What do you need: Mechanic? Electrician? Software engineer? Guitarist? Church elder? Then call 1-800-BRUCE! We call on our good brother, Bruce Franson, in a host of circumstances, but please don’t try to call him at the above number – that’s not his! To say that Bruce holds a BS in Computer Engineering, a Masters in Theology, and an MBA does not begin to convey his mulitple talents, and the many ways his brothers and friends have come to depend up on him. Bruce is still in the prime of his experience and energy.
Bruce is one of two brothers who run Servant Systems Incorporated, a software development firm that helps to generate substantial funding for our various outreaches throughout the world. Bruce is the Vice President and Chief Technical Officer, which means that he sets the direction for adapting new technology as well as managing several of their largest projects. In addition to that full-time occupation Bruce finds time to serve as a Lutheran Church elder and a coordinator in his local community, The Word of Life. Within The Servants of the Word, Bruce holds the office of Senior Steward (a deacon-like role), and on top of all that, he leads the household at the brotherhood center in Chelsea, Michigan.
Yet even this rendition does not quite capture what many of his older brothers find most remarkable and honorable about Bruce. He is generous to a fault toward anyone less fortunate, and has become a critical link in the lives of a number of men to stay sober and out of trouble. We’ve watched him time and again go out of his way to serve others, fix someone’s broken computer, mediate a dispute, or encourage a recovering alcoholic to live of life of sobriety, get sober, or stay sober. And while at times he does get exhausted (he spends Saturday evening lying on the living room couch reading a magazine but mainly snoozing), he more typically finds all he does life-giving and enriching.
As one of his older brothers, I occasionally remind Bruce that he can’t keep up his current pace forever! His response is “Yup. I know it needs to change some day.” But to quote a saying from our Filipino brothers, “So far, so good, so far!”
While many of us have come to appreciate what Bruce can do, what we most often experience is his generosity of spirit – his willingness to simply serve others however and whenever he can. Bruce wears many hats and, by the generosity of God, he has not yet worn out. Above all, he is a man of faith and a man of prayer who calls on his Savior for help, and lives the life of The Servants of the Word commendably.
–Dick LaCroix
This article is from our 2013 Easter Servants of the Word Newsletter [0.6MB PDF].
