Category: Be Inspired

Dee Bulante, senior pastor of GCI’s churches in Portland, Oregon and Vancouver, Washington, grew up in the Philippines in Metro Manila. “I grew up with the hope that one day our family would move to the US because my mom applied for a workers visa back when I was just a kid. It took many years before the US Embassy reviewed her application; I was already a college student at that time.”

Growing up, Dee was active in sports and church. “I enjoyed ping pong, tennis, basketball and golf.” Growing up Catholic, Dee’s mother wanted him to become a priest. “I served as an altar boy and a reader.” Dee’s mother got part of her wish. He’s not a priest, but he is a pastor.

Dee started attending GCI in the Philippines in 1984. “I started listening to The World Tomorrow telecast and subscribed to The Plain Truth magazine and was intrigued by the message and teaching. I was baptized in 1986 in the Philippines, just prior to our family immigrating to the United States.”

The family was supposed to live in Florida, but ended up in Los Angeles in 1986. “I attended the Reseda church in Southern California for several years before 1997 when I helped Pastor Bermie Dizon start NewLife Fellowship in Pasadena.”

Dee, who was divorced in 2009, married Lisa on March 18, 2012. “I have two stepsons, Nelson and Eli Heimsoth. Nelson is a freshman college student in Southern California. Eli is a sophomore in high school in Oregon City. My wife Lisa has been a teacher for over 20 years in the North Clackamas School District. She also serves as a union officer in the local chapter of the National Education Association.”

Dee served with Pastor Dizon at NewLife Fellowship for two years as a bi-vocational pastor. “Bermie was my mentor. He saw the passion and zeal I have for our Lord Jesus and acknowledged my sincere desire to serve in pastoral ministry.” The mentoring served Dee well. “I was hired as a full-time salaried pastor in 1999. It was during our time of transition from legalism to grace that I felt the calling of God to enter vocational ministry. I embraced our freedom in Christ through our new theological understanding and was excited, encouraged and motivated to share that amazing grace to our members and others. We were losing many of our pastors at the time, either through voluntary departure or financial difficulties. I sought a meeting with Dan Rogers to convey to him my desire to serve, in whatever capacity, the denomination during this time of transition. This meeting led to my hiring and subsequent transfer to pastor in Tucson, Arizona.”

After serving the GCI congregations in Tucson and Sierra Vista, Arizona for two years, Dee was transferred to Washington and served as the senior pastor of the Olympia and Port Orchard congregations. “I transferred to Vancouver, Washington in 2010, where I now serve as senior pastor of our churches in Portland and Vancouver.”

When asked what he enjoys most about being a pastor, Dee said, “This is easy. I love sharing in the lives of the members of our church and their families. I’m especially excited about teaching biblical doctrine and helping people apply it to day-to-day living. Secondarily, I enjoy the pursuit of knowing the Triune God and the privilege of unpacking the truth of the immense love of the Father, expressed through the grace of the Son in the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Understanding the truth of our acceptance and inclusion in the life and love of the Trinity instructs and guides me in loving the people that God brings to my circle of influence.” Dee also mentioned GCI’s fellowship and unity. “I feel at home with our churches and members in other states and countries when I have the privilege to be with them.”

We asked Dee what he would like others to know about him that they may not already know. “It embarrasses me a little bit to confirm this,” he replied, “but I do love reality TV. I was a fan of The Real World on MTV when it pioneered the genre of reality-based TV programming. It has since morphed into reality game shows and other weird shows. I currently like watching Top Chef, Survivor, and yes, The Bachelor/Bachelorette.”

While reality shows provide entertainment, Dee’s real passion is God’s Word. “I am passionate about preaching and teaching the good news of the Father’s love through the Son by the power of the Spirit.”

Dee shared an interesting memorable moment. “I was preaching with fervor and enthusiasm during one of our festival days, when from out of the audience a woman leapt to her feet, ran towards me and kissed my cheeks. At first, I didn’t know what she had in mind, but certainly appreciated that endearing gesture. It has not happened to me since. I guess it went downhill from there (smile).”

Dee finished up by sharing this: “I feel closest to God when I am worshiping him through music because I feel his love for me through the words sung and can express back to him my devotion and gratitude.”

Brian Carlisle, pictured at right with Anne, his fiancée, is the senior pastor of Living Hope Christian Fellowship, the GCI congregation in Vienna, Virginia (in the Washington, DC area).

Brian grew up in San Jose, California. He says that his competitive nature led him to become captain of the water polo team in high school, then a member of the rowing team at the University of California, Davis.

In 2007, Brian became a member of GCI. “It was the promotion of a Trinitarian incarnational gospel vision by GCI leaders that led me to want to join.” His interest in Trinitarian theology led Brian to his pastoral role. “I became a pastor in 2009. A phone call from Pastor Tim Brassell in 2008 asking me to consider being a pastoral candidate for where I am today is what led me to consider God’s call to full-time ministry.”

Brian loves to pastor because he loves people. “I have a desire to know people, to allow people to know me, and to know the God who is made known in Jesus Christ. I enjoy offering support for people to ‘see the Son and believe in him.’”

Brian says that he especially enjoys leading Bible studies and “exegeting the various Old and New Testament books within the context of a learning community.”

When asked what he enjoys about being part of GCI, Brian said, “I enjoy the freedom and openness to inquire and seek the truth in all the important matters of life.”

Brian’s personal vision is to tenaciously stand for truth and stand with others to disarm despair with hope. He also has an interest in the twelve ancient anointing oils mentioned in the Bible and, what he terms, “God’s forgotten biblical gift of healing.”

Asked when he feels closest to God, Brian replied, “When I’m seeking to know him through his written word, either alone or with other brothers and sisters in Christ.”

Al Nelson, the pastor of GCI’s church in Montpelier, Vermont, says that he feels close to God when he does something he knows he could not have done on his own, “like being a pastor.” “My feeling close to God does not come and go with daily events or where I am at any given time. It is more like a continuum. As my knowledge of God increases I feel closer and closer to him. I feel closer to God now than at any time in my life.”

Al and his wife Arlene (pictured above) have been married for 35 years. Al has two children from a previous marriage, Ella and Eric, along with five grandchildren and one great grandson.

Born on a little hill country farm in Vermont, Al was the third of five boys. “I spent the first eight years of schooling in a two-room schoolhouse—one teacher for the first four grades and one for the last four grades. I went on to graduate in 1954 from a small academy in a class of 18.”

Al has had several careers over the years. “People think of me as a window cleaner, which I have done for over 32 years. But I have done other things before I started my window business. I had my own trucking business for over ten years. I worked as a general contractor for a few years and was building houses for the FHA in the early seventies.”

Al became interested in the church when he was a teenager. “I started listening to Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong around 1950 on WWVA Wheeling, West Virginia. After reading The Plain Truth and taking the Bible Correspondence Course for a few years, Al wanted to become part of the church. “I started attending WCG in summer 1966, was baptized in February 1967, made a deacon in 1988 and ordained a local elder in June 1993. Following intense training, in 1997 I became the pastor of the GCI congregations in Montpelier, Vermont and Plattsburgh, New York. Highlights of those years included weekly services, Bible studies, 22 years in Spokesman Club under six different directors and three years of Graduate Club.”

Al said he learned a lot from his grandfather, who lived with the family until he died, when Al was 18. “He was the one real mentor in my life. I had (and still have) an insatiable curiosity. I would pester my grandfather with questions until he would tell me, ‘I will give you a nickel if you will be quiet for five minutes.’ From him I got my sense of humor, my personality and my patience. I never in 18 years saw my grandfather angry. I have people today who have known me for a long time ask me, ‘Al, do you ever get angry?’ (Of course I do—just not very often.) I have learned many things from many people, but I think what I learned from my grandfather influenced everything others have taught me since.”

Asked about being a pastor, Al said, “I enjoy being pastor most when I have helped someone understand the gospel and realize they have listened to me because I am a pastor.” Being pastor ties in with Al’s passion, which is the search for truth. “This is the driving force behind my reading. Many of my books (about 750 the last time I counted) are, of course, on biblical matters. But there are many on other subjects. I got this from my grandfather too. He read a lot and very little of it was fiction. Another thought from my grandfather: He would tell me just because I thought something was true did not make it true; truth stands on its own. I never forget that.”

When asked about his most memorable moment as a pastor, Al shares the “moment” started before he became a pastor: “Children have provided memorable moments for all who have been blessed with them, and I am no exception. When my son, Eric, was about to come into the world, his mother and I decided to have him born at home. We found a doctor who said he would be there. All we had to do was call him. When the time came, I called him and he said take her to the hospital. We decided if he would not come, we would deliver him ourselves. A little later I cut the umbilical cord, put on his diaper, wrapped him in a blanket and all was well. Fast forward a few years – I am now a local elder and Eric asked me to baptize him. A few months later he and his bride-to-be asked me to perform their wedding ceremony. Any one of these events would be considered memorable moments; and I was blessed with all three. I realize only the last was performed as a pastor, but the first two made the last even more memorable.”

Al shares a final thought about being part of GCI: “I grew up spiritually in WCG/GCI. Just as my physical family is special to me, so is my spiritual family. I am excited about GCI’s understanding of both the Old and New Testaments and the gospel message. I am enjoying speaking it every chance I get.”

Peter Lindop pastors GCI’s congregation in Rotorua, New Zealand and serves as chairman of the New Zealand GCI church board.

Peter and his wife Lillian joined GCI (then the Radio Church of God) in 1964. “We were baptized in September of that year at the festival.” That was the year after Peter and Lillian were married, which means that “we have been married for near on 50 years.” They have two daughters, the eldest is a nurse in Perth, Western Australia and the other a social worker in New Zealand. They also have two grandchildren, Savannah and Ryan.

Peter was raised in England. “Although I was born in South London, I was brought up in the Northwest at a place called Southport. After Lillian and I had been married for about five years, we went to live in South London. Then in 1974, we emigrated to New Zealand where we have stayed.”

Though emigrating to another country is difficult by any standard, Peter and his family made it an adventure. “I wanted to do something different so we bought a Land Rover and caravan and drove from London to Calcutta and then flew to Australia where we went to see my great uncle who lived in Sydney. Then we caught a boat and came to Auckland, New Zealand. The whole journey took us about nine months.”

Peter got involved in the local GCI congregation and was ordained a few years later. “I was ordained on May 19, 1979, just over 33 years ago—that sounds rather a long time ago!” What Peter enjoys most about being a pastor is “the satisfaction you get when through Christ and the Holy Spirit you manage to enter someone’s life and things change for them.” Along that line, what Peter appreciates most about being part of GCI is “the freedom to be what Christ called me to be.”

In addition to serving GCI, Peter is involved with Rotorua Gospel Radio and is on the chaplaincy team at Rotorua Hospital. At the hospital he spends time in the intensive care, coronary care, orthopedic care and mental health wards. Working with hospital patients is one of Peter’s great passions.

Before becoming a part of WCG/GCI, Mark Queener was an on-air radio and television personality. “I worked in radio as a sports anchor, disc jockey, newscaster, announcer and play-by-play sportscaster. In television, I was a news and sports reporter and a sports anchor.”

Mark, who now pastors the GCI church in Belleville, Illinois, has been married to his wife Rhonda (Staples) for 36 years. They have two sons, Scott (Cindie) and Brian (separated), and four granddaughters: Hannah, Sophie, Reagan and Brielle. All of the above attend the Belleville church. Mark mentions that having four granddaughters is notable in the Queener family: “My parents had three sons and no daughters. My wife and I had two sons and no daughters. Now, our two sons have nothing but daughters. My wife and my mother, finally, got their girls! (and the Queener men seem pretty happy about it, too).”

Mark grew up in Mascoutah, Illinois, but loved spending his summers at his aunt’s home in the hills of eastern Tennessee. “There was no indoor plumbing. But using the outhouse and taking a bath in a washtub were all part of the adventure, as my cousins, their friends, my brothers and I hiked all over the mountains, armed with BB guns and fishing poles.” As an older teen, Mark toured the country as a member of the Belleville Black Knights Drum and Bugle Corps, one of the top-ten horn lines in the country.

Mark enlisted in the army at age 20 and spent six years in active duty in Korea, Texas, Massachusetts and Germany. “After spending about 10 years of my adult life away from Mascoutah, I decided to return there in the summer of 1985. I’ve lived there ever since. I spent a couple of years as an administrator at a local community college. But I’ve worked for the Department of the Air Force at nearby Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, since July 1989.”

In the early 80s, while working on his bachelor’s degree at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Mark picked up a copy of The Plain Truth at a supermarket. “I subscribed to the magazine, ordered all the free literature I could get, and began to watch The World Tomorrow program on television. After I graduated from college, I took a job in Joplin, Missouri, where I attended a Plain Truth Bible lecture. I started attending Worldwide Church of God worship services and Bible studies in spring 1985, as part of the Joplin, Missouri congregation. Within a couple of months, I moved to the Belleville, Illinois church area and was baptized there in December of that same year.”

In the mid 90s Mark completed a survey WCG leaders were using to determine who might be interested in, and qualified for, pastoral ministry training. “I was ordained an elder in March 1996. Belleville pastor Jim Stokes and our district superintendent, Bob Taylor began training me in pastoral ministry for the next several years. Eventually, they discussed with me and confirmed with the congregation a plan to have me succeed Mr. Stokes as senior pastor when he retired. I became the assistant pastor of the Belleville church in September 2001 and its senior pastor in July 2004.”

When asked about mentors, Mark mentioned two people. “My district pastor, Karl Reinagel, is a great encourager and friend. I learn a lot from his example, just watching how he handles different issues and situations. But, perhaps, the person who has had the most influence on me in ministry is Jim Stokes. He groomed me to be his successor as a senior pastor. One of the ways he did that was by decreasing his role and allowing mine to increase. However, above and beyond sharing everything he could from his ministerial training and experience, he also poured his life lessons into me as a good father does with a willing son. Thanks a million, Pastor Pops!”

Mark enjoys being a pastor. “I really enjoy teaching others as I have been taught, especially when it leads to discussions about what God is doing and how he’s working in people’s lives. It’s very rewarding and encouraging to watch and hear people go deeper in their understanding of God and what he’s done and is doing for all people.” This fits right in with Mark’s passion: “I love to see people excited about Jesus – who he is, what he’s doing and how much he loves them. When God involves me in any part of that, even if it’s just to be a witness to it, I feel super blessed.”

Mark’s most memorable moment as a pastor came following a funeral he had preached for a woman in his congregation. “The woman’s niece gave me a tear-filled hug and told me what a comfort I had been to her throughout the entire process of her aunt’s death, visitation and funeral. I didn’t know the niece well and didn’t remember saying all that much to her personally. It was a tremendous lesson about how Jesus already was there, doing his work to comfort people in their grief. That was many years ago, but the convicting power of that experience still resonates deeply in me today.”

What Mark enjoys most about being part of GCI is that “our denomination seems committed to training and equipping us to be ready to participate with Jesus in whatever he’s doing and wherever he’s doing it. Also, our connectedness builds great camaraderie and positions us to work well together and to respond quickly to different situations across the country and around the world. And it’s exciting, as we embrace Trinitarian theology, to know that the gospel is such great good news for everyone!”

Mark says he feels closest to God in different ways. “I really connect with God through songs of praise to him, be it contemporary music or traditional hymns. And being outdoors in his creation really does it for me, too. But I also have to mention those times when one of my young granddaughters says something that reflects the mind of Christ. It may be simple, but it’s often wise enough to stop the rest of us in our tracks and marvel at what God has put in her heart above and beyond what she may have learned from someone else.”

For Sonia Vengoechea, serving as a pastor for Grace Communion International is a dream come true. “When I was 9 years old I had a dream in which I saw what I have become by the grace of God.” Sonia grew up in Concordia, Colombia and then her family moved to Barranquilla. They often traveled between the two cities.

Sonia has always had a passion for teaching. “I always dreamed about becoming a teacher and starting my own school. When I was a little girl I used to pretend that I was a school teacher. After high school I studied pedagogy and worked as a teacher. Later I started my own school. Later I earned a master’s degree in educational supervision and human rights. When I got involved in WCG and started to get to know God, I started teaching about him.”

Sonia said her husband, Luis Vengoechea, is enjoying his retirement, “so he dedicates his time to support me in the congregation and always travels with me. My son Jorge Luis is also very supportive; he is married to Meidy who was part of the church worship band till she became a mother. My grandson, Jorge Andrés, is 4 years old and he already likes to play the drums; and my mother is a deaconess in the congregation.”

Sonia came in contact with WCG/GCI in 1988. “My sister Carmen was already in contact with the denomination and had given me copies of The Plain Truth. At the time I was recovering from surgery, so I had the time to read the magazine and booklets of the church. I was baptized in 1989.”

Soon after Sonia started attending, the church started meeting in her school. Sonia started serving and was soon ordained a deaconess. When asked about her journey to becoming a pastor, Sonia said, “I had constant communication with pastor Hector Barrero who invited some US pastors and friends to visit our congregation. Raymond Olson and his wife Denise gave us an offering to build the roof over the patio of the school so we could have our church meetings protected from the sun and the rain. Also Larry Hinkle, Charles Fleming and his wife Carmen visited us. In 2007, I was invited to attend the GCI international conference in the US, and at the end of that year in November I was ordained an elder and became pastor.”

Sonia enjoys being a pastor. Her passions include writing, teaching, comforting and guiding those in need. Pastoring enables her to fulfill that passion. “I enjoy caring and receiving the love of the brethren, the mutual service, the unity and their company.” She also loves that her congregation is connected to GCI. “I like that ours is an alive denomination that grows and changes whenever God shows the need to change. I also enjoy the church activities with the members.”

Sonia loves being included and she relates to those she serves. When asked what others should know about her, she replied: “I would like them to know that I have my own inner struggles; that I want to be humble, tender and loving with everybody; that God has performed a great miracle with my life because I used to be proud and arrogant.”

Sonia said her most memorable moments as pastor “are those when God speaks to me to touch my life and the life of the congregation, to guide us. The day of my ordination as an elder and appointment as a pastor was a highlight in my life. I felt honored by the people who were with me.”

Sonia shares a final thought: “I always feel that God is close to me—both with me and in me—guiding my life. I feel him very near when I give to the needy and when I prepare to teach.”

Gordon Green, GCI regional pastor and pastoral developer in South Africa, played lead guitar in a rock band in the 1960s. However, music wasn’t the only interest in his early years. “When I was young (much younger!) I played a lot of sport – especially rugby. Today I enjoy following rugby and cricket. ”

Gordon grew up in Durban, South Africa and his wife Marilys grew up in Mauritius. They recently celebrated 36 years of marriage. Their son Nick and his wife Louise, who live in Durban, have two children, Jessica (4) and Zachariah (4 months). Their daughter Carrie-Anne and her husband Clay, who live in Healdsburg, California, have two sons, Brady (5) and Davis (3), with a girl on the way! Clay is a wine maker—they have a winery in Sonoma Valley (Mauritson Wines). Gordon and Marilys’ youngest son Warren, who is single, is a graphic designer in Durban.

Gordon has been a part of WCG/GCI for many years. “I first heard of WCG and the Plain Truth magazine in 1968 from a friend. He asked a WCG minister to visit him. He was invited to attend – I went along with him, even though I wasn’t officially invited – and got into a bit of trouble for that! I was specifically interested in prophecy at that time.”

In 1983 Gordon left South Africa to attend Ambassador College in Pasadena. “I was a married student with two small children.” After graduation in 1987, he worked as a ministerial trainee in Glendora, California under Dennis Wheatcroft. In 1988, he returned to South Africa and was ordained that year. Gordon has pastored GCI congregations in Bloemfontein, Johannesburg and Durban.

Gordon is now GCI’s pastoral developer in South Africa and also serves as a regional pastor. He is a also a certified Walk Thru the Bible instructor. When asked what he enjoys most about these roles, Gordon said, “Most of all, I enjoy teaching—specifically participating with God to enlighten the listener’s minds. I love helping people get excited about the love of God, watching them respond and growing in faith and bearing fruit in their lives.” Just last month, Gordon coordinated and taught South African Ministries Training Program classes to potential leaders and pastors. He and Marilys have also been heavily involved in SEP since 1992 and enjoy working with the youth.

When asked what he enjoys most about being part of GCI, Gordon said, “The amazing journey (into God’s heart) that God has taken us on and continues to take us on – enjoying it and encouraging others to enjoy and learn from it as well.” His journey has been full of opportunities. He has worked at SEP camps, taught around South Africa, Mauritius and Zimbabwe, served as a regional pastor, is the presenter on the GCI Face to Face radio program and one of the writers for the GCI South African magazine Face to Face. He also plays in his congregation’s praise band. Gordon feels blessed because these things express his passions for family, teaching, learning, reading and travelling.

His most memorable moment as a pastor was baptizing his son, Nick. Following that, Gordon’s ministerial highlights include attending the International Conferences in Palm Springs and Orlando.

Gordon has had an amazing journey with GCI—and is especially excited about the direction in which God is taking GCI in Trinitarian theology—“the past five years have been the most exciting, enlightening and fulfilling years of my life in the church.” When does he feel closest to God? “When I stop talking to God, get quiet and listen to him.”

Anthony Rice pastors GCI churches in Baton Rouge and Lafayette, Louisiana. He and his wife Karen are celebrating 29 years of marriage. They have two children, BJ, age 28, and Miranda who is 22.

Anthony grew up in the South but his teenage years were in California as his father, Richard Rice, worked at WCG headquarters until he retired. One of his early accomplishments was learning to ride a unicycle, and when asked if there is something others may or may not know about him, Anthony said, “I hate the taste of liver no matter how it is prepared.”

After graduating from high school, Anthony went to college where he earned a degree in architecture. “I ran architectural departments for two real-estate development firms in Southern California before being called into vocational ministry in 1990.”

Anthony and Karen moved to Louisiana to serve the Baton Rouge and Lafayette churches. Anthony is among a small number of fulltime GCI pastors who have never been transferred. “I have two phenomenal congregations that are an inspiration to me each and every week!”

Anthony enjoys working with at-risk youth. This work led to one of his most memorable moments as a pastor: “I baptized Ricky Johnson, a young man I met when he was 13. He lived in one of the most dangerous parts of town, was failing in school and had an absentee father. He earned his GED at 16 and now works for a company that has sent him all over the world. He just bought his first house at age 19!”

Anthony, who has been a part of GCI most of his life, enjoys being part of our denomination. “Our denominational leadership has persevered through hardship and adversity and I am proud of the journey God has led us on.” Anthony mentions his district pastor, Mike Horchak, “who has been a friend and a great inspiration. Also I have to include Joe Tkach in this because I knew Joe long before he was our president. Joe and Tammy are still the same humble, down-to-earth friends that I knew when our kids were growing up.”

Anthony says his passion is, “Seeing Jesus at work in me in spite of all my short-comings.”

When asked when he feels closest to God, Anthony said, “I was privileged to be introduced to a Prison Ministry named Kairos about 10 years ago. A team of us spent 3-1/2 days with 42 inmates on the inside of a maximum security penitentiary. Most of the prisoners are in for life and have little or no relationship with God. How Jesus transforms lives like theirs is nothing short of a miracle. Such experiences help me to understand why Jesus said ‘When I was in prison…’”

For a couple years Tim Sitterley, senior pastor of GCI churches in Eugene and Salem, Oregon, spent as much time in a kilt as in jeans. No, he wasn’t living in Scotland; he was playing bagpipes with the MacCallum Highlanders, a group attached to the 127th National Guard in Ohio. Tim grew up in WCG. “My father was a member before I was born, but I was five when my mother and I started attending.” Tim spent the first 9 years of his life on a farm in Pennsylvania. “Then my family moved to a small town (Hubbard) just outside Youngstown, OH.” Tim claims his teen years were “rather colorful.” “I was voted ‘Most likely to be dead by age 30’ in high school, and I’m the only person I know who has been forcefully deported by a foreign country—but that’s a story for another time.”

After high school, Tim went to Ambassador College in Pasadena. Soon afterward his parents also moved to Pasadena so Tim never made it back to Ohio. It was in college Tim met his wife Linda and they married in 1979. “Our daughter Danielle and son Michael are both married and live near us. We have four grandchildren (two to each child), Logan, Ian, Noah and Asia. My daughter attends and is active in my Eugene congregation, and my son and his wife are on pastoral staff at Crossfire World Outreach in Springfield, Oregon.”

“After the college closed in ‘79 I was hired by the church; originally in the mail processing center, and later as a writer in the Personal Correspondence Department.” During a time Tim calls “insanity at HQ” in the early ‘80s, he and Linda decided to move to Eugene, Oregon.

“When we moved to Eugene in 1985, I was thoroughly burned out, and avoided any church-related responsibilities for a number of years. However, by the late ‘80’s I was back on the weekly speaking schedule, and when our senior pastor retired in ’95, I was part of the pastoral team in Eugene until another senior pastor could step in. After a couple of years as assistant pastor, I was offered the senior pastor position when our senior pastor retired. A year later Eugene and Salem were joined in a church circuit.”

Tim jokingly suggests that his favorite part of being a pastor is the ability to sleep in on most weekday mornings. But then he got a bit more serious and said: “I grew up an only child in a family that had little connection. With the exception of my mother’s funeral eight years ago, I haven’t seen any of my blood relatives in well over two decades. But as a pastor, you get to be a part of many families. Sometimes that means getting caught up in the drama. But other times it means getting to share in the joys and triumphs. I’ve stood bedside families as a loved one took their final breath…I’ve joined couples in marriage…I’ve blessed newborn children—all in the same week.

“Yes, when you are that intimate with so many people there can be a good deal of pain involved. But it is the pain that comes from loving and caring—the kind of pain that families share—and I wouldn’t trade it for the safe, distanced relationships that I see so many people living.”

When asked what Tim might like others to know about him, he said, “They already know too much. I get a fair amount of criticism for being too transparent. My congregations already know the details of my health and diet, what Tequila I drink and my favorite brand of cigar. They know I’ve gone through anger management classes and struggle with occasional depression. They know I’m a theistic evolutionist. And they know that I hate cats. There is not much left to reveal.”

Tim calls himself a Bible Geek. “Even during my misspent youth I was constantly in the library reading commentaries and books on early church history. When I was 15 I wrote a letter to a prominent WCG pastor telling him that what I was reading in Galatians regarding grace and the law didn’t seem to line up with what he was writing in WCG literature. I was asked not to attend services for several weeks until I came to see the error of my ways.”

Among his most memorable moments as a pastor, Tim shares this: “A few years back I attended one of the largest counter-culture festivals in the country, and while sitting in a wood-heated sauna I got caught up in a conversation comparing the teachings of Jesus with the writings of the Dali Lama. Later in the day I was walking through the craft market and I heard one of the gentlemen from the sauna yell, “Hey, it’s the preacher dude!” For the next hour or two I found myself surrounded by hippies (and hippy wannabes) who had questions about Jesus and the Bible. For that brief period, I knew what Paul must have felt when he preached in the markets of Athens and Corinth.”

Like many pastors, Tim feels the strongest presence of God when he is preaching. “The speaking part is no big deal. When I worked in the public sector one of my jobs was to speak before large crowds. But when I’m unpacking Scripture, or trying to address a current need of a congregation, I never feel alone on stage. I may joke about many of the aspects of this job, but the moment I feel the sermon is now all about me, and not about allowing God to speak through me—that is the moment I look for another line of work.”

Leroy Joiles, who pastors the GCI congregation in Christian Penn, Jamaica, says, “Perhaps the most rewarding thing about being a pastor is bringing a person to Christ.”

Leroy and his wife, Diane, “a lady who has a heart of gold,” have been married for 16 years. “We have three wonderful children: April, Nicholas and Justin. Another son of mine was killed four years ago, just after his 30th birthday. His son was three months old when he died.”

Leroy grew up and went to school in Kingston, Jamaica’s capital city, but he spent the first few years of his life in a rural district in the Parish of St Ann, living with his father’s parents. “My mother brought me to the country to live with my grandparents because she had decided to migrate to England to join my father who himself had migrated several months earlier.” As a result, Leroy says he grew up without a lot of parental guidance or supervision.

“Both my parents were living in England and my grandparents died when I was young. Even before the death of my grandparents I was placed in situations similar to that of a foster home. I did not have good health while living at my grandparents’ home due to what now seems to have been an allergic reaction to something in the area. Whenever I got sick I would be sent to live with a relative until I got better. As a result, I have lived with most of my aunts and uncles for short periods of time. I must emphasize that it is not because I was a rude child that I had to keep going from house to house. In some cases it was due to a lack of resources on the part of the aunt or the uncle.”

Leroy didn’t meet his mother until he was 15 years old and didn’t meet his father until he was 39 years old. “What I have learned from my situation is this: Despite the difficulties that a person may have to live through from time to time, God is still able to use your life to achieve whatever purpose he wants to achieve through you. I had no idea that I would be doing what I am doing today. I did not plan it and I never saw it coming. However, I firmly believe that God directed the course of events in my life that resulted in being where I am now. It is all a part of his doing.”

God’s purposes were achieved time and again in Leroy’s life. He was drawn to WCG in the late 70s by listening to The World Tomorrow program. “I learned about the broadcast by a cousin who came to my house and told me about this man (Herbert W. Armstrong) who was saying some interesting things about world events and the military might, and achievements of some the world’s superpowers. Interestingly, my cousin was not a part of the Church, and to the best of my knowledge he showed no further interest in The World Tomorrow broadcast from that day he told me about it.”

Leroy claims he had no interest in church, but he found the broadcast to be informative and enlightening. “That was the start of a series of events that God would use over the ensuing years to get my attention.”

In 1981, Leroy was invited to attend a Plain Truth meeting. Afterwards he was invited to attend a Wednesday evening Bible Study. “After attending a few meetings, I was invited to church and I have been attending since. I was baptized in January 1983.”

Leroy became part of the pastoral team in Christian Penn in September 2000 when the pastor was laid off. It was a tough transition. “My most memorable moment is the day I first stepped into the position as a part of a pastoral team whose role was to provide leadership to a congregation that was bitterly divided because their pastor had just been laid off and he was being replaced with persons whom some of the congregation believed had conspired to get rid of their pastor. The ensuing weeks and months were tedious as we tried to serve people some of whom we knew did not trust us.”

The team worked together for a few years until Leroy was asked to pastor the congregation. He initially struggled with this role. “I don’t care much about being in the spotlight. As a matter of fact I prefer not to be. It took me a long time to accept that I was a pastor. I began to accept the role when I thought about what happened to Jonah when he tried to run away from doing what God wanted him to do. I came to the conclusion that I didn’t want to find myself in any situation that even remotely resembled what he went through; but there was still the thought – me a pastor, no way.”

Leroy tries to pastor in the way that GCI leadership leads the denomination. “I enjoy being part of this fellowship because the leadership is made up of people who are humble, friendly and who identify with people at the grass roots. Embodying Jesus’ servant leadership, they are simple people who do not set themselves up as demigods who lord it over those they are supposed to serve. This makes it possible for me to feel at home in our fellowship.”

Concerning the church in Christian Penn, Leroy says that “God has set for us a specific task, that when accomplished, will have a tremendous, far-reaching impact on the lives of many who live and work in the community. It is my passion to lead the church so that we can accomplish this task.”

Leroy says he feels closest to God when engaged in long and intense prayer. He prays a lot for Jamaica and the work God has called the pastors in Jamaica to do. “Being a pastor in Jamaica can be bittersweet. There are times when things are good and times when things are not so good. Being a GCI pastor is challenging because our denomination has been through significant doctrinal and structural changes. Despite the ups and downs, God has been good to us and I strongly believe that our congregations here in Jamaica have better days ahead.”