Vernon Spears shares how his faith in Christ helps him be an effective Probation Officer

Vernon Spears was born in Louisiana, but his family moved to the Kalamazoo, Michigan area when he was four years old. There they attended the Second Baptist Church until, when Vernon was in 9^th grade, they switched to a First Assembly of God church. Two years later, his family moved to Wyoming, MI, which is a suburb of Grand Rapids.  After relocating to Wyoming, Vernon's family attended The First Assembly of God Church in that town.

 After graduating from Wyoming Park High School in 1990, Vernon went on to Michigan State University, graduating from there in1994 with a degree in Psychology.

 Since 1996, Vernon has been making a positive difference in people's lives by working as a Probation Officer for the 61st District Court.

 Vernon is married to his dear wife Angie, and together they have 2 daughters, ages 18 and 21. He and his family began to attend Calvary Church in the year 2000.

 For "fun," Vernon loves to exercise. In fact, he has successfully run 4 marathons and 20 River Bank Runs! He also enjoys memorizing Scripture, which he finds useful when running. On a part-time basis, Vernon coaches a middle school girls' basketball team. Finally, he also enjoys acting, and has actually been part of two commercials and even had a small speaking role in a movie a few years ago.

 In this podcast, Vernon shares about his role as a Probation Officer for the 61^st District Court here in Grand Rapids. He talks how he does his best to help those he is working with to make better life choices in the future. We also chatted about the "defund the police" movement that is growing in America. We agree that this trend only tends to increase crime rates because all we humans are born as self-seeking sinners who need the "certainty of punishment" to deter us from crime.

 We also discussed the contrast between two newer trends in American culture today: (1) The gender identity movement, which emphasizes how gender is fluid; and (2) The racial issue, which insists that people of different races can never truly be united.

 REALITY: God created two genders, male and female that is decided at our birth. Having said that, we do need to love all people, even those who struggle with this reality. And, regarding the race issue, the reality is that we are all members of the human race regardless of the color of our skin. And those who have accepted Christ as Savior and Lord have been lovingly adopted into God's family, which makes us all forever brothers and sisters of each other. Bottom line: truth sets us free, while lies enslave us.