We were privileged to be in some wonderful services during the month of May. Our Band received a special invitation to lead worship for FCA at a local middle school. They did such a good job, and the students enjoyed it. It was truly an honor and a privilege to pray with 13 precious young people who desired to find Jesus that morning. We had revivals in North Carolina, Virginia and Florida. In all, 27 people prayed for salvation and 1 received the Holy Ghost during the month of May. We were privileged to spend time with special friends, and obviously, we did a lot of traveling.
As the month of May ended, my heart was very heavy at the loss of my dear friend and mentor, Rev. Bert Ford. His birthday was May 31st. He would have been 87. He celebrated his birthday in Heaven, because he passed away on May 30th. He has been such an encouragement and an inspiration to me. He was one of those friends who didn’t always tell me what I wanted to hear. If I ever needed advice or sought council from him I knew I’d better be ready for the truth, because Brother Ford was not going to sugar coat or water-down his advice.
I remember the first Mother’s Day after my mom had passed away. I was missing Mama and feeling sorry for myself that Sunday morning, so I called Brother Ford. Our families have been close ever since I was a young boy. My dad ran many revivals for him throughout the years at various places where Brother Ford was pastor, or in camp meetings where he was State Overseer. When my mom passed away, Brother Ford was one of the ministers who preached her funeral.
I just knew on that Mother’s Day Sunday that Brother Ford would understand my pain and my loss. I told him that I just didn’t think I could go to church that day, because they would be dwelling on Mother’s. I just felt that my heart would break. Well… Brother Ford cleared his throat and said “Do you mean to tell me you are going to stay home from church today because your Mama has done fought her battle, and received her reward and made it to Heaven? Get up and get ready and get your clothes on and get to church. Your Mama is rejoicing in Glory and you have no reason to hang your head down.” Wow… He sure didn’t allow me to have a pity party for long. He said what he meant, and he meant what he said. I got ready and went to church!
Brother Ford was one of the most giving people I’ve ever met. There was absolutely no selfishness in him. As a very young child I remember being with my dad when we came to the Church of God in Winter Haven, Florida. Brother Ford was outside laying block for the new church building. He was all alone that day working on the church. His wife and daughter had been in a serious car accident several weeks prior to this, and they were still recovering from the accident. It was a weekday morning, and the men from his church were all at work on their jobs. I remember what an impact it made on my life as I saw him there working that day. My dad was talking to Brother Ford about how much it was costing him to build the church and how he was even using his own money, and I remember hearing Brother Ford say, “The only money I’ve ever saved, is what I gave to God.” Brother Ford went on to finish that church building, and the congregation worshipped there for many years. They have since built a much larger sanctuary as the church has grown and prospered over the years. God rewards faithfulness.
When I was battling with my calling into the ministry, Brother Ford would council me and pray with me. I always knew that I was being prayed for, because Bert Ford was calling my name in prayer. I shared with him a painful experience and how I felt that I was being done wrong. I felt that I was entitled to something, and I needed his advice. While he agreed that it should be mine, he said that I should drop it and not mention it again. He said, “you can get victory over this, but it might send the other person to Hell, and it’s not worth that, Ronnie.” He had a way of challenging me to think beyond myself.
As a young child I always felt close to him. He loved children, and he would always speak to them and make them feel important. I am so thankful that he became a part of my children’s lives. Tyler and Katie were both saved at Brother Ford’s church in Eloise. Florida. I remember him praying with them and counseling with them as children. As they continued to grow up, he would always say words of encouragement to them and challenge them to stay strong in the Lord. He baptized me, and he baptized Tyler and Katie. He was a special part of our lives.
God allowed us to see Brother Ford just a few days before his home going. We were supposed to be at a church in Virginia, and the pastor called and needed to reschedule. A different church wanted us in Lakeland, Florida for that weekend, so we headed to Florida. None of us knew the future, but God did. He was working behind the scenes to allow us one more visit with our dear friend. I went to see Brother Ford in the hospice center. He was frail and weak and blind. He knew who I was as soon as I spoke to him, and he called me by name. I prayed with him, and then I did a selfish thing. I asked him to pray for me. He seemed to regain strength. He took me by the hand and with his powerful, strong voice he began to pray in the Spirit. He never said one word of English. He just prayed in tongues the whole prayer. My friend Harold Holley was with me, and we both just wept and cried.
The next day was Sunday, and after church the whole group came to the hospice center. His family was there and lots of friends. We sang and prayed together. Only in this Christian walk can we feel such peace and love in the face of death. “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?” We all told Brother Ford that we loved him, and he said that he loved us. God knew how much it would mean to us to be able to see him one more time and say “goodbye.” It was no coincidence that the church in Virginia had to cancel. Why do we worry? God goes out of his way to prove that he loves and cares for us. “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: and he delighteth in his way” Psalms 37:23.
Brother Ford had a powerful strong voice, and I loved to hear him sing and play the tambourine. He sang a song called “I’ve Got On My Shoes, and I Feel Like Traveling”. His traveling days are over. He’s at rest now. His precious wife passed away just 4 days after him. He was waiting for her at the gate, and now they are sharing the glories of Heaven together.
As I sit writing about him this morning, I feel a powerful sense of loss. I want to call him on the phone and hear him say, “Boy, you know you are not your own boss as long as I’m alive”……. I sure do miss him…….
He set a strong example for me, and he has set a high challenge for me. I will think about him as I make decisions, because I wouldn’t want to let him down. I want to be the kind of man that he was. Brother Ford was a man of integrity, a man of faith, a man of his word, and a man of prayer.
