c. 2004 Religion News Service

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. _ If the Rev. Timothy Rainey had his druthers, he would probably still be working as an editor at The Huntsville Times. But when God called six years ago, he knew he didn’t have any choice in the matter.

“I never wanted to be a minister. I just felt compelled to do so,” said Rainey, who hails from a family of ministers, including his late father, a brother and now his son.

So in 1998, Rainey left behind a fairly comfortable _ albeit challenging _ job he had held as a section editor at The Times for 15 years to pursue a second career in the ministry. He had been preaching part-time for several years before finally giving in to God’s call to full-time work.

“I knew God would take care of me,” Rainey said. “(My wife) Gloria was a little nervous, and naturally so, but she has made the transition quite well into becoming a pastor’s wife. She’s been very supportive.”

While working full time at the paper and serving as pastor of Indian Creek Primitive Baptist Church for a couple of years, Rainey often felt a conflict when something important was happening simultaneously with each job.

“At times it was very agonizing,” he said. “When someone (from the church) was going into surgery and I had a deadline at The Times about the same time, the church understood I had to be at the paper. But it was difficult because I felt I needed to be at the hospital having prayer with the person.”

Despite the time conflict, Rainey said, while at The Times he could at least have a break. But that luxury ceased when he went into the full-time ministry.

“I could work 40 hours in (church) administration, 40 hours in visitation and 40 hours in study each week now,” he said of his ministerial job.

Some people advised him to avoid the ministry, telling him, “Don’t put yourself into the hands of people.”

But the soft-spoken Rainey would smile and reply: “I’m putting myself in the hands of God. I’m not expecting people to make it work, but God will.”

Rainey’s only son and youngest child, Mark, has followed in his footsteps and has been ordained a minister. He now attends Morehouse College in Atlanta, majoring in religion and English.

While still at the paper, Rainey started taking courses at the Huntsville Baptist Institute (now Huntsville Bible College). His life was one gigantic blur as he raced to and from work, school, church, hospital and home each week.

“The curriculum was not that difficult for me, but just finding time to study was the difficult part,” he said. “It was just a sacrifice you have to make and somehow God makes a way for you.”

Although he first felt called into the ministry in 1981 after hearing his brother, the Rev. Jeffrey Rainey, preach a sermon, Timothy Rainey ignored the call until 1989 when he started preaching part time. When the Indian Creek congregation made him a full-time offer he couldn’t refuse in 1998, he finally gave up his secular career of spreading the daily news for a spiritual one of spreading the gospel.

He believes God allowed him the opportunity to work at The Times to prepare him for his biggest “assignment.”

“For me, I’ve always felt I was in the right place at the right time,” he said. “When I was at The Huntsville Times, that was where I was supposed to be. Then I was writing stories. Now I write sermons. … Everything that has gone on in my life has had a purpose for preparing me for the ministry.”

After becoming a full-time minister at Indian Creek _ and being one of the first full-time black pastors in Huntsville _ Rainey did something few pastors would have the courage to do: He purged the church’s membership roll.

“We had people on the roll who hadn’t been there in years or who had moved away. We wanted to have a roll that truly reflected who our members are,” he said.

One of his biggest supporters and best friends is George King, chairman of the church’s deacon board.

“We love him,” said King, who said hiring a full-time pastor created some controversy in the church. But he said their decision to do so was a good one.

“We did not make a mistake in hiring him,” he said. “We could not have asked for a better pastor. He’s a great family man and exemplifies it in all he does. He has been a real inspiration to me. He’s a great encourager, and I have grown spiritually because of him. The church has grown, too, and the Lord has really blessed us.”

Since Rainey started working full time for the church, Indian Creek has added an after-school program, a day care and other activities designed for children and families.

King said Rainey is a good preacher and teacher.

“He preaches the word and then tells us how to apply it to our lives,” he said. “His sermons are really focused. I guess that’s from his journalism days.”

KRE/MO END BETOWT