By Harold Reutter
harold.reutter@theindependent.com

On his Web site, Parker says that Trustguy Ministries has three goals:

* To share how God can use an ordinary man to get through extraordinary circumstances.

* To motivate others with humor and biblical truth toward action in their relationship with Jesus Christ.

* To equip Christians of all ages to glorify God despite the challenges of this world.

Parker founded Trustguy Ministries in 1998. Since that time, he has spoken in 19 states before audiences of one person to more than 25,000 people. His venues have ranged from a cow pasture to a prison to large arenas.

His Web site features a Bible passage, Proverbs 3:5-6: "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths."

On his Web site, Parker says he was blessed by God with an unexpected and incredible adversity that has shaped his message. He taped a chapel service he did at Concordia University that he then shared with family and friends. The response from people convinced Parker to create more presentations that he could give to people, resulting in the formation of Trustguy Ministries.

"He's a very sought-after speaker," said Carol Peterson of Heartland Lutheran High School. "We're excited to have him."

The silent auction for the event will begin at 3 p.m., with the banquet scheduled for 5. Parker will speak after the banquet and a live auction will start after his presentation. The live auction should start at 7.

"We have a lot of nice items for the live auction," Peterson said, including Nebraska football tickets, overnight trips, power tools and gallery art.

After graduating from Northwest High School, Parker went to Concordia College in Seward, which is now known as Concordia University. There he earned teaching endorsements in secondary education, health, physical education and coaching.

He later earned a master's degree in education from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, with an emphasis in sports pedagogy, and then a doctorate of philosophy, with an emphasis in educational administration and education leadership.

Parker spent the past four seasons as an assistant coach on the Drake women's basketball staff, in charge of recruiting and coaching the team's guards.

Before that, Parker was director of operations for the women's basketball team at UNL.

Parker began his head coaching career as an assistant professor and head women's basketball coach at Concordia University for four years. He led the 2002 team to the Sweet 16 in the NAIA tournament. That team had a then-school record of 16 straight wins to start the season. The team ended the season with a record of 28-6, with the highest school ranking of No. 6 in the country.

Academically, Parker had 18 NAIA Academic All-Americans during his four years as a coach. His team was named the National WBCA Academic Team champion during his final three years as head coach, including all levels of NCAA and NAIA with a cumulative team grade point average of more than 3.7.

Before being head women's coach, Parker spent eight years teaching at Concordia and was an assistant coach for the Concordia men's program, winning three conference championships and making six straight NAIA tournament appearances and a Final Four appearance in 1994.

As head JV coach, Parker's teams had a 84-27 record, including a 31-game win streak.

He and his wife, Amy, have been married for nine years, are the parents of two children and are expecting a third child in a few months.

In March, Parker became headmaster at Lutheran South Academy in Houston a pre-3 through 12th-grade school with 715 students.

Red and Blue Banquet and Auction

Where: Heartland Lutheran High School, 3900 W. Husker Highway

When: 3 p.m. start to silent auction, with 5 p.m. banquet, on April 13. Micah Parker will be the featured speaker, with the live auction to start at 7.

Cost: $60 per person for both auctions and banquet. Tickets are available through Monday at the school.