Black Man-White Man: The Tale of Two Friends

CONTENTS

BLACK MAN-WHITE MAN

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Foreword

Foreword

INTRODUCTION

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Appendix A

Appendix B

Appendix C

THE BLACK AND WHITE TOUR

DR. JENNINGS’ MINISTRY

DR. HOSTETTER’S MINISTRIES

BLACK MAN-WHITE MAN

The Tale Of Two Friends

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Joseph

There are many men both Black and White who have been influential in my life in a number of ways. Each has helped shape my thinking and character. They have believed in me over the years. I want to acknowledge them with praise to God for their faithfulness.

My friend Dr.Wallace Hostetter for believing in our relationship and this project.

Dr. Fredrick K. C. Price, III, for his life-impacting preaching series on racism and for being the ultimate man of God.

Don Means, my best friend, for serving as the only chairman of my board.

Joe Grimaud for being there every Father’s Day to receive my respect and love.

Bill Koch, President of the Oxbow Corporation and the 1996 winner of the America’s Cup, for believing in me and investing in me with no strings attached.

Jeff Thomas, my gangsta’ Attorney and good friend.

Pierre Tullier, a true man of God who also believes in foot soldiers.

Dr. Jerry Piscopo, who believes all things are possible with God, and who understands the storms that life can bring.

Lou Brown, for believing in me and for being there when I need God Miracles.

Dr. I.V. Hilliard, who is ‘Da Man…When I grow up I want to be just like Doc’.

Fred Foote, my new friend, the filmmaker and dreamer. I look forward to what God will do through our relationship in the future.

Apostle Willie O. Coates, Jr., my pastor and friend who gave me the freedom to preach real.

William Baldwin, a teacher who told me I was special, gave me a hamburger, and changed my life.

Ben Clark, my friend who gave up on me too soon.

I dedicate this book to all my biological children for whom I would lay down my life.

My sons:

Daddy’s Girls:

M.S. Alexandra Lexy Jennings

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Wally

There have been many people who have had a positive influence in my life through the years. It would be difficult to remember them all. Because this is a book designed mostly for men, I have listed a few to thank for their trust and love.

I begin with Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ, who has endured my growth and forgiven my sins. Next, great thanks to my friend and coworker, Joseph Jennings, who has taught me many things about life. I trust him with my life. I would also like to thank the following:

My brother in the flesh and the Lord,

G. Richard Hostetter.

My sister in the flesh and in the Lord,

Elisabeth Lowe Hostetter Jones

My fellow worker in Christ,

Rev. Chuck Rife.

My mentors who have gone home to the Lord.

Dr. Robert R. Davis,

for leading me to the Lord and helping me understand God’s call on my life.

Dr. Bartlett Hess,

for his example of leadership and love, and encouragement.

Rev. Sam Patterson,

for modeling prayer and faith into my life.

Dr. R. C. Sproul,

for his faithful teaching and guidance.

Dr. Luder Whitlock,

for his constant wisdom and direction.

Rev. Brad Mitchell,

for teaching me about relationships and encouraging my calling.

Most of all I would like to thank my wife, Linda, for her godly influence, patience and for being my Proverbs 31 wife. And, a great thank you to my three daughters, Laren, Katie Beth and Emma Leigh, who have taught me many lessons of love, forgiveness and faithfulness through the years.

Thank you to my fellow-worker and servant of the Lord, Anne Cody, for her input into the final edit of this project. She has helped us to finish well.

A final thank you to our very close friend and the primary editor of this project, Mrs. Nancy Kubinski. She and her husband, Walt, have been an inspiration for me throughout this work. Many of her insights and suggestions have been incorporated into the book.

Foreword

What can happen when God brings two radical, twenty-first century men like Joseph and Wally together? My testimony reflects what happened in the early beginnings of their friendship.

The Lord works in wonderfully mysterious ways! To me they seemed like two very different people whose paths would not likely cross. But they did, and that unlikely connection changed my life forever. The Lord, indeed, works in mysterious ways.

My story goes back to 1988 when my wife Diann had convinced me that we should be attending church. Didn’t she know that I had not grown up in a church? Didn’t she understand that I worked hard all week and that Sundays were a day of rest and, in my case, since joining the Detroit Lions public relations staff in 1985, a day for football?

She understood, but she had grown up in the church and knew that we needed grounding in a good, solid church home. She knew that football was necessarily important in our lives but not the MOST important thing. I knew she was right. Wally Hostetter and Faith Church in Rochester Hills, Michigan, came into our lives.

Meeting in a middle school gymnasium with a huge Viking warrior painted on the wall seemed an unusual place of worship but it worked for me. After all, stained glass windows, rigid wooden pews, and a traditional approach to church intimidated me. I could work alongside six foot five inch, three hundred pound football players but the trappings of a traditional church were out of my league.

Wally, his associate pastor Steve Andrews, Lion’s team chaplain Dave Wilson, and the congregation of Faith made us feel at home. I enjoyed the people, the socializing, the music, Wally’s gifted speaking abilities, and the Viking on the wall. But, I made no commitment to religion or to God.

Soon after our introduction to Faith Church, the Lord lowered the boom. It was put up or shut up time for Tim.

Diann became seriously ill. She made a desperate call to Wally on a Saturday while I was oblivious to the severity of her illness and was caught up in the business of doing business. It wasn’t long before Wally was in our living room, reassuring Diann, and bringing me out of my cloud and back down to earth.

Wally was a godsend to us. As he left our home, he wanted to be sure we knew that church the next day would be very special and not to miss it. A guest speaker would be preaching - a preacher whose message we could not ignore. His name was Joseph Jennings.

We didn’t know what to expect from Joseph, but we hoped it would be a sermon that would help soften our pain, calm our fears, and give us encouragement to tackle the problems ahead. We wanted nothing demanding, just reassurance to help us through the day. The Lord hears prayers and He answers in His wonderfully mysterious ways with sometimes very creative answers.

Joseph hit the podium like a lightning bolt from the sky. He looked like an NFL middle linebacker and had the intensity to match. His message was far from subtle and the impact hit me squarely between the eyes. I needed to get off the fence, and commit to Jesus NOW.

When Joseph made an altar call after his sermon, Diann sought to recommit and I was right behind her heading for Joseph to make the most significant decision of my life. There was no compromising with Joseph. It was time.

Thanks to the Lord working through Wally and Joseph, two seemingly very dissimilar but actually incredibly similar, special people, our lives have never been the same. Diann made a full recovery and when a serious illness struck me a year later, so did I. Our newfound faith and reliance on the Lord pulled us through.

I have a long way to go to answer the Lord’s call. But, had it not been for the Lord working through Wally and Joseph in my life, I would hate to think where I would be today.

We are so glad that the Lord is at work – in his wonderfully mysterious ways!"

Tim Pendell

Detroit Lions Management

National Football League

Foreword

I have been a friend and a pastor to Joseph Jennings from his teenage years through the present, and he has always been a voice for the oppressed and needy, even before he knew Christ. His life is one of evangelism, especially for those who are Black, poor, voiceless and disenfranchised.

I know Joseph to truly be a Black man. In fact, I would say he is an angry Black man crying out against injustice, especially as it relates to orphans. And, while he and others have viewed Joseph primarily as a youth minister, I believe him to be a powerful, emerging, prophetic voice both to the body of Christ and to the racist nation. He is crying loudly and sparing not!

I thank God that Joseph didn’t cease to be a Black man when he received Christ, but rather, he brought his Blackness into the body of Christ. God’s anointing works wonderfully in and through Joseph’s Blackness.

I applaud Joseph and Dr. Hostetter because they have based their relationship not on their differences but on what they have in common which is Christ whose blood has made one holy nation out of many tribes.

If you are White and want to be a friend, mentor, or pastor to a Black man, you must approach the relationship with a sincere desire to understand the Black view point, not just the Black man’s conclusions, but how and why he arrives at his conclusions.

If I could summarize all that I’ve said in one word, that word would be respect. In order for the body of Christ to