HORNSBY, Tenn. (ABP) — In May 2005, Tim West was a robust, 203-pound pastor ministering to his congregation at Hornsby Baptist Church.
Twelve months later he lay in bed, his weight down to 93 pounds, praying that God would call him home to heaven.
Yet a determined wife, a supportive congregation that refused to give up on its pastor, and untold numbers of prayer warriors refused to give up.
Six months after praying that he could die, West, 49, is back in the pulpit, his weight slowly but surely climbing back, now at about 145 pounds.
“I am a walking miracle of God,” West affirmed.
Despite the fact he basically was unable to serve for 18 months, the tiny church kept him on salary and provided for other needs of his family during that difficult time. In addition to his salary, the church collected several love offerings for the family.
West was diagnosed with esophageal cancer in May of 2005. He began intense treatments of radiation and chemotherapy and then had surgery in August of that year to remove four inches of his esophagus.
West began to recover and even started preaching again in last December. But he soon developed pneumonia and “just could not get well,” said his wife, Doris. He informed the deacons that he would be unable to continue and that he needed rest.
In February of this year a spot was found on his lung. West was diagnosed with lung cancer, although doctors never found sufficient evidence.
After taking more chemotherapy West continued to lose weight, dropping to 93 pounds. His doctor, sensing death was imminent, suggested the family might want to consider hospice care.
West readily admits that several times during those bleak days he thought he was nearing the end of his earthly life. “I not only felt it was near the end, but to be honest I wanted it to be over,” he recalled.
His wife, however, was not ready to let go.
“One day at my lowest point, when I wanted it to be over, she grabbed me by my shirt, lifted me off the bed, and said, ‘I am not ready to let you go yet.'”
Her courage gave him a desire and drive to continue fighting, he said. “After seeing all that Doris had gone through [during his illness] and seeing that she was still willing to fight, I decided I would too,” West recalled.
While in the hospital that last time in May, doctors still could not clearly say he had cancer. After doing every test possible, the doctor came in and said he could not find any evidence of cancer in his lung.
“That was the start of my comeback,” West said.
After deciding hospice was not an option, the doctors took West off most of his medication, which became his next major hurdle. After several months, West no longer takes prescription pain medicine, although he still experiences a great deal of pain.
“I still hurt every day, but it is getting better,” he said.
Despite the pain, West and his wife, along with their three daughters and church family, are convinced he is alive today only through answered prayers. “God performed a miracle on Timmy,” said Doris West.
“It is a miracle that he is alive and doing as well as he is,” agreed Raymond Cox, chairman of the deacons at Hornsby Baptist Church, a congregation of 80-90 people.
West said he will forever be grateful to the congregation for its support during his extended illness. At no time during the long ordeal did anyone from the church suggest it was time “to move on” to another pastor, West said.
“If I had to deal with financial pressures during that time, I don't know that I could have made it. The pressure would have been unbearable,” West said.
“We never felt any pressure financially,” Doris West agreed. “They just gave us time to concentrate on getting Timmy well,” she added.
“They just love us,” he concluded. While the church looks at him as a miracle, he said, he sees his congregation as a miracle as well. “They went far beyond what anybody could have hoped for.”
Cox said that from the very beginning of his pastor's illness, the church wanted to “support Tim and do all we could for him and his family.” It was never discussed “that we should cut his salary off,” Cox added.
Cox noted that during the time West was sick, the church not only was able to pay his salary but continued to meet all of its financial obligations. “Nothing was ever cut.” The deacon chairman said the church has been strengthened through this process. “It has taught us not to give up. God still works miracles.”
Mary Jane Cox noted that, when church members first called West as pastor almost 16 years ago, they had to wait for him to complete seminary.
“We weren't ready to give up on him. We have waited on him from the beginning,” she said.
Substitute preachers filled in for West during his two extended absences. One was Bob Campbell, a retired director of missions.
“When I look at why they wanted to support their pastor during the 18 months of illness, when he could not fill the role of pastor, it came across in a very strong way — it was their love for the Lord and his kingdom,” Campbell said.
Many times church members wondered if their pastor would be alive the next morning, Campbell said. “But they waited and prayed and trusted the Lord to work it out. There were some things they were helpless to do. But because of their love for the pastor and his family, they at least could keep his salary and benefits in place.”
“My illness is just a small part of the story,” West reflected. “The people around me — my wife, my family, my church, Bro. Bob [Campbell], other churches — they were the big story,” West said.
West is confident his experience will make him a better pastor. “I have more love for God and his Word that I don't think I had before. I also have a greater anticipation of what God is going to do in my life,” he said.
Even before his illness, he said, he had become complacent and even had a bad attitude. “God has renewed my spirit. I would not want to go back to the way I was. If I could go back and not have cancer and be the way I was, I would not want to do it.”
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