It all started over 15 years ago. My husband and I had been engaged for several months and I was pregnant with our first child. I was at a point where I was about to give up hope on finding a pastor to marry us in a church. Because I was pregnant and not married, we had been told by pastors that they couldn't marry us and that we couldn't even use their church. It was very discouraging because the Bible I was raised by talks of love and acceptance. I didn't feel loved by these pastors and I certainly didn't feel accepted. This all happened to us for a reason. God was just guiding us to a specific place where he had amazing people just waiting to take us in. We were referred to the Nazarene Church where we met Pastor Jim Furnas. Right up front, we made him aware of the fact that I was pregnant. I remember his reaction to be surprising because of what we had been told by others. It didn't catch him off guard in the least. It wasn't even an issue to him. In fact, he didn't even react to the news at all, aside from congratulating us. That was a first.
As is customary, we were required to attend church and to meet with Jim during the weeks leading up to our wedding. Our meetings were filled with information about marriage according to God's word, wisdom from Jim's personal experiences, encouragement for us to make the right decisions and hold true to our vows and stick through the hard times, and even just some friendly conversations between us as friends. This man really made me feel accepted and loved, despite the fact that I had gone against God's word and become pregnant before marriage. He assured us that God's love for us never fails, no matter what decisions we make in life. We are all human and born sinners. That's the beauty of Christ's gift of eternal salvation. He took the punishment for us so that when our human nature takes over and we make unwise decisions, we are forgiven and he will ultimately use our mistakes and turn them into good, as long as we love him and walk with him. Romans 8:28 "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."
On July 26, 1997, Pastor Jim Furnas proudly stood before us and pronounced us husband and wife. God made our dream of being married in a church, by a pastor, come to reality with the help of Pastor Jim. We continued to attend Church of the Nazarene after our wedding. The church as a whole really took us in and made us a part of their family. After our son was born, they threw us a baby shower to welcome him into the world and into their family. Not only did Jim officiate our wedding, but he also performed our sons dedication ceremony in front of the entire congregation on a Sunday morning. Who better to help us dedicate our son to the Lord than the first pastor to accept us conceiving him out of wedlock.
My husband later got a job out of town and we moved our family about an hour away. We found a church to attend in our new town.We did occasionally visit our family at the Nazarene Church when we were in town visiting family. Pastor Jim was later called to serve at a church further away and we ended up losing touch with his family.
The news of his passing really caught me off guard. I'm deeply saddened for his beautiful wife, their children, and all of those whose lives he has touched. At the same time, I rejoice for Pastor Jim, for he has received the highest honor of meeting Jesus, face to face. I'm certain his rewards in heaven are many, and I'm certain he was greeted at the heavenly gates by a multitude of people that had the honor of knowing him during their time on earth.
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