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By Bobby Ross Jr. | Religion Unplugged
EDMOND, Okla. — U.S. Army soldier.
Republican congressman.
Southern Baptist pastor.
That was the career path of former U.S. Rep. Steve Russell.
But then Russell was recruited in 2022 to lead a North Carolina-based international ministry known as JAARS — which stands for Jungle Aviation and Relay Service.
At first, the retired lieutenant colonel — who wrote a memoir about his role in the 2003 capture of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein — brushed aside the idea.
“I thought it was absolutely absurd,” said Russell, 62, an Oklahoma native who previously served as executive pastor for First Southern Baptist Church of Del City, where he developed his faith as a teen.
“I had jungle stories, but they weren’t jungle missionary stories,” he explained. “I had my pilot license, but they didn’t need my flying skill. And so we didn’t think it would happen.”
This column appears in the online magazine Religion Unplugged.
Photo provided by Steve Russell
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