Inspire, Fall 2001

(Alumni Profile: Jim Cato '83Th Make A Joyful Noise T he prayer found in I Chronicles 4:10("Oh that thou wouldst bless me indeed,and enlarge my coast, and that thine hand might be with me ...")echoes throughout the ministry that God has entrusted to Jim Cato. Because of Jim's dedication to the pursuit of worship,God continues to enlarge his "coast"far beyond his individual endeavors to reach throughout the United States and beyond. Many Cedarville University alumni know Jim through his direction of the University's music ministry teams. Others may recognize his name through his involvement with events such as the General Association ofRegular Baptist Churches Annual Conference or the Evangelical Baptist Missions Conference. Still others have been individually influenced and mentored under Jim's leadership. However,most do not know that Jim'sjourney to Cedarville began in 1974 while attending Faith Baptist Bible College in Ankeny, Iowa.After attending FBBC for three years, Jim left school, married Melody Gray, and worked an assortment of jobs,including construction and clothing retail. Feeling adrift, Jim was not sure what would come next. Mark McDougal'78,a college buddy from Iowa,had recently relocated to Ohio to finish his degree at Cedarville. He was working as the intramural sports director and insisted that this small town in Ohio was the place for Jim. On faith,Jim and Melody Jim's life is undeniably characterized by his passion for worship. Worship is the essence of his ministry and the driving force behind all that he pursues. Jim can recall a point in his life when he sought God's specific purpose and direction. The answer was threefold: Find out how to worship God,do it, and teach others to do it. This divine call adds a unique and imperative facet to his ministry. Jim does not consider his job to bejust putting teams on the road or leading congregational singing. Rather,he believes it is his responsibility to make disciples of worship who will, in turn, spread that passion to churches across America. When asked to give his personal definition of worship, Jim replied,"I hesitate to try and define worship with one single statement. But if I must, I would say that for me,to worship is learning to respond with all that I am to all that God is." Those who know Jim may hear his voice echoing through those words with the sincerity and intensity of his love for Christ that marks his life with such distinction. "Even though I am heavily involved in music, my understanding of worship has grown deeper so that I must include obedience and sacrifice as well as music." These two principles, obedience and sacrifice, are integral pieces to Jim's theology. His beliefs are based firmly in three passages of Scripture. First,in Genesis 22:1-19,Abraham is commanded by God to offer packed everything they owned and moved to Cedarville, Ohio,a small town they had never set foot in and knew virtually nothing about. In 1983,Jim received his bachelor of arts degree in music and began working for CDR Radio. Then,in 1986, he accepted a position with the Division of Christian Ministries to work with the music teams. 20 Fall 2001 his precious sacrifice on Mt. Moriah. When speaking to his servant,Abraham refers to this sacrificial act of obedience in saying,"We will worship ..."(Gen.22:5). Second,Romans 12:1-2 gives the challenge to be living sacrifices. Paul's appeal to offer ourselves because it is our "spiritual act of worship" also conveys great sacrifice. Finally, Christ himself Continued on page 26