Kentucky Baptist pastor’s testimony highlights sanctity of human life
- Feb 1, 2009 -
CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky.—For years, Pastor James Jones has been a leader of his church and community. He faithfully served the Kentucky Baptist Convention as its president in 1989-90, as well as the Southern Baptist Convention, his local Baptist association and on numerous foreign mission trips.
“For a poor, skinny kid from Birmingham, Ala., who felt like a zero, a nothing with no ambition, my opportunities have been amazing,” said Jones, pastor of Pleasant Hill Baptist Church in Campbellsville.
Yet there is one aspect of his life that is known by only a few—something that makes Jan. 18’s “Sanctity of Life” Sunday particularly meaningful.
According to Jones, his mother did not want him. After she became pregnant with him, she took medication given to her by her doctor in an attempt to abort him, information she later shared with him when as a child, he recalled.
Jones’ mother later abandoned the family, he said. And because his father’s job often took him out of town, Jones and his sisters were placed in a church-sponsored boarding school.
When he was 7, he contracted diphtheria and was given a slim chance of survival. Yet, once again, he defied the odds. His parents reunited as a result of the health scare and his mother became a Christian soon after.
Despite all of that, Jones said he was haunted by feelings of rejection and was certain no one loved him. He even joined a gang when he was 11 years old.
However, the persistent efforts of one person finally led Jones to a personal relationship with the Lord when he was a junior in high school. That changed both his sense of worth and the direction of his life, he recalled. An added blessing came when Jones’ mother finally told him she was proud of him and was glad that her abortion attempt had failed.
“By all that is logical, I should never have been born and should have died on at least two other occasions,” Jones said. “Yet here I am, still blessed with a wonderful life and serving the Lord the best way I know how.”
Prior to graduating from high school, Jones said God called him to preach, and he began his ministry in college. In addition to serving as a pastor, he has led mission teams to several countries.
One team he directed in Russia, shortly after the fall of the former Soviet Union, distributed 2,000 Bibles in a single day. Several of his teams helped erect a church building in Kolpino, Russia, with which Taylor County Baptist Association maintains a missions partnership.
During another mission trip to Kenya, Jones recalled finding himself at the wrong end of a Maasai warrior’s spear. “I’ll be honest, I thought I was a goner.”
Yet, before the day had passed, Jones led that warrior and two others to faith in Jesus Christ. The spear of that warrior now hangs in Jones’ study as a reminder of God’s work.
Jones is “a great motivator. He always made me feel I was important to the trip,” said Ken Streble, who has accompanied Jones on mission trips. Streble described the longtime pastor as a “people person” who “always seems to be on call” and “rarely goes out without having to see some person with a need.”
Jones recalled the joy of leading his father to the Lord shortly before his death. But added that he was saddened afterward realizing they had never told each other, “I love you.” As a result, Jones stresses in many of his sermons the desperate need individuals have for love and for being told of God’s love.
Whether in the pulpit, leading a mission team, working with a local organization, chairing a Southern Baptist committee, or taking on any of a number of KBC roles, Jones said he has tried to live as he believes God wants him to live each day.
“In spite of my blunders, I believe He has made a difference in me and through me,” Jones acknowledged. “He had a plan and purpose for my life, as He does for each of us.”
This article is reprinted from the January 13, 2009, issue of the Western Recorder, the newspaper of the Kentucky Baptist Convention.