Voice of Hope

Today, Debra and I attended the funeral services for retired minister Howard Hughes at the Baggetts Chapel church. The church was full to capacity, and people were seated in adjoining rooms in order to attend the services. The funeral services were conducted by Pastors E.C. Kephart, Jim Mitchell, David Mackens and District Presbyter/Pastor, Richard Neal. I was privileged to conduct the grave-side service and present a church flag to the family. Again, I have been blessed to watch the care and affection shown to grieving families by our members and ministers in the Church of God of Prophecy. You are wonderful people and I appreciate you so much May God bless you!

Today I was able to visit with Pastor Joe and Barbara Watson at the hospital in Jackson, Tennessee. Yesterday, Joe went through triple bypass heart surgery and did great. I was in the room when the surgeon came in to check on him and he seemed to feel good about things. Hopefully, he was to be moved out of intensive care today to a regular room. As you can imagine, Sister Barbara is tired from the long days at the hospital. There have been a multitude of folks visiting at the hospital, and my heart was warmed to know how loving and caring the people in our church are. Please continue to pray for Joes full recovery. God bless.

It saddens me to report to you tonight the passing of another of our retired ministers. Brother Hughes passed away this morning at about 8:20 a.m. at the Trinity Hospital in Erin, Tennessee. Brother Hughes retired from the ministry in 2002 after 46 years of ministry. Visitation will be from 5-8 p.m. on Friday, September 29, 2006 at McReynolds Nave Funeral Home on Madison Street in Clarksville, and from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, September 30, 2006 at the Baggetts Chapel church. The funeral services will be conducted at 2:00 p.m. at the Baggetts Chapel church with internment at the Slayden Church of God of Prophecy cemetary. Please join me in prayer for this family

For those of you interested in sending a card to the famliy of Bishop Omer Lawson, I am posting the mailing address of his sister, Ruth. and his daughter Linda: Ruth Lawson 664 Lawson Rd, Crossville, TN 3857 Linda Lawson 634 Lawson Rd, Crossville, TN 38571 I hope this is helpful. God bless.

Joe Watson, currently serving as mission pastor of the new field work in Henderson, Tennessee (most recently pastor of the Curtis Hill church), is in the hospital in Jackson, Tennessee. He will be having heart bypass surgery on Thursday morning. Will you please join me in praying for Brother Watson and his family during this difficult time for them?

By now, perhaps you have heard that Bishop Omer Lawson has passed away. It happened this afternoon around 3:00 p.m. (CST) at his home in Crossville, Tennessee. Bishop Lawson is a former general appointee who served this church faithfully. He has two sons in full-time ministry in Tennessee, Dr. Philip Lawson at the Columbia church and James Lawson at the Dyersburg church. His son Melvin Lawson serves the Church of God of Prophecy in Hammond, Indiana. His grandson, Pastor Richie Horner serves the church at Savannah, Tennessee. If you were to run the line out, you would find a multitude of children, grand-children, great-grand children and sons, daughters and other relatives in ministry. Yesterday, Debra and I visited with Brother Lawson at his home and had prayer for him. This was my second visit this past week, I was also there on Wednesday, at which time he was alert and talked with me some. Bishop Lawson will lie in state at the Pine Grove, COGOP in Crossville, TN, on Wednesday,...

Hello dear friends. I trust the Lord is blessing you and meeting all of your needs according to His riches in glory. If you are a minister in Tennessee and you do not receive my email newsletter, I would love to add you to the list. To be added, simply CLICK HERE and you can send me an email request. Just put ADD in the body of the newsletter and let me known who you are. We look forward to serving you.

Recently, I have been reading from one of my favorite authors, Dr. Chuck Swindoll. In his book on the life of the great Apostle Paul, he shared some facts taken from an old writing on the life of Abraham Lincoln. I felt like sharing it with you today: “Most would assume the office of President of the United States would be a fitting climax to an already prestigious life. After all, anyone who becomes president surely grew up with sort of a silver-spoon background, emerging naturally into the limelight before beginning an easy slide into the role of president. Hardly. Lincoln was born in 1809 in a primitive log cabin in what was then known as Hardin County, Kentucky. His father was an illiterate, wandering laborer, his mother a frail sickly woman. They were forced out of their home when he was only seven. His poor mother died when he was nine. He had virtually no formal schooling. He first attempted a career in business in 1831 and failed miserably. A year later he ran for stat...

“For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh; (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) (II Corinthians 10:3-4) Near to the closing of his final letter to the church at Corinth, the great Apostle Paul gave some sobering advice. He reminded them that their quest for eternal life was not going to be easy. Instead of using a “bless-me” philosophy, Paul spoke the plain, simple truth that the church is called by God to a battle, indeed the battle of the ages. Notice how he phrased it, “...though we walk in the flesh, we do not WAR in the flesh. (v.3) In other words, our battle is not a conversational one, its not the battle of church business meetings or even councils such as the General Assembly of the saints....rather it is a conflict that is absolutely fought in the spiritual realm. It seems that so much of our time these days is spent on conflict resolution, on “dotting all the I’s and crossing a...

Have you given much thought lately to the power of the words that you speak? If you are like me, you find yourself constantly talking about one thing or another, and at times you’ve talked so much you can’t hardly remember what you said. Earlier this week, I found myself explaining the events surrounding our General Assembly business sessions over and over. Every other phone call, and those who dropped in to the office wanted to discuss what was enacted, what the surrounding philosophy of the changes were, and just how it would affect our churches in Tennessee. If you’ve been on another planet, or just plain “out of the loop” you are probably scratching your head and wondering what I’m even talking about. If you will bear with me for a moment, I will try to explain. In our recent General Assembly conducted in Nashville, the Committee of Bible Doctrine and Polity presented the findings of a study that has been taking place officially for about four years, and unofficially since the t...

If you are a regular visitor to our daily blog, you are well aware of the changes that are taking place in the Church of God of Prophecy. In our General Assembly that was conducted in Nashville, Tennessee this past month, the business sessions went well beyond the time originally allotted for on the program. This was because there seemed to be an overwhelming consensus to accept the reports that were presented to the delegates, however, a small number of delegates felt convinced that the reports should not be accepted as corrected. After multiple attempts to gain one accord, the General Overseer felt it necessary to request a “leadership expression” from the State and National Presiding Bishops. After this expression, the voice of those objecting was removed by the General Overseer, and the report passed. Let me say first of all, that I am in full agreement with the reports that were passed, and I am convinced that what the committee presented was biblically sound and presented the...

Here is a copy of the report of the Committee on Bible Doctrine and Polity that was submitted to the General Assemblies of the Church of God of Prophecy in Nashville (2006). CLICK HERE To obtain your copy in the pdf format from our Presiding Bishop's personal website.

This morning, Debra and I were thrilled to worship with the congregation of the Michie church for their annual homecoming. We received a warm and cordial welcome, and the presence of the Lord was there in a special way. After my morning sermon, there was a wonderful meal prepared and served by the ladies of the church. At 1:00 p.m., there was a gospel singing featuring Karen Peck and New River. Because of a church meeting at another church at 2:00 p.m., we were unable to stay and enjoy the singing, but I am certain it was wonderful. Special thanks to Pastor James Bennett and the congregation for making us to feel so welcomed.

Yesterday, I learned that our pastor from the Grimsley church, Bishop Jerry Payne has been hospitalized at the Veteran's Adminstration in Nashville. Debra and I visited him on our way to make church visits on Saturday, and found him and Sister Jewell to be in good spirits. Brother Payne has a delicate physical condition, and even a fever can cause great difficulty. I am asking all of you to join me in praying for him. May the Lord bless and keep you.

CLICK HERE to view an article in the Cleveland Daily Banner concerning the installation of our new General Overseer, Bishop Randall Howard.

Today, Debra and I attended the funeral of Marie Wilson in Cleveland, TN. Bishop Eugene Weakley, former Tennessee State Overseer and Bishop Dr. Hector Ortiz, current State Overseer of Texas were in charge of the services. For State Overseer and International Appointee, Bishop Richard Davis sang, as well as Dwight and Londa Richardson. We were actually in Cleveland yesterday and attended the visitation last night. It was good to see some of my kinfolks that I haven't seen in a while, and to visit with many of our friends there. Please continue to pray for Sister Marie's family as they go through this difficult time. May the Lord bless you.

Marie Wilson, wife of former Tennessee State Overseer, Bishop G.A. Wilson went to be with the Lord this week. Here are the arrangements: Visitation: 5-8 p.m. Thursday, September 7, 2006 Funeral: 11:00 a.m. Friday, September 8, 2006 Location: Buckner Funeral Home Cleveland, Tennessee

Center for Spiritual Renewal Appoints Wilson Executive Director The Center for Spiritual Renewal (CSR), a parachurch ministry organization in Cleveland, Tenn., has named Rev. Billy Wilson as its new executive director. The appointment of Wilson by the Center's board capped a year of significant events for the CSR which began with the death of the center's founder, Dr. Robert E. Fisher, on September 28, 2005. His death came after substantial planning had been made toward the 100 year celebration of the Azusa Street Revival, which took place on April 25-29, 2006 in Los Angeles. The CSR was the primary planning entity of the event, which ended up attracting over 50,000 people from over 100 countries. "The success of the Azusa Centennial was the result of hundreds of people and churches coming together and stepping up in the months following Dr. Fisher's death," Wilson stated. Wilson, who served as executive officer for the Centennial following Fisher, reported to the...

I AM POSTING A COPY OF A DEATH NOTICE I RECEIVED TODAY FROM THE INTERNATIONAL OFFICES Dear Folks, Many of you will remember Bishop George Albert Wilson who has served the church in many capacities in past years. His widow, Marie Wilson, has been living with her daughter, Evelyn for the past few years. Sister Wilson has passed away and her body is being shipped here today. Her son, Kenneth will arrive tonight and Evelyn will arrive tomorrow. I do not have any details about the funeral, visitation, etc. As soon as I learn something more, I will notify you. Betty Fisher PUBLIC RELATIONS

I am saddened to announce the passing of Samuel Rye. Funeral arrangements are set now for Bro. Samuel Rye. Visitation will be 5 to 9, Thursday, Sept. 7 at Sykes Funeral Home, 424 Franklin Street in Clarksville. Services are at 11:00 AM Friday, Sept. 8 with burial at Slayden Church of God of Prophecy. Bro. Sam was 87 years old and a member of the Clarksville COGOP. He joined Feb. 12, 1950. He leaves 4 children, 2 sons, Sammy Rye who is a licensed minister in COGOP and Luther Rye, pastor Baton Rouge COGOP. 2 daughters, Joan Rapp Stephenson, Clarksville and Vickie Cannon, Smyrna Please join me in prayer for the Rye family.

We have again experienced server problems with our internet provider. If you have sent any correspondence in the past five days and I have not responded, would you please resend your email again. This includes any online reporting. The email address affected is: overseer@tncogop.org Hopefully, this will be taken care of soon, I am considering the possibility of installing our own dedicated server at the office. I do apologize for any difficulty this may have caused.

On Friday, Debra and I made a trip to Northern Indiana to watch my nephew Ethan play football. Ethan is a "stand-out" wide receiver for the Maconaquah Braves in Bunker Hill, Indiana and was rate #11 in the state. I had never seen him play football, although this is his senior year and he is one of the team captains. We really enjoyed being with my two sisters and their families for a couple of days. On Saturday, we just rested by lounging around my younger sister's house. Thank God for Direct TV which allowed me to see the Tennessee/California game. Now that's the way to start a new season! This morning, I preached at the Kokomo, Indiana church, which is the first church my father pastored. It was good to see all of the hard work that has gone into keeping the work going there. My brother-in-law, Victor has served as the pastor for the past six years. It was over twenty-years-ago that I baptized him in the White River in Indiana, and at the General Assembly, ...