A Look Back: New Position, No Pay

Under Bishop Robert C. Lawson's leadership, Refuge Temple was a very exciting place to be. Early on, services were held daily. Bishop Lawson often invited guest evangelists to preach. Some were young ministers associated with Lawson's movement. Sometimes outside preachers were called, one interesting example being the Rev. George Becton, known for his "consecrated dime" gimmick.

One wonders if Lawson's dealings with Becton are not partly responsible for his later dealings with young ministers. He was not fond of ministers raising large offerings. Author Steve Walters, in his 2002 biography of Apostle Lymus Johnson, describes Johnson's relationship with Lawson when it came to finances. Writes Walters, "Bishop Lawson was not apt to give you any money, but if he did, he would make you sign [a promissory note] for it. If you didn't pay it back, he would certainly talk about you" (A Shepherd's Journey, 109). 

We can gather that Bishop Lawson prioritized financial discipline, and had no compunction about warning others about potential adverse risk.

More personally, after selecting, proving, and appointing Johnson to the office of National Evangelist Board chairman, Johnson would be sent throughout the country without one penny from Lawson or the national organization. Johnson brought up the issue to Lawson, who replied, "[Y]ou don't need any money. God called you, not me" (Journey, 72).

Over time, Johnson began to understand Lawson's mind about the situation. Lawson was "a man that started from scratch," a man who "gave up three thriving churches" to go "where there was no one who knew him, no kind of support system for him and church to go to. How did he get there? ... He preached his way there..." (Journey, 73). If God could bless a man who arrived in New York City with five cents in his pockets to become a millionaire, complete with chauffeur (Journey, 109), Johnson, too, would have to learn to trust God to supply for and prosper his ministry. 

For Johnson, reprieve came "[w]hen the saints began to realize what was going on[;] they began giving him financial handshakes" (Journey, 109; Bishop William L. Bonner has been known to tell a similar story, in which the financial handshakes amounted to some $2,000). 

On the road, Johnson learned to focus his fundraising efforts on the host church, particularly in smaller churches and new missions; sometimes he would give a part of whatever money he received during his evangelistic meetings back to the host church. As time progressed, money ceased to be a concern, and by the end of his life, Johnson could be considered quite well off. It was those difficult years, mastering the art of "knowing how to go in and come out" (Journey, 111), when Johnson, under Lawson's strict oversight, learned to achieve success in ministry and to hold the natural desire for money in check.

This, readers, is how Lawson avoided scandal, and why Johnson and the evangelist that he in turn groomed did not become little Bectons, little fundraising evangelists who prayed and pocketed. 

All this notwithstanding, living and traveling by faith may have frustrated some ministers. Fortunately, some ministers, like the future Smallwood Williams, were sent by Lawson to take charge of established churches. Let's explore this experience from the point of view of those who lived it in our next article.