Paul

 Paul was the first real-life person I ever heard use the term "broad" in his everyday lexicon, as in, "There was this broad..." (pause for comedic effect).  

Soon after Beth and I were married we went to a Milwaukee Brewer's game, to the old County Stadium-the $5 seats.  It was here that my idea was confirmed -that my father-in-law, Paul, was a walking microcosm of all things Milwaukee.  As the players took the field, I was astonished to discover the Brewer's had chosen Paul Rossman as their mascot!!  Of course, I soon learned that Bernie Brewer was in the likeness of Rollie Fingers, not Paul Rossman.  

I heard him before I saw him.  He was helping folks in wheelchairs and walkers board the hay wagon at the annual Special Touch Corn Roast by Tomahawk, WI.  I don't know anyone else who's voice and personage match so perfectly.  

In the years that followed I watched and learned much from both the voice and the person.  They taught me how to serve even in extremely uncomfortable situations, serving at Special Touch Camp, so that people with disability could have a week of Christian fun and fellowship, and their caregivers could have a week of respite.  I learned the paradox of Paul Rossman while serving with him in this camp ministry.  This same guy who annoyed me with his blunt coarseness amazed me with his capability, fluidity, and readiness to handle the vastly varied challenges Special Touch Camp generates.  In a word, grace.  He was gracious in his prompt dispatch, he was gracious to every camper who was in need, making them feel at ease, and the way he could adapt to every situation was nothing short of graceful.  His ministry seemed art to me, and much about him I have striven to emulate in my ministry, relationships, and Christian walk.   

His rearing and early life seem to have been as 1950's sitcom as can be.  His mother, Marion, or Gigi as we called her, regaled me with tales of teenage Paul and Jim in Wauwatosa.  It seems they became as well acquainted with local law enforcement as they did with chemistry and fast cars.  It was "Happy Days" meets "Rebel Without a Cause." 

After serving in the Navy, his relish for fast cars and "broads," conducted him to the Elk Hart Lake Speedway, where his life made a hard right turn.  It was here he met Patricia Makal, and they were married in the fall of 1968.  See, you have to be careful doing the things you enjoy.  You start down that path and never know where you might end up.  

Paul and Pat settled in Sun Prairie, shortly after.  After being invited by a friend, Pat began attending Royal Oaks Assembly of God, now Focus Church.  This fellowship and the people in it that became family were instrumental in Paul's decision to abandon his own idea of life, and to embrace Christ's idea.  I don't have to guess what he would say on this day of celebrating the man and life of Paul Rossman.  He would tell you it doesn't matter what your religious affiliation, background, or your past, the best life is lived in pursuit of Jesus Christ, Who's idea you are.

He had started a job that he would have for many decades, he had married and became a father, and he was finding out the "gusto" in life is not what you can grab, but what you can give. Paul and Pat went on to become very instrumental in the success of Special Touch Ministries, not just in Wisconsin, but in many states all over the country.  They have been part of the bedrock of this fellowship, serving in many capacities.  They have watched their children become parents, and as grandparents they have celebrated in the weddings of some of their grandchildren. Paul was a man blessed by God.  Very blessed.

I'm sure some of you are filling in all the gaps I have left out with the things you know of this man's life.  That's ok.  Paul would tell you all about his failings.  He endeared himself to the teenagers of this fellowship a few times by giving them some of the more shocking details, because he wanted them to know the truth of what another Paul once wrote in chapter 1 of 1st Corinthians:  

But God chose the foolish things of this world to put the wise to shame.  He chose the weak things of this world to put the powerful to shame.  What the world thinks is worthless, useless, and nothing at all is what God has used to destroy what the world considers important.  And God did this to keep any human from being able to boast in their own power.  

Anyone here ever heard Paul Rossman boast?  Hear him boast now:

You are God's children, God's idea.  He sent Christ Jesus to save us and to make us wise, acceptable, and holy.  So I boast, as the scriptures say, I boast in the Lord.