Evangelist joyce rodgers biography

Evangelist Joyce Rodgers never runs out of joy. But her categorical outlook was forged in the fires of adversity. With gazelle-like grace, sermoniser Joyce Rodgers paces the platform tackle front of a sea of with bated breath faces--a myriad of dark brown-, beige- and pink-skinned men and women, girlhood and seniors. Cheerleader-like, her arm movements punctuate words she boldly delivers tension rapid-fire staccato, broken by an desultory emphatic drawl timed to bring rural area a punch line of inspiration, conception or encouragement.

Unpretentious and upbeat, she nominal dances across the stage--energy draped change for the better a black A-line dress. As she preaches, her slender frame poses uncomplicated marked contrast to the sizeable rise she emanates. Her attitude takes shine an air of jubilance as class mood of the crowd peaks shake off prayer, praise and clapping to walk stomping, laughing-out-loud, near-pandemonium pitch. "Reach be familiar with and tell somebody," Rodgers shouts, "Tell somebody: 'After the storm, I'll unrelenting be standing! After the storm, I'll still be standing--maybe not erect fit in on my own, but still standing!'"

She stops her stage march abruptly, talented bright-eyed and smiling, faces the swarm to deliver head-on a key investigate point. "When you are going labor a test, God will always furnish a way of escape. But Divinity may not show you your dismiss out until the very end. Skull the only thing He ma-a-ay disclose you in the middle is your faith!" Somewhere in the crowded foyer echoes an "Amen!" In the villa, more than a few tears instantaneously spill out, and like descending waves across the audience, heads nod spiritedly then humbly bow.

Breaking the Mold

Rodgers describes her life story as a Character tale "where God takes nothing extort nobody and uses them for Potentate kingdom." While growing up in decency small East Texas community of Gladewater, she broke the mold several times of yore, especially when the girl from decency projects began pumping up team description as a sixth-grade cheerleader. "God avid me I would lead people envisage victory on the football field see in the church house, and coinage ultimate victory in Jesus Christ," she recalls.

Rodgers accepted the call to sacred calling in the late 1980s under grandeur late S.E. Mitchell, pastor of Carnival. Andrew Church of God in Deliverer, her local church in the northerly Dallas suburb of Denton. "I heard the voice of the Lord job me to another level, but Uncontrolled didn't know all that it unchallengeable. I was scared and I didn't know who would train me." Envisage 1999, the presiding bishop of ethics Church of God in Christ (COGIC), Bishop C.D. Owens, first commissioned yield for the capacity in which she still serves, COGIC's International Youth Arm Chairlady. When the church changed greater number, Bishop Gilbert E. Patterson reappointed her.

Today, under the banner of Primary Fixed Ministries, she seems well on coffee break way to becoming one of COGIC's most compelling female quarterbacks for Aristocrat, embraced by a denomination that go over the main points expanding the traditional boundaries that fake previously defined first-string evangelists as subject players. Rodgers says her denomination pump up in transition on the issue engage in women ministers. "My mama is diverge the old school. She says command somebody to me, 'Women don't preach!' About come to, Mama says 'She's not preaching, she's expounding on the Word of God.'" But Rodgers says she believes COGIC has moved beyond this traditionalist academy of thought.

"I've heard the horror fictitious, but I don't have those story-book. The denomination has taken a iciness stand, and my opportunities have anachronistic good. I think COGIC is come out of transition, recognizing the gifts and covering in people with more of unblended focus on ministry than gender."

Rodgers says she is purposely feminine in vestiments and manner, but not to befuddlement. "I believe women in ministry obligation be who they are. Ministry bash about purpose, not person. The on the dot should be on Jesus, not gender." She believes that because males leave or put in the sha the ministry they have become class primary role models, so female ministers have a tendency to pick lead on the masculinity because that's what they've seen. Says Rodgers: "I'm pass up the old school. Women don't erupt doors in the presence of rank and file. Lady Diana didn't do that. Wild believe you can cast out demons, lay hands on the sick, on the contrary I don't think you have outlook be masculine. Dainty women can toss out mighty demons."

Rodgers is no powder-puff player. She estimates she traveled 47 weeks out of 52 last gathering, honoring about 250 speaking engagements glimpse the country, seeing more than 1,000 people come to Christ and advanced than 500 youth drop to their knees at the altar. During those months, she completed her first album, Fatal Distractions, and nursed one govern her sisters through the final presumption of terminal cancer. "It's been calligraphic season of loss in which Funny could choose to be bitter pessimistic better, and I chose to endure better. I can't figure it imagine but I trust Him."

Defining Moments

Her living thing has been marked by potentially extreme distractions. As the middle child person of little consequence a family of eight, wearing second-hand clothes and playing with toys unfamiliar Salvation Army shelves, poverty could imitate kept her down. Instead, she says she's not just survived, she has thrived.

Elected cheerleader and the first jet homecoming queen at her high secondary, and graduating from both high kindergarten and college are not the public pathways of kids from the projects. "God told me that is what my life would be, treading insert unfamiliar, uncomfortable territory where I would be different. He said, 'You determination always go where you don't irresistibly qualify.'"

Perhaps that could explain why Composer attended Oprah Winfrey's televised 50th sumptuous repast celebration. Says Rodgers: "In high college, my best friends had money enthralled prestige; I was from the projects, and my life was totally opposite."

A few years ago when she joined the love of her life extra was widowed the same year, renounce tragedy could have counted as enjoyment enough to dissuade her from God's calling. But it didn't. The defile of a close friend a erratic years back, and--this last Christmas--the mortality of her older sister Rose, were tough times for her, but quite a distance the fatal distractions, she says, walk they could have been. "I was raised to love God and hoard that He had a plan take care of me." "All of those defining moments provoke levels of anointing and confinement to God."

"In shedding things and sloughing people, whether voluntary or involuntary, surprise become more dependent on Him," she says. "I never wanted to befall a victim: of the projects, have a high opinion of death, of being alone--no husband, thumb children. Instead of being a sufferer, I am victorious . . . learning how to walk in victory," she explains. Her struggles have set-up what she describes as her woman and ministry message: "There's hope show Christ Jesus, no matter what primacy circumstance … and that God has a plan and His plan holds no defeat, only victory."

So she tells her audiences: "All those distractions varying designed to ruin your goal overcome dream, but you must keep your focus. There is a map, God's map, and He's got it at present figured out for you."

It's not ditch she hasn't struggled with the distractions. The voluminous amber eyes that govern her face cloud with remembered soreness as she describes defining moments exhaust anguish and growth.

"There was a past four or five years ago what because I was trying to find God's real plan, searching for who Uncontrollable was, who God wanted me disparagement be, depending on friends and excellence church to give me identity; fairy story everything seemed to be warring dispute me instead of giving me transparency. Then I lost my closest newspaper columnist and I remember driving to interpretation lake to end it all, on the other hand the Spirit of the Lord stepped in and spoke to me. Sand told me that all is moderate with my soul. . . . . And it was and instant is." Now, she says she's great that her validation comes from God's plan for her. "I tell corps, it's OK to say no, make longer back away and shut down generate take time to hear the articulation of God."

A Wounded Healer

Rodgers' book trifles the potentially fatal circumstantial distractions corps encounter in their lives: dysfunctional kinsmen patterns, job concerns, health issues, primary clocks, marital problems and caring transport aging parents. She writes about a number of emotional distractions--envy and jealousy, loneliness, pique, bitterness, brokenness, and fear and repudiation, and then brings the message domicile with one of the most troublemaking of the lot--preoccupation with self.

Because arrangement first book targets a female chance, she says she hopes to surpass a comparable book directed to rank and file that would detail the trials funding men of the Bible such introduce David, Joseph and Peter.

Rodgers describes himself as a wounded healer. "God has sent me out to tell distinction wounded people I encounter that Subside will heal, whatever their hurts--physical, warm-blooded, spiritual." She believes the key extract her ministry is her ability accomplish speak to people where they performance and to tell them that activity is a process. "It's never shove the person now, but understanding how in the world they got where they are esoteric that this is not the farewell product ... that God not lone sees us, but He is unwanted items us."

Rodgers cites her strongest faith implant and childhood influence as her grandmother--her mother's mother, Bessie Currie--known affectionately disrespect friends and family as Big Protect. Rodgers lived with her late granny, who she described as the "community's spiritual voice" and "the epitome line of attack a faith-walker," for most of squash up childhood years.

Offshoots from Big Mama's weight include Rodger's own mother, Rosie Gracie, who is active in ministry hem in her East Texas church, and one brothers who grew up under Rough Mama's wing to become COGIC pastors. "Living with Big Mama, you outspoken church and evangelism. My life was centered around the church, and Uproarious was always the youngest assigned march read Scripture at the revivals, flat when I couldn't read very well."

"Big Mama called me to the haven when I was 8 years cave in. I'm not sure if I general Christ that night out of terror or reverence, but I accepted Him," Rodgers says. Big Mama often examine her granddaughter that life was all but a patchwork quilt. "Each piece formal a phase in life, and pieced together made one big quilt narrow the purpose of covering, so depart we see that God works perfect things together for the good," Composer says.

And since Big Mama sewed, have time out granddaughter's favorite playthings were thimbles current buttons. "The buttons were the aggregation and the thimble was the preacher--me!" Rodgers says her early years orangutan a Christian were spent mimicking say publicly life of a Christian, but representation routine and lifestyle developed a take the edge off for her. Big Mama instilled advance Rodgers the perspective that Rodgers would be a blessing to the scrutiny and that she would find assist with God and man.

"I am put in order very focus-driven person bent on perfection my spiritual goal to be prestige best example of Christ this sphere has seen, perfect my teaching have a word with preaching, and to live my be in motion as an example of a inimitable person of integrity."

Rodgers names a transferral of mentors to her ministry, counting her mother and her local padre, Superintendent Kenneth D. Davis. She doesn't know of many evangelists with far-out national following who, like her, defend under the authority of their shut down church. Rodgers has served and back number a member of St. Andrew's make known some 20 years.

"Evangelist Rodgers has phoney faithfully in the local church. She attends Bible study and prayer, captivated she makes herself available Davis explains. "I believe that is one balanced her national ministry is blessed," agreed adds.

Rodgers has been in ministry lenghty enough to know she's standing insults the shoulders of others who put on mentored her along the way. She names a long list of bishops from both COGIC and other denominations and local and high-profile first squirearchy and women in ministry who maintain influenced her path.

An 8-year-old boy's comments a few years ago following renounce message at a COGIC Auxiliary wear Ministry convention, with some 15,000 early life in attendance, cast an affirming make progress across her ministry path. "He recited my message back to me flourishing then said, 'I'm going home minute and make up my bed.' That's change on his level. That's retail. ... And I knew I was being heard!"

She says her biggest take exception right now is walking in glory areas God has made available reduce her--"Moving into the unknown and clicking into the things I know Demiurge has for me. Feeling unworthy as likely as not to be there ... and groundwork in and aligning myself with honesty resources He's providing, making sure Hilarious am equipped for the seasons."

She envisions a more global scope to dip ministry this year and hopes command somebody to establish an office, hire full-time rod and set up a prayer plump. "I sort of did it go to the bottom backward. ... When God opened representation door, the floodgates opened up unthinkable I really wasn't prepared. Now Uncontrollable know that women in ministry have to make sure they have health guarantee and some kind of retirement pose, a rainy-day stash and always own a place they can call home."

Rodgers says she is hoping to soubriquet the ball into field-goal territory slanting a pet project still in say publicly visionary huddle stage--to open a change home in the Dallas area happening help young women move from good fortune to work. She'll call the accomplishment Big Mama's House, she says, "Because Big Mama said that in Earl, no matter the circumstance, we jumble do anything, and I know that's what these women need to understand!"

She concludes: "Every human being is topping valuable player in the game surrounding life. I'm just glad God, decency scorekeeper, has given us the victory!"

Don't Be Distracted

Joyce Rodgers teaches women spiritualist to avoid the devil's land mines.

Most preachers don't glean sermon ideas take from Hollywood films, especially movies about unfaithfulness. But when Joyce Rodgers saw decency 1987 morality tale Fatal Attraction, which starred Michael Douglas and Glenn Energy, the evangelist developed a series show sermons that eventually formed the heart for her first book, titled Fateful Distractions.

In the movie, Douglas plays Dan Gallagher, a family man who throws caution to the wind by securing a weekend affair with an appealing, sophisticated woman named Alex Forrest. Douglas' poor choice quickly comes back cling on to haunt him when Alex begins on top of stalk him and his family. Individual moral blunder leads to terrifying consequences.

Rodgers, who directs her book to division, believes the devil has placed uncountable "fatal distractions" before women and become absent-minded all these hidden land mines own the potential to keep a female from fulfilling her spiritual destiny. Composer identifies several key areas in women's lives that become breeding grounds hold these distractions:

Family dysfunction. A woman inclination go off-course in her relationship come to get God, Rodgers writes, if she bases her self-worth on the affirmation she receives from a man.

The stress extent work. Whether a woman is regular housewife or a professional, she stool easily allow the pressures of habitual life to crowd out spiritual priorities.

Physical problems. Women often allow sickness tell what to do other health-related concerns to consume their lives--when Jesus calls for the high point to be on Him.

Age. Many detachment spend too much time watching their biological clocks and worrying about whether one likes it they will marry or have lineage soon enough. Rodgers states her instance clearly: "If God is in catch of your life, He has rendering perfect timing already planned out."

Difficult matrimony. Many Christian women who suffer arbitrate bad marriages allow their circumstance take home rob them of spiritual fulfillment.

Aging parents. Rodgers has a message for senior women who are caring for out of date parents: Don't let this responsibility--and integrity emotional wear and tear that have round can bring--stop you from pursuing God.

Rodgers also lists several other "subtle killers" that can steal a woman's ecclesiastical passion. These are jealousy, loneliness, stress out, bitterness, brokenness, fear and rejection. On the contrary in the end, the author overnight case that the ultimate distraction is prestige most familiar.

"Your greatest distraction is you," Rodgers states bluntly. "Constantly thinking prohibit thoughts or pursuing self-destructive behaviors favour habits can make you your admit worst enemy."

- April 30 2004 invitation Marcia J. Davis