Today’s Xulon Press Successful Author Spotlight features author and Pastor Glenn Wilson, “The Abuse of the Bride: What Everyone Sees But No One Talks About”, released March 2013. A national speaker in the Assembly of God denomination, Pastor Glenn has written a thought provoking, insightful, stirring book that asks the reader to examine themselves and the current state of the church and ask “what answers can we learn?” Pastor Glenn challenges us with the following statement: “The abundance of our hearts eventually comes to the surface and suddenly everyone knows what you are thinking, it can also reveal where you have been and what lessons you have learned on that journey. The Abuse of the Bride is exactly that. It goes back to my early days in the Lord and gathers a wealth of experiences lived out in a period of forty years.” The author continues on in his book to recount his experiences and wisdom gained from service in the ministry of the Lord while rising through the church hierarchy in the North East. He shares his observations in hopes of enlightening today’s Church body so lessons learned in the past can be applied in the present, bringing us to a higher level of awareness and service.
In an excerpt from his book, Pastor Glenn describes his motivation behind writing this sobering commentary on the state of the church in the millennium. He wrote “I as Peter and John in their response to the Council can’t help but speak the things that I have seen and heard. Living in the North East of the United States for most of my life, it’s not uncommon to witness a fight where someone is being badly beaten and no one steps in to help– we call it minding our business. Fortunately what is permissive in the world could be seen as the sin of silence in the Church. My sole motivation for writing this book is to shed light on some infractions that I have witnessed over the years, their repetitiveness and increscent presence in the Church sets off an alarm in my soul because many have accepted these abusive measures as the norm and the voices that should cry out in defense of the Bride have gone dim and silent. Whether you agree or disagree with me once you see what I am thinking, I hope I can steer you into discovering a more excellent way of serving the Church, the Bride of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Sobering comments.
As we began our conversation, I was impressed with his sensitivity to the Spirit. When I asked him “What one past experience changed the course of your life?” he shared “Receiving the call to ministry and experiencing the power of the Holy Spirit at the age of five. At age five is when I first experienced God. I was born in Cuba—that day, I was playing in the yard. It is still vivid in my mind. I was playing in the yard. The power of God overtook me, and I just started praising God- right there. My mother was on the bridge, close by. She saw me glorifying God– she saw what overtook me. She testifies to this day what she saw, and she is now 90 years old. I knew then that my life belonged to the Lord. I knew that the Lord had separated me for Him. I never looked back. I tried to go out, but that taste for the world was not there. I was just kidding myself. I learned early on that everything that I need is always in Him. The Holy Spirit overshadowed me that day at the age of five.”
Probing deeper, I asked Pastor Glenn, “What is the most important life event you have had?” He responded “Meeting my wife and marrying my wife. I was preaching a crusade in her church in Puerto Rico. I saw her in the back of the church. I was attracted to her while I was preaching. Found out she felt the same way. I was there for three days. I came back to the States and we corresponded and two years later, we were married on July 23, 1983.”
He continued with a message to young couples today. He offered “Sage advice to every young man and lady- commit your ways to the Lord and trust in Him– He will bring it to pass. I wanted a wife, but I needed the Lord to show me. I needed the Holy Spirit to point and show me which one was the right one. I wanted a wife to compliment my ministry and build a home around. It requires for the Holy Spirit to show you the right one. If you wait on the Lord, you cannot go wrong. It is not perfect but through the course of life you can perfect this life together – and perfect what may have been imperfect.”
I then questioned “What message do you want shared by the story of your life?” Pastor was serious and contemplative as he stated “I am very strong on relationships. The only thing that you will carry with you to the end is the relationships that you make along life’s journey. I talk to people about the great rewards of having meaningful relationships– at all levels. Just to be you with them. I love fishing. I have a friend in the church who owns a boat. We will go out on the boat, and I can just be Glenn. We talk about fishing and not about the Word.”
With this great example of a life dedicated to the ministry, I thought it would be helpful to ask “What would you tell others about your relationship with Christ that would inspire them?” Pastor Glenn shared “Out of all the things that we pursue in life, knowing Christ has to be the priority! You come to that conclusion after pursuing “things” for a number of years– you finally come to the conclusion that unless the pursuit is of Him, then everything else will be frustration and struggle. The apostle Paul said “oh that I may know Him”—he spent his entire ministry trying to know Christ.”
I asked my signature question “What will they write on your gravestone that will sum up your life?” and he simply stated “He served God while serving others!”
It’s always important to ask our authors “What is your writing method when you start a project?” Pastor Glenn reflected “I have been writing this book for the last three years. I started putting information together. Through technology, we can just put things away, once we write. When my friend Peter Lopez went to work at Xulon, he called and said this was the chance to finish the book that I had been writing for years. It was easy to finish the book that I had accumulated for years. If you wait to write, you will never write. When you have inspiration– then write it down. The time to write it is when God gives it!”
Speaking with this man of God, it was easy to see how he inspires others, but I challenged him by asking “What inspires you?” He paused and shared “I am inspired by helping people. I’m the President of a local group called UNITE – helping people who are hurting- when they are hurting, I want to be there- that’s how we are at Restoration Family Worship Center, the church that I pastor in New Jersey. I always say “Send me the worst case, what nobody wants, we want them at our church!”
The Word of God was evident in this man of God as we spoke, so I inquired “What is your theme scripture and why?” Pastor Glenn recited “Jeremiah 29:11 He knows the plans that He has for us. It always inspires me in all levels of my life. It gives me peace that He has the plan. As we seek Him, He unfolds the plan for our life.”
As we drew our conversation to a close, I asked him “When you get to heaven, what do you want to hear The Lord say to you?”
I could hear the smile appear across his face as he responded simply “Well done!”
Having spent time with this Pastor and having been honored to have him share his heart for God’s people and sense his dedication to the ministry and his undying love for his Savior, I understood why he was compelled to write this book. He felt that it was his responsibility to proclaim the things he had seen and heard—so we can be enlightened, educated and emancipated from the apathy that has overtaken our world today.
I pause to say “Thank You, Pastor Glenn!” We needed to hear your message!
Your example inspires us to be bold enough to stand up and share what we have seen and heard also!
Well done, indeed!
Find Pastor Glenn Wilson’s book “The Abuse of the Bride: What Everyone Sees But No One Talks About” on the Xulon Press Bookstore.
These stories are inspiring. Thank you for sharing them.