Tower of Refuge Church of God

Last Sunday morning, the 16th of October, it appeared that the service would be a normal Sunday morning service. "Tower Praise" were are at the church promptly at 8:30 ready to prepare their worship for service, I was running through my list of Sunday morning chores in preparation for the service. Don't get me wrong EVERY Sunday morning at the Tower is an awesome time of worship with hopeful expectation of what the Lord is going to accomplish in our midst! We have a young vibrant church with all kinds of people in whom God is doing a tremendous work and each week we just show up knowing God is performing in us His divine mandate for our lives; but this sunday morning something would happen that would shake me to the core & reignite a passion inside of me as a Pastor & a minister of the Gospel. At the Tower, it's not uncommon at all to have several visitors each Sunday. We love visitors!! I noticed a young man that I had never seen before. In my mind I was thanking the Lord for sending visitors. As the service progressed it was evident that the Lord had come down in our midst!! The atmosphere was charged with His Holy Power & Presence!! I ministered out of Joshua chapters 3-5, the story of the Jordan River. It seemed effortless! It was one of those times as a preacher where you just open your mouth & it seems like living water is issuing out of you! One of those times that you clearly understand that God is literally speaking through you!! When I opened the altars for prayer, as usual at the Tower, many people came to pray. One must understand at the Tower, we believe our altars are to be used for more than a person to give their life to Christ; we use our altars every sunday to sacrifice self and to find the peace of God in our lives!! As people came and prayed and eventually went back to their seats, I felt impressed to wait on the Lord, He impressed on my heart that He was not finished. As we tarried and waited, the young man that I saw at the beginning of service made his way to the altar clearly emotionally overwhelmed and broken. He stood at the altar weeping. Obviously my first question to him was "do you know the Lord?" I could make out his response of "no" but because of the music and worship going on around us I could not hear, at that time, that he had quite a heavy middle-eastern accent. I led him in a simple "sinner's prayer" and we rejoiced together. Heaven Rejoiced!! After the service was over the young man met me on the floor as I walked down from the platform. I shook his hand and said congratulations. With his eyes still wet from weeping he began to tell me his story...... (paraphrasing from memory) "I was born in Turkey which as you know is Muslim. I have been in the United States for nine years. I have visited several Christian churches but never one like this!! After today NOBODY can tell me that Jesus is not God!! I've never felt anything like this before!! I know Jesus from the teachings of the Koran but I want to know more & more about him!! I want to know the beginning and the history and where He came from...I am consumed with knowing more!! My problem is I can't understand the King James Bible very well.... " I responded and told him to acquire a New International Version or a Contemporary English Version of the Bible. At that point I remembered that I had an NIV Bible in my desk drawer. I went in my office and retrieved the Bible from my desk drawer. I opened it and saw that the Bible had been inscribed and given to me when I was 15 years old by Pastor Carl Radcliff at the McArthur Assemblies of God in 1985. I gave him the Bible. He continued to speak... "I will never forget this little church and I will never forget you...." OK! at this point your thinking "alright Pastor so you had a man saved at your church...why would you be shaken to the core..." right? What is the chance out of 6.5 Billion people on this planet and the countless millions of places that young man could have been on that Sunday morning that he ended up at my church, in the middle of nowhere, listening to me preach the Gospel and gives his heart to the Lord? On top of that, American people are so spoiled, selfish & desensitized to the Gospel. How many countless people have come to the Tower and felt the Holy Spirit of God and came to the altar and had their little "experience" only to fade out inside of a couple weeks if that long or they'll tell everyone yep I'm a Christian but never serve the Lord or be a disciple. That young man from Turkey had a genuine "born again" experience Sunday October the 16th at the Tower of Refuge Church of God in McArthur Ohio!! The experience reminded me that the fields are white ready to be harvested!! I've found a new passion to win the lost! I am committed to "move forward" and overcome denominational barriers, financial barriers, social barriers and racial barriers to advance the Kingdom of God!! Soon Jesus Christ the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords will return....when He does, I want Him to find me about Father's business.

Lately I have found myself looking back over the last twelve years of ministry at the Tower... WOW!! What a ride!! At this point most Pastors turn on what I like to call their "Pastoral propaganda". They'll say how awesome it's been and how the Lord has done a tremendous work when deep in their hearts they know it's only by the grace of God that they even have a ministry let alone a church to pastor!! LOL!! I don't want to be so mechanical...at least not today. The last twelve years of ministry at the Tower has taught me so much that I can't even begin to describe it... mostly good things, some bad. I have learned a lot about the nature of people. I've learned that talk is cheap. I've learned that respect is earned and that loyalties are often forsaken. I've learned that there is no proverbial ladder to climb...that is if you want to do real ministry. One of the most important things Ive learned is that "where there is no vision the people perish" just like the Bible says. I can add another dimension to that... "vision without strategy is simply fantasy!! "Moving forward from here I know the people who should be here are here. In twelve years I have never sensed more unity & cohesiveness than I do right know. The people of the Tower are embracing & carrying out the vision of the Tower of Refuge Church of God. I've learned that I CAN NOT be all things to all men though I can Shepherd SOME & those few can shepherd the multitudes.

Hello family & friends of the Tower!! I & the S.W.I.M. (Southwest Indian ministries led by Dr. Dan Hughes) have finished up the Pastor's Conference 2011!! The Lord demonstrated His Power in a marvelous way this year as usual!! Bishop Sam Salyer opened the Conference with a session on "Working Together as Partners". Bishop David Renfro from Dayton Evangel followed with a session called "Pastor Administrator". Randy Barr from the Grive City Church of God spoke on "Pastor Servant Leader. I finished up the day of sessions on "Pastor Mentor". We will be leaving for home tomorrow hopefully to arrive in Columbus around 7:15 PM. Ill be glad to be home with my family & church family!! I have missed you all immensely!! A big thanks to Jesse Reynolds & Ryan Hicks for ministering at the Tower in my absence!! See you all on Wenesday evening at the tower!!