14 <strong>Battle</strong> <strong>for</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Mind</strong> everywhere! While Jones was pleading <strong>the</strong> Blood, <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r guy was bleeding <strong>the</strong> blood! Style. But what’s style without substance? Not much more than sounding brass and tinkling cymbal. The substance of Jones’s messages is already legendary—and I don’t use that word lightly. Consider this. Jones arrived in a city in Texas to preach a three-day revival. The pastor of <strong>the</strong> local church picked up Jones at <strong>the</strong> airport, and during <strong>the</strong> ride to <strong>the</strong> church, he casually asked Bishop Jones what he intended to preach that night. Jones told him. The pastor encouraged Jones to preach something else because he had just preached that same subject a few Sundays prior! Jones suggested ano<strong>the</strong>r sermon. “Nope. Already did that, too,” <strong>the</strong> preacher responded. Turns out that this preacher (like many o<strong>the</strong>rs) had listened to Jones’s tapes and, shall we say, “repurposed” <strong>the</strong>m. His substance is so substantial, his hermeneutics so tight, his insight so keen, and his observations so interestingly unusual that young preachers everywhere want to be like him. Down to <strong>the</strong> suits and matching handkerchiefs. What a compliment. They say that imitation is <strong>the</strong> greatest <strong>for</strong>m of flattery. But <strong>the</strong>re’s only one “First Noel,” if you know what I mean. Often imitated, but never duplicated. Because of his leadership, our church, <strong>the</strong> City of Refuge, was about to become <strong>the</strong> City of Refuse. That is to say, unless we built something quick, we were going to continue having to turn folks away. Nowhere to park. Nowhere to sit. Nowhere to stand. And that’s no way to treat folks trying to find a little Heaven after catching hell all week long. So Jones says to me, “Ahh, Tavis, we have a problem.” I said, “Yes, and it’s all your fault.” He smiled. But what a great problem to have—being one of <strong>the</strong> fastest-growing churches in America—which leads to my final thought. At <strong>the</strong> moment, Jones is still <strong>the</strong> best-kept secret in <strong>the</strong> Church. But not <strong>for</strong> long. More books, more television, more exposure. Don’t be <strong>the</strong> last to discover <strong>the</strong> preacher’s preacher—Noel Jones. Hear him, see him, read him, enjoy him, and <strong>the</strong>n pass him on—<strong>for</strong> <strong>the</strong> Kingdom.
Foreword 15 I feel sorry <strong>for</strong> folks like that young preacher in Texas who “repurposed” Jones’s text. In just a little while, it’s going to be hard, really hard, to do that and not get caught. Keep <strong>the</strong> faith! —Tavis Smiley Author and National TV and Radio Commentator Founder, Tavis Smiley Foundation
Change language