7 Questions with Charles (Charlie) Speelman

We continue our series with Charles (Charlie) Speelman. A long-time pastor, Charlie is relatively new to his role as the Director of Missions for the High Desert Baptist Association. A charismatic charmer, it’s no surprise that Charlie found success as a salesman in those formative adult years before he was convicted by the Holy Spirit that pivotal Halloween night in 1979. Though you may see him walking with a cane, that doesn’t stop him from traversing around wherever the kingdom work beckons. His self-described his role as DOM is “herding lions.” As he puts it, “I connect people and bring encouragement, primarily to pastors, to do greater things for the Lord. Pastors are strong leaders. If you’ve heard the expression “herding cats,” well, my job is to herd the lions. DOM’s have no authority but it’s a position of honor.”

John – because he had such a close, personal and intimate relationship with the Lord. He also seemed to be very pastoral and approachable. You know, John pastored the church in Ephesus a really long time, almost to his death.

Have you ever been on a mission trip? You’re just glad to have it.

I was pastoring in Fremont, and I got a call from a couple in my congregation who needed help. He was blind and his wife was also blind. So, I get over there and they tell me that the husband had lost his eyeball. As in, it rolled out of socket and onto the floor. They called me to their house to help them literally find where his eyeball had rolled, and to have me clean it and put it back into his eye.

Philippians 3:13-14 - “Brothers and sisters, I do not regard myself as having taken hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” …Those verses have always been there for me. I have to press on, through a lot of challenges. I’m diabetic, I have two metal hips. I fall. I’ve had a lot of back surgeries. I have to seriously press on.

I really love flowers; the way they look, the way they smell. I grow them myself, and every day I clip rose buds for my wife… but it’s really for me too.

I have the best job anyone can have, as a DOM, but when I was younger, my dream was to be professional football player. I played offensive and defensive tackle in college. Ultimately, I wasn’t big enough and fast enough to be a professional so. I was a salesman instead.

The Bright and the Morning Star…. It’s a part of a song I have always loved. He is a light that shines brightly. He is always there after the darkness of night has passed, when the first thing you see is the morning star.