A few years back, the creative arts staff team at GCC took a personality test; this test identified you as one of four animals.  Adam Callender was a golden retriever.  If you’ve been reading my blog for more than a day or two, you know that means I love this guy.  If this test pegs you as a golden retriever, it means you’re calm, dependable, thoughtful, even-keeled, and humorous.  He scored off the chart. 

Adam is our tech director, which basically means he and the team he leads are responsible for every single thing in our auditorium, kids’ rooms, great room, and atrium that plugs in.  There are special events, the Elkhart campus, and off-site stuff that he covers in his spare time, too.  ('spare time'... that was a joke)  Sound, lighting, video, and Mountain Dew all fall under his area of expertise.  And it’s freakish to me that Adam is as strong creatively as he is technically.  I understand about 3% of what he does, but I can tell you a lot about how he does it. 

Adam works with a heart that’s even bigger than his brain.  Serving as a worship leader, you’re always afraid you’ll run into that one tech artist who makes you beg for everything you need (just like, I’m sure, every tech artist fears he’ll get stuck working with some prima donna on stage).  With Adam, it’s exactly the opposite.  His humility convicts me on a regular basis; I think he took Jesus seriously on the servant-leadership issue.  And Adam made it clear from the day I showed up – a rookie kid barely in his 20s trying to learn the ropes – that he wanted me to succeed.  I’m still grateful. 

I’ve seen Adam do courageous things… things I’m not sure I could do.  He has the most amazing family.  His wife, Becky, has enough energy and laughter to fill any room.  His son, Jacob, could not be more like his dad, and his daughter, Abby, is the definition of precious.

Adam is the kind of guy who carries his own load with exceptional grace, creativity, and strength, and still has the energy to make the rest of us look good, too.  I feel spoiled serving on the same team as him.  He’s a rock star in my book.