in christian circles such as the one i'm in, you often hear of the scandalous lives of this big minister and that big minister and many make jokes about the plastic-faced men who color their hair to preach on tbn. i admit that my experiences in such circles have left me slightly jaded when it comes to "big" ministries, "pastors" spending more time on jets than in their churches, and prosperity as a theme of a message preached on sunday morning.
in the time i spent living in tulsa, ok, and in the years since, there have been countless stories of men and women that i heard speak as celebrity ministers or even knew personally that have been caught living a lie in one way or another. but through the years there was one man who i was honored to have as my pastor for two years that as far as i know has lived a life above reproach and has walked in as much humility and integrity as any minister i have known.
pastor billy joe daugherty.
in recent months pastor billy joe fought against cancer in his body and died last week. i was shocked. pastor billy joe preached multiple messages a week to thousands, traveled all over the world, reached out to the most down-trodden in his city, sat on boards of universities and some of the largest churches in the world, and yet still he knew my name in the hallway at church. he took time at school to ask questions about my life, my family, my dreams, and on more than one occasion prayed specifically for the issues most important in my life. before i ever had children, i remember him talking with me after class one day and praying that my children and my children's children would be lovers and followers of God. as far as i could tell this man loved God, loved his family, loved his church, and loved the people of his city and of the world.
as a minister in a "word of faith" church, pastor billy joe believed for the healing of his body. i can only imagine what kind of wholeness that death brought to him. as i watched his memorial service for three hours today, i was reminded of hebrews 11 that all those mentioned having faith "all died in faith, not having received the promises but having seen them afar off" and "were assured of them and embraced them". pastor billy joe may not have experienced the healing of his natural body here in this lifetime, but he died in faith, assured of God's promises and embracing them.
his life is a picture to me of integrity, humility, the hand of God reaching out to the hurting and unlovely, and authentic faith. i am thankful that i had the opportunity to learn from him.
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jess ~ i'm thankful, that because you were called to go to school in tulsa, i had the opportunity to hear and experience pastors billy joe and sharon. even though it was just a few times...they left an impact on my life. many lives have been touched and changed forever because of their love and obedience to the lord.
ReplyDeletelove you ~ mom:)