In 2009, an IT businessman experienced a life-changing moment that eventually inspired him to sell his successful tech company and start a ministry that promotes the Ten Commandments.
Ed Van Buskirk made the decision to sell his company in 2017 and start If U Love Me, a Catholic non-profit that promotes the Ten Commandments in parishes and schools nationwide. The ministry’s name is inspired by the Gospel of John, chapter 14, verse 15: “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”
Van Buskirk was the president of tech company We Are IT for 21 years. The moment that sparked his journey to found If U Love Me happened in 2009, but it wasn’t until 2017 that Van Buskirk made the final decision to sell his tech company to promote the Commandments as his life’s work.
Van Buskirk described the moment that changed his life: He was listening to a talk about the Ten Commandments at a men’s group, and although he was a lifelong Catholic, he realized he could not recall all ten from memory. He was also challenged to reflect on what parts of his life lacked a love of the Commandments.
“In a person’s life there might be, at most, a handful of moments that abruptly set a new course for the rest of their lives. That morning was one of those moments for me. It really bothered me that I didn’t know and wasn’t really living the Ten Commandments as I should have,” Van Buskirk said.
“References to the Ten Commandments started popping up everywhere,” he said. “I became amazed at how frequently the Ten Commandments appeared in the readings at church and in homilies. Books that I read made references to them and most importantly I became more aware of how well I did—or didn’t—obey the Ten Commandments.”
The next several years were a journey for Van Buskirk as he took greater interest in the Ten Commandments. He even sent a letter he wrote to then-President Obama once a week for six months, “encouraging [Obama] to bring the Ten Commandments back into the spotlight as a solution to various problems. Of course, all I ever got back were form letters.”
Van Buskirk described a “small still voice” which challenged him, “What is stopping you from bringing the Ten Commandments into the spotlight?”
After Van Buskirk sold his IT company in 2017, he began writing a book about the Ten Commandments called “God’s Recipe for a Wonderful Life,” and produced an 11-week video study that launched in 2021. The video study was recommended by Van Buskirk’s bishop in Kansas City, Most Reverend James V. Johnston, Jr.
Bishop Johnston wrote, “‘If U Love Me’ presents the Ten Commandments in an engaging way that helps both adults and children see the Commandments are ultimately given by God to help us love in different ways.”
“Without God’s Commandments we face calamity and heartache,” Van Buskirk said. “With them, God promises harmony, joy and true freedom.”
Based out of Kansas City, Missouri, Van Buskirk gives talks on the Ten Commandments at retreats, parishes, schools, conferences, homeschool events, and more. The nonprofit also offers a blog and a video study of the Commandments.
The organization recently launched a new program called, “God’s Recipe for School and Family: Learning and Living the Ten Commandments,” which offers schools and families resources, such as a plaque of the Commandments, educational videos on practically living out the Commandments, a fun activity-filled “family kit”, and more.
If U Love Me is celebrating its fifth anniversary this month.