47543949 Standing by God s Man Price

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Standing by God's Man

by

Betty Price

Harrison House

Tulsa, Oklahoma


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Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations aretaken from theKing James Version of the Bible.


ISBN 0-89274-602-5Copyright 1989 by Betty PriceCrenshaw Christian CenterP.O. Box 90000Los Angeles, California 90009

Published by Harrison House, Inc.P.O. Box 35035Tulsa, Oklahoma 74153

Printed in the United States of America.All rights reserved under International Copyright Law.

Contents and/or cover may not be reproduced in wholeor in part in any form without the express writtenconsent of the Publisher.


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1 Standing by God's Man

Recently, someone gave me a poem whichbegan:

You might think it's an easy task And

just a pleasant life. But it takes a lot ofgrace to be a preacher's wife.

Yes, I would definitely say that it takes a lot ofgraceGod's gracenot only to be a preacher'swife, but to be a Christian wife. I am sure that if it

had not been for the Christian training I received inmy parents' home, and for my strong desire to

please God, my life would have taken a differentturn. But I thank God for the inborn wisdom (theworld calls it "mother wit") He gave me to put and

keep my trust in Him no matter what.Fred Price and I were married on the 29th day

of March in 1953. During those first few months ofour marriage, Fred got saved and was called to theministry. We joined a Baptist church near our

home. He was very serious about his call (God hadspoken to him in an audible voice, telling him to

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preach the Gospel) and spent much time studyingthe Bible, memorizing scriptures and attendingchurch. He was going to school part time andworking a regular full-time job to support hisfamily. Since neither his parents nor mine wereexcited about Fred's going into the ministry, theyoffered us no help or encouragement. I had alwaysloved God and being in church; consequently, I

was very happy about the call God had placed onmy husband's life, and I was willing to make anysacrifice to help him fulfill that call.

Since we were not in a church that taught thefull Gospel, we were not aware of Satan and his

tactics. We also were not filled with the HolySpirit; therefore, we did not have on the armor tocombat the enemy. We worshipped and worked inthat church for two years. Finally, Fred was hiredas an assistant pastor. However, after a little over ayear, he was terminated because he refused to goalong with some things he saw going on in thechurch that he knew were not right. By this time,we had two children: our daughter, Angela, threemonths old; and our son, who was almost threeyears old. We were without an income.

I had a friend who was also a pastor's wife andwho worked for the Internal Revenue Service. She

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was able to get me work there until Fred could findanother position. These were trying times, but I feltthat things would work out as long as we remainedtrue to serving God. We didn't know then aboutfaith and how to operate in it, so we lived on hope

hoping that the tomorrows would be better thanthe days before.

After some time, Fred took a job in the secularworld. Shortly thereafter, we joined the AfricanMethodist Episcopal Church. Six months later, the

bishop appointed Fred to a small church in ValVerde, California. It had less than a dozenmembers and little possibility of growth because of

its location. But Fred was faithful and pastoredthere for two years, while continuing to work at afull-time job. He was there from September 1957to August 1959, with a salary of only three to fivedollars a week.

Every four years in the Methodist Church, theministers elect a bishop. Fred did not feel led tovote for the bishop the church leadership wassponsoring, so he was not offered a continued

pastorate. Once more, my husband found himselfwithout a ministerial post. I continued to pray thatFred would find a permanent position, and felt thatif we remained true to God, things would work out

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for us.

We later joined a Presbyterian church. Fred

continued to go to college, since in order to pastora church in the Presbyterian denomination, one hadto have a degree. I encouraged him to make thesechanges in the ministry because I knew that he wasearnestly seeking to find a place in which to serveGod in all honesty and uprightness. Needless tosay, it was a very difficult time for both of us.Actually, my desire was that we would not have tomake any changes, but I did not voice this desire

because I never wanted to discourage my husbandin his efforts to serve God.

During this entire time, we were strugglingwith our finances. We hardly had enough to keepour needs met, and there was never anything extra.I believe this was due partly to Fred's loss of jobs,his immaturity in handling the family's income and

by his making unaffordable purchases.He often refers to something I said to him

many years ago in response to his statement that hewas doing his best to take take care of the family. Itold him, quite unashamedly, "Your best is just not

good enough!" He was shocked and hurt to hearme say that, because I never complained about

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anything. But I had become weary of struggling tomake ends meet and was tired of really neverhaving enough. I mainly made that statement to gethis attention. It did! I didn't want to be mean orunkind, but I knew that it was time that myhusband got his financial priorities straightenedout. I knew Fred's heart and that he meant well, butI also believed that the time had come for me to let

him know what I was thinking.

Many times, wives will just go along withtheir husband's foolishness, not wanting to "rockthe boat"; however, there are times when the boatneeds rocking if the marriage is to go on to smooth

sailing.During this period in our lives, a great tragedy

befell us. Our first son, Frederick III, was killed byan automobile while coming home from school.He was only eight years old. Fred and I tried to

console each other as best we could and leaned alot on one another during this time of our hurt. Myhusband particularly found it hard to get over thistragedy, but he knew and continued to say that itwas not God Who had taken our son from us.Looking back now, we can see how the devil wastrying to destroy us as a family.

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There were occasions when I did not feel likebeing intimate with Fred because of the pressuresof life, worrying about clothes for the children,food to eat, and the bills that needed to be paid.But understanding how important sex is in amarriage, I prayed to the Lord and asked Him tohelp me deal with this problem. I was determinedthat if the marriage did not work out, it would not

be my fault. Even though I did not know how topray in faith, I trusted God, and He helped mehandle the pressures of daily living so that oursexual relationship was not affected. God is sogracious to His children and is concerned about

every area of our lives, including the intimacy thatexists between a husband and wife.

Eventually, I persuaded Fred to allow me toget a job to help meet the family's needs. He reallynever wanted me to work because when he was achild, his mother and his friends' mothers worked,and the boys often got into trouble. He neverwanted his children to come home to a housewithout someone being there. I convinced him thatI had good child care, so he consented. He tried todiscourage me from working by not helping me

with the household chores. My working hourswere from 5:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., non-stop! After

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one year and nine months, he had proved his point.I quit the job and vowed never to work outside thehome again. However, I am working with myhusband in the ministry now, but the circumstancesare a lot different.

For the next five and a half years, Fred did notpastor. He ministered in different churches byinvitation on and off during these years. I could tellthat he was not happy and was very frustrated. In1965, one of his friends was leaving his pastorateto go into full-time ministry with the Billy GrahamCrusades. He called Fred and asked him if hewould take over his church as pastor. Fred

hesitated at first because he had always envisionedhimself as an evangelist. He said that he would

pray about the matter before making his decision. Iencouraged him to take the position because at thetime he was not doing anything on a consistent

basis as far as his ministry was concerned.

So in June, 1965, we went to pastor WestWashington Community Church of the Christianand Missionary Alliance. We had two children atthis stageAngela, now eight years old, andCheryl, who was six. Stephanie was born twoyears later. West Washington had nine membersand paid $35 a week. Fred still had to work a full-

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time secular job as well as serving as pastor. Thelittle church began to grow slowly. Finally in 1969,it had grown to approximately 125 members, andin the fall of that year, Fred was offered a full-time

position.

We had our work cut out for us, so wethought. We talked of how we would now have thetime to really work with the church. We discussedways in which we could get out into theneighborhood and knock on doors to invite the

people in the community to attend church.However, God had other plans. Instead of beinghappy, because for the first time since being called

to the ministry we were in a full-time pastorate andcould establish our own programs to build thechurch and enhance our worship service, Fred wasstill frustrated and unhappy.

Some time earlier he had read a book by

Kathryn Kuhlman called God Can Do It Again,and it had left his spirit restless, but he did notknow why.

In one of our prayer meetings he said that hefelt like "a casserole dish with something left out,

but you can't tell what it is." He attended a coupleof the Kuhlman meetings, which seemed only to

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make his hunger more intense. I, myself, did notunderstand what was wrong, but I sensed that myhusband was right. In years past, he had expressedan interest in the supernatural, but at that time fromwhat I understood of the supernatural, I felt it maynot have been of God. Consequently, I discouragedhim in that pursuit. We did not understand thenthat there is the supernatural of God and the

supernatural of Satan. Back then, my teaching hadbeen that anything of a supernatural nature was ofthe devil.

I encouraged Fred as best I could, not reallyunderstanding anything about the Spirit-filled life.

While at one of the Kathryn Kuhlman meetings, hesaw a chaplain he knew, who invited him to lunchand gave him some books on the infilling of theHoly Spirit. Fred began to see what was themissing ingredient in his personal life andministry.* He saw the need to be filled with theHoly Spirit, but did not know how to receive, andso he became even more frustrated.

My heart really went out to my husband

* Editor's note: Fred Price has since written a book

entitled THE HOLY SPIRITThe Missing Ingredient(published by Harrison House) in which he tells aboutthis particular time in his life.

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during this time. I felt such compassion for him inhis search. I was frustrated myself because I couldnot help him obtain what he thought he needed,even though I felt a little embarrassed for him ashe stood in the pulpit one Sunday morning crying,saying that if he did not receive the Holy Spirit, hewould stop preaching.

All during this search, I had to take care ofthings that Fred normally handled. He had hismind only on one thingfinding out how he couldreceive the Holy Spirit with the evidence ofspeaking with other tongues. We had invitedseveral ministers and their wives over for dinner

one evening, and Fred forgot to show up. I had toentertain them myself until they decided to gohome.

Within the next two weeks following theforgotten dinner, Fred finally received the Holy

Spirit in accordance with Acts 2:4. This was thebeginning of a brand new life for us. He camehome and laid hands on me, and immediately Ireceived the Holy Spirit and also began to speakwith other tongues. He was so excited that hewanted to share this supernatural phenomenonwith everyone he came in contact with.Approximately 80 percent of our congregation

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received the Holy Spirit, with the evidence ofspeaking with other tongues, and our services

began to take on a whole new flavor. Most ofFred's friends, who were denominational ministers,talked negatively about him after he shared withthem this phenomenal experience. But we stoodtogether and did not allow the criticism to hinderus. We knew that a change had taken place, and we

were not going back to the old ways again!

The congregation began to grow and grow andgrow. Soon we were cramming 300 people into a

building that would hold only 158 personscomfortably. We put people in every room in the

church. We discovered that there were manypeople who were just as hungry as my husband forthe supernatural things of God. This all began inFebruary of 1970.

Shortly after Fred received the Holy Spirit,

this same chaplain gave him some other bookswritten by Kenneth Hagin. These books on faith,healing, and prayer were the key to Fred's learninghow to operate in the Word of God. The power ofGod was in manifestation in our midst. People ofevery race were coming from everywhere, and wewere growing rapidly.

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Fred was receiving calls from all over theSouthern California area to come and ministerthroughout the week. Of course, with the move ofthe Holy Spirit so evident around us, Satan, all tooready to defeat the work of God, had hiscounterfeits there also. Sometimes I would see

people who had attached themselves to ourministry for the wrong reasons. There were

occasions when Fred would not see it at the time. Idid not like to have to tell him that these personswere not right, at the risk of being misunderstoodor criticized by him. But thank God I learned to dieto self, and I would not let things go until he, too,

was able to see the wrong. I had learned throughour trials and misfortunes how to pray, wait onGod, and exercise patience with my husband. If hedidn't see what I was trying to share with him atthe moment, I just stood my ground, prayed to theLord that He would open Fred's eyes and

continued to point out things that I believed wouldhelp him and the ministry. I knew my husband'sheart was right, and that if wrong, he would be thefirst to repent and make a change.

I have never let the negative attitudes and lives

of some people sour me against people on thewhole, because I know that if you, yourself, are of

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a right spirit, you will attract others of a right spiritas well. I also know that in the Christian world,there are more people with a right spirit than thosewith a wrong one. Of course, Satan will magnifythe wrong, but if we will keep our eyes on what isright and make sure that our motives line up withGod's Word, right will always win in the end.

The most important thing that we learnedduring this time was to follow Second Corinthians5:7: (For we walk by faith, not by sight). We havehad many opportunities to become discouragedand give up, but we are compelled to Fight thegood fight of faith...(1 Tim. 6:12). We believed

God for a bigger building, and by the applicationof our faith, we saw it come into manifestation.The main sanctuary alone accommodated 1,400

people, and it had numerous buildings and roomsfor overflow crowds. We moved there in

November of 1973 with only 300 people.

We had obtained a loan from a bank to financethe purchase, although we didn't qualify for it. Youknow that had to be God! For eight months we hadto believe God to make the payments, because inthe beginning we did not receive enough money inthe offerings to cover the mortgage payments.Throughout this period and thereafter, Fred did not

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need so much encouragement, only agreement,because he had learned to encourage himselfthrough the Word of God. Multitudes of people

began to come, and by the end of 1975, we hadfilled the sanctuary and began using the overflowauditoriums. In 1977, we were totally out of roomagain, ministering to approximately 4,000 peoplein two services. In order to accommodate the still

growing crowds, we added a third service in 1983.

We began looking for land in the Inglewoodarea of Los Angeles County on which to build anew church. We found a 23-acre plot, which waslarge enough to build a 10,000-seat auditorium. It

was the only available vacant land left in the cityof Inglewood. We sought to buy it, and all theforces of hell were let loose against us. The church

board voted to put $100,000 down on the property,but before the deal could be closed, the city passedan ordinance that would not allow us to build achurch on more than three acres of land. Inaddition, a promised financial commitment tocomplete the purchase transaction did notmaterialize, and, as a result, we had to forfeit the$100,000 down payment.

Fred did not want to face the congregationalone in making the announcement, as he felt so

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bad about the loss. He wanted to ask the executiveboard members (who help with making decisionsconcerning the temporal matters of the church) tostand with him, since they had voted for the$100,000 down payment to be made. I discouragedhim from making this request of them. I reasonedthat if he were making a positive statement, hewould do it alone; so likewise, he should be the

one to make any negative announcements.

If we had not learned how to exercise faith inthe goodness of our Heavenly Father, we couldhave become very discouraged, as we still needed

property on which to build, and it looked as if there

were none to he found in all of Los Angeles. Butour God is faithful, and He had just the right pieceof property set aside for us!

Shortly after losing the $100,000, we heardthat the 32-acre Los Angeles campus of

Pepperdine University was up for sale, and hadbeen on the market for approximately two years,with no takers. God gave us favor with theuniversity's administration who agreed to sell the

property to us for $14,000,000. They were alsowilling to work with us on the financing of the

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purchase. We bought the property in 1981,*and in1989 we began holding services in our 10,000-seat,domed structurethe sanctuary of CrenshawChristian Center, better known as The Faithdome!Praise GodHis Word works!

We actually moved our entire operation to theproperty in 1984, holding three services andministering to more than 5,500 people per Sunday.With the new sanctuary, we need to hold only oneservice each Sunday and will still be able toaccommodate our ever growing membership.

Fred has many things in which he could needencouragement, but he does not depend on me or

anyone else to lift him up, because he has learnedhow to use his faith and ...look not at the thingswhich are seen, but at the things which are not

seen: for the things which are seen are

temporal; but the things which are not seen are

eternal (2 Cor. 4:18).Sometimes my husband gets physically tired,

and from that standpoint, I encourage him to rest. Iam there to care for him, because sometimes after

* Editor's note: In the spring of 1989, CrenshawChristian Center completely paid off the $14,000,000owed Pepperdine University.

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ministering he is rather exhausted.

From 1970 (that's when Fred says he really

entered his ministry), we went from 125 membersto over 16,600 in 1989, with 167 full-time and 49

part-time employees, and over 1,500 helpsministry workers. Financially, we went from $113in Sunday offerings to an average of $123,000 perweek in general offerings.

We give God all the praise and glory for whathas been accomplished and for the privilege oflearning how to encourage ourselves and eachother through the Word.

I pray constantly that God will continue togive my husband an understanding heart to discernthe good and the bad. I continually pray that Godwill protect him from any voice or spirit that is notright, but will surround him with people he needsto help him fulfill the ministry to which he is

called, because he knows that he cannot do italone. Also, I am now assisting him in the ministrywith decision-making, counseling and answeringmail.

In a large ministry such as ours, there are

many, many decisions that need to be made, so Ishare my thoughts and opinions with my husband

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as he confronts the numerous demands placedupon him. I oversee the women's fellowship,which is the largest auxiliary at the church. I alsowork with other groups in the church, includingour 24-hour-a-day intercessory prayer auxiliary,the alcohol/drug abuse program, a ministry totroubled teens, and wherever else I am needed thatwill benefit the congregation and my husband.

Since Fred is unable, because of timeconstraints, to provide private counseling or torespond to phone calls requesting counseling, I docounseling at the church, as well as return phonecalls on his behalf, along with the other eight staff

ministers.Much of my time is spent in helping to raise

and train our late arrival, "Little Fred," who at thetime of this writing is 10 years of age. Our threedaughters are now grown and working fulltime

with us in the ministry.Finally, I want to encourage every pastor's

wife in her role. From my own personalexperience, I can tell you that you are able tohandle the demands of being the wife of a pastor. I

was very shy and did not like to be up in front ofpeople at all! I wanted only to support my husband

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from behind the scenes. But as the church grewand I grew in the Word, I knew that I had to

become more public. Fear would grip me when Ithought of speaking in public, but I wanted to

please God. I stepped out in faith using Philippians4:13: I can do all things through Christ whichstrengtheneth me. Second Timothy 1:7 says:...God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of

power, and of love, and of a sound mind. Iconfessed these verses each time I had to dosomething publicly until I overcame my shyness. Ialso spend time in the Word and in prayer so thatwhen I do speak, the Holy Spirit had something to

work with.I exhort you not to allow Satan to put you into

a bag by telling you what you can't do. Don't worryabout your ability to fulfill your role as a pastor'swife. Instead, commit yourself to do the will ofGod and spend time with Him by praying in theSpirit and in the understanding, and by studyingthe Word. Learn to depend upon the Holy Spirit todirect you as to when and how to be a leader andwinner in your own ministry. Remember, everyministry is different, but whatever your ministry,

you ought to be winning.

I have lived Psalm 66:12: ...we went through

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fire and through water: but thou broughtest us

out into a wealthy place. And you can live it too!

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Additional copies of


are available from your local bookstore, or bywriting:

Harrison House

P.O. Box 35035

Tulsa, OK 74153


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47543949 Standing by God s Man Price