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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 9, 2002)
October o». 2002__________________________ ^ o r t l a n h (ilbsi-rlier MED Week_________________ p»PAI1 R eligion Lifeline Church Small church, big heart... by D avid P lechl T he P ortland O bserver Rev. R obert W eaver has never pretended to be “a perfect soul.” H e respects those that have seen their fare share o f trouble. He w el co m es those that have learned life ’s lessons the hard w ay. W eaver has w restled w ith his ow n share o f inner dem ons. He spent the 60s and 70s com ing-of- age in A labam a. “1 w as a m anipulator,” he said. “1 w as still in m y m isch ief in those d a y s.” W eaver w as the pastor o f a small church at the tim e, but inside he w as a m ess. L ife w as spinning out o f control. D esperation began to rule his faith and trust in G o d d u r ing those troubled days. “ I w as gonna paw n the ch u rch ,” he said. “ If I couldn ’ t paw n it, I w as gonna sell it. I w as in that lost state o flife.” In the early 80s, W eav ers’ w ife had had enough. She left him alone and m oved out to O regon to be w ith her fam ily. H eartbroken, the pastor soon follow ed. B roke and living w ith few co n nections in an unfam iliar city 1,500 m iles from his hom e in A labam a, W eaver found h im self doing jobs deeply back in A labam a. The m an w ho had m oved him w as Pastor Staples. He only had an eighth grade education, but W eaver said Staples w as schooled in the w ays o f the heart. P a s to r S ta p le s h a d o fte n It s not the size of the dog in the fight that determines who the winner is. It's the fight that's in the dog. V — Rev. Robert Weaver, Lifeline Church he th o u g h t h e ’d n ev er do. He cleaned w indow s, scrapped gum o ff floors and scrubbed toilets. It w as an unhappy tim e fo r the self- described dream er. Soon W eav ers’ loneliness and sense o f alienation g ripped him and led him to reflect on his life. He rem em bered the pow erful sermons o f a pastor that had touched him F e llo w s h ip M is s io n a r y B a p tis t C h u r c h 4009 North Missouri Avenue Portland, Oregon 97227 l$ h Church A n n iversa ry Celebration O c to b e r 11, 2002 - S erv ice tim e 7:00 PM O c to b e r 12, 2002 - L u n c h e o n tim e 12:00 P M GUEST SPEAKER CHARLES JORDAN DIRECTOR OF PORTLAND PARKS October 13, 2002—Closeout time 3:30 PM Theme: The Divine Growth of the Church Acts: 2:47 preached about the im portance o f honesty and hum ility - and those lessons finally began to take shape in W eav ers’ heart. H e d id n ’t feel so bad anym ore about his station in life. G od had given him all he could handle. So W eaver got his act together. He d id n 't w ant to m anipulate, d e ceiv e o r steal. He started p reach ing again. He decided to fill up his heart not w ith m aterial things but a new spirit, one dedicated to G od, one dedicated to a w ay o f living in p eace with o n e’s self. He reco n ciled with his wife. His life began to m ove forw ard again. “N ever despise the day o f sm all b eg in n in g s,” W eav er ex p lain s, “He w ho fails to m aster the crude w ill never m aster the com plex.” A t ju st 5 years old. W eav er’s congregation is one o f the y o u n g est in the neighborhood. T w o years ago W eaver had 160 people pack his “cracker-box c a th ed ral,” on N orth A lbina and A insw orth. The pastor and his w ife w ere pleased with the attendance Reverend Weaver of Lifeline Church (inset). Ebonique Colbert has been coming to Lifeline for three years. “ To me you should go to a church where the spirit of the Lord is ," she said. “Here, people are friendly, you can talk to them, and everyone is like a family." photos by D avid P i echi / T he P ortland O bserver but the fire m arshal w asn’t. “T hey told us w e couldn ’ t have m ore than 70 people in this place. If he had more, they w ould fine us,” W eaver said. Since then, he has seen the co n gregation hover at about “sixty steady folks.” L ifelin e's sm all size creates a cozy atm osphere. Parishioners are m ostly from the nearby neighbor hood. It is a visitor friendly church, w ith no strings attached. “ W hat you see is w hat you get,” s a id M a g g ie W e a v e r, th e reverend’s w ife and assistant pas " I like all the members here, we 're a very close-knit church, we 're very people oriented. —Stobria Bennet B ut the sm aller num bers don’t discourage Rev. W eaver. “It’s not the size o f the dog in the fight that determ ines w ho the w inner is. It’s the fight th at’s in the dog,” he said. “T rue m inistry is not about num bers o r status.” J tor. “W e’re forreal. W e areag rate- ful congregation” Spirited gospels w arm the little church, causing eyes to close and hands to raise. T he voices o f the choir lift the heart. "H e is an on-tim e G od,” the choir sings, “Yes, He is, yes. He is.” Stobria B ennet sings opening praise each week. She feels at hom e with Lifeline. "1 like all the members here, w e’re a very close-knit church, w e’re very people oriented,” she said. Ebonique Colbert has been com ing to Lifeline for three years. “T o me you should go to a church w here the spirit o f the Lord is,” she said. “H ere, people are friendly, you can talk to them , ev eryone is like a fam ily.” Lifeline is a non-denominational C hristian church. W eavers’ path has led him to em brace people o f many faiths and upbringings. “ I d o n ’t try and convert any one, I ju st show them the truth as I know it,” he said. “My desire is to open up m inds. My prayer is that people com e to know w ho Jesus is.” Cox & Cox Funeral Chapel Join us as we give God Praise! F o r m o re in fo rm atio n call 503-249-0377 2736 NE Rodney Portland, Oregon 97212 (503) 281-4891 This ad dedicated to the loved ones who passed In: ^Anniversary ¿Banquet Celebrates ¿Pastor All are invited to celebrate the 5th anniversary of Pastor Jeffery W. Jackson at the Pastoral Banquet on Sunday, Oct. 13, from 4 - 9 p.m. at the Regency Ballroom’s Washington Square Embassy Suites in Beaverton. Tickets are $30 per person, $50 per couple. Event is semi-formal. For more information or to purchase tickets, contact the Friendship Christian Fellowship, 301 N.W. Murray Bivd.; Portland, OR. 97220. Call 503-644-1700 or send an email to 2002 Andrus, Alexander Philip Turner 8-31-02 A vritl, Logan 7-11 -02 Bower. Forrest 2-7-02 Bradley. Cheryl 9-1 -02 Bright Jr., Franklin 8-26-02 Brown, Virginia 6-25-02 Bryant. Maggie 4-1-02 Cannon. Rev. Eddie 7-6-02 Carter, John 5-18-02 Cole. Kim berly 8-5-02 C ollins. Norman 7-1-02 Gibson. Osceola 3-2-02 Goldsby, Albert 3-3-02 Gould. Vemice 4-17-02 Hall. 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A lb in a C h ris tia n L ife C e n te r C hurch o f God Cleviand. Tennessee “ F u ll Gospel*' Sundays Sunday School: 9:45 A M Morning Worship: 11 A M Evening Worship: 6 PM Wednesday Family Training Hour, 7PM 2 1 4 » N. W illlam ette (a< Intenweetlon of Clay St.) P o r tla n d . O regon »7217 Church Anniversary & Call To Solemn Assembly Oct 23-27, 2002 * 5 0 3 2 8 3 -1 0 3 5 Please call fo r information or counciling. 1 Paul and G eneva K nauls celebrated their 37,h w edding anniversary w ith a visit to ground zero in New Y ork C ity on Sept. 19th. “T hey dug dow n to about the 7"' floor below ground level,” Knauls said about the excavation site. “A fter that I guess they figured there w as no point in going any farther. N othing left to find." Seek the Lord while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near. W orship w ith u s a t th e: Worship Opportunities A Services Local C ouple V is it Ground Zero 7:00 P.M. Nightly Isaiah 55 6 o b itu a r ie s Adolph Myers Sr. A m em o rial serv ice w as held F riday at K illin g sw o rth L ittle C h ap el o f the C h im es fo r A d o lp h M y ers Sr. w ho d ied S ept. 3 0 at the age o f 88. H e w as b o m N ov. 2 6 ,1 9 1 3 in Ja ck so n , M iss. H e is su rv iv ed by h is w ife o f 5 6 years, L eatta; tw o d au g h te rs, P a tr ic ia B rin k le y a n d T a n ia M osley, o f P o rtlan d ; tw o sons, John an d A d o lp h Jr. o f P o rtlan d ; and th ree b ro th e rs, Jerry , Jo h n an d M c C o n n a n , a lso o f P o rt land. M y ers w as a se lf-e m p lo y e d p a in te r a n d a s e lf - d e s c r ib e d o u td o o rsm a n w h o lik ed to fish an d hunt.
