• 
• CLASS
• JOBS
• AUTO
• HOMES

Petranek helps others rebuild their lives

Photo

Photo by Dan Lassiter

Scott Petranek

The New Testament doesn't call people to a stroll in the park.

It calls people to respond, even if the response means hardship, challenge, commitment and vulnerability.

"Respond" could be Scott Petranek's motto.

Petranek has worked with—and provided the inspiration for—a variety of organizations designed to reach people who have been literally or metaphorically cast out by their communities: alcohol and drug addicts, homeless men, prisoners and those who fall into the gaps where no social services are available.

He doesn't see himself as a leader. He sees himself as a servant—a servant of God, a servant of those who are struggling and those in pain.

He started his adult life as a landscaper for the family business, Petranek Brothers, and later went to work at Beloit College in its physical plant.

"It was there I learned my carpentry skills," he said.

That work translated into a ministry helping inmates from the Rock County Jail learn construction skills while completing their community service requirements.

That was more than a decade ago.

Now he works for Community Action as a caseworker and construction instructor, helping high school dropouts learn job skills and get their high school diplomas.

Along the way, he served on the board of Love INC when the "gap ministry" group was just getting started. He helped get the GIFTS men's homeless shelter off the ground, too.

About five years ago, he and others started "Living Waters," a Christian-based transitional living home for men.

He's been involved in ALPHA, the popular "beginning Christianity" program.

What inspires him?

Petranek described an instance when he was reading the Bible and came on a passage from James 2:14: "What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?"

"I knew God wanted me to do more," Petranek said.

His energy and his desire to respond mean he sometimes overextends himself.

"I think he would do everything if he had the time," Dick Lynes said. "If he could clone himself, he would. He's one of the most spiritual, most caring people I know."

It's his heart that carries him away.

"Scott has one of the biggest hearts of anybody I know," said the Rev. Jon Grice or Roxbury Road Church of Christ. "He has a real sensitivity to people who are struggling."

Paul Benish, who worked with Petranek and others to start GIFTS, echoed those sentiments.

"Scott has what we call the power of discernment," Benish said.

In plain terms, Petranek thoughtfully studies the Bible, prays for guidance and takes action when he—and others—feel the time is right.

That's the other thing that sets Petranek apart. He doesn't want to be set apart. He sees the good he's done as work that was accomplished by a group of believers responding to God's call.

That favorite passage in James continues: "But someone will say, 'You have faith; I have deeds.' Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do."