The Lord guides- part one

The Revelation of Jesus Christ to John amazes me from beginning to end. A favorite author calls the book a “cosmic opera.” The scenery, music, actors and themes are challenging and faith-building. The description of Jesus is awe-inspiring.
I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lamp stands, and among the lamp stands was someone “like a son of man, dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, and out of his mouth came a sharp double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance. (Revelation 1:12-16)
As I share this week about the Lord’s guidance in our lives, I am reporting how the One revealed in the Revelation appeared and acted as Pat and I followed Him together. Jesus, the One whose voice John turned to see, has guided us as profoundly, perfectly and powerfully as he did John. As we compress our experiences into a few pages we are startled to realize that some of the grandeur witnessed by John while on Patmos has been revealed to us as well.

Among the first occasions of the Lord’s direct intervention occurred as I was about to graduate from Central Bible College in 1966. During my junior year my family had begun attending a different church than the one in which I had grown. After being a part of my boyhood church for over 15 years, I worshiped with people I didn’t know. While the decision to change churches was rooted in good reason, noone could see how profoundly important the change in churches would be in my life.

As our college days were ending other senior students were contacting district superintendents, arranging interviews and reporting on the opportunities they saw ahead. Many of them were the children of pastors and missionaries. In contrast, I had no preacher relatives and no idea how things worked. I remember an evening my father telephoned and explained that I needed to call Charles Green, the pastor of St. Clair Shores Assembly of God, our new family church whom I knew only from a distance.

Before I could telephone Pastor Green, he called my dormitory and began asking me about my future. I reported that the district superintendent had suggested I accept his appointment to a pulpit located in a small Michigan town. When Pastor Green heard the name of the place, he emphatically said, “You can’t do that!” My response was, “Brother Cooley thinks I can.” To that, Charles Green’s second opinion was even more emphatic than the first. He said, “The superintendent doesn’t know what he is doing! That church will ruin you and you will never preach again.” I was in shock! Pat and I didn’t even know ministers could make mistakes until I became one. To us, hearing a pastor suggest that a superintendent was mistaken was confusing, or even blasphemous.

Our conversation wasn’t long. When Pastor Green told me how the church at which I was scheduled to be assigned had treated previous pastors, and predicted what my fate would be if I went there, I asked, “What should I do?” At that moment, I believe the Holy Spirit, the One who revealed Jesus to John on Patmos, gave my pastor a word of wisdom. He simply said, “Come and work with me until you know what you are doing.” There was an immediate witness of Holy Spirit with my spirit, and between Pastor Green and me. My role would be unpaid and was never defined on paper. But, until Pastor Green’s passing in 2009, he was among my best friends, faithful confidant and mentor. We never did ministry the same way, but we seldom disagreed. When we disagreed, we learned from each other and forged a stronger friendship.

While with Pastor Green at St. Clair Shores, I learned about the dynamics of church building projects. The congregation broke ground on the first Sunday after my commencement. The general contractor hired me and I earned a handsome wage as a bi-vocational novice preacher. Pastor invited me to audit church board meetings and arranged for me to preach for pastor friends in the area who were vacationing. I discovered the unpredictable nature of mimeograph machines and why it is important to keep a church building spotless. We sat together with pastors and I learned from simple conversations over Chicken Chow Mein. At my first minister’s school I learned more about ministry listening to pastors and wives in a booth at Elias Brother’s Big Boy than I did in the structured sessions. Pastor Green made sure I was learning in most natural settings.

For over forty years our lives were welded together. Pastor Green assisted in our wedding ceremony, dedicated our first born, arranged generous donations to our first congregation, counseled us when we were discouraged, and then worked side-by-side in Newark, NJ and Philadelphia as we renovated church buildings and a parsonage. During those years of hard work, on occasion, we sat at dinner tables and laughed so hard we could hardly eat. Our lives were made rich as we discovered the path the Lord had laid out for us.

Pat and I still marvel and wonder, “What would have happened to us if Pastor Green had not been one the Holy Spirit used to begin the process of establishing us in our vocation. The One who spoke to John on Patmos still speaks and changes the direction of our lives forever!