck in Stockton, California. They had just moved to Stockton from Hutchinson, Kansas as World War II was starting. I have two older sisters. One sister was already married. The other sister married when I was five. Therefore I grow up an only child.

My father was an alcoholic and had been before I was born. Unfortunately my parents argued and battled over Dad’s drinking. I understand that Dad hit Mom in the early years of my life. My sisters despised Dad and to my knowledge never forgave him. All of my growing up years were marked by my sisters’ bitter denunciations of Dad.

My parents continued to argue and battle as I grew up. If I went to see what was going on they sent me back to my room. I heard the accusations and denunciations for many years.

By the time I was old enough to observe what was happening, my Father had made a habit out of abandoning Mom and I. Once when I was seven years old I was given the option of going with Dad or staying with Mom. I went with Dad for a few weeks then he took me home. I remember seeing a lot of sadness in Dad. Mom was very angry that I had gone with him. She did not hug me for years after.

When I was nine, Dad had an encounter with God. He went to church for a while and I saw him reading the Bible often. Someone at church confronted him about his alcoholism---Dad never went back to church. Mom had been taking me to church all my life and we continued to attend.

I grew up loving TV, reading, drawing, and music. Dad and I took long rides in California’s Central Valley often. He taught me to drive when I was ten in our 1953 Buick. We would go into the Gold Country of Angels Camp and Sonora. Also, when I was ten years old Dad took me to see “Forbidden Planet” at the movies. I already loved “Commando Cody” and “Captain Midnight” on television. I have been a Science Fiction fan ever since.

I grew up going to a Holy Rolling Pentecostal church. And at ten God Almighty came to me in a Junior Church Service. Sister Mitchell was giving the altar call asking the kids to come forward, God overwhelmed me right where I was sitting. In the next few months my father attempted suicide for the first time and I was diagnosed with a birth defect involving the knees, hips and pelvis. I had to have surgery to repair my right hip. The presence of God took care of me in great ways through those crises and family traumas.

Since physical activity was very limited for me, (swimming only) my interest in music, art and writing expanded. I found that I loved Classical Music, Rock N’ Roll and Jazz. My parents didn’t know what to do with me. I was intrigued with art and took a class at the local museum. I began writing in diary form things I saw, and people I met.

My father was an artist. Whether using a brush or a pencil, his drawing and cartoons were beautiful and unique. When I began drawing Mom became very angry. She was obviously seeing my talents in art as having some link to Dad’s alcoholism. It got to the point that I could not draw where she would see me.

I began to write my thoughts down and even attempted writing a play. Dad discovered me writing one day and became upset with my efforts. So Dad didn’t like my writing and Mom didn’t like my drawing

When I was 12 years old, I took an art class in which I earned “A”s. Again at 13, I took an art class and again received “A”s. Mom became angry because grades for everything else were mostly “C”s.

When I was 13, Dad left one evening. A month later we received a letter that he was in Hutchinson working with his nephews. Dad stayed back there for a year. Mom somehow obtained a car, a 1953 Chevy Bel-Air, and found a job in the kitchen of County Hospital. It was a quiet year but it filled me with hurt. I did as most children do, blaming myself for the wrongful acts of their parents.

When Dad returned, things went pretty well for some time. Then the battling began again. Dad went to the hospital at one point and was told that the drinking was killing him. About a year later he hung himself and was dead by the time he was discovered. I was in shock. Though I had discovered him in his first attempt and helped him through a number of bad moments: the loss shook me to the core in ways that it took years to even begin to understand.

Mom and I had an uneasy alliance. She worked a lot at the post office and I had managed to become a bit better as a student. Without Dad’s antics there was peace but little communication. Mom went to Parents Without Partners and we did some things with that wonderful group.

As a teenager my life revolved around church. I went to basketball and football games at school but that was about it. At church I went to all the activities whether I could fully participate or not. I taught VBS when I was fifteen and I helped in any way I could around the church. I cleaned out closets, helped wash the Sunday School buses, sang in the choir, and played trumpet in the band.

When alone I spent much time in prayer, it seemed as if my insides were going to explode. I gobbled up portions of the Bible. Yet, I was existing in a tornado of emotions that left me wondering why I was alive.

At nineteen, I was living in the mountains working at a geriatric hospital when God finalized a calling I had been sensing for years. I told my pastor and he had me preach to the youth group shortly thereafter. I had always been very shy, always nervous when speaking or dealing with a group. That moment cured it forever. I became very active teaching and preaching. In January of 1966, I started at Bethany Bible College in Santa Cruz, California. I was an undisciplined student and so struggled through two and half years finally being asked to leave because of poor grades in ’68. But, I loved it. I met lifelong friends. I acted in a play and was a stagehand in another. I got to know foreign students who gave me an understanding about the world that I still value.

Even with such wonderful things happening to me I often contemplated suicide. It came down to the fact that I didn’t like myself. My sisters and parents had instilled their bitterness and disappointment in me.

From 1968 to 1971 I did all kinds of jobs. I was active preaching and teaching any place that would have me. Then a pastor friend told me to go back to Bethany and God added his weight to the direction. Back at Bethany in the fall of 71’ I made acceptable grades, was manager-trainer of the Basketball team, and the college paper printed some of my poetry. In 1972, I met Deborah Lutz. We had a great but frustrating time together. We fell for each other but struggled with the idea that we wanted someone different.

During this time the Lord led my reading to the likes of C. S. Lewis, Lloyd John Ogilvie, Catherine Marshall, Bruce Larson and others that reaffirmed my relationship but gave me views of a life that could reach potentials I had never thought could be.

I graduated in 1974. In the ensuing years I did all kinds of jobs but once again I preached and taught. In early ’76 God brought my attention back to Debby. She graduated moving back to her parents near Sacramento.
This time we dealt with our expectations, and what God was obviously putting together. We had loved each other since ’72, now we were aligning ourselves with each other and God’s guidance. We married in 1978.

We have three boys: Jonathan 28, Robert 25 and David 23. All the boys were home-schooled to one extent or another. Jonathan and I are Science Fiction buddies, Robert and I talk about art and politics, and David and I talk about music. Each one is committed to Jesus Christ.

Since the Lord had put me on a road of discovery I had become an active explorer. At times I almost interrogated people to get what had moved them and what they saw of life. I have listened to hours of tapes and watched many, many videos to seek even the smallest help in dealing with all my hurts. I feel as though I have had different lives. I was growing and changing to the point I was not what I was 20 years ago.

I have been a pastor, served on church boards, and one time was a youth pastor. I had the joy of beginning a Sunday School in a growing church then watching it bloom, with lots of great help, of course. I have been the leader of a Christian Writers’ Ministry. Over the years I have preached and taught God’s Word whenever I had the opportunity.

In 1994 I went back to school, National University, to obtain a Masters of Counseling Psychology. That degree has added immeasurably to my ability to work with people on many levels. It also spurred much personal growth just in the challenge of going back to school in my Forties.

I interned with a group home that took care of Teenage Male Perpetrators. This was offenders that had long but not major criminal histories. After graduation I worked at a group home that took care of young males with violent histories along with personality disorders.

At this time my wife and I attend a large Baptist church where we have attended for over nine years. I have been involved in writing and counseling ministries. I have also taught a Sunday School class.

I have had the pleasure of being associated with Golden State School of Theology for many years. Dr. Paul Graves, one of the founders and now president of GSST, is a long time friend. At this time I serve as Vice President of Admissions handling the enrollment of students and assigning them to a mentor. I am the Director of Mentors which entails the recruiting and training of GSST mentors. I began as a mentor and continue in that capacity.

I have a Doctorate in Pastoral Counseling from GSST. In the mentoring and counseling my greatest joy is to see a person “get-it” as they grow in Jesus and their potential expands.