Assembly Summary: Activist for God
Author: Yolanda Watt | Student, Living Education – Charlotte, 2021-22
Estimated Reading Time: 3 min.
“What I do is an answer to a prayer. I wanted a hands-on feel for what the work was really doing.”
These are some of the opening words to Mr. Lehman Lyons’ recent Assembly lecture. He summarized some of his work history, which ties in with what he does in the Living Church of God today. He has a background in business, though he started his career in a grocery store before being hired by a moving company. Once his employers found out where he was from, they offered him management of an agency forty-five miles from where he grew up in South Carolina. While there, He learned the whole spectrum of what happens in a moving company.
In 2001, the Church hired Mr. Lyons to work in purchasing. He was hired because the Church, headquartered in California at the time, was moving across the country to North Carolina. Due to his prior moving experiences, he was able to offer expertise that most members did not have, and helped the Church save massive amounts of money.
Purchasing
Mr. Lyons’ corporate title is Buyer. He is responsible for purchasing anything that the Church needs, looking for deals that will get the best quality things at a responsible price. Mr. Lyons encouraged us to pray for open doors for the Church, saying that God can bring the money into the Church and multiply it to do His Work.
Mr. Lyons’ work often takes him outside of the Headquarters building. While most Headquarters employees mainly work with each other, Mr. Lyons’ main line of work necessitates working with people outside the Church. He expressed that, since we need to find favor in the eyes of the people with whom we do business, another thing we can pray for is “vendor favor.”
Mr. Lyons is also responsible for the fleet, which comprises the automobiles that the Church has on its property as well as the ones that it supplies the ministers in the field. The Church purchases these vehicles and handles their fuel cost and maintenance, buying automobiles through Enterprise and paying the bills on time. Mr. Lyons also handles the transportation of visiting ministers to and from the airport.
Activists for God
“I look at my job as tending and keeping,” Mr. Lyons said. He supervises the maintenance for the HQ building, which was a blessing from God through the donations of the members. Mr. Lyons described the HQ building as one of the biggest benefits the Church has, because it would be way more expensive to rent a building. The Church also owns houses that it has purchased in Matthews, North Carolina, the maintenance of which Mr. Lyons helps oversee.
Mr. Lyons closed his lecture by saying that he is an activist advocating for the cause of the Church. He mentioned to the students that we are already a part of the Work, being in the educational program and engaging in the work-study opportunities available to us. He asked all the students to join him in striving to be a vital part of the Work of God.
