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Showing posts from May, 2012

Ruby Ledford

Ruby Ledford underwent surgery today at a local hospital in Knoxville.  I traveled there early this morning and visited with the family.  She was resting when I left for home tonight.  Ruby is the wife of Bishop Robert Ledford, our Northeast Tennessee District Presbyter.

Wanda Allen Update

I learned this evening that Wanda Allen of the Erin church was released from the hospital and is recovering at home.  Please continue to pray for her and for Sister Ruby Ledford.

Special Thanks

In just a few days, Senior Camp will begin at Camp Hickory Hills. We are looking forward to a great season of camping and for the ministry that our staff will be imparting. Before it even begins, I want to say thank you to everyone who makes it a great success. Also, please join me in prayer for these events.

Camp Hickory Hills - Youth Camp Information

This year, we have begun sending email confirmations to those who listed a valid email address. Also, for your information, you may follow the Camp Hickory Hills website to find all updated information.  For the Camp Hickory Hills Website:  CLICK HERE For the Camp Hickory Hills BLOG:  CLICK HERE   We trust this wil be helpful to you.

Death Notice - Bishop Howard Hunt

Per: Overseer: Fred Lawson: Bishop Hunt passed away: Sunday, May 27, 2012 Sent: Tue, May 29, 2012 19:51:49 GMT+00:00 Subject: Bishop Howard Hunt's Obituary Dear Pastor/Co-Worker: The following is the funeral service arrangement and obituary of Bishop Howard Hunt: Arrangements are under the direction of D. W. Swick Funeral Home.  1104 Harrisonville Ave.(Rt.139) New Boston, Ohio 45662 Phone: 740-456-4133 The family will receive visitors on Wednesday from 6:00 until 9:00 p. m. at the New Boston Church of God of Prophecy. The funeral service will be at 1:00 p.m. on Thursday, May 31, 2012, at the New Boston Church of God of Prophecy, located in New Boston, Ohio.  Entombment will be at Memorial Burial Park with Military Graveside honors Bishop Howard J. Hunt of Minford, Ohio, departed this life to be with his Lord at the age of 85, on May 27th, 2012, surrounded by his wife and children. Born May 24, 1927, in New Boston, Ohio, he was the son of the late O

Memorial Day 2012If you

Memorial Day is a Federal Holiday that was instituted after the war between the States (1861-1865) to honor fallen Union soldiers.  An interesting fact is that this is an idea that was "borrowed" from a Southern States tradition known as "decoration day."  A time when families would gather to decorate the graves of their loved ones, that was surrounded with the thoughts of "Homecoming" in the churches. Over the last 150 plus years, it has become a day to remember and honor those who have fallen in combat operations from Shiloh to Fallujah.  From the beaches of Normandy to the mountains of Afghanistan, through Europe in World War 1 through Korea to Vietnam and smaller conflicts that history may have forgotten.  There are even those who have fallen in the service to our nation as CIA operatives whose identity is not named, but only marked by a star carved into the marble wall at their headquarters and with their name inscribed in a Moroccan goatskin bo

Summer Youth Camps

In just a few days, the summer youth camping season will kick off!  We are expecting this to be a wonderful year for all of our campers, and our wonderful staff is ready to minister.  We are so thankful for all of the pastors and congregations who support the camping program in Tennessee. Camp Hickory HIlls is a beautiful campus located at 955 Wilson Hollow Road just outside Dickson, Tennessee. Debra and I look forward to seeing you there.

Prayer request for Wanda Allen

Debra and I spent much of the day today with the Allen Family (Pastor Sammy Allen and Wanda, and Kristina).  Sister Allen has surgery today and when we left, she was in recovery.  The Allens serve at our Erin, Tennessee church. Please join us in prayer tonight.

What have you set your heart on?

Every morning, I go to my computer to check email.  Some days, the messages are in the hundreds, and today is not exception.  Today was a little different, for I noticed a pattern in my inbox that I have not really paid attention to before.  No, not the amount of spam, in reality the junk filter in my Apple mail program catches most of that, so I am not reading daily about special offers for everything from 'As seen on TV' to medications that I dont need or desire.  But today I noticed a different pattern. Now  you would think someone with a law enforcement background and a trained accountant would have picked up on this trend sooner, after all, much of the work in both of those sciences requires careful examination of ledgers and cancelled checks or long nights of surveillance, always ready to act the moment something incorrect is discovered. Today, it was the plethora of articles from online Christian magazines, bloggers and forwards from my friends.  Most of them had one

Prayers for our folks..

I just arrived at the office after attending the funeral of Ronnie Wayne Inman at the Trenton, Tennessee church in Western Tennessee.  His son, our pastor at the Lennox church, Pastor Craig Inman did a wonderful job of organizing and presiding over the funeral services, and our pastor at the Camden, Tennessee church, Pastor Troy Redmond delivered the message. I was so please to see so many of our pastors in attendance at the funeral services and the visitation services last night.  The Trenton church was filled with compassionate people showing their love and respect for Brother Inman. Before heading west for this funeral, I was in Cleveland for the funeral services for Sister Inez Biggers.  it was a great turnout and the service was conducted by our Pastor at Keith Street, John A Stone and Retired Minister, Bishop Gene Davis.   From Cleveland, it was on to Clarksville, Tennessee for the funeral for Retired Minister Andy Sykes.  Again, to see our pastors supporting each othe

Death Notice - Ronnie Wayne Inman

I am saddened to report the passing of Ronnie Wayne Inman (Age 58), one of our church members at Trenton, Tennessee.  Ronnie is the father of our Pastor at the Lennox Church, Brother Craig Inman. Funeral services for Mr. Ronnie Wayne “Squirrel” Inman, 58, will be held at 2pm Wednesday, May 23, 2012 at the Church of God of Prophecy in Trenton, TN with Rev. Troy Redmond officiating. Burial will follow in Walnut Grove Cemetery. Mr. Inman wished to be remembered as a loving father, son, and brother, but most of all as a lover of Jesus Christ, his Lord.  Mr. Inman was a member of the Church of G od of Prophecy in Trenton, TN, and a former employee of Van Dyke Tile and Terrazzo Co. and Emerson Motor Co., he passed away Saturday, May 19, 2012 at Jackson Madison County General Hospital.   He is survived by his son, Steven Craig Inman and wife Michelle; daughter Christy Leigh Holloway and husband Joe; two grandsons, Jacob David Holloway and Brandon Lee Holloway; a grand puppy, Lil

Death Notice - Bishop Lee "Andy" Sykes

Lee Anderson "Andy" Sykes, 81, of South Pittsburgh, Tennessee and formerly of Palmyra, passed away Saturday, May 19, 2012. A Celebration of Life will be held at 3 p.m. Monday, May 21, 2012 at the chapel of McReynolds-Nave & Larson Funeral Home. Burial will follow in the Baggett's Chapel Cemetery. Visitation will be from 10 a.m. until the hour of service Monday at the funeral home. Andy was born October 17, 1930, son of the late Rodney Lee and Susan Ruth Shelton Sykes. He was a retired from General Motors, served the Lord as a minister, and was a member of Erin Church of God of Prophecy. Survivors include his wife, Ruth Hodges Sykes of South Pittsburgh, sons David Sykes of McMinnville and Doyle Sykes of Hendersonville, sisters Helen Ellarson and her husband Johnny of Clarksville and Christine Oteney of Michigan, seven grandchildren and several great grandchildren. Grandchildren will serve as pallbearers. Arrangements in the care of McReynolds-Nave & Larson Funeral

Fields of the Wood Visit

Fields of the Wood 2012 Today, a large part of the International Administrative Committee/Corporate Board of Directors met at the Fields of the Wood near Murphy, North Carolina.  It was a beautiful day for the drive through the scenic winding roads.  When we arrived there we received a warm welcome from the staff and took the opportunity to look at many of the improvements, most notably the upgrade to the bookstore and cafe.  There is still much to be done to bring the park up to date, but that would require cash infusions into the budget. At the base of Ten Commandment mountain, I remembered the story my mother told me about accepting her call into the ministry, and a reaffirmation of my father's call to preach the Gospel.  They labored in small churches and sacrificed much to fulfill the call.  As I was sharing, Bishop Howard, our General Overseer talked about the fruit of their ministry.  While they weren't well known, the children and grandchildren are working in the

The Lord is good

As I write tonight, I've finished a full day of meetings at the International Offices with a whole day planned tomorrow.  I will have the privilege of ministering tomorrow morning to the IO staff at their weekly devotion.  As soon as that is over, our committee will be making a trip to Fields of the Wood.  When we return, there will be a trip to the visitation for Sister Inez Biggers, a faithful saint of God. On Thursday I will attend funeral services for Sister Biggers and then head back to Middle Tennessee for the Ladies Spring Spectacular at Cool Springs.  By the time this week is over, I will answer dozens of emails, make phones calls and handle administrative duties. Now, you may wonder, "why in the world did he share all that?"  Here's why...because God has been good to me, He has kept me safe, given me friends all over the United States and in several nations of the world.  He has blessed me with a loving family who are all involved in ministry. During al

Funeral Arrangements - Inez Biggers

Dear Overseer, The following arrangements were received from Beverly Roach, daughter of Bishop Henry and Inez Biggers. Please continue to remember the family in prayer. Viewing will be Wednesday (16 th ) from 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM at the Jim Rush North Ocoee Funeral Home, 2600 N. Ocoee NW, Cleveland, TN 37312, 423-476-6558. Viewing will be Thursday (17 th ) from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM at the Keith Street Ministries local church. The funeral will follow at 11:00 AM at the local church. Grave side service will be in Mississippi.

Death Notice - Inez Biggers

I wanted to let you know that Sister Inez Biggers, the wife of former overseer Bishop Henry Biggers, passed away early this morning. I will post arrangements when they are received. Please pray for their children and their families that the Lord will uphold them.

Mission Field Updates

Today, I received a note from my friend (we all call him Gena - the "G" has the sound of "G" as in Good),  about the work in Belarus which is part of the former Soviet Union.  I am sharing his greeting today with some pictures explaining their outreach: Dear E.C., I hope you are doing well. We are all fine here. I just want to share with you our good news. Some time ago young people from our church decided to raise money for the orphans. In our country we have National holiday called a Victory day. On that very day our youth went out on the opened marketplace in the town to sell their handmade stuff. My daughter Nastya was selling earrings that she made by herself.   Masha was selling postcards. And Olga did face painting on the kids. Almost all day long there was a line.   It was really great time for our youth, they could serve and also could raise some money for the orphans, they were completely exhausted but so happy! On last Saturday w

Just the GUYS

On Friday night, I was privileged to attend the first annual "JUST THE GUYS" retreat at Camp Hickory Hills.  The worship session was led by Jacob Young and then Deputy Sheriff Kerry Golub fromt he Sumner County Sheriff's Office gave a great testimony to the young men.  He was a special blessing. I was able to share a thought from 2 Timothy 4 about the types of characteristics godly men should have: A commitment to: Duty Honor Loyalty Courage I had to leave early this morning to get to Cleveland for an early afternoon birthday party for my friend, Roberta Matthews.  It was such a joy to see her, her family and several of the "legends" of my early ministry.  God is good to us, He is faithful, and I thank the Lord for safe travels.

Just the G.U.Y.S Retreat

As I post this I am sitting at our office in Hendersonville.  I drove in from Cleveland this morning after attending a ballet recital for our oldest grandchild Reagan.  It was a beautiful recital and the drive across the rolling hills of Middle Tennessee was beautiful and relaxing. I am leaving here shortly for our very first "Just the GUYS retreat," at Camp Hickory Hills.  Pastor Todd Turpin and his crew have worked hard to make this happen, and I am trusting the Lord for a great turnout. I ask you to join us in prayer as we continue in our quest to mentor the NEXT generation.

Final Opportunity for Proxy Registration

An Open Letter to the Churches of Tennessee As you know, the International Assembly of the Church of God of Prophecy will convene in Louisville, KY on July 25-29, 2012.  I am certain this will be a great time of worship, fellowship and the sharing of God’s Word. As you may also know, there will be business sessions during the International Assembly, with the local churches making decisions by proxy.  Each church is allowed a number of votes (expressions) based on membership.  Whether large or small, each congregation has a voice through this process. The General Overseer’s office has worked diligently to stay in touch by direct mailings to each pastor, along with numerous other electronic means.  I have mentioned this in my meetings with area pastors.  The deadline for filing to the State Office has NOW passed, however, I will not submit the final numbers until May 15, 2012. This is your final chance to have your church represented in the International Assembly.  I will subm

Online Reporting

We are currently having a problem with our online reporting feature at the state website.  I've been working on it for some time now and have been unable to correct it.