The Impact of Mike and Karen White on My Life

I’ve been thinking lately about a couple I came to know when I was 13 years old. Mike and Karen White were youth sponsors for our church youth group. The story about them is bittersweet. First, the sweet part. 

The White’s were so influential to me and the other kids in our youth group. Mike was a big man who sported a bushy beard and reminded us of a mountain man. He had a laugh to go with his size and he was magnetic. The Whites had two sons, Eddie, who we called Little Mike and Todd, who were a few years younger than those of us in the group and they were like little brothers to us.

We spent many hours at the White’s house doing Bible studies, playing games and just hanging out. I recall one time when Mike brought out a five gallon ceramic crock, filled it with water, dumped in a small bottle of sarsaparilla concentrate and added a big chunk of dry ice. In no time we had a five gallon batch of ice cold root beer that we drank until we were sick. 

Once, our youth group competed in a Bible Bowl against several other local church youth groups. I recollect the questions were taken from the Book of Mark but I may be mistaken. Our team practiced for hours, being quizzed by Mike and Karen about the possible questions that might be posed. Our team won the contest and we were rewarded by Mike with a trip to Minnie’s, a fancy Chinese food restaurant in Modesto. This was especially memorable for me for two reasons. First, it was  my first trip to a Chinese restaurant. Second, my fellow teammate, Wayne Dunbar, who happened to be the pastor's son played a good prank on me there. The waiter brought us what I found later to be Bird’s Nest Soup. It looked like dishwater to me. I asked Wayne what is was and he (quietly) said it was for washing our hands before we ate. So, I dipped my fingers in it and “washed” them. Wayne burst out laughing while everyone else stared at me in disbelief. 

Mike and Karen took the group on a number of camping and backpack trips to the Sierras. I remember when my friend Gary Dyke got baptized in a stream in Tuolumne Meadows. We had sleepovers at their house and because of them, we learned to know God better. Those were great times and the Whites were great to be with. I looked up to Mike and saw him as a father figure.

The bitter part of this story is that the Whites were forced to step down as youth sponsors by the church elders. The version of the story I got was that the elders heard from one of the kids in the group that Mike had beer in his refrigerator. Well, that was common knowledge among us because we were constantly going to the fridge when we were at their house. So what? Mike didn’t drink in front of us. He did not condone drinking. The elders could have told him to remove the beer. But, unfortunately, leadership "fired" him. It was a great loss to the church but especially to a group of teenagers who had received great spiritual guidance from Mike and Karen. 

The Whites eventually moved up to the mountains and then to Sitka, Alaska where they currently reside. I have had intermittent contact with them over the years. When their son, Little Mike, was planning to get married, Mike called me to ask if I would perform the ceremony in his sister’s backyard. Because I had graduated from Bible College, they assumed I was an ordained minister which I was not. I wanted to do this for them because I was honored that they had asked me. So, I went to the Universal Life Church headquarters in Modesto, filled out some paperwork and got ordained, making it legal for me to officiate the wedding. 

Back around 1999, my son, Daniel, my brother Jeff and I went to Sitka for a week to fish on Little Mike’s commercial boat for salmon and halibut. It was a wonderful trip and holds special meaning for me due to spending time with the Whites, Daniel and Jeff. 

I believe that Mike and Karen no longer attend church unless they have recently returned. It pains me that the legalism, which is so rampant in our churches, drove them away from being youth leaders and regular church goers. It is my prayer that they will someday again become active in church (if they aren’t already). I want them to know how vital their spiritual leadership was to my own relationship with God. I am certain that, had it not been for the Whites, I would not be the man I am today. Thank you, Mike and Karen.  

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