Here's Hope Baptist Church
A Safe Harbor of God's Love
| Early Years I grew up in Painesville, Ohio in a Roman Catholic home and was raised to be a practicing Catholic. My grandmother lived next door and when I would go to visit her as a small child, I recall becoming very embarrassed by a comment she would make. She would always say something like, "Isn't my Jesus wonderful?" I understood why I felt uncomfortable. She knew this Jesus and I didn't. He was real to her and He wasn't real to me. In fact, most of my religious training was in the Catholic Church, which stressed awareness of sin and the symbols (sacramental) of grace. God was on a cross, far away. He was unknowable to me. I could not see Him but I could look at His statue. My recollection of my confirmation was such that we were told that when the Bishop touched our heads with oil, that we would receive the Holy Spirit. I stood there and waited, and nothing happened. This left me with the distinct understanding that not only was God far away, unknowable (He was only known to those who entered religious service), unhearable (He could only be heard when the priest would speak), and He certainly couldn't be felt or experienced. As a consequence, I followed the rules of the church but never encountered the Jesus that my Grandmother knew so well. Ultimately, by college, I found no reason to continue in church. Several years after college graduation from Ohio State University, I was managing a restaurant in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Working in this restaurant was one waitress who was distinctly different than the rest - and not just because she didn't smoke or cuss. There was an aura about her, a distinctness that was unique - almost a holiness that permeated her actions and words. One evening, while I was doing paperwork shortly before closing, I sat in the restaurant. Nearby sat the only other customer, a policeman, sitting at the counter and being waited on by this unique waitress. The waitress (Kay) was talking to the policeman and they were bantering back and forth about what difference (or not) that God made in the world. The policeman argued that God couldn't be real because the world was so bad, and she argued something to the contrary. Since it was closing time, Kay got in the last word..."why don't you read the book of John in the Bible?" I don't know whether the policeman did or not, but having overheard the conversation, I went home and dug out my bible that I had received in high school, and looked up the book of John. As I read through the first three chapters, I began to realize that God had been there all along, but it was me who was moving away. In fact, I felt the conscious recognition that I had rejected Him all of this time. I didn't know what a sinner's prayer was, but I knew that I had to talk to God. So I asked Him to forgive me for rejecting Him and asked Him to change my life. I wept bitterly as my soul poured out all of the pent up rejection of God's love I had lived. The next morning I awoke to the sounds of birds, to sweet aromas of spring air and to an awareness that something had distinctly changed. It was as if I had experienced a brand new birth! I hurried to work and told Kay what I had done. She encouraged me to come to her church (but I was catholic...I couldn't do that, could I?) because her dad was the pastor of a small church. I compromised, I went to the local catholic church at 9:00 am and her church by 10:30 a.m. Over the next few months, several things occurred. I went to a bible study at Kay's church and observed a very unique (almost Quaker style) worship service. I was taught the fundamentals of the faith and endured hard criticism of my catholic faith which I continued to try to practice. The strange thing was...I found God present at the catholic church! In fact, the priest was a "born-again" priest who also claimed to be "Spirit filled." This presented me with more conflicts. Kay's church was distinctly anti-charismatic; yet at the catholic church, the people who I found to be vibrant and authentic believers, were charismatic in their expression of their faith. Meanwhile, at work, I got to know other Christians of other expressions and found their differences to be one of the minor irritations that were overcome by their common experience of Jesus Christ. I resolved continue in the Catholic Church and to seek God's direction. I began to seek out opportunities for ministry, such as being a retreat team member for a Lay Renewal Weekend where a form of the Gospel was presented to catholics. I sought out monastic orders and the priesthood, yet found the call to celibacy not to be consistent with my inner calling. I knew that I would marry someday, and while I would remain celibate before marriage, didn't see that as a lifelong calling. Could only the celibate become godly servants used to bring people to Christ? It was an inconsistency that I could not resolve. Soon I was transferred by my new employer, Nabisco, to Houston, Texas. I followed up a lead from a Catholic family in Pittsburgh that told me to call a particular family when I arrived in Houston. I did this and this wonderful couple introduced me to a very unique Christian, named Mike Cybolski. Mike was a Roman Catholic primarily in name only...he had been discipled by Campus Crusade for Christ and had a unique prophetic gift. He built a group of young, single saved Catholics into a small community that he discipled and taught each of us how to lead, pastor, care, and use our spiritual gifts. Before long, I and two other men from the group rented a house and began to host a bible study for Catholics. We had catholics from all over SW Houston coming, and we would share the gospel and we would see people make decisions for Christ. Each would go back to their local parishes and try to influence their single adult group as well as to invite others to come to the bible study. It was at this bible study, about a year later, that I met my wife, Jennifer. She had just moved to SW Houston from Kingwood and a friend brought her to the bible study. As we courted, she doubted I would leave the Catholic Church. Yet, I had one more try at service. I went to an appointment with a Catholic Lay Missionary group to see if I could serve there. It was another closed door, because they didn't want teachers and lay pastors, they wanted medical missionaries. Something about this didn't line up with my understanding of scripture, and I distinctly felt God's leadership to leave the church I had been raised in. We began attending Wilcrest Baptist Church in Houston, Texas under the care of a marvelous pastor, Rev. Marion Fonville. Brother Marion was a gentle guide, leading me to believer's baptism and encouraging me to use my gifts of preaching and teaching. He ultimately performed our wedding ceremony in February of 1985. Shortly after that, I began seminary at the Southwestern Theological Seminary extension campus at Houston Baptist University. However, my schedule at Nabisco kept changing shifts, making it very unlikely that I would be able to continue seminary. So, on a LEAP of faith, we moved to Fort Worth, Texas to continue Seminary. Little did we know this would be a 10 year adventure of schooling. Upon arriving in Fort Worth, we had several significant lessons in God's provision that require pages of their own. God provided jobs, living quarters and finally a church to attend. We began at Wedgwood Baptist Church, and found a problem with the seminary community. All of the adult Sunday School teaching positions were filled in most of the churches with a year or two waiting list. So when a mission was being planned to be spawned from Wedgwood, we quickly volunteered to be a part of it. Our education was to continue! The mission, later to become :"The Church in Cityview" was a unique expression of the freedom of the Holy Spirit within the confines of a Southern Baptist Church. Led by Rev. Burt Purvis, this church went where few others dared to go. We learned to listen to God, to hear Him, to follow Him, to obey Him in ways we had never experienced before. We found out our God moved in ways that would allow us to see His hand, and to experience His supernatural power and presence. Our worship experience was cutting edge at the time. We used Dennis Jernigan songs, we danced, raised hands and clapped our way to the throne of God. Our church grew rapidly too. And we learned many things about ourselves, about why we sin, and about why people live and act the way they do with and without Christ. My life during this time was a roller coaster; working for a printing company (Alphagraphics Company Stores) as a store manager, I received a promotion to Texas Store Manager in 1989 and by 1991, lost my job during a store sellout amid the last major recession. I dropped out of seminary and wandered and wondered what I was going to do for a living for nearly 6 months. My wife, Jennifer had run a small typing/word processing business for most of the time in Ft. Worth so I took it over and began to expand it by doing resumes and typesetting. Before I knew it, we had grown to the largest of its kind in the area, and 4 years had passed! I was still out of school, with 40 hours remaining and didn't ever know if I would finish seminary or continue in the ministry. One evening, while teaching a Wednesday bible study at my church, I raised the possibility that maybe I misheard God about my calling. I was discouraged and was having serious doubts. And a prophetic voice from a woman in the back spoke up. "Does God change His mind or revoke His call? Look it up!" I was stunned. A few days later, I got a call from a local paper who wanted to do a write-up on our business. I agreed and was interviewed and our business was photographed. The final question that the reported asked was, "would you ever sell your business?" Troubled by my encounter several days before, I replied, "only if I went back to seminary." And as God would have it, they printed that exchange in the closing lines of the article. More providential than that...the very next day after the article came out, I received a call from a lady who wanted to buy our business. We ended up within 5% of our asking price and by January 1995, we had closed the deal. Passing the deadline to re-register for Seminary, I applied anyway, figuring if God had brought this about, He would also allow me to finish school. Sure enough, I was able to re-enroll. By April of 1995, Pastor Burt asked me to come on part-time as minister to the Small Groups (Minister of Nurture). Over the next 3 years I learned so much and struggled as I made mistakes and experienced gracious forgiveness and grew. Burt met with me regularly, mentoring me beyond my wildest expectations. By the time I graduated in December 1996, I had sent out resumes and then Cityview called me full-time. So I worked at my position with abandon. In late 1997, I received a call from Grace Baptist Church in Hudson, Mass. about a position they had. I told them I wasn't interested. They asked me to pray about it...but I didn't. I simply forgot it and continued to serve. But things at Cityview were not going well. One of the staff members had an affair and the church began to shrink. Money became an issue. And Jennifer and I wondered if we would ever get to come back north. Then, one Sunday evening in April 1998, I got another call from the Pastor at Grace Baptist Church. He wanted to talk and see if I would consider coming because my resume kept resurfacing to their search committee. I enjoyed talking with this pastor (Mark Acuff) and particularly found his visionary leadership style very engaging. Two days later I attend a staff meeting at Cityview and Pastor Burt maked a strange statement to the entire staff: "Money is getting very tight. If any of you hear from another church, you should consider it from God." I was shaken to my core. I told him I had been contacted. He shrugged and said, "I didn't mean you, I was interested in someone else moving on." Nonetheless, we began to pursue the Grace connection and by August 1998, had moved to Massachusetts where our education would continue. We moved to Shrewsbury Massachusetts and served in Hudson, Massachusetts at what was at the time, the largest Southern Baptist Church in New England, Grace Baptist Church. Pastor Mark Acuff was the founding pastor and an exceptional visionary leader. The church was averaging about 600 when we arrived, and was in the middle of completing a 30,000 sf. educational space. I began my position as a "jack of all trades" - a title of "Minister of Church Development" and was responsible for the ministries of Children, Adult Education, and Facilities/Administration. This was an overwhelming task, but being a "lion" personality, I thrived on the challenge. We ran the children's ministry of over 150 children, including starting AWANA (100 children), Sunday School, Children's Church, a huge Vacation Bible School (350-400 children) and a vibrant Children's Choir (70 children), all led by very talented and committed Christian lay volunteers. We utilized contemporary worship, praise teams, bands and seeker sensitive language in all of our services, and did not have an altar call. Yet many came to Christ through the direct witness of people in the church. Our Adult ministry was a "cafeteria style" menu of discipleship classes offered for 3 months in length which eventually grew longer due to the failure to "connect" people together in such rapidly changing class environments. My favorite saying from Mark Acuff was, "Avoid the tyranny of the 'or' and choose the genius of the 'and.'" I applied this to my ministries. What was remarkable about this was that the church continued to grow - we reached 850 by the fall of 2000 when the senior pastor, Mark Acuff announced that he felt called to move back to North Carolina to serve after 15 years of dedicated work in New England. As he moved away, the elders made some significant transitions, including attempting to remove the pastors from the board of elders (which the congregation refused). As a new pastor was located, it became clear that my role at the church was changing, that they no longer needed a jack of all trades, but rather, a full time person to head up each of the 3 ministries that I was responsible for. An offer to take a cut in pay and take on a single role was made and I refused it. And then I was asked to resign before the new pastor came on board, so he could point the church in this new direction without having a resignation tarnish his early days. Within 2 months, both the Youth Pastor and I resigned. At this point, my family is beginning to wonder what has happened. We were happy, we had a thriving ministry that was making progress and seeing lives touched. We had a host of friends, and the children were doing well in school. My wife had a job she loved. And now, I was out of a job and essentially we were having to leave the only other support besides our family...our church!. My father had died July 2001, and his house in Painesville had not sold, so my sister recommended we move there. That was a scary thought. Could God actually find me a church position in my hometown, in a Southern Baptist Church in the Cleveland area, where there are only about 30 SBC churches even there? We sent resumes out, one to Here's Hope in Madison and I visited it while cleaning out my dad's house in December 2001. It was a nice, small church with very nice people. I sat in front of a sweet lady, Virginia Thompson. She looked at me and said, "you are a pastor aren't you?" I said, "yes...how did you know?" To which she replied, "My son is a pastor, and I know them when I see them." Without a prospect of a job, we got ready to sell our house in Massachusetts and a friend of my wife's had a mother who was looking for a home. We sold the home without a realtor and were in Ohio in January. God blessed us with the sale of the home in such a way that we had some savings for a few months as well. Arriving in Ohio, I sent out resumes and offered to preach supply at any and every church that needed me. Then one day, Here's Hope called me and asked me to fill in since their interim pastor was not available that Sunday. I did so and after the service, their search committee got up and announced that they were about to sign a candidate that evening. I looked at my wife and thought, I guess I was wrong, maybe God didn't want us here? However, that evening , their candidate called and said he had accepted another church. On Tuesday, the search committee called us and asked to interview us. We agreed and drove in a blinding snow storm to the interview. We discovered that the reason I had not been previously looked at by the committee despite my 7 years ministry experience was that I had no Senior Pastor experience. However, my sermon had made an impact and God used it to get their attention. What impressed us the most was their humility and sensitivity concerning hearing God and obeying His will. Before long, we were called to come to Here's Hope as the pastor. But before I started, my wife found out she had a cousin named Twila in the area. Twila was a person she had grown up with in West Virginia. They had played together as youngsters. So she called her and found out she lived in Madison, Ohio. As they talked, Twila asked where I was working. When she told her that I was the new pastor at Here's Hope, fireworks went off! That was her Twila's church! She hadn't been attending while they were between pastors. Talk about a confirmation! The Sunday evening after I started at Here's Hope, I was ordained at Painesville Baptist Church, with Rev. Bob Mackey of Parma Baptist Church leading the services. What is remarkable about this is that Bob Mackey led a team of summer missionaries from his church to Grace Baptist Church the summer before and I was their host. While they were with us there, my father died and I had to drive to Ohio while they finished their week at Grace. As I moved to Painesville later, Bob and I hooked up and I supply preached at his church and we spent some valuable time together. God is using him as a mentor for ministry for me. During the ordination, my other good friend, Rev. Robert Osborne had developed a very vibrant worship service that was a joint service with Here's Hope and Painesville Baptist Churches joined for the ordination. Our folks from Here's Hope were excited by the contemporary music and were joint recipients of Rev. Mackey's message concerning roles and duties of pastor and congregations. I recall that I had asked to be ordained in 2000 at Grace Baptist Church, but then it got put on the back burner, and then Mark Acuff left. I asked again in 2001, and it continued to be talked about but there was a desire to do more than one ordination, so I was put on hold. Then, after I was asked to leave, they concluded it would look bad if they ordained me right before I left. So I left with a bad taste in my mouth, not unlike what Joseph must have felt when his brothers left him. Let down, abandoned, failed...yet God was greater, and His purposes were far mightier than those of men. I would not trade this experience for anything now. And I am thankful for God's faithfulness. New Ministry Our Ministry at Here's Hope has been quite exciting. You can check out some of the history of the church here as well. First Year: We have seen over 30 people added to the church membership, at least 6 people have made decisions to follow Jesus, and we have performed 5 baptisms. The church was averaging about 40 people in May of 2002 when we arrived and through God's blessings, has grown to an average of 70-75 people. This includes a youth group of about a dozen youth and a children's ministry that continues to grow and expand. God is Good! 2 Year Update: It has been two years since we have been at Here's Hope Baptist Church, and God has done amazing things. In just the past 5 months, we have gone from an average of 70 people to over 100, and have baptized 11 people. We have seen 7 people turn to Christ and become changed people. We sent a team of 17 people on a mission trip to Charleston, W.VA. this June with "World Changers" and watched as they ministered to folks in need and were changed themselves by the experience of giving themselves away.
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Pastor Bob's
Testimony
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