Year: 2014

Neil Earle, pastor of New Covenant Fellowship, our GCI congregation in Glendora, California, was born and raised in Newfoundland, Canada. “I heard The World Tomorrow broadcast in June 1965 while still a teenager and was immediately and powerfully hooked. I’d been an altar boy/choir boy in our local historic Anglican Church and had a good grounding overall but here were people saying the Bible was up-to-date in the space age and saying it very well. I experienced a very powerful sense of calling.”

Neil was attending university at the time of his Radio Church of God encounter. “Six of us university types met Dean Wilson on a baptizing tour in 1967 and from then on it seemed fated that four of us should head to Ambassador College. I was surprised to be sent to Bricket Wood, England but looking back I had so many rare opportunities there.”

At the time, Neil was also working as a substitute teacher for the Moravian Mission schools system in Makkovik, Labrador. “I later learned how big a part they played in the evangelical revival of the 1700s. They asked me to be principal of their Eskimo/Settler School further north in Nain, but I was accepted for Ambassador by then.”

One of Neil’s “opportunities” from Bricket Wood was meeting his future wife. “I met Susan, who was attending in Big Sandy, on the Israel Big Dig in 1970—there’s a life highlight right there, if not THE highlight—Susan is my best friend, we’ve been married now for 42 years.”

After graduation from Ambassador in 1972, Neil and Susan were sent to work in Regina, Saskatchewan. “We went through the normal training under some fine men and women. I was ordained along with Bernie Schnippert in October 1973 in the big tent at Penticton, British Columbia—a festival site Canada still sponsors.”

Neil and Susan served in Canada for 21 years, part of “a gung-ho team of ministers.” From there they moved to Pasadena, California. “We were invited (compelled?) to work in Editorial Services as International Editor from 1993 to 1996. Financial pressures of the time led me back to the field on a ‘temporary basis—filling in for about two weeks (they said) at the wonderful Glendora, California church, which had had four pastors in three years. That two weeks led to a 17-year stint so far. As Mr. Tkach Sr. used to say, ‘Life is strange with its twists and turns.’”

Neil refers to Susan’s role in ministry as “essential.” “Susan is the registrar at Grace Communion Seminary, so anyone who’s passed through the system knows how kind and patient and capable she is. People remark how we complement each other over the decades and I’d be the first to agree.” We both play senior softball once a week and get to as many Angels games as we can. I’m also trying to finish a book on the history of hockey.”

When asked what he enjoys most about being a pastor, Neil said, “Seeing the Spirit at work in people. We’ve noticed a lot of that in Glendora lately and as I travel around. I appreciate women doing so well as worship leaders, budget assistants and sermon-givers; people bearing fruits that lead to ordination; the responses on people’s faces when they ‘get it’ during a sermon.”

Neil says there are many memorable moments from his many years pastoring churches. “Lately there was an incident on Facebook where a disgruntled ex-member was beating up on me verbally and by the grace of God several people I never really knew came to my defense. That made me feel Christ had been guiding me overall the last 42 years.”

About GCI, Neil said he appreciates “the openness to the rest of the Body of Christ and true Christian doctrine. Being a studious type I like the fact that GCI president Joseph Tkach and his leadership team are so open to us pastors being able to explore the ‘unserachable riches of Christ.’ I love how we are reconnecting to the mainstream in that way. I was even invited to give two seminars to my local Anglican Church about our transition. Very rewarding, like closing the circle.”

Neil’s passions include writing and history. “I enjoy writing—both inside and outside GCI—as a method of trying to connect the gospel/biblical message with what’s going on today. That’s always been one of our strengths as an organization and we have learned to do it better. I teach Church History for GCS and am always amazed at the intelligence and capability of our field ministers—how quickly they “get things.”

When asked when he feels closest to God, Neil responded, “When I go to my prayer room and pray with a Bible open in front of me for a great two-way chat, me mostly listening.”

Willard High spent the first 20 years of his life in North Carolina. “My home was approximately 22 miles west of Raleigh, the capital. My grandparents lived in an agrarian wonderland. Most of my free time was spent working on my grandfather’s farm, playing in the Carolina woods with my dog and fishing with my family. All of my elementary and high school education was in the segregated environment of the Jim Crow South. Despite the disadvantages this presented, I received an excellent education through dedicated, compassionate and effective teachers.”

Now the Senior Pastor of Shepherd’s Community Church, a GCI church in Harvey, Illinois, Willard originally wanted to be a doctor or a movie director, but God had different plans. “I began attending the Radio Church of God with my maternal aunt, who became my guardian after losing my mother. She had been searching diligently for a church that would give her solid Bible teachings and provide guidance in life. I recall that I was at my girlfriend’s house when one of my cousins came running up and breathlessly told me my aunt said the sun was down and I needed to come home. That was my introduction to the rules and regulations surrounding the Sabbath and Holy Days. My mother was a very spiritual person who taught me to read using the Bible. She taught me that the original day of worship established by God in the Bible was the seventh-day Sabbath. My aunt’s discovery of the Jewish Sabbath, while disrupting my social life, rang true to my mother’s teachings as well as what I read in the Scriptures and made it easy for me to accept.”

From an early age, family members were telling Willard his destiny was to attend college. “No one from my family had graduated from college at that time, though there were some brilliant people in my family. As a member of the church, the ministerial couples always impressed me. They all seemed to possess a confidence and breadth of knowledge and wisdom that I desired. It seemed to me that attending Ambassador College would give me a solid biblical foundation, which I felt was essential for a good life. I was headed in the right direction, but by the time I graduated from high school, I could feel my dedication to God slipping away. I decided to attend Ambassador in an effort to stabilize my Christian life. I guess you could say that pursuing a more godly life brought me to where I am today.”

Willard entered Ambassador College in Pasadena, California in 1970 as one of the first ten single African-American students to attend the college. He graduated in 1974 with a BA in Theology. “My purpose for attending Ambassador was to learn more about the Bible and how to live. I had no intent of entering the ministry. I married my wife Brenda in 1975 and we made Southern California our home. We got involved with youth ministry and both she and I loved it. Our pastor, Selmer Hegvold, chose us as coordinators of the local Youth Opportunities United (YOU) chapter, serving the teens of the church. We were ordained as deacon and deaconess and then I was ordained an elder. In 1986 we accepted a full-time call to pastoral ministry in the Washington DC area, working with Richard and Joyce Frankel. During that time we were blessed to start a new church in Greenbelt, Maryland. It was a healthy church, which grew rapidly and is still viable today. Our next ministerial move brought us to Illinois where we pastored the Chicago South church. In two years, the church in Hammond, Indiana was added and we combined the two and that church is now known as The Shepherd’s Community Church. We continue to serve it as pastor.”

Willard and Brenda have been married for 39 years. “We reared two nephews, sons of my wife’s deceased sister. Theo is now married and lives in Southern California and Thurston lives in Illinois. We have no grandchildren yet.”

Willard says that Brenda has always played a significant role in his ministry. “We have shared ministry from our first days working in youth ministry. It has become more evident as the years have passed that God gave her gifts I do not possess in the same proportion to balance me and get the work done. She is an unusual mixture of administrative assistant, critic, confidante, leader, supporter and encourager. I am blessed that God saw fit to bring her into my life.”

When asked what he enjoys most about being a pastor, Willard said, “I love the nuts and bolts of ministry: the visitation, the fellowship, the worship service in its entirety, the counseling and preaching. There is nothing as wonderful as feeling the inspiration in doing these things. It is more precious than silver or gold.” About being part of GCI, Willard said he appreciates our grasp and approach to Trinitarian theology. “It is a very practical and natural approach that allows for and encourages real-life application of our theology to our relationship with God and others.”

Willard said he has many passions, but if made to choose, he’d choose reconciliation. “I have been a chapter leader in the Office of Reconciliation and Mediation (ORM) since shortly after its inception. Also, I have served as President of the Center for Multicultural Communities, in Illinois, and studied with the Center for the Healing of Racism, in Houston. The mission statement of our congregation reads: “We strive to be a spiritually sound, friendly and nurturing fellowship; using our gifts to serve our neighbor, proclaim the gospel and promote reconciliation.”

Willard noted that his congregation has spent the last seven years in a “Covenant of Shared Space” with First Reformed Church of South Holland. “We not only have shared space with them, but also ministry, and we have developed close friendships. When we first began meeting in their building, they were an all-Dutch congregation. We have been blessed to help them assimilate new members from the African-American community around them. Now they are multi-ethnic and quickly growing. The time sharing their building is about to end. God has provided a facility of our own in the neighboring community of Harvey, where we picture him doing great things.”

Willard’s most memorable moment as pastor was the 50th Jubilee Celebration of GCI in Chicago. “It was unbelievable—more enjoyable and rich with meaning than I could ever have imagined. The roster of guests was phenomenal, including pastoral couples who served in Chicago area congregations along with Mrs. Helen Jackson, wife of founding pastor Harold Jackson, and Dr. Joseph Tkach. Clearly, God smiled on this event and made it more glorious than we ever could have on our own.”

Willard said he feels closest to God in the great outdoors. “I love nature! Perhaps it’s a return to my roots, but I feel closest to God when I am out in his creation. There is no temple that can match the intoxicating feeling of standing under a flowered trellis with the sunlight illuminating the ceiling. No man can build anything to match the Grand Canyon or duplicate the awesome view you see while sitting 30 feet off the ground in an oak tree as the forest comes alive at the rising of the sun.”

Harry Sullivan pastors three GCI churches in the United Kingdom. He says that, growing up, he often learned the hard way: “An early photograph shows me with a bandaged hand. My grandmother had a cooker in her farmhouse. Apparently, it was explained to me that I shouldn’t touch it. But I have to prove things for myself and so I put my hand on it. The predictable result was a painful burn. I’m more careful with hot things now, but I still have to prove lots of things for myself.”

Harry grew up outside Belfast, Northern Ireland where he developed a love of nature. At age 15, he started listening to the radio. “I used to listen to pop music on Radio Luxembourg, often in bed under the blankets when I should have been asleep. The World Tomorrow came on at 11:30 pm on Mondays and Tuesdays. I started reading The PlainTruth and various booklets and began the Bible Correspondence Course. All these made sense to me. They appealed to my rather argumentative nature, overturning the teaching of main-stream churches. A lot of things I did as a result were essentially negative: not eating unclean meat, not celebrating birthdays and Christmas. This was not well received by my parents and they were opposed when in 1963, at age 18, I began attending Radio Church of God services in Belfast.”

Harry then determined to attend Ambassador College. “Despite going to a good school, I disliked the petty (in my view) discipline. I made a lot of serious mistakes in my teenage years and knew I needed to make wide-reaching changes in my life. Unhappy at home, I decided to go to Ambassador. My parents were totally opposed, but I applied and was accepted. I began college in Bricket Wood in October 1963.”

Harry says college turned his life around. “Bricket Wood had students from many different parts of the world and one learned a lot from interacting with them. Many of the friendships made then still continue. Ambassador shaped me and my thinking. I came to repentance in April 1964 and was baptized a week later. I graduated in 1967.”

After graduation, Harry started working full time for the college. “I started in Buildings and Grounds—the campus was still being developed at this time and I was involved with many different departments helping in the building process. Later I worked in the Purchasing Department until Bricket Wood closed in 1974. Then I found a job in purchasing in Watford, England where I became a director of the company.”

In 1971, Harry married Tina Knudsen, and they are in their 43rd year of marriage. “God gave me a Proverbs 31 wife, supporting me throughout my time in ministry. She often visits with me and provides insight in many counselling situations. She leads worship and runs ‘Open the Book,’ telling and performing Bible stories in the local primary school.”

Harry and Tina have two daughters. Shevonne (born in 1973) is married to Gerald McLarnon. They have two sons, Charles (5) and James (4). Meaveen (born in 1975) lives in Australia.

Harry was ordained an elder in 1983. “I was still working in business and my church duties fitted in on weekends speaking in various congregations and doing some visiting.” In 1981, the family moved to their present home in Bedfordshire adjacent to the farm where Tina grew up. Harry was hired into full time ministry in 1987 and was laid off in 2006 due to UK financial difficulties. “The salary stopped, but the pastoring didn’t. I continue to pastor Luton, Cambridge and Peterborough to this day.” In 1999, Harry had began working as a bereavement counselor. Then in 2007, after being laid off from employment with the church, he went to work as a relationship counselor with Relate Bedfordshire (formerly the Marriage Guidance Council).

Harry’s favorite part of being a pastor is “being able to play a part in people’s lives at significant times. Such times include baptism, marriage and blessing of a child, but most often it is a time of crisis like bereavement. Although one cannot take away their pain, one can walk beside them as they go through it, seeking to put a spiritual perspective on it all.”

Speaking about GCI, Harry appreciates, “our commitment to recognize where and when we are wrong and our preparedness to change. I like the opportunities to come to a deeper understanding of God and the Bible with our emphasis on on-going repentance and change. My spiritual journey with GCI has been a positive one, out of exclusivity to understanding God’s transforming grace. I am also thankful for the friends around the world—some made many decades ago.”

When asked about his passion, Harry said, “I dabble in lots of things. But a consistent hobby begun in college is enjoying good wine (at least as good as we can afford!). I used to buy wine for the college in my purchasing department days. I like trying different grapes, vintages and styles—a small part of God’s amazing creation (Psalm 104:15).”

Harry says performing his daughter’s wedding ceremony would stand out as his most memorable moment as a pastor. This is followed by, “blessing both grandsons at ‘Naming Ceremonies’ (a combination of our church blessing ceremony and a children’s party).”

Like many others, Harry said he feels closest to God “in the beauty of the creation, particularly when it is quiet and one only hears birdsong and insects. We have that blessing around us where we live.” Harry also feels close to God during counselling. “Sometimes I am able to convey a spiritual principle to a person. Afterwards, I reflect on what I said, how I said it and think ‘that wasn’t me’ and realize it came from the Holy Spirit, reminding me that we don’t ‘use the Holy Spirit’ he uses us, as we let him.”