The Years of Transition

We pastored at Aurora, Indiana, for 7 years. During the last year of ministry there in 1984, I began to feel stirrings for something different. I had a desire to step out of the boundaries I had always known. One area of interest was planting a new church. Although this desire was real I never felt the climate was right for it in the circle of ministry I was in. During the last years at Aurora I also was slowly breaking free of the legalism that had been a part of my life since childhood.

In 1984 we accepted the pastorate of a Wesleyan Church in Martinsville, Indiana. The move to Martinsville was a move that I soon realized was a mistake. I did not wait on God to work out His will although it took me some time to come that realization. We were at Martinsville for only 18 months.

During out short stay at Martinsville we adopted our second child, our son Shawn came into our lives when he was 11 days old.

The Wesleyan Church at Greenwood, Indiana, just 25 miles from Martinsville came open and I felt on my heart to go there in 1986. The Greenwood church had declined in the last several years to almost nothing. Our first Sunday there we had only 23 people in Sunday School. The parsonage there was in a declining section of town and not a good place to live with my young family. Despite the negatives it seemed this was a move that God was in. The church responded to my ministry and we began to grow and see new people come in and come to the Lord. I took on my second building project there as well. We built a very nice new parsonage near the church. Although we only were there 2 ½ years it was a good pastorate. The church more than doubled in attendance and my confidence was rebuilt from the bad move I had made to Martinsville. Greenwood church was like many southern Indiana churches, a small mindset and no real desire to really step out and do something “out of the box” for God. I longed for a more challenging ministry. I began to search and God moved us nearly 600 miles away to Neighbors Grove Wesleyan Church in Asheboro, North Carolina. My parents had moved to Salisbury, North Carolina with my younger brothers and sister 13 years before. Although our move to North Carolina was not related to them being there, it was an extra blessing that God sent our way.

Early Years of Ministry

I graduated from Frankfort Wesleyan Bible College in May of 1970 with an AB degree in Religion. Previous to graduation I had sent my resume to various Wesleyan Church district superintendents seeking a pastorate.

I was called to be pastor of Shelbyville West Side Wesleyan Church in Shelbyville, Indiana and we moved there in June. The church agreed to pay me $40 per week, $5 more per week if I would be church janitor along with being pastor. The church also provided us a parsonage to live in. We spent two years in Shelbyville learning the ropes of pastoring. In the church were five widow ladies who were sisters, they couldn’t get along with each other let along other people. They certainly taught me those two years.

In June of 1972 we move to pastor the W. Terre Haute South 8th St. Wesleyan Church in Terre Haute, Indiana. We served there five years. During our years there some young high school girls found the Lord, one of them went on to be a pastor’s wife. It was a good five years. Also while there Naomi and I decided to try and adopt a child. We made application for adoption in 1974. While serving there my dad died suddenly of a heart attack, he was only 54 years of age. It was difficult because my parents had moved 4 years prior to North Carolina. Trying to help mom over the next several months was difficult with the miles between us.

In June of 1977 we moved to pastor the Aurora, Indiana, Wesleyan Church. We served there seven years. It was there I took on my first church building project. The church needed to relocate and we purchased land outside of town and built a new church building. When we moved to the new location the church became known as the Wilmington Hill Wesleyan Church.
During the years at Aurora I went through an intense spiritual battle. As I referred to in earlier posts I was raised in a very legalistic setting. Women were not to cut their hair, not wear slacks or shorts, no short sleeve blouses, no jewelry, no makeup. Men were not to wear jewelry or shorts, not even short sleeve shirts. We were not to have TV. We were to avoid mixing with the world in any way. In my personal study of the scriptures and from my own experience with God I began to wonder if the legalistic standards were required for salvation. However, I wanted to do right, I struggled within, the struggle was burdensome and wore me down. Slowly I began to be free from the legalism, it took years but the steps to freedom had begun.

During our years at Aurora, Indiana, we adopted our first child. Lorissa, our daughter, she was placed in our home at the age of 2 ½ months, in the summer of 1979. While we lived in Aurora my mother married Cleon Cloud, he was a great man and God gave them 19 years together before Cleon's passing.