09/05/2026
Dear Friends,
In September 2000, I got a call from a dear friend, David Bale, during the intermission at a music concert in Colorado Springs. A fellow Brit, David was an animal welfare activist living in Los Angeles and acting as manager for his son Christian’s blossoming acting career. At the time, Cathy and I were co-pastoring a church in Denver, Colorado.
David informed me that he had recently got married to a woman called Gloria Steinem in a Cherokee Indian wedding ceremony in Oklahoma. He asked if I had heard of her. I had not. He then asked if we were free the next day to meet them at the airport in Denver, as they were on their way to their honeymoon.
Things were about to get interesting.
Early the next day, I called a couple of people in our church to ask if they had heard of Gloria Steinem. (Remember, this was in the era before ChatGPT and instant internet searches on your phone.)
I remember the first call well. After I told them about my conversation with David, I was informed that Ms. Steinem was an evil, most likely demon-possessed woman, a pro-choicer and a leftist feminist.
“Do not take the children to meet her,” was the advice I was given.
I was shaken. What on earth had my friend David done?!
Then I called a second member of the church. Their response was very different:
“How interesting! What a great opportunity. I bet Gloria Steinem has never met any Christians like you two. Take the kids. Go love on her!”
The second call left us with hope, curiosity and a sense of mission. We left for the airport with a full quota of little love bugs in tow.
On meeting them both at their gate, at a time when you were still allowed to go out onto the concourse, I was struck by how friendly and genuinely pleased to see us Gloria was. She asked me about my work, which gave me an early opportunity to try out my new business card, which proudly read: Derek Rust, “Atmosphere Architect.” It brought a laugh.
She then told me she was reading the Gnostic Gospels and how interested she was in the person of Jesus.
I remember sharing with her that, in my experience, there was a difference between religion and Christianity. The former was about all we can DO to get to God; the latter was about accepting the free gift of forgiveness through what Jesus had DONE on the cross.
She listened, smiled, and the conversation moved on. She then proceeded to be love-bombed by Hannah and Rebecca.
I will never know if that tiny seed planted that day germinated into a saving faith in Jesus or not. But I do know that I was glad to see them both. Gloria was a delight to be around, despite our very different belief systems, and we left hoping that, in some small way, we had represented Jesus well.
I am a firm believer that, as little “e” evangelists, we are all called to pray for our pre-believing friends, build a bridge of trust that can bear the weight of truth, share a simple explanation of the Gospel when given the opportunity, or simply say what Andrew said to his brother Simon Peter:
“Come see this good thing I have found.”
We stayed in touch by phone over the next three years until, tragically, David passed away suddenly from a brain lymphoma in December 2003. We lost contact with Gloria, Christian and the whole Bale tribe.
Gloria never remarried. She famously remarked, “A woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle,” but eventually, the fish learned to ride.
I often wonder about that encounter at the airport. I have no idea what became of the seed that was planted that day, but perhaps that is the point. We are called to be faithful with the opportunities God gives us and to leave the results in His hands.
I fancy that maybe, just maybe, when we get to heaven, we will be surprised by some of the people we meet there and perhaps even discover that some of those we thought were far from God had, somewhere along the way, found their way home.
Blessings over your weekend & let me your thoughts on this story.
Derek+
Beyond The Blue Highlights
Summer 2026
• Working with a number of engaged couples in NYC through word-of-mouth recommendations.
• Pastoral counseling with three couples.
• Working with Marriage Mentor Couples to use the Prepare and Enrich assessment tool, as a trainer for Prepare and Enrich.
• Consulting, preaching and providing pastoral care for Middleburg Baptist Church, VA.
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Beyond The Blue · 8917 Mangum Place · Alexandria, VA 22308 · USA
