He’s a holy man, make no mistake, and he follows the example offered to him by The Lord. As far as direction, that is how simple life is for Bishop Darrell Cummings.
When it comes to his day-to-day and step-by-step travel, however, following the prescribed course is what offers the trials and tribulations that some allow to beat them off path and to follow instead temptations like greed, selfishness, and gluttony. But not Cummings, and his wife, Lathisha, either. They serve. They respect. They give. All Darrell wants for Christmas is money so he can give more, and then more again and again.
Tomorrow morning will be no different either as the Bishop and his bride will join a plethora of volunteers for the Bethlehem Apostolic Temple’s 34th annual Christmas Basket Giveaway at the North Wheeling Community “Dream” Center. Food, the fixin’s, and gifts for children will be distributed to everyone and anyone who lines up in the rear of the building beginning at 10 a.m.
Doesn’t matter who they are, what they drive, and whether or not they really need the assistance.
“God will know,” is what Cummings says when asked if he should establish financial requirements for participation. “God always knows,” he insists.
When did you first realize The Lord was listening?
I grew up in a Pastor’s home. For those who grew up in church, being in the Pastor’s house means church and God take on a greater importance. Just so you understand, my father was a Pastor, his father, my grandfather was a Pastor, my grandfather’s father, my great grandfather, even in the slave camps was the Pastor.
My father’s brother was a Pastor, and my grandfather’s brother was a Pastor. My mother’s father was a Pastor, my mother’s brothers were Pastors, and now my brother is a Pastor. Growing up, the one thing I did not want to be was a Pastor. You can imagine family reunions turn into Bible Studies and then full-blown revivals.
I don’t know when I first realized The Lord was listening. My whole life has been about having a knowledge of God. I have gone to church all of my life from a newborn, but something special happened to me on July 13, 1972, when I was 12 years old that made God more real to me.
It was when He was no longer just my parents’ or family’s God, but he became my God too! It’s been over 50 years, and it is still the best decision I ever made.
What do you miss most about the every-day family dinner?
Growing up we did not eat until my dad got home from work. We all sat around the table together, and as a children we heard our parents talk about their day. Then, as we got older, we were asked to share about our day.
You had to ask to be excused to leave the table. When I got married, we would eat together. When we were blessed to have children, we still all ate at the table together. It wasn’t until my children became young adults that eating at the table became something just for holidays and special occasions.
What I miss most about the every-day meals eating family dinners together is the conversations. Conversations where we saw life through the eyes of other members of our family. Talks where we planned the future, solved world problems, and expressed love by just listening to the family.
I know we text, email, and we all have cell phones; we have more communication tools than ever before in the history of the world. We talk more than ever before, but I submit we listen less than ever before.
Somebody, bring back the every-day family meal.
Explain the moment 34 years ago when you knew a basket giveaway was necessary in Wheeling?
We pastored in Ashtabula, Ohio for 10 years before coming to Wheeling, W.Va. While in Ashtabula, we gave out food baskets from time to time in the church, especially around the holidays. After coming to Wheeling, we wanted to do the same thing.
The difference was we got calls from other people asking if we could help them. After helping people in the church then we started helping people in the neighborhood. Then we got calls from people in the city, then across state lines. We went from helping people in the church sanctuary, to the church basement, to the church’s youth center, then to the front of the church’s Dream Center, then after the flood of sprinkler system malfunction, we started helping people in the fellowship hall in the rear of the Dream Center.
It has been a whirlwind of years. Some of the children we helped 30 years ago, some we still see as young adults, and others are now supporting us to help others. It is a miracle beyond all of our hopes and dreams. It is our prayer we have helped a generation.
When someone admits to you they have doubt God exists, what do you say?
When someone tells me they doubt God exists, I say I understand.
For a long time, I had doubts about the existence of God myself. I had given my life to God at the young tender age of 12. I was doing my best to live a life that I thought would be pleasing to God. When I was a young teenager, my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. This was back in the early days of cancer treatment around the 1970’s.
At that time, the first step was radical breast removal surgery, then radiation treatment. She got better, and she was declared cancer free. During this time, she gave birth to my two younger sisters. A few months later she had several other types of cancer; lung cancer, and brain cancer after dealing with breast cancer. My two sisters were less than 6 and 8 years old.
Sadly, she did die, and I could not believe God could take my mother, with two small kids, and leave our family motherless. I stopped going to church, praying, reading my Bible. Sadly, I even thought about committing suicide. I did not want to live in a world where God allowed this to happen. It is a battle that can happen in any believer’s heart and mind.
I have never come to agree with what happened in my life, but I have learned to trust him, even when I don’t understand him.
What is your Christmas message to the readers?
The whole message of Christmas to me this year is love.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life!” John 3:16.
Love is not love until you give it away. The message of Christmas to me is to help somebody else, and watch it come back to you in so many wonderful ways.
