Pete
Caruso celebrates his
50th Spiritual Birthday!
The
year
was 1955. Pete Caruso had recently graduated from high school. He was
night
manager of one of the first drive-in hamburger restaurants in Los Angeles: King's Drive-In.
And Pete was president of the Ravens – they called it a car club, but
in
reality it was not much more than a street gang. Each guy had his own
car,
lowered in back to nearly touch the ground. Pete’s car was an
Oldsmobile
Convertible. The coolest car around!
The Ravens loved to challenge rival car clubs, resulting in not a few
fights.
Pete liked to be near six-foot-six tall Cliff McMullen at those times.
But Pete
was a crafty fighter. He
knew how to use a well-placed kick to the shin with his steel
toed boots to end some fights even before they began.
Pete
saw
himself as a really tough guy, sometimes practicing his grimace in the
mirror.
He was proud that he hadn’t cried since before he was a teen. But the
fights
were getting more violent – not just fists, bats, brass knuckles, steel
tipped
boots, and knives, but guns were now becoming more common.
As
president of the Ravens, Pete was a target, and he began to worry about
his
safety.
Then they heard that the U.S. government was going to
end the
Korean War GI benefits: Only those who enlisted before February, 1955
would get
the benefits. It was a way out without losing face. Pete and several of
his
buddies decided to join up. (A few months later the guy who took Pete’s
place
as President of the Ravens was stabbed.)
Boot camp was so tough several in his unit actually committed suicide.
A bad
case of influenza resulted in Pete missing out on being sent overseas
with his
buddies. After his second eight weeks of training, Pete came home for a
weekend
before being sent to his permanent station.
On Saturday night he got drunk, really drunk – like he used to with his
buddies.
Then Sunday morning his brother, John, still in the army
himself, began shaking the bed. “Wake up, you’re gonna go to
church.”
Pete’s stomach was violently opposed to John’s enthusiasm.
“Leave me alone. You’re makin’ me sick!” Pete growled back. John
wouldn’t give
up. “Get out of bed. We're goin’ to church.” The only way to stop John
was for
Pete to get up and go to church with him.
Pete had always thought church was for sissies. There he sat in a young
men’s
Sunday School class in Inglewood, California, listening to a
muscular, fellow
Italian-American talk about his cool car, his family, and his love for
God.
Pete could see that Johnny Giordano was no sissie. Pete listened to
every word
as Johnny explained how God loved each one of them and that Jesus gave
up His
life so they could have their sins forgiven.
Pete remembers looking at his hands, turned white, as he held to the
arms of
his chair trying to resist this message of God’s love. The next thing
he
remembers is being on his knees, weeping, and asking for God’s
forgiveness.
When he left the classroom that morning, the sky was bluer, the air
smelled
cleaner, and the world seemed such a beautiful place. In fact, it was
like he
was seeing everything for the first time. And he was – he was a new
creation in
Christ Jesus. No longer was he carrying his own sins. Christ had
removed them.
That was May 22, 1955…
In the half century as the new Pete Caruso, with God’s help he has
touched a
lot of lives:
3 years in the U.S. Army
4 years earning a B.A. from Southern California College (now Vanguard University)
Married Beverly Hall, a shy 17-year-old. He encouraged and nurtured
her, to
eventually become a speaker and author.
Fathered and reared three children, all actively serving the Lord.
Grandfather to five (soon to be six), and Great Grandfather to five
more.
Youth Pastor at First Assembly of God, Garden Grove, CA
Pioneered
Olive Assembly of God Church, and pastored there for 21 years, training
and
sending over 100 individuals into full time Christian work.
Pioneered New Life Community Church, and pastored there for
14 years.
Founded Rancho de la Paz, a hospitality center for ministers and
missionaries –
on the move.
Ministered
in over forty nations...and not about to quit…
