The Cornfield

After I came to Christ, my mother was the first to realize that something was different.  Following my conversion I worked late into one night alongside mom while she was canning tomatoes.  I said, “Mom, I went to the altar at camp and gave my heart to the Lord.”  She looked at me through loving eyes and replied, “I knew something happened.  I’m proud of you.”  And then she kissed me on the cheek.  Little did I know at the time, but mom’s days on earth were numbered.

Two summers later, my mother awakened one morning not feeling well and by evening was bowed low in pain.  A wrong diagnosis in the emergency room sent her back home, only to have her return the next day.  By the time the problem was properly diagnosed, gangrene had worked a destructive toll on key internal organs.  Infection brought on a raging fever.  It was too late for even the strongest antibiotics.

For eight weeks she reeled in pain, solaced only by massive doses of morphine.  Many comforted my family during this very trying time.  A few well-meaning believers assured me that God was going to heal my mother.  I held on to every word.  My faith was immature and my knowledge of God’s Word was limited, so I embraced every word as “gospel.”

I had learned that God heals and subsequently, I just knew that He was going to heal my mom.  After all, I reasoned, God would not take our mother away when we, her seven children, needed her the most.  On September 2,  I awakened to the news that mom had died.  Numbness set in and shock would not allow me to cry, that is, until I went out to meet a grieving household. 

I ran to the cornfield adjacent to our home.  Blinded by tears, I ran hard through the rows of corn.   The sharp cornstalks slashed my arms and legs.  I shook my fists toward heaven, cursed, cried loudly, cursed more and cried louder still.  Finally, exhaustion threw me to the ground and I caught a mouthful of dirt.  I yelled, “You promised you would heal her.  You lied to me.  I’ll never serve you again.”  I threw in a few more expletives for emphasis sake and quieted myself. 

The Holy Spirit then spoke tenderly and lovingly into my heart.  “You asked me to heal your mother, and I did.  She’s in my presence completely whole.”  It’s been 45 years since that sad day.  And frankly, I still haven’t seen anything good come from her death.  Sometimes life makes no sense.  Our beliefs and faith are challenged beyond understanding.  We are called upon to simply trust God. 

Asking “why” becomes futile.  We must eventually rest our case.  Job did!  All of us sooner or later face heartache and loss.  The Scriptures teach that it rains on both the just and the unjust.  In retrospect, I do not believe that sovereign God felt threatened that day, even though I voiced some rather harsh words.  Our loving Father saw my tortured heart and in tender mercy embraced me.  My life would never again be the same; but I still believe God cried with me in the cornfield that day!

My Hometown

Jefferson, the seat of Ashtabula County (Ohio’s largest county in square miles), is historically rich.  Established in 1805, it was named in honor of Thomas Jefferson.  Lawyer, statesman Joshua Reed Giddings built his quaint law office here in 1823.  He practiced law with Senator Benjamin Wade and wrote the first draft of the Republican Party platform in 1856.  Before the Civil War, they were among the nation’s leaders in the anti-slavery movement. 

Jefferson is home to several buildings listed on the National Register, including Lawyer Row, the old courthouse and the Joshua Giddings law office, now adjacent to the Jefferson Police Department.

Jefferson is my hometown.  Even though the years called me away, my heart never strayed.  For when it comes down to it, the village is much more than buildings.  It is people! 

At 18, I was eager to explore the world beyond Ashtabula County.  Now at 61, I have returned to my roots.  Often I drive her streets and reminisce.  The last 40-plus years have served her well.  The many well-kept century homes, new businesses and attractive housing developments, and out-lying farms nicely frame her character.  And a McDonalds to boot!  Hardees, too!  To me it represents a lifetime of memories.  I literally grew up with the Class of ’74.  From kindergarten to my senior year, I was the recipient of quality education.    

I remember…the county fair, Covered Bridge Festival, First Baptist, United Methodist, Church of the Nazarene, Assembly of God, Bethel Bible, First Congregational, St. Paul’s Lutheran, St. Joseph’s Catholic Church (actually visiting most of them as a teenager).

I remember when Henderson Memorial Library was built; the Stop-n-Shop, Ben Franklins, Lawson’s, A&P, the Jefferson Gazette, the J-hi-Life (school newspaper), Lehnert Funeral Home, Miller Funeral Home, Dr. Franley, Dr. Waters, Memorial Field, Western Auto, Utterback’s Texaco Service Station, Jack’s Gulf, Case’s Drugstore, Brenneman’s Lumber, the Falcons, Laskin’s Greenhouse, the Dairy Queen...Oh my, what memories – the Jefferson I grew up with!

Even though ministry opportunities took my wife and me to Alabama, North Carolina and other communities in Ohio, I never forgot the promise God made to me 43 years ago regarding a church plant in Jefferson.  I’ve prayed earnestly over the years for this community and for God’s perfect timing.

How I thank the Lord for Hope Community Church!  If you have no church home, check us out!  We’d love to welcome you to our family!

Which Style is Right?

My wife and I grew up in church when the musical portion of our service was called "the song service."  The phrase "praise and worship" became popular in the 1980's.  I mostly recall hymns and the old-time choruses being sung in our church during the 60's and 70's.

Blessed Assurance was one of my favorite hymns and at summer youth camp we sang with gusto "Everyday with Jesus" over and over.  Perhaps you remember:

Everyday with Jesus is sweeter than the day before.
Everyday with Jesus, I love Him more and more.
Jesus saves and keeps me; and He's the One I'm waiting for.
Everyday with Jesus is sweeter than the day before.

In those day, service flow was seldom emphasized and the compilation of pre-selected song lists was not stressed.  Service components were often unrelated, not like the fast-moving, deliberately planned services found in many churches today.  Of course, there were exceptions, as every generation hails people who initiate change before their time.  Spiritual mavericks have always bridged the generations.  Does the name Martin Luther sound familiar?

Someone made a pertinent observation regarding the lyrical contents of 18th to late 20th century church music versus the music of today.  Many beloved hymns and choruses of yesteryear talked about the Lord--His wonderful love, His nature and other attributes.  Today's music tends to emphasize songs that sing to the Lord.  Think about it this way.  It's the difference between talking about your wife, and talking to her.  You move from, "She's wonderful," to "Honey, I think you're wonderful."

Contemporary songs take on the fervor of intimate worship.  Neither is wrong--just different. Darlene Zschech, formerly from Hillsong in Sydney, Autralia, and many others have beautifully and humbly led a new generation of worshippers into the presence of God through deliberate first-person expressions of adoration.  Consider the song, "Shout to the Lord."

I sing for joy at the works of Your hand.
Forever I'll love You, forever I'll stand.
Nothing compares to the promise I have in You.

Compare this to the hymn, "Such Love."

That God should love a sinner such as I;
Should yearn to change my sorrow into bliss,
Nor rest til He had planned to bring me nigh,
How wonderful is love like this.

Such love...

One talks to the Lord.  The other talks about the Lord.  Which is better, the hymn or the chorus?  Which one is right? Or wrong?  Neither!  They both have their place in the worship experience.  Why must we draw battle lines?

Off My Rocker

If I had my way, every chair in my house would be a rocking chair.  When I was still in diapers, I'd sit in the middle of the floor and rock.  Today, when I visit in homes, I search for a rocker.  I think they should design pews that rock.  Occasionally, I notice myself rocking in straight back chairs.  I don't mind waiting outside for a table at Cracker Barrel, because I get to enjoy "rocking chair row."  Maybe I'm off my rocker!

While still using a high chair, I refused to eat toast unless it was first rubbed on the floor.

Why did I develop such quirks?  Maybe I need counseling.  Perhaps these oddities were warning signs of things to come.  Perhaps God was preparing me for the weird times in ministry.  Who knows?  My Aunt Dorlene still laughs about my eccentricity.  She let me rock and gave me all the toast I wanted--dirt and all!

I'm just glad God never asked me to preach an illustrated sermon by walking around naked for three years.  Do you remember when God used Isaiah to demonstrate the humiliation that Egypt and Cush would experience at the hands of the Assyrians?  "At that time the Lord spoke through Isaiah son of Amoz.  He said to him, 'Take off the sackcloth from your body and the sandals from your feet.' And he did so, going around stripped and barefoot" (Isaiah 20:2).  Don't you imagine that the nation of Judah thought Isaiah was off his rocker!

I'd rather rock without a rocker and rub my toast on the floor any day!

How Did We Get Back in Jefferson?

Hope Community Church was birthed in 1974, that is, in my heart. I was born in Ashtabula and grew up in Jefferson, graduating from Jefferson Area High School.

I came to faith in Christ at the age of 14 while attending youth camp.  I also felt a call to full-time ministry. During the summer of 1974, I struggled with what to do regarding my perceived need to remain at home or to leave for college.  One day, while walking in the field behind my home and feeling overwhelmed, I cried out to the Lord for direction.  I fell to the ground, sobbing in the high grass and heard the Lord say, “He who does not forsake, father, mother, brother or sister for my sake is not fit for the kingdom of God.  One day you will return to Jefferson and plant a church.”  That promise came to pass 40 years later!

I subsequently attended Evangel University in Springfield, Missouri, where I met Lori Owens.  We married in 1977, and over the next 35 years, the we pastored five Assemblies of God congregations. Each time we completed a church assignment, we wondered if it was time to see the Lord’s vision for Jefferson fulfilled.

In 2012 we transitioned from our fifth church. Both of us were experiencing ministry burnout, and that’s when the Lord directed us to Journey Community Church in Fairview Park, Ohio.  For one year we just attended services.  Members of that congregation, along with lead pastors, Jim and Jennifer Wilkes, loved us back to spiritual and emotional health, 

During the summer of 2013, Pastor Jim asked me, “Do you still have a dream left inside you?”  I shared my dream of one day returning to Jefferson to plant a church in my hometown.  Not only did the Fairview Park church support this dream, but they financially resourced the new church!  In September, 2013, my sweetheart and I began holding monthly “Meets and Greets” in the Henderson Memorial Library.  Journey Jefferson was born! 

Later that year, the infant church moved to a small room in the Jefferson Recreation Center, still holding monthly meetings.  Momentum continued to build and by May, 2014 the church was ready to begin monthly services. The church launched its first weekly service on September 28, 2014.  By that time, Journey Jefferson had relocated to the Central Park Hall, adjacent to the Police Department.

Initially, individuals/groups of servant leaders from the Fairview Park Campus were scheduled to help lead the infant church until local leaders could be raised up.  Journey Jefferson experienced steady growth over the next two years, necessitating yet another move.  The church moved back to the Community Recreation Center in May, 2016, utilizing the entire facility. By March, 2017, average weekly attendance was 100 plus people, with local leaders in place for the worship team, children’s ministries, and servant leaders.

The Jefferson Campus owes Journey Community Church a debt of gratitude.  The first four years of the church’s existence would not have been possible without the love and support of Pastors Jim and Jennifer Wilkes and the entire Fairview Park Campus. It is interesting to note that Pastor Wilkes was born the very same month God called me to Jefferson!  God promises may be placed “on hold,” but they never come with an expiration date!

In early 2017 it became apparent that Journey Jefferson’s rural culture, along with the 90-mile distance from the main campus were working a hardship on the campus’ ability to move forward.  The church exhibited needs and core values different from those of Clevelanders. Leadership felt that the unique needs of Jefferson necessitated an autonomous church in Ashtabula County. God was doing a new thing across the entire Journey network. In short, the campus had moved from infancy to a more mature family of believers. It was time to move forward with a new vision, a new name, and to place a pastoral presence in Jefferson.

To that end, Hope Community Church was birthed in May, 2017.  The “new church” held its first service on May 28, 2017.