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. Howard Lee 1-9-02
Hammick Jr.. Byron Clay 2-22-02
Hampton. A lv in 3-8-02
H ill. James C 1-9-02
Holloway, Jimmie 6-4-02
Horton, Louise 7-29-02
Jackson. Velma 3-6-02
Johnson. Carol 1 -5-02
Johnson. Debbie 1 -11 -02
Kane. Sophie 2-20-02
Landers. Joseph 4-18-02
Leinhard. Sharayiah 8-11 -02
Lindley. Bennie 2-12-02
Livingston. Glen 3-29-02
‘ Marks Sr.. Richard 2-20-02
Nichols, Theodore 6-2-02
Parr. Hattie 4-7-02
Pendergraph, Dannie 1 -29-02
Price-Pitts, W illard 5-8-02
Pritchard, Gina 3-21 -02
Robinson, Edna 9-10-02
Roberts, Marguerite 9-2-02
Rodriquez, Arnold A guilar 6-13-02
Sims, James Lee 8-26-02
Smith, A. Clarence 4-17-02
Smith-Beaty, Rhodda Trudy - 3-9-02
Smith. Jackie Lee 4-30-02
Scott. Charlie 4-9-02
Thompson, Jerry “Woop" 1 -30-02
Turner. Maggie 8-9-02
Weaver. Jerry 2-26-02
Wilson, Anita 4-24-02
Wilson. Anthony 3-21-02
W right, Esaw 6-28-02
We thank those families who have patronized our business.
fefontroek@aol.eom.
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.