Meet John Seiter
John T. Seiter, Biography
He never thought that he would get "that old". Now he thinks a lot more about heaven.
Born to first generation parents near the end of WW2, his earliest memories include playing in the fields that surrounded the house that his dad was building at 4731 Berryman Avenue, Culver City, CA. He watched as houses sprouted up around his, replacing the adventure of roaming freely with the adversity of close neighbors. But the builders of those houses intrigued him as did his own builder father. He later would choose building over other avenues that his BS degree would open for him. But I am getting ahead of myself.
His only sibling, a sister, slightly older and very determined, caused some to say that he grew up in self-defense. In time they became very close friends. Still are. She became a nurse, he a carpenter. But again, I digress.
Genesis 1:1
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
Without a doubt, following Jesus according to the unfolding truth found in the New Testament of the Bible, will dramatically change the course of a person's life. It was no different with John. To be clear, he still struggled with sinful impulses and actions (would to this day), but when sin did trip him up, he would go to God in prayer, confess and pledge to God never to do that again. This turned out to be quite frustrating and embarrassing of course as sin does not give way to righteousness easily and in a person's own strength the whole endeavor is futile. In time he would learn that in Justification, the doctrine found in Scripture, that a person is declared righteous because a holy substitute (Jesus) made a sacrificial payment for that person, he had legal standing before God. In other words, sinners can only stand before a holy God and be declared righteous if their faith is in "the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29)." Therefore, God can declare that person righteous who believes that sacrifice was made for him. Or in the words of 2 Corinthians 5:21, "He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." Declared righteous, even though yet a sinner! A marvelous paradox found only in Christ. In addition, John would eventually understand the doctrine of Sanctification and that Justification, though always a state of being, gives way to Sanctification which is the process of becoming more and more like Jesus Christ. He would learn this truth from the Bible in such places as Romans 8:29 which states: "For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son…"
Joshua 1:8
This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success.
If you asked John what the goal of his life is, he would tell you that he wants to become more like Jesus and less like the old John that was about himself instead of Christ. That, in addition, he wants to see other sinners come to know Jesus as their Savior and Lord and embark on the pathway of sanctification. One of his favourite verses is Matt. 5;16: "Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven."
Joshua 24:15
If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.
Today, John looks back over his life and sees how much God has blessed him.
- Good health for the most part, physically and spiritually
- Knowing, "The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want…" Psalm 23:1
- A great family of origin in spite of the quirks and foibles of all involved.
- A good education which included Boy Scout training, carpentry apprenticeship, college and seminary, and most noteworthy, early training by his parents and continuing training for ministry in and by the local church.
- An opportunity to search for Noah's Ark on Mt. Ararat.
- A great family of his own which started with:
- Marriage to his beloved Paulette, March 10, 1973
- Grew with the birth of his three children: Johanna, 1974, Susannah, 1977 and John-Paul, 1981.
- Grew again when Paulette's mother Hazel came to live with them after her stroke in 1986.
- Continues with two sons-in-law who love the Lord, and three grandchildren who have all professed faith in the risen Lord Jesus.
Isaiah 1:18
“Come now, and let us reason together,”
Says the Lord,
“Though your sins are as scarlet,
They will be as white as snow;
Though they are red like crimson,
They will be like wool.
Seeing followers of Jesus Christ mature in their faith is the passion of his life. Following his call by God to full time ministry at the age of 30, John began to prepare himself for this challenge. This led him to be the Pastor of various churches. Through those years among his guiding star verses was Ephesians 4:11-16: "And He gave some as…pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love."
One way that he continues to minister to the disciples of Jesus is through the materials and emphasis found on this website.