From Navy to Ministry: Robert Gordon's Faith Journey

Robert’s Military Journey Begins

Hello everyone, thank you again for joining us on another episode of the Dorus show. This episode is sponsored by Odury Audio Group which inspires and uplift for discussions, testimonies and teachings, equipping listeners for meaningful conversations. On today's episode we have Robert Gordon, who is a retired disabled US Navy veteran, originally from St. Lene, New York. After earning multiple degrees in criminal justice and political science, he enlisted in the Navy in 1993. Over a distinguished career he served in analytical and operational roles including naval, special warfare and the army operations group. And completed five tours in Afghanistan. He retired in 2019 while stationed at the Pentagon. After military service, Robert worked in a senior analyst as a senior analyst and later as an international disaster relief operations manager for CBYNY's Operation Blessing. He went on to earn a Masters in Arts in Geology in 2021 and a Master of Arts in Christian Counseling 2024 and is currently pursuing a Doctor of Ministry degree. He serves as a men's min's ministry leader for Celebrate Recovery, hosting International Blair Group, and teaches a 15 Mongol discipleship course. After although he retired, he continues to serve others through the Veterans Outlook podcast, generation to support Afghan allies and leading bright feature philanthropy corporation, who provides vocational training for girls and full support for widows in Afghanistan. His life reflects overcoming hardship, full faith, redemption, and a deep commitment to helping those in need, both in the US and abroad. Robert, thank you so much for coming on the show today. Absolutely. Well thank you first and foremost, thank you for your service in our military.

Very welcome. Thank you.

You spent twenty-six years in the Navy and now serve as a pastor and mentor. What initially drew you to military service and how did your faith really begin alongside or after that?

9/11 And A Career Transformed

From Service To Seminary

The Identity Shift After Retirement

Yes. My uh journey in the military began. Uh you know, I uh I have to really start when I was a young boy. I grew up in uh upstate New York, um uh in a wonderful little village, St. Remy, uh of about 300 people. My parents were both uh World War II veterans, and I was fascinated by their service. Uh and over the years growing up, um I would they would would tell me stories about their service during World War II. My father had a uh photo album of his years during World War II, and I used to watch the uh you know look at these um photos from time to time. And I was really so interested about these photos and and hearing his tales of being in the service. Um and so as I grew older, uh, and also my mom was a was a Rosie the Riveter. She worked on uh yeah, she used to make uh hydraulic components for Navy aircraft uh uh during World War II. So they had a they were very patriotic uh uh after the war. Uh certainly uh they were involved in civil defense and things. Uh but I I I really, really was interested in in the service of our country. So as I grew up uh and uh what really moved me was I I realized that I wanted to serve uh publicly. Uh and as I finished my degree at uh SUNY Albany, State University of New York at Albany, I wanted to uh serve publicly, I wanted to go to law school, but I lacked worldly maturity because I grew up in this little small village of upstate New York. And so at that same time, the uh the first attack on the World Trade Center occurred in 1993. A lot of people don't remember perhaps, but there was uh an explosion that occurred in the garage of the World Trade Center, and that really was a pivotal event for me, and I decided to join the service, uh join the Navy, and um serve my country and uh and gain that worldly maturity that I so needed to serve publicly. Um and so lo and behold, my first duty station would take me to Japan. And so I served in Japan. Uh I returned after a couple of years, uh, and uh I served on warships. Um and then uh, of course, I was going to leave the service and then go to law school and then serve publicly. Um but 9-11 occurred, right? And uh that changed my whole outlook on my naval service, and then I knew from that moment on, that morning, that I would stay in the Navy and serve at a time of war for as long as the Navy uh demanded my service, and that would then be another 18 years of service. And over the next 18 years, I would serve five tours of duty in Afghanistan and serve around the world on aircraft carriers and the like. Uh when I retired in 2019, I was serving at the Pentagon. And so that's kind of an overview of my military service. Now, where my my faith came in, uh I had grown in that little uh town or little village of upstate New York was a small little church uh at the center of the uh village, and that was the anchor of my faith throughout my my years of growing up there. Uh even today, I'm still in contact with the the uh uh Reverend there. We're uh and um so that little church uh that holds about 30 people is still that I'm still deeply rooted in that village, uh, even though I've been around the world and served all you know uh uh in various places and in the combat zone, but uh that has really been my anchor. But uh as I was getting ready to retire from the military in 2019, I had a spiritual moment of reformation, and actually an epiphany, I was talking to an army psychologist of all people, and for some strange reason, I d I can't explain why, uh he mentioned God. And at that very moment, I felt it the Holy Spirit move within me. Now, when I left that office, I decided to go to seminary. If you had told me before I walked into his office, this army psychologist, that I would go to, hey, when you leave here, you're gonna go to seminary, I would have said that's there's no way I would do such a thing, right? But uh the spirit moved me, and this was late summer of 2019, that that moment occurred. I retired from the military in October 1st, and I started in seminary shortly thereafter. So that's where that's what happened. I had this spiritual reformation, uh an awakening uh due to the Holy Spirit, uh, which carried me through seminary, which you know, and I became a pastor, and now I'm a doctoral student. I mean, it's just an amazing, amazing story. I mean, you hear about these things where people will say, you know, I was touched by the Holy Spirit, but I'm here to tell you that's that's what happened to me in an army psychiatrist's or psychologist's office.

Transitioning from military life into ministry and authorship is a big shift.

What were the biggest challenges you faced during that transition?

Leaving Structure To Serve

A Call To Global Ministry

Yeah. Um, well, I'll tell you the the it's very difficult to leave the military service. And one of the things that when you do leave the military life is very structured, right? Uh and when you do leave the military, uh there there is a period of transition that you know you leave uh you leave a sense of identity behind, number one. Uh I was uh I was a chief warranter, had a very, very distinguished career, um, and that's behind you, right? Uh you're you're a civilian now. Um you're no longer who you once were in the military. Even when you go onto a Navy base or any military base, you are retired. Um you're just you're just an ordinary person now. There's no rank or real privilege or any of that, right? So um it's it there's a real period of transition, and it's almost psychological, it's it's really an emotional period of transition. Here's a good example. I was once at a retirement ceremony for a Master Chief Petty Officer, and during his uh uh retirement ceremony, he said the most profound statement. He said, this was on a Friday afternoon, he said, you know, come Monday morning, I won't know what to wear. Meaning he had worn the uniform for over 30 years, and now come Monday, he doesn't wear the uniform any longer. So that it just shows you that there's a real period of transition. And for me, when I retired, I went to right to work seven days after I retired. And so um I worked as a senior analyst, as you as you mentioned, uh for a wonderful company, many veterans in that company. Um, and I worked on a military base. Um but then after about two years, I decided uh I just had to leave that military structured. I I just there was a calling in me, you know, I just had to leave. So that's when I went to work for Christian Broadcasting Network, CBN, Operation Blessing, uh, a wonderful, wonderful organization. And I was uh serving the needs of those who were uh who were affected by natural disasters uh and and things of that sort. Uh and it was just a wonderful time. I spent a year and a half with Operation Blessing, working with the most dedicated people, uh serving the others in the most desperate situations. But then again, I had another calling, and uh again the the spirit moved me to just say, Listen, I need you to follow me again. And I when I left Operation Blessing, uh I just moved into what I'm doing now, and that's helping people all over the world in prayer, in ministry, uh feeding the poor, feeding the hungry, uh, caring for people in really desperate situations at risk, uh, praying with people, um, and it's just been amazing. As well as again, if someone would have said just uh a few months ago, oh, by the way, you're also gonna begin your doctorate, uh, I would have said, No, I don't think so. I don't want to do that. And then all of a sudden, one morning I woke up and I said, I think I'll do that. So again, what I've learned is just to follow the lead of the Holy Spirit, and he'll guide me, and that's what I'll follow. So here I am, and that's that's what I do.

So you were talking about your the ministry that you're doing now with um player groups and all over the world and helping people. How did that get started and what is that like?

Yeah, well, again, so here's a good example. The morning that uh I I won't I was going to work. Uh this was during just around the just as the end of COVID. Um uh that that the terrible years of COVID, right? Uh, and I was still working from home, and that morning the spirit said, I need you to follow me. Okay, so I put together my letter of resignation for uh Operation Blessing. I had no idea what I was doing, and so I typed out my letter of resignation. I was ready to go. I I put it into the scanner to send to the chief of staff. I said, Oh my goodness, I don't know what I'm doing, but I'm gonna do it. And I Dorsey, I'm telling you the absolute truth here. I was I I was ready to push the button to send the the the uh letter of resignation to the chief of staff, and the telephone rang. I lifted the telephone, and on the end of it, the the person said, I have something for you that I think you would be interested in, and that is serving the poor and those at risk. I said, Well, there you go, and I hit the button, and and so that's how it started. I mean, it's just that's the lore. I mean, nobody else could, I mean, there's no way that could happen by coincidence, you know? Right. And so that's how it began. And I said, okay, we got this prayer, we want you to do this, we want you to do that, and it's it's that's how it started. And um, so it's just the Holy Spirit working uh within me.

So in your in your view, how do faith and service, whether it be military, ministry, mentorship, how do they interact or inter or intersect, and how have you seen them play out in your own life and in the um in those who you serve?

Yeah.

Where Faith And Service Intersect

I think uh, you know, my service, my faith, uh and and and to those who I I do offer myself too, it's it it all it's it's intertwined through um purposeful selfless service, right? And so you know, I I think it all goes back to doing what you're called to do. Um and I I think often what happens is people get wrapped up into looking at things selfishly. What is the benefit to me? How much is it going to benefit me? How much is it am I going to get out of something, right? So that's I mean, that that's a selfish way of looking at things. Now, I'm at a position in my life, uh, I've had a successful career, uh and I've been blessed beyond measure, right? So given that, I can look at things differently now, and I can look at things from a selfless point of view. And of course, in the military, we do look at things selflessly because we're on the battlefield, right? And we do things uh in the service of others. And I think that's really shaped my life to look at things from a selfless point of view. So through my ministry, uh through my military service, uh helping others, ministering to others, with my prayer groups. Uh just today I was praying with someone uh who's in really in a very dire situation, uh persecuted uh uh Christian uh and really uh in fear for their life uh in a country where uh Christians are are persecuted. Um or just last week, for okay, here's a good example. Last week I was at the VA, the you know, the veterans hospital. I was undergoing some uh I was undergoing a treatment, and the nurse, uh I just was talking to the nurse, she was, you know, I was I was in recovery from a procedure, and uh I just mentioned, you know, what a I said, where are you from? You have a wonderful accent, and she said, Nigeria. And uh we were talking, and of course, in Nigeria, Christians are persecuted terribly, and we just got talking, and that I said, here's the opportunity to touch someone's heart through my selflessly, right? To to uh spread the gospel to her, and she thought that was wonderful, and we prayed and we talked together, and uh, you know, and so that's what I do. I try to look for every opportunity to serve others selflessly, and if I can do that, that's my benefit, that's the reward I get from serving others.

You freak you're frequently described as a man of God who serves others. What motivates you when to work actually, when to work becomes too difficult or discouraging?

Carrying Others’ Burdens Through Prayer

Yeah. Yeah, so so uh another great question, um Dorsey. You know, sometimes we we face these challenges, um, and I realize that you know how blessed I am. Uh again, like I said, I'm retired. I live in a modest home. Um I live I've lived a good life. I've had all these, I you know, I've been very successful uh with my career and and things. Uh I I all my needs are met, right? I I live in a very good neighborhood, uh and uh I don't have to worry about where I go, what I do, what I say, where I what my faith is. Uh I'm not I don't face persecution. So um but sometimes it becomes overwhelming because I I know people I I that are facing very difficult times. I see people that are facing very difficult situations. It hurts my heart. Uh I know people that that uh due to their circumstance are hungry, cold, uh they live in the shadows, um they're broken, they are uh they've been mistreated, uh they've been abused, they're addicted, they're they they are they're suffering from all kinds of afflictions, uh they've been outcast by society, uh they've been shunned by society, they're determined to be you know unclean, uh people ignore them, or you know, they um they they're they're they're considered outcasts, whatever the case. That really hurts me. Um, the people I pray with, they know what true persecution is. You know, we say in the Bible uh about how Christians will be persecuted and and things, but we, you know, me, I don't know what that really means. Um, and I know people that truly know what persecution is. I pray with people who they have to whisper into their phone because if they're heard, they'll be killed, right? And so it becomes overwhelming for me because my heart hurts. Um, the person I prayed with this morning, uh that person is facing death every day, uh, if they're found, they will be killed. And I'm the one that this person looks for for faithful guidance in the case that if they are found, right? So that's a burden on me. Uh, and so when it comes, when all these things weigh on me, I the only thing I can do, Dorsey, is you know, just go to go to prayer and and and just ask the Lord for strength, so that I can be a better man, a man for all seasons for for these people that I serve, and the people that I look to serve, those that that need me um in times of uh of distress, so that I can be there for them. And that's what I do when I'm overwhelmed. I go to I go to the the Holy Father and just ask for for strength and courage to serve these people.

Yeah. When you you when you work with uh veterans and even people that we work with overseas who are uh who are probably you know being persecu persecuted, they're seeking trauma, you know, they're going with different difficulties in their life, what makes it would you want them to hear?

Yeah.

Words For The Persecuted And Afraid

What I want them to hear, like I spoke with the the the woman this morning, right? So really what I want them to hear is that uh that they find the you know words of comfort from me. Um and I know that you know for for many of them the way out is uncertain, right? Uh and if there is a way I pray that they that a way is made for them. Um but they they've got to know that there is a way eventually and that way is a place in the kingdom, and their place is reserved there. Because they're faithful servants, if they if they're resilient in their prayer, right? Their prayer life. Um and because they face actual persecution for for who they are, the scripture says, Blessed are those who are persecuted because of their righteousness, for theirs is in the kingdom of heaven. And that comes from Matthew, the book of Matthew, chapter 5, verse 10. And so the the the the Heavenly Father knows their pain, they hear their cries, and they know their torment. And I just pray that they're encouraged by that. Um, because uh that's the best and the only thing I can do for them. I can't I can't rescue them, but I can offer them hope of being heard by the Lord, that their prayers are being received, and for that they should be comforted, knowing that the Holy Spirit, no matter what happens to them, the Holy Spirit that is surrounds them and that they that they should take that to heart. Um and that there is a place, there is a way that waits for them, and that is in the kingdom of heaven.

Amen.

As an author and podcaster now, how do you choose the topics you share? What do you hope to accomplish with your writing and on your podcast?

Veterans Outlook Podcast And Writing

Mm-hmm. Well, first the podcast. The podcast is uh called the Veterans Outlook Podcast. I try to have a variety of uh guests, um, and we talk about things I I I try to target what the you know, the veteran community. So on the the podcast, we've had all different guests uh from doctors to lawyers to musicians, we've had scientists, we've had comedians, we've had um uh we've we've had really you know political discussions, we've had veterans advocates, um, we've had you know just a myriad of different uh types of guests on there, just some really fascinating guests. Um we've had um guests about, of course, weight loss, um we've had uh you know all kinds of different types of therapeutic protocols, um really, really tremendous guests on there. Um and um so that I I try to structure my podcast to be enlightened you know, offer enlightenment and educational and also have some fun. And so um that's my podcast. Now my books um you know that I've been writing uh recently, last couple of years, anthologies of short stories. I really like that genre um because um rather than write a book on one character throughout like 300 pages, like a novel, I'd I like writing stories that aren't all connected. So there, you know, story 20 pages uh, you know, that starts and finishes. And then so you get a book of all these different characters. I kind of like that. So uh I've been writing, so over my my shoulder you can see there's the warmth of the gospel, uh what book one and two. There, those are anthologies of short stories, they're really neat little stories. Um, and so I really like that. So that the um uh the characters are rich, the characters uh are dynamic, and um every story is different. So that's what I like. I like the anthologies now, that's what I've been writing. Yeah.

Yeah. Robert, what looking ahead? What's the next chapter for you? What do you see making podcasting writing and ministry heading in the next couple of years?

What’s Next Bread Cattle Or Both

Yeah, that's a great. I I you know I what I've learned in the last few years is the Lord has something waiting for me, right? I I just I don't know what that is. Um, you know, uh years and years ago when I was in my uh early, you know, uh late teens and early 20s, I I used to raise beef cattle uh in upstate New York. Um and one of the things that I love to do whenever I have time to relax, and I love to watch YouTube videos about farming. I have some great friends. Um I love this show, it's called Ranching Sodak, and uh my friends Matt and Kari uh Feldhouse from uh South Dakota, they have a channel on YouTube. I love to watch that. Um they have a ranch out there in South Dakota with hundreds and hundreds of head of cattle, and they I I I just and I there's another another uh fellow from upstate New York, um uh Mike7810, that's his channel. I just love watching uh these uh farming channels, right? I mean, that's my thing. Some people think it's crazy. People come to my house and they're like, why are you watching somebody make hay? Like, what is that all about? You know, that's my thing. So to follow your question, if I could, I would love to do that again. Love to, you know, raise cattle again. Um now, if that is that what the Lord has for me? I I don't know. Um I'm you know, I'm almost I'm I'm nearing 70 years old, so I don't know if that's what the plan is. But um another thing I've you know, I'm writing a book now, another book, um, and there's an interesting character in this book, and he has a uh a food pantry and he bakes bread. And I'm thinking, hmm, now there's an interesting thing, because the bread of life, right? And so every day he makes sandwiches for the homeless, and it's a simple thing. That's all he does. He doesn't have these a great variety of food, he just makes sandwiches, bagged lunch. And but the thing, the the catch is he bakes the bread himself. Okay, and I'm just thinking, uh as I was writing that, I go, hmm, you know, that might be something that the Lord has in store for me to open up a food pantry and I bake bread every day and make sandwiches. I don't know. So maybe that's the idea that he's planting in my the seed that he's putting in up here is I should bake bread every day and make sandwiches for the homeless. I don't know. But but the Lord has something in store for me. But um uh so is that gonna use my my doctorate degree to the fullest extent to bake bread? I don't I don't know. I have no idea. But I could certainly minister to people as I serve them sandwiches, right? So maybe maybe there. That's that's the whole point of it. I don't know, Dorsey. What is your doctorate degree degree in? It would be in ministry. In ministry, right? Yeah, yeah. So there, that that could be it. Or I could switch it and become a pastry chef. I don't know. We'll see.

I always like to ask my guest as we get ready to close here. What is one word of encouragement or one word of inspiration that you would like to share with my audience?

One Practice Make Prayer Intentional

Yeah. Uh I'm I'm often asked that, and I and uh I don't want it to trivialize trivialize it, but this is what I would tell people. Make prayer intentional. That's it. Make prayer intentional. Take time out of your day, um, and and just set time away. Turn off the TV, take this thing, right? Put it down, stop scrolling, and just before you go to bed, get in bed, turn the TV off, put this thing away, shut it down, and just pray. That's it. Make it intentional, spend time in prayer before you go to bed. And here's why because the last thing on your mind before you drift off to sleep, it's gonna be here, right there. Right? How beautiful is that! The last thing that you on your mind as you float off to unconsciousness, it's gonna be subconscious on your mind that you spoke with the Lord. That's that's what I would give people as we close today.

Well, Rob, thank you so much for coming on the show today. We greatly appreciate having you.

Well, I'll tell you, Dorsey, I enjoyed it, and um I I I didn't think about the uh the whole bread uh idea, but uh I kind of like that now. So thank you for uh you planted that seed, so thank you. And maybe it's a sesame seed, right? I don't know. Yeah.

Closing And Listener Actions

Well, guys and girls, thank you so much for coming on and for listening. Please go and like and share this episode, and we'll have a link to um Robert's information and where you can connect with him, especially if you if you're a veteran and want to listen to his podcast and get his information. And also please go and follow Auduri Audio Group on Spotify and Apple Podcasts and share with you and reach out to info at oduriaudiogroup.com. And until next time, God bless. Bye bye.