The joy of giving! For the third year, an anonymous man of financial means provides sizable gifts through the “Pastoral Fellowship” to many who are in need. In this inspirational report by Pastor Phil Brownlee, this year the donor provided 2,000 turkeys with all the trimmings. He personally is aware of the words of Jesus that it is “… more blessed (happier) to give than to receive.” So each year, he receives more joy … so he keeps giving more ,,, to those in need!
Pastor Phil Brownlee of Peace Tabernacle is the co-founded the St. Louis “Pastoral Fellowship” which gathers every 2nd Saturday morning in what formerly was Southside Baptist Church.
(A generation ago I knew the bachelor pastor of the church, Gordon Murray. Today we are especially thankful for Pastor Murray and his commitment not to abandon the inner-city for the suburbs . Peace Tabernacle, Pastoral Fellowship, and many inner-city folks are currently benefiting from that decision.)
Phil Brownlee’s brother-in-law is the other co-founder … Chaplain Colonel (retired) Dr. Mike Higgins, Dean of Students of Covenant Theological Seminary (www.covenantseminary.edu) of St. Louis.
It took incarceration – and a pocket radio given to Phil in jail, locked on hours daily to KSIV-FM 91.5 (100,000 watts in St. Louis of listening to Bott Radio Network (www.bottradionetwork.com) – as key elements of God to bring him into surrender and commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ.
It … his … is an exciting story of the power of God to change and beautifully use a life … actually, many lives.
Dr. David Claybrook, representative of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association in Missouri, and I often attend gathering of the Fellowship.
It is a sweet spirited time of men and women enjoying each other in unity and oneness of joy and encouragement. This is an answer to the prayer of Jesus found in the New Testament in John 17: 20-23. I don’t think I have seen a big ego in the bunch!
African-Americans … Phil and Mike … are in leadership. If everybody in the world had the attitudes clearly seen in the Pastoral Fellowship, I suppose there would be no problems of racial conflict … anywhere!
Earlier radio, titled …” Pastor Phil Brownlee in STL County jail listened hours a day to Bible teaching on Bott Radio Network” cam be heard by clicking on http://haroldhendrick.com/content/view/586/5/.