My dad was born on September 15, 1940, in the shadow of Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Shortly after he was baptized, the Armistice Day Storm claimed the lives of 154 people in Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Iowa. In his eighty years on the planet, my dad would ride out many impressive and sobering storms.
My dad lived through World War II, the Cold War, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, Reagan’s “Star Wars” and the War on Drugs, and Operation Desert Storm. As a pastor of baby churches and churches of a thousand members, he weathered doctrinal battles, worship wars, and the struggle against missional drift. As a husband, he fought to find a date night with his wife that didn’t involve a broasted chicken buffet at a church member’s wedding reception. As a father of four, he resisted the urge to yawn during bedtime prayers after long, long days. He battled his children’s apathy and selfishness, and he stormed the throne of grace on behalf of those same kids.
One of the personal storms he has faced was his health. At the end of one Holy Week, as is fitting for Lent, his heart broke. Subsequent surgeries would forever change the way he swung a racquet or bait a hook, but his heart healed stronger. Those who know him best say he mellowed. He became more focused. His desire to disciple and reach people who were disconnected from their Heavenly Father became his priority. Without weekly services to prepare and council meetings to attend, his mission became single-focused: to lead others through the storms of life to the arms of their Savior.
This 80-year-old is living on-purpose, tenderly attentive to the things of God, and passing the test of the tempest. He’ll continue to break storms until the Harbor Master calls him into port. In my dad’s wake is a legacy of little boats all bobbing along toward the same goal. Until then, we thank God for every year of my dad, Carl Pagel, Stormbreaker.
Love,
Your Fleet:
Paul, Kelly, David, Christine, Matthew, Elizabeth, John, Sarah, Jack, Hannah, J.K., Elle, Joey, Maddie, Sam, Caleb, Eva, Zeke, Xander, Zuzu, Vivi, and Oliver