There’s Biblical reason to believe God works through
families. It’s also reasonable to believe the later
generations of believers are blessed through the
obedience of those who lived before. That is the case with
my family. My sisters and I have been blessed through my
mother’s faithfulness.
Those who lived through the 1960’s realize how
tumultuous a decade that was. (Remember the booklet,
“Hippies, Happiness, and Hypocrisy!?) It was also a remarkable
period of growth for the Church of God. My family was part of
the increase.
In 1963 my mother, Angeline, was baptized (by Carn
Catherwood). At the time we were living on Bunker Hill Air
Force Base, a military facility north of Kokomo, Indiana. Like
so many young Hoosier boys, I was involved in school activities,
primarily track, football, and basketball. I vividly remember
my mother gathering her three children into the car before
bedtime. She drove us around the Air Force base, listening to
a radio evangelist. During this same time my grandmothers,
one living in rural Tennessee and the other living in California,
were exposed to the same truth my mother was discovering.
They were learning about the true Sabbath, the holy days, and
all sorts of other “new” things. Little did I realize that their
“discoveries” would eventually lead me and my two sisters to
becoming third generation believers.
To say that my father was vehemently against my mother’s
new beliefs would be a gross understatement. His resistance
There’s Biblical reason to believe God works through
families. It’s also reasonable to believe the later
generations of believers are blessed through the
obedience of those who lived before. That is the case with
my family. My sisters and I have been blessed through my
mother’s faithfulness.
Those who lived through the 1960’s realize how
tumultuous a decade that was. (Remember the booklet,
“Hippies, Happiness, and Hypocrisy!?) It was also a remarkable
period of growth for the Church of God. My family was part of
the increase.
In 1963 my mother, Angeline, was baptized (by Carn
Catherwood). At the time we were living on Bunker Hill Air
Force Base, a military facility north of Kokomo, Indiana. Like
so many young Hoosier boys, I was involved in school activities,
primarily track, football, and basketball. I vividly remember
my mother gathering her three children into the car before
bedtime. She drove us around the Air Force base, listening to
a radio evangelist. During this same time my grandmothers,
one living in rural Tennessee and the other living in California,
were exposed to the same truth my mother was discovering.
They were learning about the true Sabbath, the holy days, and
all sorts of other “new” things. Little did I realize that their
“discoveries” would eventually lead me and my two sisters to
becoming third generation believers.
To say that my father was vehemently against my mother’s
new beliefs would be a gross understatement. His resistance
to my mother’s attraction to the church led to a break-up in our
family. Because of my age (15 yrs. old) the judge overseeing
child custody asked me to choose which parent I wanted to
live with. Which parent I wanted to live with?! He couldn’t
be serious! That was an impossible expectation. How do you
choose one parent over another? My decision was influenced
by my mother’s devotion. Knowing she loved her children more
than life itself and yet she was willing to give us up (if forced
by the law) to obey God convinced me that “whatever” she was
involved with had to be earth shaking. So, I chose to live with
my mother and moved away from everything that was central to
my life then – my father, our home, my school, my friends, and
sports.
We moved to Indianapolis where there was a Church of
God congregation. There were about three hundred attending
members and they warmly embraced my mother and us kids.
This new family of moms and dads (the Denman’s, Vincent’s,
Foster’s, Whitt’s, Pate’s, Shoe’s, Jones’, Daly’s, Truebloods,
Peyton’s, Thompson’s, Hoffman’s, Quackenbush’s, McCain’s,
Osborn’s, Sparks’, Rush’s, Phil Griffith, the Hampton sisters,
Don Atherton, and Mrs. McNeil – just to name a few) looked
after us, sharing their food and homes. Their hospitality
fit the description of the early new church in Acts 2:42 …
“they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and
fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayer.” There
were Spokesman Clubs, goat roasts, weekly Bible studies, trips
to Chicago and Cincinnati for Holy Day services, and Sunday
softball. It was a special time.
I will always be grateful to Mr. John Bald and his wife,
Nancy. He was the local church’s minister. For whatever
reason, it seemed the Bald’s had extra time for mentoring this
teen-age boy (me) with no father. They had me over to their
CGI ministry would be entirely different from the authoritative
exclusivity of the Worldwide. So, I said “yes” and moved to
Tyler, Texas in 1986. (Vance Stinson was hired at the same
time.) I found myself working along side four of the most gifted
men I have ever known – Benny Sharp, Vance Stinson, Garner
Ted Armstrong, and Ron Dart. It was a fantastic work/ministry
environment.
Through Mr. Ted Armstrong’s direction I was able to work
administratively with the growing ministry, travel with him
and Mr. Dart on personal appearances, facilitate Festival site
selection and help coordinate festival organization, answer
letters, respond to phone inquiries from around the world, and
organize the Church’s Youth Camp. All of these opportunities
contributed in some way to my current responsibilities.
Today, Benny, Vance and I are still working together at the
home office. How this came about is a truth stranger than
fiction. Sometimes I have to pinch myself to realize all that’s
happened. The events of the middle 90’s are well documented
and don’t need to be rehearsed, so long as we don’t forget
what we learned. Looking back it’s eye-opening to realize
how God guided so many to make right decisions for the right
reasons. This is certain. If it had not been for the spiritual
resolve of the Ministerial Council members and their wives,
along with the prayerful support of so many brethren, the
CGI would be totally different from what it has become. The
ongoing work of the CGI is a testimony to God’s grace.
I would be remiss if I didn’t take a moment to mention the
“gift from God” who serves shoulder to shoulder with me in
this life. That’s my energetic and wonderful wife, Betsy. She
is a remarkable woman and mother. She adds an indomitable
optimism to our marriage. She is a gifted fourth grade teacher
with a unique way of bringing out the best in each child. She
is a nurturer who loves without limits. We often talk about
how different our lives have been. She pretty much lived in
one city (Shreveport) all her life, my family moved all over. She
can remember all her grade school and elementary teachers;
I remember one. She graduated from LSU; I graduated from
Ambassador. (That’s a contrast for you!) Her upbringing was
completely different from mine. How she puts up with me
remains a mystery. As Proverbs says, “Strength and honor are
her clothing.”
Matthew 19:29 says, “And every one that has forsaken
homes, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife,
or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, shall receive
an hundredfold…” I know how that works. As I already
mentioned, in 1963 my mother took me and my two sisters
to our first church activity in Indianapolis. We were a family
of four. My sisters and I met a lot of folks that evening. They
were having a dinner and talent show. I remember Ferrell
Vincent (present CGI minister) played a guitar and sang “My
Blue Suede Shoes.” When my mother first told me we were
going to the dinner I asked her what I should wear. She said,
“Wear the best you have.” So, I wore the one thing that meant
the most to me – my blue award sweater from Maconaquah
high school. On the sweater were a big “M” and a few pins
that reminded me of my achievements in track, football, and
basketball. (Do they still have award sweaters?) I don’t know
what happened to that sweater. But I do know that today my
home and office are filled with many, many reminders of a
different type. There are pictures, cards and gifts that remind
me of wonderful experiences and the dedicated members
that have been my family for so many years. Those reminders
mean the most to me now. I guess I had to give up one to
have the many.
